Celibacy induced mania
Question
QUESTION: Hi, I have read over your past answers and have been trying for total celibacy over the course of many years. My problem is that whenever I get to around 2 months to 3 months of celibacy, I start getting such increased energy and euphoria that my perspective and awareness changes and I enter into a somewhat manic state. During these times, I can't really take care of or am even conscious of my day to day needs and I was hospitalized and diagnosed with bipolar disorder even though I have never been depressed. Again this is triggered by prolonged celibacy and the process is exacerbated if I meditate as well. Please let me know, what is going on? I am 29 now, and these episodes happened during all during my 20s, the last one was about a year ago.
ANSWER: Hello Trevor,
Trust you are keeping well. Coming to the answers,
Bipolar disorder or manic-depressive illness which is an abnormality stemming from the brain resulting in extreme mood swings is essentially a condition that generally develops in a person during one's late teens or early adult years. Most cases exist in a dormant to mild form right from the person's teens & start showing up before the mid twenties.
Your mentioning of the fact that these episodes have shown up in you from your early twenties correlates with the recognized symptoms of Bipolar Disorder.
Most people associated with the disorder might generally have one or more of the following factors associated with them at one point of time or the other:
1. Substance abuse which might include alcohol, drugs, chemicals etc..
2. An over-erratic and extreme lifestyle based around excessive sex with frequently changing random partners or alcoholism coupled with activities causing severe disturbance into the sleep cycle, mental trauma or extreme emotions that oscillate between opposite poles.
3. Genetic traits that suggest a family history of Bipolar Disorder or other Psychiatric disorders.
If there has been an incidence of Points 1 or 2 mentioned above in your life, I would suggest you to immediately put a complete stop to such activity and lead a balanced and healthy lifestyle giving up all forms of substance abuse, random sexual relations, a life of sustained and extreme partying late into the night or early morning hours that disturb the sleep cycle and concentrate on getting 7 hours of deep sleep every day. Coupled with this is the need to keep the mind free from activities or states that generate extreme emotions of all kinds. If these two points don't apply to you; well and good ensure that such a lifestyle is never embarked upon.
Point 3 occurs due the presence of disorder oriented genes passed down from parents as a result of 'negative karma' accrued in the past that one has to work out in the present existence. Modern medicine also recognizes the fact that children with a parent, sibling or relatives with Bipolar Disorder are four to six times more likely to develop the illness, compared to children who do not have a family history of the disorder.
As of today, modern medicine does not know the exact cause of Bipolar disorder.
As of today, modern medicine does not have an established cure for Bipolar Disorder.
A life of Brahmacharya will eventually help overcome the disorder completely or to a large extent based on the intensity of the disorder governed by the karma one has to work out as per the destiny generated by one's past deeds.
The anti-depressants/mood stabilizers and psychiatric medicines prescribed by modern medicine have vast side effects leading to debilitation and degeneration of overall general health in the long run. One must take a personal call and decide whether he/she wants to take the medicinal route in trying to cure oneself (which does not remove the cause of the disorder but only suppresses the symptoms externally) or an alternate route based on Yoga & Brahmacharya (which can weed out the very cause of the illness beyond the physical and mental levels right unto the karmic level). The decision is fully left to the patient and is based on his/her discretion.
I shall now explain the approach to the problem based on a life of Brahmacharya:
The mind is an extremely sensitive and delicate vehicle that God has provided man to recognize and sense the world around him and to finally realize his own self. It is for man to recognize this fact and cultivate habits and a lifestyle that lead to health, well being and purity of the mind. If let to stray and function randomly in activities not to be indulged in, the mind becomes the vehicle of man's destruction. This will manifest in the present birth or in future births based on one's karma. There is no doubt about this fact.
1. One should completely give up alcohol, tobacco, drugs highly processed, seasoned, salted and spiced food and restrict oneself to bland and light food.
2. Lifestyle should be puritanical and yogic with regular physical exercise, Prânayâma and meditation. The company of people/situations that irritate, agitate and ruffle up unsavory emotions should be gully given up if one wishes results. The mind should be kept calm and relaxed to tbe best possible extent without getting incolved in the outcome of one's actions.
3. While meditating and also otherwise, one must fully surrender to God with love and devotion and pray to him to absolve one of all sins and negative karma that has caused the disorder. Absolute beleif and surrender do wonders.
4. Brahmacharya should be total and willingly done. Mere suppression and snubbing of sexual thoughts cause problems rather than solving them. It should be in thought, word and deed and not repression of the sexual urge. As soon as a sexual thought starts to arise, one must not fight it but must replace it with an opposite and pure thought.
Prânayâma forms a very important constituent in one's efforts to overcome health problems and mental disturbances (refer to the past answer on how to perform Prânayâma). If performed correctly with a life based on Yama-Niyama (refer past answers on Yoga), Prânayâma does wonders within a years time in establishing superlative mental and physical health.
To sum up, all mental and physical deviations from radiant health are a result of wrongful actions from the past in this or previous births. A life of Yoga is the best and most concrete method to help one obtain releif.
May God bestow you with radiant health and well being and absolve you from the problem on hand
Dhananjay
[an error occurred while processing this directive]---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you for your response, but perhaps I was not clear about my situation. My attempts at Brahmacharya was the trigger for this increased energy and mania. You suggest that Brahmacharya is the solution but don't address why it may cause such issues. My feeling is that the reason I get manic when I take to Brahmacharya is that my bad karma is being brought to the surface and flushed out, and it messes with my head. I guess you don't need to respond again, but I want to emphasize that a puritanical lifestyle of Brahmacharya was what triggered these episodes.
Answer
Hello Trevor,
Thanks for elaborating and clarifying on your query. Coming to the matter,
First and foremost, a life of Brahmacharya can never be the 'CAUSE' of any abnormality, illness, ailment or deviation from radiant health at the mental or physical levels.
Mark the word 'CAUSE'. Diseases and deviations from robust health occur in each and every person due to the presence of bad karma which is a result of past misdeeds. So the actual 'CAUSE' behind any disease or illness is past negative karma' that has warranted the induction of this disease into the body. The practice of Brahmacharya puts man onto the path where these 'toxins' and 'impurities' that have been inducted into the physical, astral and causal bodies due to bad karma find it impossible to continue their stay and start getting flushed out. The 'flushing out' of toxins always involves a moderate and temporary recurrence of the disease at the point when the toxin 'resurfaces' and then finally leaves the body forever.
When a venomous snake moves into the house and starts to reside, it isn't seen all the time but shows up every now and then and bites the residents of the house. Now if we were to try and drive this venomous snake out of the house, firstly the snake would put up resistance against being driven out. If our efforts are persistent and sincere, the cornered snake finally finding it impossible to bear the onslaught further, would try biting the attacker for one last time. But the danger and adventure would be an effort well worth the trouble since we are having a showdown with the snake for the one last time and would be driving it out forever only to be permanently free from being bitten every now and then...
The presence of disease causing 'toxins and impurities' within one's body is very much the same and could be compared to the snake. These toxins have landed there in the first place due to past negative karma and are in a state of permanent residence troubling the person every now and then or waiting to increase in volume and finally surface as a deadly, incurable disease. Brahmacharya becomes an efficient weapon with which the aspirant starts to poke and drive out these toxins. When the practice becomes prolonged and consistent, these toxins being unable to stay longer surface and briefly manifest for a certain time in the form of the disease they represent. Now the time required for these toxins to get fully flushed out depends on the intensity of Brahmacharya and the magnitude of the toxin present within. A heavy deposit of toxins further to much negative karma might take longer to vacate than a lighter load of the same. But the aspirant has no choice but to persist in vacating these toxins, for this purification is something he has to carry out now if not later. One can never side step accrued karma, be it good karma or bad karma. Why not get clear of the karma now and permanently forever?... Postponing this activity will only make life worse as these toxins have the potential to trouble a person every now and then and cause further complications (like living in the snake infested house and being prone to snakebite).
So the question is not whether one wants to vacate these toxins or not...It is 'how soon' one wants to vacate impurities present within the physical, astral and causal bodies. We don't have a choice in deciding whether we take up this cleansing or don't. These toxins have come into the Jivâtma (embodied soul) due to its past misdeeds and have been inducted in the first place for it to learn some important lessons and rectify its past mistakes. The embodied soul now having taken up Brahmacharya (again as per divine destiny) has been given a chance to get rid of these toxins, rise above them and evolve further in its quest to reclaim its lordship. Like everything else that happens around us for a reason, the whole chronology of events is decided by divine will and deliberation. For this reason man is only the 'tool' and not the 'doer'. It is God who performs each and every action with the final aim of making the degenerated soul regenerate into knowing its true nature and reclaim its supremacy.
I would suggest you to continue to focus on an honest, persistent and relentless life of Brahmacharya with complete surrender and devotion to God, following which it becomes easier for man to come to terms with his karma and march ahead in reclaiming his true nature of undulating bliss.
God bless
Dhananjay