-Rg Veda 10.129.4
Desire, which is known as Kama or "love," is dangerous when it is considered as the end. In truth, Kama is only the beginning. When the mind is satisfied with the culture of Kama, then only can the right knowledge of love arise.
-Rasakadamvakalika13
Sexuality is a sacred ritual of union through the celebration of difference. An expansive movement of the life force, it is the dance that balances, restores, renews, reproduces. It is the production ground of all new lifeand in that sense-of the future. Mover and healer of the life force within us, sexuality is a profound rhythm pulsing through all biological life.
Sexuality is a life force. Yet we live in a culture where this element of our lives is either repressed or exploited. Television screens allow our children to watch countless murders and crime shows but censor any scenes that involve nudity or lovemaking. Hard work and upward mobility are stressed (and stressful), while those who engage in life's simple pleasures are called lazy, weak, or self-indulgent. Still, the need for pleasure pushes onward, and people instead seek negative outlets in the form of alcohol and drugs (to loosen cultural inhibitions), sexual addiction, violence, rape, and crude pornography, while millions of dollars' worth of advertising play on the repressed sexuality in all of us. When something vital and natural is taken away, the resulting gap can be used as an implement for control. What's taken away is sold back to us, piecemeal, and we are less than whole because of it.
James Prescott has made studies of cultures comparing sexual repression to the incidence of violence. The more stringent the taboos are about sex, the more violent the culture. Conversely, the more sexually permissive the culture, the lower the crime rate.14 For the health of our bodies and for the health of our culture, sexuality is an important essence to understand and preserve.
Sexuality is also an important consideration in terms of the chakras and Kundalini. There is a great deal of indication that higher consciousness and sexuality are closely related, although theories about how are many and divergent.
In yoga philosophy, one hundred drops of bindu (the dimensionless points of focus that comprise physical matter, sometimes also correlated to semen), when sublimated, distill into one drop of ojas (divine consciousness). As a result, many serious yoga disciplines, and most preconceptions about the chakras, prescribe celibacy as a way to transform bindu to ojas. Since this belief is pervasive throughout many mystical paths, it is worth taking the time to examine its pros and cons.
As in the history of most religions, early Hinduism was primarily a magical system for obtaining better material comforts such as larger crops and better animals. This system grew in its rituals to eventually include huge sacrificial slaughterings. It is likely that this produced a reactionary swing in the opposite direction, which commonly occurs with cultural mores. The Jains, among others, founded a heterodox system that believed that one should not kill anything-even vegetables-and because life was not possible without this, they became a "celibate order of itinerant monks, noted for extreme asceticism," some renouncing even clothes and/or food.15 The purpose of these renunciations was to become free of karma in order to further liberation. Other subsects of Hinduism adopted asceticism as a way of internalizing the sacrifices that were previously expressed in the fire rituals, thus raising one's tapas or internal fires. This internal heat was felt to be a sign of "magicoreligious power" and more valuable than the pleasures given up.16 The sacrifice of pleasure became the replacement for human or animal sacrifice.
In India, where one's household life and one's spiritual life are usually assigned to different chronological stages, the act of sexual union, which could result in children to raise, altered the course of one's spiritual path-sending it through a householder stage. While this wasn't frowned on for the average person, it was certainly a deterrent to the person who had already chosen a monk's life. Therefore, sex was to be avoided.
Celibacy, as a road to enlightenment, is also based on male physiology, where the retention of semen may have had a physiological basis of preserving bodily strength in a purely vegetarian and often sparse diet. The reality for women may be entirely different.
In Hindu mythology sexuality is everywhere. Shiva is often worshiped and represented by his phallus, the Shiva lingam, a symbol which appears abundantly throughout India. Krishna was known for his frequent amorous adventures, and erotic images are carved on temples everywhere in India. Shiva and Shakti are eternally making love. Among the Gods, sexuality was sacred. Why not then for mortals?
There is some research that shows there are chemical reactions involving sexuality, which may affect the raising of Kundalini and the opening up of psychic faculties. The pineal gland, often associated with the sixth chakra (clairvoyance), is rich in a derivative of serotonin, called melatonin. This chemical may easily transform into a compound called 10 methoxyharmalan, which is potentially hallucinogenic, giving inner visions." The pineal gland contains photo-receptors, and as we discuss the sixth chakra in further chapters, we will see that light and visionary experiences play a large part in this level of consciousness.
Evidence suggests that melatonin and the pineal gland in general exhibit an inhibitory effect on the female and male gonads in mammals. The reverse is also true: sexual hormones, such as testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone inhibit the production of melatonin as well." Therefore, stimulating these hormones through increased sexual activity could adversely affect the opening of this third-eye chakra, and too much activity in the higher centers could adversely affect the sex drive.
Unfortunately, research on Kundalini and psychism is still limited and there is not enough evidence to establish firm conclusions. What causes this chemical change? Is the state of "hallucination" possibly caused by the catabolism of melatonin, necessarily a beneficial state to be in? Are there other ways of triggering it? Is it that undue emphasis in one part of the chakra spectrum would decrease energy in its opposite end? While evidence is not yet conclusive, the implications are still worth noting.
Celibacy, under the right conditions, can help open the doorway to altered states of awareness, and raise energy up the sushumna. However, it must be stressed that without training in the techniques of channeling this energy, whether it be yoga, martial arts, or simply meditation, it may do the practitioner little benefit, instead creating nervousness and anxiety. If these techniques are unfamiliar, find a teacher with whom you can study who has already been through some of these experiences.
Celibacy can help one to break away from old, nonbeneficial patterns and habits. Sexual force that is not permitted expression as sexuality will find an outlet in another way. Yogis believe that bypassing this center will send this energy up the spine to higher centers. This is generally true for those who practice Hatha or Kundalini yoga and have the channels open and ready to handle this energy. However, among the numerous clients and students I have encountered over the years, I have not found any celibates who struck me as any higher, happier, or better adjusted than those who include healthy sexuality as part of their lives." Repressing sexuality often decreases the life force itself, and deprives us of the incredible pleasure and learning experience that comes from a relationship.
If celibacy is used to open previously blocked channels, it is not necessary to remain celibate all the time. Once these channels are open, they may remain clear, whether or not sex is engaged in. Often it is merely a matter of breaking old patterns, much like fasting is a way of breaking poor eating habits.
It is not always the case that celibacy will be beneficial to the growth of an individual, even under the proper circumstances. Some people, for example, habitually wall themselves off from others. For them, a sexual relationship could be one of the most enlightening things they could engage in. A relationship (which by necessity involves more than just the second chakra) can be a profound impetus for growth. We extend our experience by uniting with another. Within our bodies we are quite individual, but as we climb up the
chakra column, the boundaries become more and more diffuse, and the realization that we are all one becomes more apparent. The path to enlightenment is often a matter of breaking through these illusions of separateness. Celibacy can enforce separateness, and sexuality can open the way for dissolving boundaries.
The drawbacks to celibacy can be as plentiful as the rewards. The sacrum is the center of our emotional feelings and the initiator of movement within the body, giving us a feeling of vitality and wellbeing. Frustrated sexuality can lead to lower back pain, leg cramps, kidney troubles, poor circulation, and stiffness through the hips.20 Stiffness in the sacrum may result in knee trouble as well, for it throws the body weight off from the central line of gravity. This stiffness gradually works its way through the body, and a feeling of lifelessness may ensue. Changing this pattern is often difficult, for opening the center may involve encountering emotional pain, hitherto kept in check.
Chakras open and close gradually because they are the result of patterns from actual interactions. Just as we can't dribble a basketball that's resting on the floor, people with closed second chakras often have a hard time finding sexual partners to help open the chakra, while a chakra that is already open may attract more partners than it can handle. The only way to combat this is to open and close the chakras gradually and gently.
Denying the body intimacy and sexual release is denying some of the greatest pleasure the body can have. This goes against our biological pleasure principle. Denying this pleasure also cuts us off from the subtler feelings and emotions housed in the lower chakras. We become cut off from our ground, our wholeness, our sense of inner satisfaction and peace.
Wilhelm Reich, in his research into the bioelectric currents of the body, found that sexuality was crucial in the healthy flow of this energy through the body. Reich felt that only through orgasm could we achieve a "complete circuit" of bioelectric flow through the body, essential to mental and physical health. "The complete flowing back of the excitation toward the whole body is what constitutes gratifica- tion."2' He further found that dammed-up sexual energy resulted in anxiety, centered mainly around the cardiac and diaphragmatic region.
The same excitation which appears in the genitals as pleasure, manifests itself as anxiety if it stimulates the cardiovascular system ... sexuality and anxiety present two opposite directions of vegetative excitation.22
It is likely that this anxiety produced in the "cardiac and diaphragmatic region" is similar to the early sensations of Kundalini, as it rushes into the third and fourth chakras located in those areas. Whether one considers this feeling to be a manifestation of anxiety or the force of Kundalini pushing through the chakras is a matter of opinion. This can only be based on personal experience. One's spiritual maturity, or readiness to handle psychic energy, has a great deal to do with the effects produced by sexuality or celibacy, and the consciousness-expanding effects that either of these experiences can bring.
In keeping with the theory of this book, each chakra needs to be open and active for a healthy flow of energy through the whole body/mind. Sexuality is a resolution and celebration of our differences. Healer of the body, joiner of hearts, movement of life, sexuality is the water wheel of life that moves the earth below and tempers the fire above. We wouldn't be here without it.
TANTRA
Sexual union is an auspicious Yoga which, through involving enjoyment of all the sensual pleasures, gives release. It is a Path to Liberation.
-Kaularahasya23
It must be remembered that the Chakra System came out of Tantric philosophy. Tantrism, in reaction to the dualistic nature of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and other ascetic ideals, teaches that the body is sacred and the senses can bring enlightenment, ecstasy, and joy. It is for this reason that Westerners often equate Tantra with sexual practice, even though Tantric philosophy is far wider in scope, and embraces a combination of many yogic and Hindu philosophies, of which sexual union is only a minor part.
Among elements of Tantric philosophy is a polytheistic worship of deities, of which the union of Shiva and Shakti, mentioned earlier, are said to bring supreme bliss. Through weaving together complimentary threads, such as masculine and feminine, spirit and matter, light and darkness, self and other, we escape the separation of dualistic thinking and enter a more wholistic philosophy. Tantra seeks to embrace rather than deny, yet still has as its goal, the liberation of consciousness into supreme realization.
The word tantra comes from the Sanskrit root tan meaning "to stretch." Tantra literally means "a web or loom."24 This Sanskrit term has also come to mean "essence," "underlying principle," or "doctrine." The same root also appears in words for family and birth in Sanskrit as in tanaya, "to continue a family;" and tanus, "of the body.""
Tantra, therefore, symbolizes the weaving of the basic underlying fabric of existence. Through stretching and reaching out, we both encounter and create this divine fabric. Shiva and Shakti, in their constant interaction as pure consciousness and its manifestations, are the divine threads. The weaving is done when we allow these divinities to work through us.
The perception of duality is often considered to be a source of pain and alienation. Tantra is the sacred dance of reuniting duality-of restoring that which is separate into oneness again. The result of this is an ecstatic experience of unity-with ourselves, our partners, and the universe around us.
The passage of energy between the couple engaged in sexual activity is far more than an exchange between the genitals. A couple, face to face, have all their chakras aligned between them. Through the intensity of sexual excitement, each chakra vibrates more intensely, and passage of energy between one body and another is enhanced and woven together at all levels. Whether the couple then chooses to focus this energy at a physical, mental, or heart chakra level becomes a matter of mutual choice.
Sexual symbology is plentiful in Indian art and mythology, and the Shiva lingam, with or without a Goddess (yoni), was fervently worshiped by the ancients. While the female was highly regarded as a sacred tool for obtaining liberation, it was the male who was the target for this enlightenment.
Whether the female was considered to be enlightened already, or whether she was not considered at all is unclear. Even today, it's generally the males who go off to join the temples and lead a spiritual life, just as it's most often the males who become the "enlightened" masters and spiritual teachers of these students. It is often these male gurus who prescribe celibacy and austerities for pursuit of the spiritual path, and teach that liberation cannot happen without an approved teacher. Sometimes, however, the woman, or Tantrika, is considered the guru.
FIGURE 3.6
Tantra photo of Indian figures.
Yet, the Goddess was considered indispensable, if not supreme, where it is said: "Shakti performs all the physical needs of Shiva. The bodiless Shiva, being the nature of Pure Consciousness, must have the creative energy of Shakti for support." Another says: "Without Shakti, the lover is but a corpse."26 As Shiva and Shakti live within each of us, partners practicing Tantra may elect to represent one or the other.
The purpose of Tantra is the same as any other aspect of yoga-to attain liberation from limited consciousness, most commonly by raising energy up the spinal column. The transcendental experience of union with another soul serves to bring one into an altered state of consciousness. In this state, entry into the higher worlds is more accessible.
Most Tantric practices attempt to use the force created by the arousal of sexual energy to awaken the Goddess Kundalini, and push Her up the spine. It is not believed that the untrained can achieve this liberation without previous instruction and practice in disciplines designed to open and arouse these centers, such as meditation or yoga. Like the use of celibacy, it is only through knowledge of psychic pathways that this experience can bring transcendence. Yet, there are many cases of spontaneous awakenings from tantric sexuality without gurus. Whether it's Kundalini that is triggered, or merely an ecstatic state of union, tant
ric sexuality is a religious experience-achievable by anyone.
In Tantra, it is believed that the body, both male and female, is a temple-a place of worship. This means keeping the body purified and healthy as well as bringing it sexual pleasure. Tantrics practice yoga asanas (postures) and breathing exercises regularly, maintain proper diet, and study the psychic pathways. It is also necessary that one's partner regard the body with the same respect, or true merging of the energies is unlikely.
Correct practice of the Tantric Arts leads to the creation of the mystic child, a vehicle of liberation through which one may attain magical powers (siddhis). This child is not a physical being, although conception of a child under these circumstances would certainly charge the fetus with the highest of our personal divine energy. The mystic child refers instead to a psychic "aura body," experienced as an added energy source of a higher dimension. This body of psychic energy can then be used in a particular circumstance, i.e., healing, performing some task, or self-protection. Western practices of sex magic are very similar in this regard, using deities as interpenetrating forces that, when combined, endow the receiver with paranormal power.
NURTURANCE
To be tender, loving, and caring, human beings must be tenderly loved and cared for in their earliest years, from the moment they are born.
-Ashley Montagu"
Nurturance is the final summation of sexuality and a fundamental need of the body, the mind, and the soul. Nurturance means caring for, feeding with energy, love, and touch. Nurturance is the essence of maternal qualities, our first experience of blissful transcendence, of warmth and security.
Wheels of Life Page 11