In modern times, Râmäkrishnä (founder of the monastic order that bears his name), a worshiper of the goddess Durgâ, wore feminine clothes for many years as part of his Sâdhanä (his method of spiritual fulfillment). The adoption of female dress by male shamans and priests is a worldwide phenomenon.
Some Chukchee shamans wear women's clothing and even marry other men; the Akkadian priests of Ishtar wore female attire. The Tantric term Vamachara, the "left-hand way," literally means "the woman practice." According to the Achârabhedä Tanträ, "The ultimate female force is to be propitiated by becoming a woman" (McEvilley, An Archeology of Yogä, pp. 71–72).
Intersexuals, in whom certain male and female aspects are combined, are considered holy because they evoke the primordial androgyneity, the wholeness of principles. Corresponding to the neuter principle represented by the god Brahmâ, the creator in the cosmic trinity, they are particularly adapted to artisanal or artistic creation. In all societies intersexuals play an important part in literature, poetry, and the arts.
In their sections on fertility, the practical works on Yogä, such as the Shivä Svarodayä,5 explain the psychological, physical, and astrological circumstances that give rise to intersexuals. They speak of fourteen nonreproductive categories (napunsakä), outlined by V. S. Apte in his Sanskrit dictionary. Castration, impotence, continence, and homosexuality are various forms of exclusion from genetic continuity which affect man as an individual, but even more as a link in the genetic chain, for these traits break the continuity of that chain and destroy one of the prime functions of the being of flesh. Nevertheless, this break in the chain is also part of the plan.
The Greek word corresponding to napunsakä is eunychos, meaning "he who guards the marriage bed"; that is, he who protects the virtue of women while the menfolk, the warriors, are absent. There is no implication here of the emasculation involved in the modern term eunuch. It was thus a misrepresentation of the Evangelist's words (Matthew 19: 10–12) to use the word eunuch (in place of homosexual) when Jesus said, "There are those who have been born eunuchs, others who have been made eunuchs, and others who have chosen the path in their wish for the solitary life, and who are not suited for marriage."
The early Christian Gnostics attached great value to non-reproductive eroticism. It was only in the fifth century that these practices began to be condemned.
The common rule of all the Gnostics was the refusal of procreation; those who advocated continence or the abolition of marriage did so with that in mind; those who did engage in sexual relations made them infertile through contraception or abortion.... The ritual orgy was an ostentatious means of collectively reinforcing this rejection. [Alexandrian, Histoire de la philosophie occulte, p. 63]
Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia (Cyprus), relates in his Panarion (written c. 370) his experiences in Gnostic orgies (see Alexandrian, ibid).
Since they are not involved in reproduction, and since this breaks the genetic chain, homosexuals fall outside the castes. One of their functions is to establish links between the different castes and races, and also between men, spirits, and the gods. They playa key part in magical practices.
As it has no genetic consequences, homosexuality should be considered a harmless erotic and sentimental pastime: the Kâma Suträ and other works on the arts of love all include it.
Male prostitutes (shand) and transvestites (kanchukin), nowadays called Hijrâ or Laundâ, have a recognized place and enjoy a similar status to the Devä-dâsï in traditional society. They are a separate social group under the direction of a Guru who enjoys certain privileges, particularly in the field of holy spectacles. Even today, the presence of a male prostitute in female dress, the last vestige of the androgynous shaman, is a good omen in a marriage ceremony.
The influence of Anglo-Saxon puritanism has meant that the anglicized groups in modern India pretend that they do not know of the sacred aspect of the Third Nature and homosexual practices.
The absence of a third, neutral gender—the essential complement of the masculine and feminine—in a language such as French indicates a mental limitation with psychological and social consequences.
2
The Transmission of Knowledge
The Master (Guru)
THE FIRST GURU, OR MASTER, IS THE MOTHER. FROM her the child learns the basics of language, the tool of communicaton and knowledge. The father and masculine society become involved only later. It is to the father that the duty falls of teaching the civic virtues and techniques that will allow the child to enter a social grouping.
Once the child reaches the age for study, following his first entrance into masculine society and his separation from the women, he is placed in the hands of a master who teaches him the sciences, rites, and technical aspects of the knowledge that he must acquire to fulfill the role of his lineage and caste.
While his studies are in course, the child enters his master's household. He will, if necessary, beg in order to contribute to the household's meals. If he belongs to a scholarly family, he will become familiar during this period with philosophical, theological, and scientific literature. He is also introduced to the oral tradition of which his master is the custodian. He will learn by heart a considerable number of texts, which are for that reason largely in verse form. In India, these texts include grammar rules, etymologies, dictionaries, ritual and philosophic texts, all of which are the grounding for his later work. The written word is but a supplement to the memory, which allows an expansion of certain aspects and ensures their survival.
If the student belongs to lineages that are not literate, then his studies take a different form. If he comes from a warrior or princely family, he will study the arts of government and warfare, archery, the care of horses and elephants, the use of spies, and the astrological and magical factors that will ensure victory. Today, he would learn to drive tanks and use explosives.
In the artisanal castes, the student is an apprentice who gradually learns the secrets and techniques of his craft. This is true also of the visual arts and of architecture and music. The apprentice takes part in the work of his master, who remains his tutor until he has mastered his craft. In India, just as in Italy until the Renaissance, painting, sculpture, and architecture were workshop concerns. The students collaborated in their master's work. A pupil does not pay his master, for knowledge cannot be sold; but once a year, at the time of the Guru Pûjâh, the rite of veneration of one's master, the student offers him, if at all possible, gold coins on a silver platter, in addition to the symbolic offerings of flowers, fruits, and incense. At the end of his studies, he will give his master a gift according to his means. Besides the ritual elements, this gift can be land, cattle, books, or gold.
The Guru's Responsibilities
THE Guru's responsibilities are manifold. He is the bearer of an ancestral heritage of knowledge that he must pass on. Just as the marriage codes ensure the survival of the genetic heritage, and the maintenance of the abilities, physical beauty, and moral virtues of the child, so the handing down of knowledge involves a heavy responsibility, for knowledge, when placed in the hands of those who are not worthy of it, can become a dangerous weapon.
He who is the bearer of a tradition of knowledge is under an obligation to pass it on. The master's major problem is to find a suitable candidate on whom he can rely. This is the reason why a Guru takes extreme precautions before accepting a disciple. The Western "trendies" who pass around the names of good Gurus as if they were restaurants have been dealing solely with charlatans.
From the Hindu point of view, a modern Western democratic education is completely immoral. Scholars accept payment to deliver to anyone at all the secrets of the most dangerous sciences. Some atomic scientists have realized this too late and are now terrified by the awesome responsibilities they took upon themselves.
The Limits of Knowledge
THE development of creation proceeds from darkness toward light, from childhood toward maturity, from ignorance toward know
ledge, until at length a regression sets in and the darkness returns.
Among the species on the earth today, man represents a culmination in this evolutionary pattern. The more he understands the hidden nature of the world, the more he understands the Creator's art, the more he fulfills his role.
Yet, there are limits to this role. It is not for mankind to master the hidden forces of nature; that is the role of the subtle beings whose perception of the play of creation and responsibilities are to be found on a different level. It is not for mankind to encroach on the domain of higher beings. This is the reason why "it does not please the gods to allow mankind to attain a state of knowledge."
Just as there are limits to sensory perception, so there are barriers on the path of knowledge which man cannot pass without abandoning his role, thereby running the risk of bringing the wrath of the gods to bear in the destruction of his species.
Man is therefore in a contradictory position: his raison d'être is to seek knowledge, but there are limits to his search that he must not overstep.
The Choice of a Disciple
THE pupil, the Shishyä, is the receptacle (patra) of the teachings of his master or masters, who impart to him those elements of knowledge that he seems to deserve. A pupil has no right to publicize the name of his Guru in case his errors and faults rebound on his master. Only if the master wishes it, and if the pupil has undergone a final initiation ceremony, which is in fact virtually an adoption ceremony, can he make himself known as his master's heir and provide a provenance for his learning by naming his master.
There are several factors that disqualify (viparyayä) an individual from the transmission of some aspects of knowledge. The texts list some as an aid to the Guru in the choice of candidates suitable (adhikâri) for the task of passing on the hidden aspects of knowledge. According to the SâmkhyäKârikâ(s) (47–50) and their commentary, the disqualifications are of four types. The first category includes mental or psychological unfitness, of which there are five types:
Stupidity (tamas) (eight sorts)
Lack of judgment (mohä) (eight sorts), which makes one mistake one thing for another
A perversity of spirit (mahâmohä) (ten types), which deforms basic data
Despondency (tâmisrä) (eighteen types), such as doubt and lack of persistence)
Despair (andhä tâmisrä) (eighteen types), which leads to the belief that knowledge cannot be attained
The second category is that of physical disabilities (ashakti), twenty-eight in number, which are connected with defaults in the organs and with physical and mental deficiencies (blindness, deafness, paralysis, timidity, the lack of a sense of smell, dumbness, deformity, lameness, castration, madness, etc.).
The third category concerns self-satisfaction (tushti), of which there are nine forms: four interior (adhyâtmikä) and five exterior (bâhyä). The four interior varieties are:
Of nature (prâkritä): to be satisfied with a superficial knowledge of things
Of means (upâdânä): to consider the means as an end in themselves; for example, the belief that dressing as a monk will enable one to achieve detachment from the world
Of time (kâlä): to believe that the passage of time will cure all wrongs
Of chance (bhâgyä): to believe that chance will provide a cure to all wrongs
The five exterior forms are connected with the five senses (hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell), because of the worries to which they give rise. They are:
The acquisition of material possessions (arjanä), the work entailed in the care of cattle, and the guarding of wealth
The preservation of wealth (rakshanä) and the anxieties it causes
Extravagance (kshayä), which results in the loss of that material security which is vital to the quest for knowledge
Dependency (sangä): the inability to do without certain things
Violence (himsâ): anything obtained to the detriment of anyone else is a form of violence and is therefore a source of instability. [Gaudpadä, Commentary on the Sâmkhyä-Kârikâ, 50]
There are, for the pupil once he is accepted, eight "paths to progress" which enable him to benefit fully from the teachings of his master.
The first is reflection (ûhä). Knowledge is achieved through meditation about the basic questions. The pupil should ask himself questions such as the following: What is truth? What is the beyond? Is Purushä different from Pradhânä? Is intelligence a separate entity from self? What differentiates the Tanmaträ(s), the senses, the various elements, etc.?
The second is language (shabdä). Language is the channel for the transmission of knowledge. One should therefore increase one's vocabulary and know the precise meaning of words, etc.
The third is study (adhyâyanä), a knowledge of the learning of the ancients.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth concern internal peace, through the elimination of the three forms of physical, mental, and spiritual suffering (dukhâ-vidhâtâ-trayam).
The seventh is friendship (suhrit prâpti). The emotional relationships between friends, the conversations and discussions, are a source of intellectual enrichment.
The eighth is generosity (dânä). The egotist who cannot share his belongings and his learning is isolated from the traditions of thought and becomes intellectually sterile. [Sâmkhyä Kârikâ 51]
The Wanderers of the Path of Knowledge (Brahmächârî)
IN the caste system the transmission of techniques and rites is tied to the transmission of life. The true tradition of knowledge, however, does not operate in the same way. The transmission of knowledge is carried out through the chain of initiations, quite independently of the genetic chain. Its adherents may be born in any social group, and must live on the fringes of society. I t is their task to maintain in secret the highest forms of the tradition of knowledge regardless of religious, social, or linguistic changes in the outside world. He who wishes to achieve the higher destiny of man (that is, to be not a link in the transmission of life, but rather a link in the handing down of hidden knowledge) must leave his family and seek out a Guru. As he wanders from village to village begging for food, he devotes himself to the "quest for knowledge" (Brahmächaryä). He becomes a Brahmächârî, one of the "wanderers of the path of knowledge" (from chârî, to move, and brahmä, knowledge). He is also known as a Sannyasi (from nyâsä, renunciation, and sat, material possessions). He must find a representative of this esoteric tradition who considers him a worthy candidate able in his turn to pass on the heritage.
It is this master who is the true Guru. The Brahmächârî must follow a long initiatory process to show that he is in fact suitable (adhikâri). He must live at his master's side, serve him, and obey him in all matters. It is this chain of initiations that has allowed Shaivism and the highest forms of ancient learning to survive periods of persecution in order to reemerge at the appropriate moment. It is still true today. The occult traditions continue parallel to the official education system.
In today's puritan world the word Brahmächârî has come to mean "chaste." Originally the word meant "the search for knowledge"; it is only recently that it has acquired the meaning of sexual continence. There is nothing to justify this interpretation. What is important as far as the Brahmächârî is concerned is not the renunciation of pleasure, but rather the renunciation of marriage and the social ties it creates. The state of Brahmächârî might be compared with what in Celtic tradition is represented by the quest for the Grail. In truth, the Brahmächârî has a role to play in the hierogamies, the ritual sexual couplings of Tantrism. Some of these wanderers have a female companion or a favored pupil and engage in erotic activities that mayor may not be connected with Yogä. Massages of the spine which lead to ejaculation are popularly known as "monk's massages."
Those who have studied the professional techniques of their own social group can, once their studies are finished, return to the family and become a link in the transmission of the lineage and social function. Those, however, who adventure
into the parallel discipline of the quest for knowledge must remain aloof from the religious or political establishment and must also sever all ties with the family and society into which they are born. When man renounces the world, his station, and his social duties in order to devote himself to spiritual realization, he loses his caste and name. He sets out naked or dressed only in a seamless piece of material in the color of mourning, orange, which signifies that as far as he is concerned, the distinctions caused by castes and social hierarchy are ended, and that he is in a manner of speaking dead to the world. Whatever an individual's place in the human hierarchy may have been, the path of Sannyâsä allows no materialistic activities and no role in social life.
An essential part of this quest for knowledge is the wandering: the complete absence of social ties, marriage, and material obligations during the time of study and, for those who gain initiation, for the whole of life. This entails the establishment of a system of holy begging, which is a basic part of Hindu social organization. "There is a need for wandering which does not fit in at all with the sedentary nature of the productive principle" (Michel Maffesoli, L'Ombre de Dionysos, p. 39).
In order that the esoteric tradition may continue, Hindu society imposes a moral obligation on all households to provide food to all wanderers who may appear at their door (whether they be students, monks, travelers, or vagrants). Before meals, the children sit in front of the door to signal the approach of the unknown guest who is to be served first. The holy beggar will not ask for anything: he stays standing before the door for a short period of time. According to the rules of the various monastic orders, the number of households he may approach with his begging bowl is limited to three, four, or five. The households are enjoined not to ask questions or to vary their treatment of the wanderers according to their appearance. This allows the initiates to remain indistinguishable among the innumerable false ascetics and vagrants.
While the Gods Play Page 17