B K Karkra
Sex has two very distinct angles to it — procreation and pleasure. Both are inseparably entwined in something like a mystical bond. In fact, nature has provided for pleasure in the act so that the vital job of procreation does not get neglected and the world keeps going. Nonetheless, these two aspects are viewed differently by the religions. The first is considered not only to be acceptable but also sacred by some. The second is often seen as a sin or something in the nature of a weakness of flesh. Nonetheless, if anything comes anywhere near the spiritual bliss; it is the sexual sensation.
Hindu scriptures idealize those who engage in sex only for procreation. Roman Catholics have proclaimed sex as a taboo for their priesthood in the western churches—- it is another matter that some unseemly things keep happening in the haloed precincts on the sly every now and then. Celibacy has, indeed, proved to be a tall order, as it involves swimming against the current. Many times a question has been raised whether the option of marriage should be thrown open to their clergy.
Celibacy has, nonetheless, been held in high esteem in most of the religious as well as social orders from the very early age. It is considered to be ‘the better, nobler and higher condition in this life’. Some early Christians even believed that the married forfeited the chance of going to heaven. In any case, since celibacy is far beyond the will-power of the ordinary, those known to practise it inspire awe and adoration, even above the war heroes. Yet, should everybody were to go for celibacy (which mercifully would never happen), this world would get vacated of human footfalls in about a hundred years or so.
There is, therefore, something organically wrong with the concept of considering sex a sin. In fact, Osho in his ‘Sex to Super Consciousness, Full Circle’ goes to the length of asserting that if this be so, there would be no greater sinner in the universe than God. The sexual pleasure seems to be meant for promoting procreation and is possibly also intended for achieving some still higher goals in life. In any case, the denial of this pleasure to self, in the ordinary course, is against the will of nature. O.A.Wall writes in this context:-
“All excellence of character, all loveliness and all seductiveness of body serve but to attract two individuals through love, in order that a spermatozoon may come in contact with an ovum, to produce a new being.”
Thus, the basic truth is that ‘what is natural, cannot be obscene’. An old Roman saying, “Et musca habet penem” (even a fly has a penis) also points to the fact that sex is a God-given impulse. Gay relationships, that find mention as Greek Love in old texts, also do not seem to have anything unnatural about them and have been widely practised over the ages. Even the legendary Julius Caesar is known to have been used to this kind of love.
The religions, however, have a counter to these views. They do grudgingly admit that sex has some relationship with spirituality. However, they feel that the idea of celibacy is not flawed either and the sexual energy can be channelized in to something much loftier than orgasm i.e. the spiritual bliss. Mahatma Gandhi, who turned a celibate in his later life, writes:-
“The scientists of the old have put great value upon the vital fluid (semen), and they have insisted upon its strong transmutation into the highest form of energy for the benefit of society.”
Swami Vivekananda is also of the view in his ‘Raja Yoga’ that the energy stored in the sexual organs can be shifted to brain as ‘ojas’ through celibacy. This transformed energy can then work wonders.
The value of semen as energy is not universally accepted, especially in the present times when it has been fully examined for its chemical composition. In any case, celibacy has to come in as natural a course as the sex act itself. If the religious celibates have to struggle in the matter, not understanding the deeper nuances of celibacy, the better course for them would be to find a natural outlet for their sexual urges— suppression always leads to outbursts at some point of time. They have thus to be completely convinced about the superiority of their spiritual option. Not just this, they have to be actually able to feel the bliss involved in conversion of their sexual energy in to spiritual solace. Otherwise, if they feel suppressed inside, they should come out of it all and choose instead to go the way of all flesh. There is no third course available in the matter.
There are many other doctrines floating in this regard. Plato and Philo (a contemporary of Jesus) have tried to explain that all human beings were first androgynous. They got separated in to unisexual halves through some divine intervention — this view finds an echo in the Biblical version of Eve having been created out of the rib of Adam. The two halves, therefore, have an overpowering urge to unite. This, according to them, explains the amorous instincts and inclinations of the sexes to get merged into each other, at least momentarily, through coition.
The next theory is that sex is the starting point of all life. All living beings are born out of ‘kama'(desire)— one of the four ‘purusharthas’ (strivings for lofty goals of life), the other ones in the ascending order, being the ‘artha’ (prosperity), ‘dharma’ (virtuous life) and ‘moksha’ (salvation). In fact, as per the Indic line of philosophy, the cosmos has also originated out of ‘kama’. This is how this idea has been elaborated. What existed in the primordial times was an inert mass of matter or ‘sadvastu’ surrounded by ‘kham’ or space. At some point of time and somehow, it got invested with an element of ‘kama’ that caused a colossal churning inside it. The impregnated mass soon started bubbling with enormous amount of energy within. This ultimately burst forth in ‘bindu visphota’ or what is now referred to as the Big Bang. ‘Bindu’ here, points to semen and ‘Visphota’, to its discharge in an orgasm. This doctrine, thus, visualizes the birth of this universe through the Big Bang as a sort of cosmic orgasm that, in course of time, resulted in sprouting of life in the universe.
Osho is of the view that sex deprivation can lead to many unpleasant consequences. After all, sex is the starting point of love and life. If the sexual urge gets suppressed, the subsequent stages of love and procreation would also get squashed. According to him, the blooming of flowers, a girl growing in to a comely damsel and a boy developing in to a strapping youth etc. are all manifestations and expressions of sexual energy. Sex is thus God`s creative force at work. The dancing of a peacock and singing of a cuckoo are, in fact, mostly in the nature of mating calls.
The sexual energy ultimately transforms and transmutes into love. He thus concludes that ‘sex’ is love`s Gangotri (source of the holy Ganges) and love is something sublime. Once you get in to relation of love with someone, you begin seeing certain things in that person which others cannot see. He or she radiates such charm and loveliness, as only you can notice and there is such a sweet humming coming from him as only you can hear. All said, sex is at least something far different and higher than mere joint masturbation by the partners. Something in the same genre was once said by Robert Browning, “God be thanked, the meanest of creatures boasts two soul- sides— one to face the world with, one to show a woman when he loves her!” Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Japanese Buddhist sect, Soka Gakki, also observes:-
“It is natural to feel attracted to, be interested in, and fall in love with members of the opposite sex during one`s youth as it is for flowers to bloom in spring or snow to fall in winter.”
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