SEXUALITYAND SPIRITUALITY the Relevance of Eastern Traditions
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SEXUALITYAND SPIRITUALITY The Relevance of Eastern Traditions Robert T. Francoeur, PhD, ACS Professor of Human Embryology and Sexuality, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, NJ I n recent years, the age-old association of sex with period of human consciousness6 In this context, Adam and Eve’s original sin in the Garden of Eden has Jaspers is using the term Axial to mean turning point. lost its meaning as individuals increasingly accept According to Jaspers and others, this striking sexual desire and pleasure as a natural good. Social transformation in human consciousness occurred in turmoil, technological changes, increasing recognition China, India, Persia, the Middle East, and Greece with of personal needs, and a sexual revolution have the advent of Confucius, Lao TZU, Buddha, Zoroaster, wrecked havoc with the meaning and relevance of the the Jewish prophets, and the pioneering philosophers traditional Judeo-Christian sexual images, icons, and of Greece. This opened the first Axial period. Every- myths of the purpose of sex, monogamy and male where male consciousness and power gained ascen- primacy over female. dancy over the female principle. In Christianity and Because cultures draw their life blood from their Islam, phallic power virtually subdued the power of myths and archetypes, human beings are searching for the female, except for the veneration of Mary, the new myths and archetypes.’ At the same time, Ameri- Virgin Mother of God. After a male God gave man cans in particular are increasingly fascinated by the dominion over nature in Eden and ancient Greece more sex-positive images of Eastern sexual philoso- gave priority to analysis and objectification, nature phies. This article outlines two major Eastern sexual became Western man’s toy to control and exploit. and spiritual traditions, Tantrism and Taoism, within Although feminine images of sexual power persisted in the context of Hinduism and other religions and the East, they were subordinated to the phallocentric philosophies. After contrasting these Eastern views male. But unlike the West, Eastern cultures maintained with Western values, some practical applications that a respect for nature, emphasizing that health and complement Western sexology are discussed. spirituality are only achieved when humanity respects its place in the cosmos and places itself in harmony Eastern Sources with nature.5,6 Even when the hidden roots of Eastern sexual traditions can be detected, they are found to be far Hinduism more tangled than the origins of sexual values in In India, the amalgam of pre-Aryan fertility religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Archaeologists have with the emerging dominance of male consciousness found 8,000-year-old clay images of feminine power produced Hinduism, a generic term for the traditional and fertility in the pre-Indus settlements on the north- religion of India. Hinduism encompasses a wide range west edge of India. Similar early expressions of a great of seemingly contradictory beliefs, including reincarna- Goddess who guarantees fertility have been found, tion or transmigration of souls, atheism, and a pan- with her subordinate male consort, in regions of theon of gods and goddesses who symbolize the many ancient Egypt, the Aegean, the Danube, Asia Minor, attributes of an indescribable supreme principle or and western Asia. Between 1800 and 1500 BC, waves being. Hinduism embraces both monistic and dualistic of migrating Indo-Aryan people moved from eastern beliefs, and contains many popular local deities and Europe, over the mountains, and into the Indus valley cults. Thus it is not a religion in the same sense of western India. Their worship of a great Goddess Westerners use that term to refer to a system of clear intermingled with the fertility religions of pre-Aryan beliefs about a personal God and a spiritual world inhabitants they conquered in the Indus River val- apart from this material world.’ leys.2,3,4 Historian Karl Jaspers calls this the pre-Axial The ideal life of a Hindu male embraces a wide spectrum of roles, from the student of religion to the and household rituals. Kamu, the Hindu god of love, householder who produces a son to carry on ancestral is also believed to be present during all acts of love. tradition, and from the hermit who tries to achieve He represents love and pleasure, both sensual and indifference to everything in the world he previously aesthetic. His wife, Ruti, is the embodiment of sensual found desirable to the homeless wanderer who re- love. nounces all earthly ties. Passing through these four Hindu scriptures include hundreds of treatises on stages is the Way of Knowledge, an expression that the art of eroticism, allegedly written by the gods and denotes the spiritual path, which leads to spiritual sages. Only three of these manuals, the Kama Sutra, union with the Infinite. Along the Way of Knowledge, Kama Shastra, and Ananga Ranga, have been trans- a Hindu male can pursue four goals: &ma (sexual lated into English. The Kama Sutra (second century love), artha (power and material gain), dharma (spiritual duty), and mokha (liberation).2 The first two Vol. ZQ, No. 4 goals deal with desire, the last two extol duty and SIECUS Report April/May 1992 renunciation. Typical of Axial thinking, Hindu sacred texts explain the paths of desire only from a male Sex Information and Education Council of the U.S. viewpoint, as if desire, pleasure, and power play no Executive Director, Debra W. Haffner, MPH role in the lives of women whose primary activities are Managing Editor, Elizabeth Wilber childrearing and household duties. This mix of desire and duty in Hinduism allows a strong tradition of sexual abstinence by celibate monks The SIEClJS Report is published bimonthly and distributed to to coexist with an equally strong religious celebration SIECUS members, professionals, organizations, government offi- of sexual pleasure in all its forms as a path to the cials, libraries, the media, and the general public. Divine. While sexual abstinence is favored at certain Annual membership fees: individual, $75; student (with validation), stages, Hindu sexual asceticism complements the $35; senior citizen, $45; organization, $135 (includes two bimonthly celebration of sexual desire and pleasure, unlike copies of the SIEClJS Report); and library, $75. SIEClS Report Christian sexual asceticism, which is rooted in the need subscription alone, $70 a year. Outside the IIS., add $10 per year to for redemption from original sin. Most Hindus, even these fees (except Canada and Mexico, $5). The SIEClJS Report is available on microfilm from IJniversity Microfilms, 300 North Zeeb the ascetics and monks, view sex as something natural, Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. to be enjoyed in moderation without repression or overindulgence. All article, review, advertising, and publication inquiries and Hindu sacred writings, devotional poetry, and submissions should be addressed to the managing editor: annual festivals celebrate married love, the fidelity of Elizabeth Wilber, Managing Editor women, and the religious power of sexual union. SIECUS Report Hindu myths of gods and goddesses are symbolic of SIECIJS 130 West 42nd Street, Suite 2500 spiritual powers and energies within and the daily New York, New York 10036 challenges of life faced by all human beings. While 212/819-9770 monotheistic Western cultures tend to objectify and fax 212/819-9776 personalize their God, Eastern cultures view their Editorial Board mythologies as psychological and metaphysical meta- William L. Yarber, HSD, Chair phors that reveal the miraculous and natural wonders The Rt. Rev. David E. Richards of human life and its desires. Loma Sarrel Mythology provides a key to Hindu sexual views. Jeanette Tedesco, PhD Brahms, the Creator, Vishnu, the Preserver, and Sbiva, the cosmic dancer of the cycle of destruction and rebirth form the basic triad of gods in the Hindu Opinions expressed in the articles appear- pantheon. Hindu sexual values are expressed in ing in the SIECUS Report may not reflect the images and rituals associated with Shiva and his official position of the Sex Information and consort, the goddess Shakti. Shakti has several images, Education Council of the U.S. Articles which appearing as Parvuti, the gracious embodiment of express differing points of view are pub- sensuality and sexual delights, as Durga, the lished as a contribution to responsible and unapproachable, and as Kali, the black wild one, the meaningful dialogue regarding issues of helpful, awesome goddess of sex’s transcendent significance in the field of sexuality. powers.2z8 The lingam, a stone or wood phallus, represents Shiva and the concentration of sexual energy by asceticism. Triangular stone sculptures of the Typography by Ray Noonan, ParaGraphic Artists, NYC. yoni represent Shakti and the vulva. Mystical geometric patterns called yantras combine the circular lingam Copyright 0 1992 by the Sex Information and Education Council of the U.S., Inc. No part of the SIECUSReportmay be reproduced in any with triangular yoni. Used in meditation, yantras reflect form without written permission. the belief that sexual practices can be a way of balanc- ing the male and female energies of one’s body and Library of Congress catalog card number 72627361. experiencing cosmic unity. The worship of lingam and ISSN: 0091-3995 yoni, of Shiva and Shakti, are a regular part of public SIECUS Report, April/May 1992 2 “. .Eastern cultures maintained a respect for nature, emphasizing that health and spirituality are only achieved when humanity respects itsplace in the cosmos and places itself in harmony with nature. ” BC) discusses the spiritual aspects of sexuality, with This emphasis on male ejaculation is often misinter- advice on positions and techniques for increasing the preted. It is not the same as coitus reservatus (with- sensual enjoyment of sexual intercourse. The beauti- drawal followed by ejaculation) or the “male conti- fully illustrated Ananga Ranga or ne Theater of God nence” practiced by the members of the Oneida Com- (15th century AD) describes the sexual organs and munity in the 1800s to prevent unwanted pregnancies.