For some strange reason, down the ages, there has been a war of minds about the virtues or damages of using pleasurable states as a support for spiritual awakening.
To me the whole debate is rather silly. I think it is obvious that if human beings have a God given gift of pleasure as an integral part of our bodies and psyches, it is both easy and natural to use pleasure states as a way of melting into bliss and communion with divinity.
If someone is not well versed in the joys of physical orgasm, how can they hope to experience cosmic orgasm? Our microcosm is a mirror of the macrocosm, after all.
Paulo Coelho, well known author, says in his book, Brida, “When you have sex, take with you to bed, only love and senses, all five of them. Only then will you experience communion with God.” I love to read Paulo Coelho’s books as he offers many Tantra-style insights, in such a way that people from all walks of life can understand them.
It is interesting that the Inquisition (that period in history which makes any sensitive and intelligent person cringe in shame at the idiocy of our witch burning ancestors) was based on the fact that women carry a certain quality of potent sensuality. Many women exude an air of she who is devoted to pleasure and love in both their carnal and refined aspects. This was deemed to be dangerous to the sexually repressive mores of that day and age.
Both Buddha and Mahavira, two enlightened masters of highest renown, made similar statements regarding women and spirituality. They are quoted as saying, “If a woman would like to become enlightened, she has to be reborn as a man.” I have meditated deeply over this statement, since I am a woman and my whole life has been devoted to enlightenment in one way or another. Sometimes I wonder how it is possible that such great minds could have missed a very obvious and simple truth, which I will now share with you.
The path of spirituality that was being proposed by both Buddha and Mahavira, is a path very well suited to the masculine psyche. Both of them have used the quality of witnessing as meditation. This works primarily with the left, logical aspect of the brain. If a woman follows this path, certainly she will have to lean more towards her inner masculine, to fully appreciate the enlightening aspects of it. If you look at Buddhist nuns, it is clear that many of them appear to be rather dried up. They do not appear to be very juicy, sensual or feminine.
On the other hand, you have the devotees of Krishna, who sing and dance in deep love and devotion. It is said by Krishna followers, that if a man is in love with Krishna, he has to turn himself into a woman in order to really understand this path of devotion and surrender. The path of devotion and surrender is indeed a more feminine approach to spirituality, using the right, intuitive and artistic aspect of the brain.
When we take each of these paths alone, believing that this is the only path, then we get into unnecessary trouble. In actual fact, all human beings have both a right and left-brain. Women tend to identify more with the right, intuitive brain, while men tend to identify more with the left, logical brain. A whole person is one who is able to easily flow between both sides of the brain, and in the search for unity consciousness, is able to merge both sides of the brain into spiritual genius.
Tantra (as well as certain aboriginal or indigenous tribal visions of life) has a sane and balanced understanding about human fulfillment. When we weave together physical pleasure with witnessing and meditation, the ultimate result is the harmonious merging of male and female, and of the right and left sides of the brain, leading to unity consciousness on all levels of the human experience.
Your body is always in the present moment. It is only the mind that wanders into past and future, both of which are illusory. Therefore, your body is a great teacher for coming back into present moment consciousness. All spiritual teachers agree on one thing; the power of now for opening the door of spiritual bliss. When we are in the present moment, we are beyond time and mind. We open to eternity. This space is where our soul lives and breathes. All wisdom states are born in the now. Therefore, the more we access this ‘here and now’ state of being, the more wise we become.
Any physical experience can be used as a jumping board into present moment awareness. And what better way to move into such a state than through pleasure? The phenomenon of pleasure is powerfully attractive to the human body and psyche. We search for pleasure in so many ways, whether that be through eating, smelling, touch, visual or sound. We crave pleasure! It is literally an invitation offered by God to realize eternity through this present moment experience.
The detractors of pleasure states say that when we go towards pleasure, we lose awareness and go into a downward spiral of licentiousness. This can become the case, if the person going into pleasure, does not balance it with meditative consciousness. It is the bridging of the masculine, awareness qualities with the feminine, loving and sensual qualities that makes all the difference. This is why Tantra is so effective.
In Tantra practices, the male and female aspects within us are woven together very elegantly to make a royal tapestry of unity consciousness. In actual fact, if we would like to invite people into more spiritual values of love, compassion, and meditation, pleasure as a spiritual path is one of the best ways to achieve this. It is the royal road to bliss and harmony. It is so simple, and so obvious. I am astonished, that even today, a large portion of humanity still believes there is something shameful and wrong about going into deepest pleasure.
It is said, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I invite you onto the royal road of conscious pleasure, to discover your own ecstasy, and ultimately your oneness with the divine.
Love Sarita