For God or a lover? Part 1

I have noticed this to be a common theme across other forms of devotional and spiritual poetry too and have often wondered about it. This includes Kabir’s dohas, Sufi poems, Meera bai’s bhajans, and works by other Indian mystics and saint poets. (Wish I knew about other religions and cultures more). They almost universally address god as their beloved, they talk about god in very personal and endearing terms; love supersedes respect (respect in the conventional sense of fear of being punished by God. A side note: What I like about this form of devotion is the absence of a putative Hell. There is no mention of god punishing anybody for straying off the rules laid by him/her. They seem to be primarily concerned with leading a humane life - not because you’d be punished for not doing so, but so that you may come closer to truth or love).

Of course I suppose that concept gets periodic revival. For example this hindi pop song:

He is one of my favorite singers, the song is okay - not that great, but I remembered this song because in one interview the singer explained how it was made. They set out writing a romantic song and even while composing it, they realized that the lyrics could be considered devotional. And so they shot the video with a religious and spiritual theme instead of a romantic one. Same song, same lyrics, just the interpretation changed. I found that pretty interesting.

This recurring theme was one of the reasons that got me thinking about the connection between spirituality and love/sex/eroticism/romance.

Now, merely talking about god in words that one would use for a lover is obviously different from making a connection between sex and spirituality. One could argue that love does not (always) lead to or imply a desire for sex and it probably doesn’t. In fact platonic love for anyone is often given a higher moral authority. But therein lies the catch. What if this view of sex as something lower than platonic love is a recent phenomenon? What if, at some point in the past, sexual love was considered equal to or higher than platonic love?



For the moment, drop the negative connotations that are now associated with sex, and consider only the act. Even now, intercourse with a lover or spouse is considered to be a wonderful (sacred?) manifestation of love - something beautiful to be celebrated and cherished (This is declining of course but there are still many folks out there who do not look at sex as merely as an enjoyable biological process). Would it be so surprising that the act of communion itself could take on properties of the sacred, a means to reach and realize the final Love? At the molecular level, the hormones and neurotransmitters released by a genuinely intense orgasm, the muscular tension and its subsequent release, the sounds, all the sensations, the warm body besides one’s skin could make that person feel that this is almost a divine experience. Centuries of mystics and oracles have used and still use drugs, marijuana, opium and whatnot to achieve that high, that trance-like state to reach closer to god. Orgasmic sex, removed from its present cultural context and performed for the purpose of worship, could also be a means to achieve that high in earlier times. It does not seem that improbable. There’s an academic book I have barely skimmed, though it is on my reading list, (Sacred Sexuality: The Erotic Spirit in the World's Great Religions) with the message that ‘all of these (religious) teachings share the hidden message that spirituality is, in essence, erotic and that sexuality is inherently spiritual’.

(Excerpted from private letters)