Divine Passion
Sacred Sexuality in Christian and Hindu Mysticism
Note: I wrote this article in 1992 for publication in an obscure and now defunct journal. It's been edited and updated for this website.
Countless mystics from various traditions have been compelled by a passionate yearning - their ardent desire for union with God. They want to merge with the infinite source and attain a state of total fulfillment. Their quest culminates when their personal identities are utterly lost during blissful, ecstatic union with God
Describing their spiritual practices, some mystics freely employ romantic and sexual metaphors, ranging from subtle symbolism to highly erotic imagery. Some speak of God as a lover whose presence is anxiously awaited like a woman languishing in bed as she awaits a sexual encounter with her sweetheart. Others refer to God as a bridegroom who receives his spiritual bride in marriage and possesses her totally. Some even speak of God as a ravisher by whom one is seduced, penetrated by divine love, and filled with bliss.
This article examines the symbolic and metaphoric uses of sexuality by mystics of the Christian and Hindu traditions. Even celibate monks and nuns of contemplative orders have used imagery based on passionate human love. Instead of condemning sexuality as evil or sinful, they incorporated it into their practices, not physically but symbolically.
Seeking Oneness
The desire for human love and the desire for spiritual fulfillment are intrinsically related according to many mystics. From a psychological point of view, they are two expressions of the same basic desire - to be united with one's beloved. Both the lover and the mystic seek complete fulfillment. Both can be inflamed with passion for their goal and obsessed with the pursuit.
The physical act of love reaches its zenith when two bodies and two minds are intimately united during sexual intercourse. All cares and concerns melt away as lovers, awash in sensual pleasure, lose themselves in one another and melt into a state of blissful union. This experience of blissful melding is common to both sexual and spiritual fulfillment. Mystics, too, seek the experience of total union. But the fusion they seek is with God, not a lover, and the result is not an exquisite sensual experience but complete absorption in God's fullness.
Although the lover and the mystic strive for oneness very differently, it is actually the same oneness they seek, according to some mystics. They profess that there cannot be varieties of oneness. Oneness is the utter perfection remaining when everything that limits or isolates has been cast aside. Oneness is reality freed from all that obscures or distorts it in any way. Oneness is the fundamental reality, the truth of God.
Blissful absorption, however it arises, can remove obstacles to experiencing God's fullness. A fifth century Christian mystic, Dionysius, says we are "led into a godlike oneness, into a unity reflecting God." 1 He advises us to:
Leave behind everything perceived and understood ... and strive upward as much as you can toward union with Him who is beyond all being and knowledge. 2
The rapture of sexual ecstasy could be considered a partial expression of the boundless fullness experienced by mystics. The blissful oneness experienced in human love is limited, whereas the mystic's experience is infinite. From the mystic's perspective, sexual love is small taste of the limitless joy possible in God's fullness. The highest joy, the ultimate experience of love, is intimate communion with God.
Passion for God
Sexual desire is a power that draws one towards the beloved. Mystics consider such lust a natural but misdirected expression of the yearning for union with God. These mystics might not be completely free from sexual desires. Though dedicated to discipline and celibacy, they are still subject to normal human cravings. And until they achieve perfection, such cravings will persist.
Some of them simply ignore their lusty feelings, concentrating instead on seeking God alone. Others, however, acknowledge and accept these feelings. They understand that to repress strong desires can be psychologically unhealthy. They know that their desires will return, never fully conquered. But they also know that engaging in romantic and sexual activities would divert them from their true goal.
Instead of denying or repressing these yearnings, some mystics redirect their passion away from sensual experience and towards spiritual growth. Their energies are harnessed and transmuted into a power that draws them towards absorption in God. This redirection is quite different than some forms of tantra in which actual sexual practices are used for purely spiritual purposes. Instead, these mystics undertake a discipline whereby natural urges are transformed or sublimated.
Sublimation is not a process of destroying urges; it refines them, literally making them sublime, perfect, sacred. This practice of redirecting human passion from the sensual to the sacred is highly regarded in several traditions. Christian theologians call it "love mysticism," the practice of turning our human emotions towards God. The Hindu tradition calls it bhakti, devotion, and describes it as "the highest love for God, gaining which one attains perfection, immortality, and fulfillment." 3
Through devotional practices, mystics strive to develop passionate love for God that draws them towards ecstatic union. In these practices, they often use various types of human love as a model or paradigm. In the Hindu tradition, for example, love for God may be expressed through a variety of attitudes - the servant's respectful love for his master, the child's clinging love for her mother, or the friend's intimacy with a close companion. Of all such attitudes, the powerful yearning of a woman for her lover is considered the most intense type of love. When this feeling is turned towards God, it is called madhura bhâva, the feeling of sweetness a woman has towards her lover.
Another example is found in the Old Testament in the metaphoric dialogue between Man and God called Song of Solomon. Here, the prophet writes, "let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for Thy love is better than wine." 4 Later in this allegorical conversation, Man and God proclaim their love for one another. "I am lovesick," Man declares. "His left hand is under my head and His right hand embraces me." 5
Bridal Mysticism
As discussed above, mystics sometimes express themselves using passionate and poignant metaphors based on human love. Among these, the most striking is the mystic's symbolic espousal and marriage to God. Such mystics considers themselves brides accepting God as their spiritual husband. Catholic nuns, for example, undergo a symbolic marriage to Jesus when being initiated into monastic life, and wear a wedding band afterwards. Spiritual practice employing such symbolism is called bridal mysticism.
Just as engagement precedes marriage, spiritual espousal - the dedication of one's life to God - precedes spiritual marriage. And just as a marriage is consummated with sexual union, the mystic's marriage is consummated through ecstatic union with God. Mirabai, a sixteenth-century Hindu saint, wrote of her spiritual espousal in beautiful songs:
Come to my pavilion, O my King!
I have spread a bed made of delicately selected buds and blossoms
and have arrayed myself in bridal dress from head to toe.
In contemplation and prayer, the mystic prepares for intimate union, awaiting God's sacred touch like a woman awaiting the caresses of her lover. But God's presence cannot be commanded; divine union is not a matter of choice. Instead, the mystic must wait patiently, passively, in a state of utter surrender. God's presence comes when one is receptive, figuratively naked, being stripped of all pretense and pride.
Spiritual marriage is consummated in blissful union when the mystic is finally overcome by God's irresistible power and is penetrated by divine love. About this union, the third-century Christian mystic, Origen, writes quite explicitly:
If there is anyone who has been pierced
with the lovable spear of His knowledge,
so that he sighs and longs for Him day and night,
is able to speak of nothing else,
wishes to hear of nothing else,
can think of nothing else, and is not disposed to
desire, seek, or hope for anything other than Him;
then such a soul truly says, "I have been wounded by love." 7
To be wounded by love is to be penetrated by God, to receive His love deep within, becoming one with Him in an intimate spiritual embrace. About the consummation of spiritual marriage, the great Saint John of the Cross wrote:
The spiritual marriage is incomparably greater than the spiritual espousal, for it is a total transformation in the beloved in which each surrenders the entire possession of the self to the other with a certain consummation of the union of love. The soul thereby becomes divine, becomes God through participation, insofar as possible in this life.
Just as in the consummation of carnal marriage there are two in one flesh ... so also when the spiritual marriage between God and the soul is consummated, there are two natures in one spirit and love. 8
Although bridal mysticism is a rich tradition, a few people might find these metaphors vulgar or offensive. If they indiscriminately condemn anything associated with sexuality as evil or sinful, they will fail to see the purity and sanctity of spiritual marriage. Anticipating such narrow views, another Christian mystic, Gregory of Nyssa, said:
"No one should be ashamed of this whenever the arrow (of love) comes from God and not from the flesh." 9
Gender Reversal
In the Hindu tradition of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, every person is considered female in relation to God, the only masculine being in existence. All are weak and helpless compared to God's power and majesty. All are entirely dependent on God for each breath and moment of life. And in the consummation of spiritual marriage, God is the assertive partner, penetrating the devotee with divine love and filling her with the ravishing joy of blissful union.
Therefore, regardless of being male or female, mystics assume the woman's role in spiritual marriage. They become like brides, and God alone is the bridegroom. God is like the powerful, desirable lover who comes to seduce and possess his beloved. In prayerful contemplation, the mystic anxiously awaits God's arrival, remaining passive and receptive. For male mystics, to take a feminine role is particularly radical - they must set aside their essential maleness for the sake of spiritual growth.
Some male practitioners of bridal mysticism strive to cultivate feminine qualities to strengthen their spiritual marriages. The presence of feminine qualities in all men is well known. The famous psychologist Carl Jung said that all men possess an anima, a feminine nature or soul that exists in addition to their male personas. Whereas most men ignore or suppress the anima, some mystics actively nurture it as a spiritual practice. As their feminine qualities become more highly developed, their intimacy with God as His spiritual bride deepens.
The great South Indian saint, Nammalvar, is an example of a mystic who cultivated a feminine self-image for this purpose. He wrote passionate devotional poetry in which he expressed himself as a love-sick woman longing for her beloved Lord Krishna:
I desired to see and lo!
I lost my fine complexion,
My bracelets slipped off my emaciated arms,
My breasts became pale and I became jaded. 10
There is probably no better example of gender reversal in bridal mysticism than the famous nineteenth-century Indian saint, Sri Ramakrishna. He was very much inspired by stories about the gopis, the shepherd girls who were irresistibly attracted to Lord Krishna. Sri Ramakrishna idealized the gopis and yearned to be reborn as a woman so that he could love Krishna as they did. 11
To deepen his feminine qualities as part of his spiritual practice, Sri Ramakrishna sometimes wore a silken sari and jewelry. He often performed ritual worship while dressed in women's clothes. His behavior became so feminine that women began to consider him as one of their own gender. 12 He became totally identified with Radha, the gopi who had Lord Krishna's special attention. In prayerful contemplation, Sri Ramakrishna would weep bitterly, longing for his divine spouse to come and immerse him in blissful ecstasy.
Sacred Sexuality
According to Sri Ramkrishna, a special faculty for perceiving God can be acquired through devotional practices. Referring to a sacred form of sexuality, he said:
God cannot be seen with these physical eyes. In the course of spiritual discipline one gets a "love body" endowed with "love eyes," "love ears," and so on. One sees God with those "love eyes." One hears the voice of God with those "love ears." One even gets a sexual organ made of love. With this "love body" the soul communes with God. 13
It could be said that Sri Ramakrishna took the practice of bridal mysticism to an extreme. But we can gain important insights by examining such extremes. When we understand how and why mystics incorporate sexuality into their spiritual practice, we cannot help but see its purely sacred nature. The lives and teachings of such mystics offer us a rare and precious perspective. By seeing through their eyes, our own vision is widened.
Sexuality is sacred when it takes us towards God. With a human lover, sexuality can provide a glimpse of God's limitless fullness. Turned towards God, sexuality can lead to the most intimate and transforming relationship possible, culminating in total absorption in God's fullness. Sexuality is a glorious part of God's creation. It is a wonderful and precious facet of life. It is, after all, a gift from God. And considering the mystics for whom it is a holy sacrament, sexuality is a gift not to be taken lightly.
Notes:
1. Dionysius, translated by Colm Luibheid in Pseudo-Dionysius, The Complete Works, (New York: Paulist Press, 1987). page 51
2. Ibid. page 135
3. Narada Bhakti Sutra 1.2, 1.4, translated by the author.
4. Song 1:2
5. Song 2:5-6
6. Mirabia, translated by A.J. Alston in The Devotional Poems of Mirabai (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1980), page 96
7. Origen, translated by Dupre and Wiseman in Light from Light (New York: Paulist Press, 1988). page 29
8. St. John of the Cross, translated by Kieran Kavanaugh in John of the Cross, Selected Writings (New Your: Paulist Press, 1987), page 257
9. Gregory of Nyssa, Light from Light, page 47.
10. Nammalvar, Tiruvaymoli VIII-2-1 translated by S. Satyamurthi Ayyangar, (Bombay: Ananthacharya Indological Research Institute, 1981), page 738
11. Swami Nikhilananda, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (New York: Ramakrishna-Vedanta Center, 1984), page 6.
12. Ibid. pages 24-25
13. Ibid. page 115