What does the "Virgin Birth" signify?
In Hindu texts, Krishna is worshiped as virgin born even after his mother Devaki had five previous children. Christ was born to the Virgin Mary, while Buddha was born to the Virgin Maya. Egyptians worshiped Isis as the Virgin Goddess and Mother of Horus. In Greek mythology there was Myrrh the Virgin Mother of Adonis. Dionysus was worshiped as a “Twice Born” God. Mithra was as a Indo-Persian-Roman God whose birthday was celebrated around the winter solstice December 25 as he was Virgin born in a cave for an egg shaped stone. There are endless trail of miraculous events leading to the birth of each God, mystifying aspirants with a sense of awe and wonder even to this day. Edward Carpenter comes to the same conclusion in his book “Christian and Pagan Creeds” but has no explanation for the widespread dissemination of this particular motif. He had written:
“A Virgin-Mother was therefore a quite imaginable (not to say 'conceivable') thing; and indeed a very beautiful and fascinating thing, combining in one image the potent magic of two very wonderful words. It does not seem impossible that considerations of this kind led to the adoption of the doctrine or legend of the virgin-mother and the heavenly father among so many races and in so many localities--even without any contagion of tradition among them. Anyhow, and as a matter of fact, the world-wide dissemination of the legend is most remarkable."
Viewed from the perspective of the Kundalini thesis this motif symbolizes the Sublimation of Sexual energy and the birth of a new personality. Phrases such as “Reborn” “Born again”, “Twice Born” and “Resurrected” reflect the tremendous physical and mental expansion that may occur suddenly, sometimes within months or years leading to a mental expansion that completely alters the normal state of consciousness as if the old personality died and was “born again” or “resurrected” from the dead.This transformation of body and mind is the core foundation on which religions ,mythology and legends build their most profound ceremonies and literature.
There is a long historical precedent in the ancient religious practices which considered chastity and celibacy an indispensable practice for spiritual advancement. Even to this day, Catholic and Buddhists monks take a vow of celibacy. Different religious sects had understood the link between sublimation of sexual energies and spirituality but through the long march of history have lost its significance. While in Yogic and Taoist Philosophies this knowledge of the biological nature of recirculated sexual essences has never been lost and is taught openly. Western patriarchal religions regard sexual procreation as a legitimate avenue open to expression but Urdhva–Retas does not factor into their doctrines except in a subconscious manner. There are certain faiths such as the Catholic religion that still practices celibacy but without any link to higher consciousness.
The ancient philosophers believed that humanity was a reflection of the universe, alluded to by the maxim “As above so Below." Interpreted in this way The Goddess , Gods and Divine child become characters in the play of cosmic forces within oneself, a trinity of forces. The Virgin Goddess herself is a personification of Kundalini. She is the dormant Shakti, the feminine creative force which rises upward to meet the archetypal masculine God, who graces flow downward from the heavens starting with the crown chakra. Once the two opposites are purified, conjoined and married a Divine Child is born within oneself.
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BUT ANAND PREM'S QUESTION is not basically about women: it is about her own mind. She is a clinging type, and that clinging is also because of the historical conditioning. The woman clings too much because she is afraid about insecurity, about safety, about finance, about this and that. She is so much afraid. She has been made afraid! That is the trick of the man, to make the woman afraid. When the woman is afraid she can be easily dominated. You cannot dominate somebody who is not afraid. So create fear!
First man creates fear in women about their virginity -- he creates great fear that virginity is something very valuable. Down the centuries he has created that fear, so every girl is afraid: if she loses her virginity, all is lost. Through that fear she cannot relate to people, she cannot make friendships, she cannot move in freedom. She cannot have a few experiences before she decides whom to choose. The fear... she has to be virgin.
Look at the distinction: they have not told the boys that "you have to be virgin" -- they say "boys are boys." And girls are not girls? Girls are girls too! Why are boys boys? Virginity is not asked from the boys. They are given freedom.
Through virginity, a great conditioning. And once a woman becomes too much afraid of losing her virginity -- think: up to the twentieth year of age, twenty years she has been protecting her virginity, twenty years of conditioning -- she will become frigid. Then she will never enjoy! Then she will never be able to flow in love; she will never have any orgasm. Down the centuries, millions of women have not had any orgasm they don't know what orgasm is. They simply suffer. They are simply means for the man. This a great degradation.
But if virginity is too important, and there is twenty years of conditioning that one has to be a virgin and always on guard, then it will be very difficult to drop that habit. How can you suddenly drop it after twenty years of conditioning? Just one day the honeymoon comes and you have to drop it -- how can you drop it? You can only pretend -- but deep down you think your husband a criminal, a beast, an ugly man, because he is doing something which you know is a sin. You never allowed any other man -- love is sin, and this man is doing that!
No wife is ever capable of forgiving the husband. In fact, in India particularly, no woman respects the husband, cannot. Shows all respect, but CANNOT respect -- deep down she hates the man because this is the man who is dragging her into sin. How can you respect the husband when he is the sinner? Without him you were a virgin; with him you have fallen. That's why the society teaches too much: Respect the husband! because the society knows, naturally the woman will not be able to respect him, so respect has to be forced... Respect the husband! Because if things go naturally, then she will HATE this man. This is the man who is preparing hell for her.
And out of this sin are born children -- how can you love your children? Born out of sin, you will hate them too, deep down in the unconscious. The very presence of the children will remind you again and again of the sin that you have committed!
The whole society has suffered because of this foolishness. Love is virtue, not sin. And to be capable of more love, is to be more virtuous. To be capable of enjoying love is a basic quality of a religious man -- these are my definitions.
Anand Prem is a great clinger -- and she thinks that whatsoever is true about her is true about all women? In a way she is right, because all other women have been conditioned in the same way. But it is not truth -- neither about other women nor about you, Anand Prem, it is not truth.
Become capable of being individuals, then you will have some taste of freedom. A woman is never thought of as an individual. When she is small, she is a daughter. When she is young, she is a wife. When she becomes a little older, she is a mother; still older, she is a grandmother -- but she is never herself. Sometimes a daughter, sometimes a wife, sometimes a mother, sometimes a grandmother -- but NEVER herself. Always in relation to somebody else!
Individuality is needed as a basic requirement. A woman is a woman! her being a daughter is secondary; her being a wife is secondary; her being a mother is secondary. A woman is a woman -- her womanhood is primary. And when women start becoming individuals, there will be a totally different world -- more beautiful, more joyous.
osho
