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SEX = The Unknown Quantity
THE SPIRITUAL FUNCTION OF SEX
A New and Startling Interpretation of the Meaning, Scope and
Function of Sex as Seen and Interpreted From the Inner or
Cosmic Standpoint. A Work That Should Revolutionize
the Thought of Today in its Relation to the Vital
Mystery of Sex in All its Aspects. It
Presents a Practical Solution to the
Sex Problems of Everyday Life.
_By_
ALI NOMAD
[DR. ALEXANDER J. McIVOR-TYNDALL]
_Author of_
"COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS, OR THE MAN-GOD WHOM WE AWAIT", "THE DEAD SPEAK"
"REVELATIONS OF THE HAND", "GHOSTS", "HOW THOUGHT CAN KILL"
"PERSONAL MAGNETISM", "PROOFS OF IMMORTALITY", ETC.
CHICAGO, U. S. A.
STERLING PUBLISHING COMPANY
1916
Copyright, 1916, by
STERLING PUBLISHING COMPANY.
Copyrighted and Registered in Stationers' Hall, London, England.
(All Rights Reserved)
COPYRIGHT IN ALL COUNTRIES SIGNATORIES TO THE BERNE CONVENTION.
THE STERLING PRESS.
DEDICATED
TO THE CHILD OF TOMORROW
THE MAN-GOD WHOM WE AWAIT
PUBLISHER'S FOREWORD
TO OUR READERS:
We feel justified in claiming this work marks an epoch in the advanced
thought of human evolution. Nothing has ever been written dealing with
the problem of Sex which is at once so illuminating, convincing and
satisfying. To our knowledge this particular view of the sex-subject
has never before been presented, and, perhaps it could not have been,
owing to the fact that it is only _now_ in these days of higher
thought, that such a view could be understood.
The author, Ali Nomad, is already well known to progressive readers as
the writer of "Cosmic Consciousness," or, "The Man-God Whom We Await;"
a work that has made its author famous by the reprint of its many
editions.
There are signs of a new order in the relation of the Sexes already
indicated upon the horizon of the World's consciousness as the result
of the present world-conflict. _Today people are as ignorant of the
subject of Sex as they are of God._ Both of these must be understood
if the race is to progress beyond its present stage. Otherwise we
shall pass into the long sleep of oblivion like all civilizations in
the past leaving future generations to grapple with the same world
problems.
True or _perfect_ marriage is the most important attainment in the
life of the individual.
The author demonstrates that perfect marriage is a scientific
possibility and that legal marriage and divorce simply conform to
civil laws. He very clearly outlines the reason why civilization makes
little or no progress in dealing with the social evil and other sex
problems.
The publishers place this book before an intelligent public,
believing, that more _real_ knowledge can be gained by its study, than
by any other known method, because
_First._ The reader is brought face to face with himself, and nature.
_Second._ The reader can demonstrate the truth of the propositions set
forth.
_Third._ The methods, rules, and laws have been verified by
intelligent men and women who have lived the life.
_Fourth._ "Sex," The Divine Principle which all human beings should
understand, has been presented in plain simple terms, and elucidated,
so that the reader _cannot_ fail to understand the true path of
moral progress.
This volume is not a romance, a fairy tale nor a dream intended to
entertain or amuse, but a scientific instruction which will elevate
the individual and the race, develop self respect, self control,
morality and love. If the propositions presented by the author are
correct--let the standards be changed; _if_ the propositions are
_incorrect_, they will not disturb the standards of today.
THE PUBLISHERS.
SEX--THE UNKNOWN QUANTITY
The Spiritual Function of Sex
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I
SEX UNIVERSAL AND ETERNAL 19
Sex the fundamental basis of the universe; sex in organic
life; the law of attraction and repulsion in animal and plant
life; sex attraction and repulsion in human life; how
differentiated and why; some secrets of modern chemistry; the
cosmic law of involution and evolution; the symbol of the
serpent in a new light; what is "the power of the gods"
referred to in ancient mythology; some erroneous ideas in
regard to the sex function; the philosophy of restraint; the
inner sex-function and its outward expression compared; the
senses as avenues of inspiration; the creation of form and
sense-objects; what constitutes a "perfect and complete
being?" the theory of "counterparts" and its spiritual
significance; is procreation the highest function of sex;
what constitutes the fundamental law of love? the various
expressions of the love-nature from inorganic to organic
life.
CHAPTER II
FROM SEX WORSHIP TO SEX DEGRADATION 29
Sex the origin of all religious ceremonies; from
nature-worship to sex-worship; the history of Ancient forms
and ceremonies of worship; how sex-worship has survived the
ages; how it thrives today in modern religion; early stages
of civilization in relation to Sex; the antiquity of the
symbol of the virgin and child; its occult significance in
symbolism; the reality of the "bi-une God;" some secrets of
the Ancient Egyptians in regard to the function of sex; the
esoteric cause of the Egyptian talismanic and symbolical
revival today; the secret or esoteric meaning of the
swastika-cross; why Aum is always typified by a circle;
ancient forms of oath-taking and why; the source of
sex-energy spiritual; how and where the idea of
"blood-atonement" and vicarious sacrifice originated; the
beginning of sex-degradation.
CHAPTER III
PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS: THE COSMIC CAUSE 53
The consecutive order from ancient sex-worship to modern
civilization; the real causes of race-advancement in the
cosmic tidal-wave, and what it portends; why conditions are
as they are today in regard to sex-life; the psychic forces
in their relation to sex-life; some fallacies in regard to
Eugenics; why Greek and Roman civilization failed; why and
how modern civilization need not fail; why women seek to
avoid motherhood; women of two types; the awake and the
asleep; the cosmic office of the Female Principle; its
relation to Creation; how the superman and woman will differ
from the undeveloped type; what is meant by "half-gods;" are
women of today lacking in the love-nature; will the race die
out? If so, why, and if not why not? How did the "Holy
Family" differ from other families?
CHAPTER IV
THE HISTORY OF MARRIAGE AND MATING 75
The relation of ancient marriage customs to religion; why
human evolution must necessarily be slow; ancient marriage
customs and their spiritual interpretation; why marriage
ceremonies have always prevailed; customs of all races
compared; why the institution has a permanent place in Social
Evolution; the symbolism of the visible world; why Science
and Mysticism agree spiritually; the origin of "variation"
the fundamental cause of woman's subjugation; when men defend
"outraged honor," is it a primitive or a primordial instinct?
the history of monogamy; the monogamic idea and the ideal
monogamy; the history and cause of polygamy; the evolution of
the "old-maid" idea and the psychic cause of this evolution;
the path of the virtuous woman in ancient days; the elevating
power in the dowry system; the two great purposes which this
custom has served.
CHAPTER V
THE SYMBOLISM OF MARRIAGE AND OF SEX-UNION 93
Why the monogamic ideal of marriage is right; how, when and
where, will marriage be lasting; the basic principle of
sex-union; when the bonds of matrimony are truly "holy;"
attraction and cohesion two distinct phases of chemical laws;
ideas of a modern writer; how all morality has come from the
ideal of marriage; some erroneous ideas of spirituality in
relation to the sex-function; when and why Man becomes
immortal; the custom and the hidden meaning in the wedding
ring; the symbolism of ancient marriage customs; the esoteric
meaning of "orange-blossoms;" the veil; the ring; the crown;
why these have endured throughout the ages; the interior and
hidden meaning of Rosicrusian symbols in respect to the
sex-function; women admitted to the Order and why; the
mystery and marvel of the symbolic "dove;" why it plays so
important a part in marriage customs and lover's phrases; the
symbolism of the ark; the egg; the drinking-cup and other
persisting accompaniments to marriage customs.
CHAPTER VI
CONTINENCE; CHASTITY; ASCETICISM: THEIR SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE 103
The Ancient Greek and Roman idea of the sex-relation; why the
asceticism of the Dark Ages arose; why the Church instituted
celibacy; why the Church retained the pagan idea of "the
virgin;" the effect this has had upon the growth and power of
Christianity; lives of celebrated saints in the light of
Occult wisdom; why and in what way the essentials of
Christianity are like other religious ideals; who is "the One
True and Only God?" the interior meaning of the word
"chastity;" the difference between chastity and asceticism;
the unbroken line connecting ancient ideas of sex, with
modern; the attitude of religious systems toward women; why
women are supporters of the churches in modern days; the
"mystic bride" and the mystical meaning; William James
comments on the spiritual ecstacy of St. Teresa; Swedenborg
on "Conjugal love;" trances; ecstacies; and visions of
saints; the term "virgin," and its origin; the evolution of
sex-love to spiritual love.
CHAPTER VII
SOUL-UNION: WHERE WILL IT LEAD? 119
Why we hear of "affinities" and "soul-mates" today more than
formerly; the great distinction between these two words; the
psychic forces behind woman's invasion of business fields;
the basis of "the unwritten law;" why affinity marriages
fail; the hidden reason girls look for a "rich husband;" the
final outcome; when and how women are "ruined;" the mystery
of the hermaphrodite; what is the true significance of the
term "androgynous?" mistaken ideas of morality in dress and
manners; what sort of beings constitute "the kingdom of God?"
the "secret of secrets" of the Hermetics; the wisdom of the
"initiates;" the spiritual quality in folk-lore; the time
when "temptation" will be no more; when "naked and unashamed"
the race will re-enter the lost Paradise.
CHAPTER VIII
THE HIDDEN WISDOM REVEALED 137
Science and mysticism the same at root; Christian mysticism
versus scientific postulates; the interior meaning in fairy
stories; personalities and principles in mystic revelation;
the esoteric meaning in Mythology; are there gods and
mortals? the ark in religious symbology; its interior
meaning; what were the "tablets of stone?" the reality of the
"cherubim" and the "seraphim;" the inner meaning of the
symbolical "ark of the Covenant;" is spiritual love devoid of
sex?; what is the symbolical "flaming sword?"; why the Jews
claimed to be God's "chosen people;" what makes for "immortal
godhood?"; the symbolism of the "life-token" stories; the
symbolism of the sleeping princess; a theory that solves all
the problems of life; the symbolical rites and ceremonies of
secret orders; the secrets of the Ancient Alchemists; the
Rosicrucians; the Free Masons; the Hermetics; their
initiation rites and ceremonies explained; what is meant by
the "Holy of Holies?" by the "secret chamber;" and the degree
of "mastership;" the sexual significance of the symbolism of
the "templars;" the red rose on the cross; the star and the
crescent; what is the inner meaning of "the radiant center;"
why the Catholic Church opposed the order of Free-masons; did
the Alchemists discover the secret of metallic transmutation?
what is meant by "the philosopher's stone;" why it was of
such a rare purity; why the early Church opposed all
reference to sex; the distinction between "discovering" and
"finding;" their spiritual meaning; what was the stone that
was raised at Babylon: was it a phallic symbol? why the
average "Knight Templar" fails to attain the powers and
privileges of esoteric Free-masonry; what is the "gate of
life?" the Arcana of the Hermetics and its sexual
significance; the symbolism of the double-headed eagle; why
the eagle was an ancient religious symbol; the antithesis of
"the eagle and the dove" explained; the "lamb and the goat"
symbolism; the God-ideas of the Ancients and their effects on
modern life; why "riding the goat" is the usual initiatory
rite and ceremony in secret orders; some secret plates of
Hermetic orders explained; what is the "magic solvent" of the
alchemists? the relation of Christian symbolism to the
Alchemical secrets; the inner meaning of "the sun and the
moon" in ancient literature; transmutation: exterior or
interior? what constitutes "the abiding glory."
CHAPTER IX
WHAT CONSTITUTES SEXUAL IMMORALITY? 159
Can there be standards of morality in the sex-relation; if so
what are they? is monogamy the ideal sex relationship? is
polygamy a future possibility? why matriarchal polygamy is
less degrading than patriarchal; why polygamy is not the
ideal sex relationship; the fallacy of legal marriage as a
test of sexual morality; why we "cannot wrong the universe;"
the one commandment of "the Most High God;" what is it? our
modern standards the result of phallic worship; why the Roman
Church has survived the centuries; the interior meaning in
the "Holy Virgin" idea of the Church; the vital point in the
Roman marriage restrictions; men inherently more faithful to
marriage vows than women, and why this is so; the bi-sexual
individual the most developed; the counterpartal union and
its relation to marriage customs; why "affinities" are so
numerous; sexual infidelity an impossible premise; what is to
become of present-day ethical standards of sexual morality?;
historic ideas of sexual immorality and their influence upon
modern civilization; modern effects of ancient Hebraic
customs; why suppression of prostitution must fail; why
prostitution is moral degeneracy; the Oriental versus the
Occidental view of prostitution; why modern ideas of sexual
morality are fallacious and untenable; can there be a
universal standard of sexual morality? why present-day ideas
of marriage are degrading; compulsion in marriage and
prostitution compared; how, why, and when, the sex-relation
may be exalted, reverenced and deified; mistakes of some
"Civic Leaguers;" why, when, and how, unfaithfulness in
marriage is wrong; the single versus the double standard in
sex.
CHAPTER X
THE PATHWAY OF LOVE 189
Love the Great Reality; Love the Alpha and Omega of Life;
Sex-love the basis of all other loves; Sex-love the true
spiritual love; what is love of an abstract God? Love the
perfect mathematician; the moral code and Nature; why we
cannot break the laws of God; why Love is depicted with
bandaged eyes; Eros and Cupid explained; why the Egyptians
depicted Horus with finger on lips; some symbolic caricatures
in modern civilization; how it is true that "love makes gods
of men;" why Religion has remained materialistic; Love, the
only vitalizing power in the universe; the arch-enemy of
Love; why Love never leads to disaster; why Love is always
pure; erroneous ideas of success and failure; what is real
degradation? the pathway of love from chemical attraction to
spiritual union; why spiritual mates must be the answer to
Life's puzzle; what constitutes actual infidelity? what is to
be done with sex relations that are not spiritual unions? Are
they immoral? too much made of the marriage ceremony and too
little of fitness; is it better to be "respectably bonded" or
spiritually mated? what will happen when we rid Society of a
belief in "impure" love; why marriage vows are inadequate;
puerile; and futile; when we find the "pearl of great price;"
why spiritual mates cannot be parted; why bonds and vows must
give place to mutual agreement; does spiritual union come
with love of God? what is the "bliss of Nirvana?" why the
libertine is a pauper in the realm of love; when we imbibe
the "nectar of gods;" why the "holy of Holies" cannot be
defiled; when the divine office of sex is prostituted; why
all sex relations may not be eternal yet moral; the mistaken
teaching of the church regarding sex, and the result; inane
ideas of Paradise; an appalling prospect of heaven; perfect
sex-union the incentive to aspiration; Humanity progresses in
spite of fear; prophecy literally true; the true business of
business; the final test; the Love that is merging, melting;
satisfying and how to attain it.
CHAPTER XI
THE LAW OF TRANSMUTATION 209
The spiritual cause of all physical activity; two words that
are of vital import today; did Jesus lie? is the kingdom
within an actual truth? the interior qualities and their
relationship to present day affairs; the fundamental
difference between mysticism and Christianity; the key to the
kingdom; the interior symbolism of "wireless telegraphy;" the
breeder of discord; the interior meaning of certain important
words; the survival of the fittest in its interior meaning;
the finer and ever finer forces at work; when the gods arrive
the half gods go; sex-force at the Center of Being; when
abnormalities and perversions of sex will be impossible; the
radiant center of the bi-une sex-life; the primary function
of sex-force vitalization, not procreation; the art of
transmutation and the key to the gate of life; the esoteric
meaning of our "second childhood;" the present necessity for
physical old-age; the spiritual message in the doctrine of
sacrifice; the mystical formula for transmutation; the
mystery of the "Holy Grail" elucidated; the only method of
attaining godhood.
CHAPTER XII
"SELLING THE THRONES OF ANGELS" 231
The barriers between men and the "bliss of Heaven;" the
difference between mortals and gods; the character of a
bi-une Being; erroneous ideas of masculinity and femininity;
the change of the present day toward these ideas; God not a
hermaphroditic Personality, but a pair; some "laws of God;"
the ideal of union versus the idea of possession; the highest
manifestation of sex-love; the solar-man and the mental man
in sex; qualities of sex-force; is the divine man less sexual
than the physical? the divine fulcrum of Sex; how eternal
youth and life are possible; why you can not lose in the
"game of Love;" we cannot sin against the Eternal God; why
and when the "eternal equasion" is perfect; no mistakes or
flaws in the Cosmic scheme; how spiritual mates may find each
other; the true way of transmutation simple; why we have
"painted dolls of women;" the hearts of men; the highest
wisdom; some fallacies regarding the law of transmutation;
why the "inner vision" does not require a trip to the
Himalayas; why "brotherhoods" cannot insure you the way; all
beauty and joy the result of the divinity of Sex; life
mathematically just; when we shall "enter the kingdom."
INTRODUCTION
No phase of civilization can rise to the highest possibilities as long
as the average mental attitude toward the most vital, the most
important and the most sacred function of our being, is one of shame,
sinfulness, lust and uncleanness.
Even among those who are conscientiously trying to establish better
social conditions, there is a deplorable lack of anything like the
proper attitude toward the problems of Sex, albeit there are evidences
that our social consciousness is alive to the seriousness of the sex
problem.
Many of our advanced thinkers and scientists are giving their
attention to the subject, but it is a theme which has been so long
neglected, so hedged about by false standards of morality; so fettered
by the system of tabu, that a rational discussion of Sex apart from
materia medica, or religion, is difficult.
Moreover, the physiological side of the sex question robs it of all
the delicacy, and the intimacy and the beauty and romance which should
by right, surround the function of sex-mating and which does surround
a union that is pure and perfect. In this innate desire to share with
the one and only possible mate, the intimate secrets of love, there
is nothing of shame or apology--sentiments which alas, actuate the
so-called "modest" man or woman of today.
Sex matters should, indeed, be held too sacred, too intimate for
public discussion, whereas the present-day attitude holds that Sex is
too indecent to be spoken of. When the subject is forced upon public
attention as it so frequently is through tragic occurrences, the
opinions expressed are both petty and puerile. They evade the truth
and so avoid the issue. They deal with effects only, are satisfied
with offering suggestions as to ways and means of suppressing these
effects, instead of going to the root of the matter and realizing that
all the tragedies that spring out of Sex are due to wrong teaching and
thinking in regard to the sex-function. That which we reverence, and
hold sacred, we do not profane. Until Sex is established in its
rightful place, as the holy and divine creative power of this
universe, we will be shocked and horrified with sex-tragedies.
It is a pity that the physiological and hygienic aspect of Sex has to
be discussed at all, but it is necessary that all sides of the subject
must be presented to meet the great variety of minds, but it is our
contention that if the spiritual quality of Sex were recognized and
understood, there would be no need for any other view, because if Sex
were recognized as the sacred, and holy and spiritual function _that
it is_, disease and sinfulness would disappear as the mist before the
sun.
In the meantime the subject must be discussed from all points of view.
It must be permitted to thrive in the light and thus it will flower
into the perfection of the spiritual seed that generated it.
In the meantime, the debasement of all things connected with sex must
be aired, discussed, and weeded out, until a sane and normal and
reverential recognition of the universality and the eternality of Sex,
is engendered in the minds of men and women and growing youths and
transmitted to the children yet unborn.
"Sex contains all," says Walt Whitman. "Bodies, souls, meanings,
proofs, purities, delicacies, results, promulgations, songs, commands,
health, pride, the maternal mystery, the seminal milk; all hopes,
benefactions, bestowals; all the passions, loves, beauties, delights
of earth; all the governments, judges, gods, followed persons of the
earth; these are contained in sex as parts of itself and justification
of itself.
"Without shame the man I like knows and avows the deliciousness of his
sex; without shame the woman I like knows and avows hers."
Many well-meaning persons see in the words of the "good grey poet,"
only an immodest and brazen shamelessness. But these are mental
perverts and are to be pitied; they see "through a glass darkly" and
everything looks black with decay; they are trying to build an eternal
future upon a foundation of tissue paper; they are seeking to
encompass immortal life by denying the very beginning and source of
all life--Sex; they are attempting the impossible feat of foisting
upon the world an ideal of Heaven from which they have extracted the
very essence of Heaven itself, although nothing on earth or from
divine sources justifies such an idea.
Possibly our civilization has proceeded on the plan of leaving until
the last the most important thing in an ideal community and it may be
that we shall do the necessary reform work in this department all the
more thoroughly for having so long neglected it.
In the following chapters the physiological and hygienic side of the
subject has been avoided as there is much sound advice already issued
pertaining to this phase of the sex question, and it is our contention
that the world must be brought to recognize the spiritual, and sacred
function of Sex, as the basis of reformation or regeneration, before
the Kingdom of Love shall be established upon the earth as it is in
celestial spaces.
THE AUTHOR.
CHAPTER I
SEX UNIVERSAL AND ETERNAL
The fundamental basis of the universe is Sex.
Sex is the fulcrum upon which our life-activities turn. It is the life
of Man and of planets, and ignorance of the laws of Sex is the cause
of death of both. It is the conjunction of the forces of attraction
and repulsion; the positive and negative; the centripetal and
centrifugal forces which hold stars and planets in their orbits--or
rather, it is the two expressions of the one power, which is both male
and female, the eternal bi-une sex principle which is _Life_.
The law of attraction everywhere, from that of the sun and the earth,
to that of the iron and the magnet, the "affinity" of the various
gases and liquids, is founded upon Sex. Cohesion is but another name
for copulation, and repulsion is absence of the power of contact. The
law of attraction and cohesion everywhere is the law of sex-activity.
"The law of conjugality is the basis of every force in nature," says a
scientist. Sex constitutes the eternal energy from which issue all the
forms and differentiations which we see manifested in the visible
universe, and it is equally the foundation of the realms invisible.
Sex is the algebracial X--the unknown quantity which defies analysis.
Plato is said to have observed that "the son of man is written all
over the visible world in the form of an X;" and also that "the second
coming of Christ is rightly symbolized by a cross." The cross is but
another form of the X--the eternal bi-une sex-principle in action.
The Female Principle attracts to a central union; draws toward and
within itself. The home is established and maintained by the female
element; the nest is the special property of the female bird. Thus the
Female Principle best expresses the highest love because the object of
love is _union_. Hate scatters, disintegrates, destroys. Wherever the
struggle between love and hate is seen, there we will find a lack of
union. There may be marriage, but there will not be mating. True union
must come from the Center of Life--from the spiritual Reality, which
the physical only imperfectly shadows forth.
Involution is best described as feminine, and wherever we note the
upward trend of the feminine element in Society, we may know that the
earth is on its involutionary path; the end of a cycle is at hand, and
social unrest and marital upheaval are inevitable, because Love is in
the ascendant and love demands _union_--not merely matrimony.
The Ancients sought to express the never-beginning and never-ending
law of Sex by the symbol of the serpent with its tail in its mouth,
forming a circle. The resemblance of the male sperm to the spiral
convolutions of the serpent in motion, doubtless gave rise to the
adoption of the serpent as a symbol of sex-worship. The retention and
transmutation of the sex-force is typified by the serpent forming a
circle. The circle represents the attainment of godhood--victory over
death through _regeneration_.
It has been said that the most primal instinct is that of hunger, but
without Sex there would not be even the urge toward physical
sustenance. Sex is therefore both the urge and the answer to all
instincts.
There is a very general idea that Sex is a physical function only. It
is almost universally taught that when the life of the body ceases,
sex-life ceases with it. Even among metaphysicians, who believe in the
continuity of life after death, the absurd doctrine is taught that Sex
has no place or part in spiritual life, that "there is no marriage nor
giving in marriage" after death.
This idea has been a powerful deterrent in keeping the race from
seeking the higher areas of spiritual consciousness. Lack of mere
physical vitality has erroneously been estimated as evidence of
spirituality. Chastity has unfortunately been counterfeited by mere
physical restraint, resulting in a type of human being whom the
healthy, normal person instinctively refuses to emulate, deferring as
long as possible the attainment of that which has been presented to
the mind as "spirituality."
Let it be understood at the outset of this presentation of the problem
of Sex that we state emphatically, that Sex is an eternal verity. Its
spiritual function is not _less_ but infinitely _more_ than that which
we glimpse on the physical plane of life-expression.
Far from outgrowing what we know as human love, we add thereunto a
million fold, refining, purifying and _intensifying_ the sex instinct
until it bears a relationship to the average instance of
sex-expression, analogous to that which the single-celled organism
bears to intellectual man. If we will keep in mind the fact that Life
in all its degrees of manifestation is like the ascending notes of the
musical scale, we will be able to get a more comprehensive idea of the
spiritual function of the sex-urge. We will realize that we can not
mark a too distinctive separation between the various phases of
life-manifestation.
We imagine that the physical life is widely at variance with the
mental, the psychical, or the spiritual, when as a matter of fact each
blends into the other, when we rightly understand their place and
purpose, as harmoniously as the notes of the musical scale blend into
the grand compositions of the Masters.
"As above so below, and as below so above," is a truism which we may
safely take as our first maxim. Whatever we note as a fundamental
principle of this external life which we cognize with our five senses
(senses which merge so into the psychical that we know not always
where the line demarks) has a permanent place in the Cosmos.
Therefore we must conclude that a fact so universal as that of sex,
and sex-attraction, must be grounded in something more stable, more
permanent and enduring than the mere creation of physical forms.
Protoplasm, the only living substance, is found everywhere in the
visible world and its universality is symbolical of the invisible
worlds as well. Transparent, colorless, it contains within itself the
mystery of reproduction. It forms the basis of the vegetable and the
animal kingdoms. It is seen in bone and muscle and fibrous tissue, and
protoplasm may be said to contain within its cells the principles of
both sexes. It is not sexless, but bi-sexual; not neuter but
masculine-feminine. Every form of life has sex, and in some rare
instances both sexes are present in one form. This does not mean that
there is another phase of sex unclassified, but rather it proves the
union in one _Whole Entity_ of the two distinct principles, and by
this fact of the "twain made one" we may know that Sex is the very
crux of the cosmic law; that not only does it survive the mere
physical expression of the law, but that the object of the
sex-function is the spiritual union of the two principles, a male and
a female entity, forming one complete and perfect Being--the true
representative of the bi-une Being whom we know as God.
Absolute and perfect union is possible only at the center, the crux,
of Being. This truth is represented by the algebraical X, the symbol
of spiritual sex-union. Therefore sex relationships which do not have
for their crux spiritual as well as temperamental affinity, are not
final, or eternal, however beautiful they may be; and there are many
sex-relationships which are pure and sacred even though they do not
fulfil this highest of all relationships, that of spiritual
counterparts.
Let us consider for a moment the universality of Sex as we see it
expressed in all the variety of forms and throughout all the species,
and in so doing we may trace the ever upward trend of the law of
sex-attraction, and discover, if we have the eyes to see, the evident
plan and purpose of the cosmic law as it tends toward completement and
perfection in the type of the man-god whom the world has long looked
for and who we believe is here.
If we look at the expression of Sex from the viewpoint of the physical
only, instead of basing our observations from the interior, the
spiritual, outward to the physical, we might conclude that the
function of sex was designed for no other purpose than that of
procreation, since care of the young increases with the upward trend
of life-manifestation.
Beginning at the lower forms of life, such for example as the fish, we
find as a general thing an indifference to the fate of the eggs
deposited by the female, which is in keeping with the prolific and
almost unconscious generation of these tiny evidences of the law of
Sex. A fish laying more than a million eggs in a season is naturally
rather careless about what becomes of them. Apparently no higher
sentiment actuates this form of life than an unconscious and merely
instinctive urge to perpetuate the species--the lowest expression of
Love--and yet the germ of Love, the Creator and Preserver is there,
and a well-defined law of attraction and repulsion is evident from the
fact that as an almost general thing the male will not fertilize eggs
other than those of his own species. But even in these low forms, we
see the evidence of that higher expression of Love which presages the
god-like quality of self-sacrifice. Some species of fish, notably the
stickle-back and the bass, make nests and mother their young.
In those forms of life which are supposed to be insensate, we find the
universal law of sex-attraction and repulsion. The pollen from an oak
tree, for example, may be blown about by the wind and may light upon a
plant which is far removed in species from its own; but if such be the
case, no fertilization takes place. The fundamental law of Love is to
attract to itself _its own_; that which belongs to it by right of
Cosmic law and order and justice.
All the inharmony of our social life comes from the attempt to
appropriate and _possess_ that which, in the final analysis, in the
Absolute, is not ours. When the majority of Mankind shall have
mastered this lesson, the human race will enter upon its true
spiritual life. The psychic mind with which man alone of all earth's
creatures is supposed to be endowed will have conquered the
instinctive mind, and the higher expression of love which would
protect and preserve, and _leave free_, will have gained supremacy
over selfishness and the desire for possession.
In bird-life we find this higher type of love almost universal.
Parental love, that exquisite and refined flower from the seed of
sex-attraction, characterizes the bird and we may readily agree that
Paradise would be incomplete without birds and flowers as well as
babies.
Considering the birds as an infinitely finer type of sex-expression
than that offered by any other of the forms of life below man, we note
with satisfaction the all-important point, namely, that the sex-urge
is more diffused and lasting, and of a finer quality than that of the
mammals.
The bird woos its mate with the beauty of its plumage and the
harmonious notes of its love-call. Its desire finds so many esthetic
ways of expressing itself; in tender pleadings; in cooing promises; in
continuous evidences of care and protection. Nor does its intense
love, vital as it is, exhaust itself in concentrated expression, but
it softens and ripens into something that so closely resembles our
ideals of spiritual love, that we are not surprised to find the emblem
of the dove employed throughout the history of the world, as the
spiritual symbol of pure and holy love. Well, indeed, may human beings
learn from the birds the lesson of the higher type of sex-mating,
which finds fruition in their mutual love for and care of their
progeny. Nor does the love-life of birds cease with sex-expression.
It permeates all their intercourse.
The trait which distinguishes the spiritual man from the animal man is
analogous to that of the birds; namely, that of finding a deep and
lasting joy in the presence of the loved one; in sympathizing with
each other's ideals; listening with devoted attention to each other's
words; contacting, as it were, each other's _inner nature_, rather
than obeying the merely animal urge of procreation. And above all, in
the common aim of altruistic thoughtfulness for the little lives which
their love has brought forth.
Thus nature serves the cosmic law, which aims to raise the
sex-instinct from the incomplete and unsatisfying plane of physical
contact, to that of spiritual union--a wide gulf seemingly; but who
would not strive to bridge it, did he but realize what spiritual union
with the Beloved One means?