For thousands of years, the issue of pre-marital sex and live-in relationships has been discussed and debated without any conclusion and social acceptance. The issue continues to rage forever. The governments, the priests and the moralists have always been against any sexual freedom without marriage, while there have been powerful people kings and royals also who could live a life of freedom and the priests and moralists would not question them. As Tulsidas, a Hindu poet of Ramayana wrote: “Samarath Ko Nahi Dosh Gosain.” The powerful ones cannot be blamed. They seemed to have a divine sanction. This is certainly a clever rationalisation.
For the commoners, a different code of conduct has remained in force for thousands of years and even today it is so, even in modern societies, as people are carrying on deep psychological conditioning.
Anybody suggesting any individual freedom on this issue invites criticism and condemnation, sometimes even fatwas or court cases. In spite of all this, some courageous people continue to raise this issue without fear and it can be discussed more openly now in India. Media is playing a very powerful role in it. A few years ago, India Today, India’s number one magazine, organised a conclave and Baba Ramdev, a very popular Indian yoga teacher and Swami Satya Vedant, a well known Osho disciple were invited to a discussion and debate on the topic of Sex and Spirituality.
This issue must have generated a great interest in millions of people in India and abroad because this magazine is available on the web also. Swami Satya Vedant rightly said: “Sex is central, not god, not soul.” Ten days after this conclave, on 23 March, the Supreme Court of India gave a very significant judgment that: “Live-in, pre-marital sex no offense.” The Court observed that the live-in relationships between adult couples cannot be treated as an offense.
“When two adult people want to live together what is the offense. Does it amount to an offense? Living together is not an offense. It cannot be an offense,” said a bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justice Deepak Verma and Justice BS Chauhan. The Court came up with a beautiful example of an analogy from the Hindu mythology, the court said, even Lord Krishna and Radha lived together. The apex court said there was no law which prohibits live-in relationship or pre-marital sex.
About 15 years ago, a famous South Indian actress, Khushboo, in an interview with one magazine, had expressed her views on freedom of sex, allegedly endorsing pre-marital sex. Her views offended so many moralists and many court cases were filed against her. Khushboo. She had approached the apex court seeking quashing of about 22 criminal cases filed against her. The argument of the counsel was that her comments allegedly endorsing pre-marital sex would adversely affect the minds of young people leading to decay in moral values and ethos of the country. “Please tell us what is the offense and under which section. Living together is a right to life,” remarked the court. apparently referring to Article 21 of the Constitution relating to right to life and liberty.
In 1968 Osho’s discourses shook the whole country when he talked on the topic of “From Sex to Super-consciousness”. These talks became his first controversial book which invited large scale criticism and condemnation from those priests and self-appointed moralists who had not bothered even to read the book. Osho had not preached any licentious freedom to indulge in sex, but he had talked about understanding the sex-energy, befriending it and transforming it to a higher level of consciousness.
He said: “It is a long way from sex to samadhi. Samadhi is the ultimate goal; sex is only the first step. And I want to point out that those who refuse to recognize the first step, who censure the first step, cannot even reach the second step. They cannot progress at all. It is imperative to take the first step with consciousness, understanding, and awareness. But be warned; sex is not an end in itself; sex is the beginning. To progress, more and more steps are required.”
This book From Sex to Super-consciousness has been published in many editions, has remained bestseller and has opened the minds of educated society. It is because of these beautiful and insightful Osho discourses that now India can discuss this central issue of our life with courageousness.
India owes this spirit of courage and fearlessness to Osho. We must remember that the goal is not sex—free or not free—but superconsciousness.
A disciple Amit Prem asked Osho: Tell me the way from sexuality to love.
Osho responded: The way is: first sexuality has to come back to sex. Directly, there is no way, no route; from sexuality to love there is no route. There is simply no route, nothing can be done about it. From sexuality to love there is no route, because sexuality is in the head, and love is a heart phenomenon.
From sexuality come back to the sex center. From sex to love there is a direct route; they are bridged. In fact, nothing needs to be done. Just live your sex moments with utter joy, silence, peacefulness, with celebration. Live your sex moments meditatively, and meditation transforms sex into love.
Not only does sex become love: one day it becomes prayer, worship. It goes higher and higher. The highest form is prayer, the lowest form is sex. Between the two is love, love is the bridge. And sexuality is abnormal, it is pathological, it is ill. So whether you have chosen a path of being pathological like the Eastern people or like the Western people, it doesn’t matter.
Accept your life as it is, and let the acceptance be as total as possible. When you don’t fight with yourself your energy starts falling into a subtle harmony. And that harmony brings you t love. And when the harmony becomes more and more refined, it brings you to prayer. And unless sex has become prayer, remember, the goal has not been achieved.
(Osho Book “Unio Mystica, Vol 1″)
