Theos-Talk Archives (January 1995 Message tl00174)

To Daniel Re Sex Magic.

<Concerning your comments that HPB would not subscribe to what
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso wrote concerning "sex magic" and activating
of chakras, etc., my question to you is: Why would HPB NOT
subscribe to such things? What is her reasoning and rationale?
Would her Masters M.  and K.H.  subsribe to such teachings and
practices? If not, why not?>

     HPB wrote: "The Tantras read esoterically are as full of
     wisdom as the noblest occult works.  Studied without a guide
     and applied to practice, they may lead to the production of
     various phenomenal results, on the moral and physiological
     planes.  But let anyone accept their dead-letter rules and
     practices, let him try with some selfish motive in view to
     carry out the rites prescribed therein, and - he is lost."
     (CW Vol XII, p 606).  In this, she is exactly right.  She
     does not say it, but the "rites prescribed therein" are
     sexual rites in which a partner of the opposite sex, trained
     for this purpose, is used.  As most people know today (It
     used to be a big secret) tantric sex does not seek
     ejaculation or orgasm, but rather the "essence" of the
     sexual fluids generated (bodicitta) is directed up the
     spinal column (actually up the sushumna nadi or central
     channel which lies in the Body of Light at a point that
     corresponds to the spinal column of the physical body).  At
     a higher level, a jnanamudra or "thought-seal" can be used
     rather than a physical partner.  This corresponds to union
     with one's anima or animus in the Jungian sense and is the
     only type of sex magic that I personally condone.  The
     third, and highest, level is called mahamudra, about which
     many books have been written.  Anyway, to answer your
     question, HPB and most of the TS leadership since have felt
     that sex magic is too dangerous to practice and they
     advocate its avoidance.  I agree that karmamudra is too
     dangerous.  I think jnanamudra, if done properly, is fairly
     safe - but again it is the motive that is critical in this
     sort of thing.  Many of the excellent Tibetan books
     available today talk about karmamudra (using a physical
     partner) while few talk about jnanamudra.  My own opinion is
     that using a physical partner necessarily links you with
     their karma and this can lead to a lot of problems.  In the
     old days in India and Tibet, they trained people for this
     sort of thing, and thus minimized karmic entanglements.
     This is no longer the case, and you certainly won't find a
     "trained" partner anywhere in the West today.


<Again do HPB and her Teachers advise the spiritual student to
sublimate the sexual energies or advise otherwise in what you
call "Kundalini Yoga" teachings? Again if HPB and her Teachers do
NOT subscribe to such Kundalina Yoga teachings, why not? What is
the rationale for their stand on these subjects?>

This question has no simple answer.  Clearly, they do not advise
anyone to practice Kundalini Yoga.  James Long, for example,
advised me to stop practicing straightaway.  But the sublimation
of sexual energy is not as clear cut.  Rather, it depends on the
type of yoga you practice, and on your lifestyle.  If you are
married, for example, then sexual sublimation is likely to lead
to a divorce.  Even if you are single, it is a difficult decision
to make.  The reason is that the difference between sublimation
and repression is a fine line.  We may think we are sublimating
our sex drive, when in fact we are merely repressing it.  It will
be easier for another person who sees you every day to tell how
you are doing, than to see it in yourself.  This is one reason
why a teacher is helpful.  Origen (the early Christian writer who
believed in reincarnation) had himself castrated in order to
sublimate his sexual impulses.  This is, I believe, a drastic
measure that will simply put the problem off until another
lifetime.  At least one tantric school teaches that sublimation
can be attained through excess.  They jump into sex with gusto
and keep at it until they are fed up with it, and then their sex
drive no longer bothers them.  This only works with some people
(some have used this technique successfully to quit smoking, for
example) and HPB would never have recommended it.  When we ask
why HPB said things or did things, we always have to keep in mind
exactly what she was striving for and what she was dealing with.
Like Paul mentioned in an earlier posting, HPB knew things that
she would not say, and said some things that she likely didn't
believe herself.  She wanted theosophy to become a worldwide
teaching, to enable universal siblinghood to become a reality.
So, she deliberately refrained from alienating people.  Any
positive mention of sex magic, for example, would have been taken
wrong by the public and would have cost her more than it would
have gained her, so she kept it to herself.  If we can accept her
statements about being taught in Tibet, then we must allow that
she really knew the Tibetan techniques of karmamudra, jnanamudra,
and mahamudra.  I doubt that she practiced them.

Some Comments.  In the regard of sex magic, or any kind of magic
or yoga for that matter, we need to recall the metaphor of the
mountain.  The pilgrim-like quest of our inner divine monads can
be likened to a bunch of mountain climbers climbing a huge
mountain.  The spiritual realms are at the peak.  The foothills
and surrounding valleys contain the karmic dregs and nightmarish
horrors that stem from ignorance.  We are each climbing the same
mountain, trying to return to the peak, which is our eternal
home.  The method by which we climb is some type of yoga.  This
mountain has many paths.  Some are slow and windy, while others
are more vertical.  The slow paths are safe and steady, and these
correspond to karma yoga, the slowest and safest type of yoga
that we can practice.  Good deeds and ethical behavior wind us
slowly around the mountainside and gradually spiral us upward
with each circumambulation.  Some climbers, however, are not
content to take the slow safe path.  These dart up the slopes at
various angles, thus cutting short the time to the top.  However,
they are not so safe.  The rocks are sharp and the moss is
sometimes slippery.  Some intrepid climbers plunge to the depths
and must heal and start their ascent all over again.  The
steepest and most dangerous of these paths is Kundalini Yoga,
where the rewards are great and the perils high.  With this in
mind, lets all take the path that we feel bests suits us, and let
others follow after their own paths.

          Jerry S.