Every Woman is a Virgin till death!
Photo copyright Suresh Gundappa 2006
Now, ‘virgin birth’ has nothing to do with biological virginity; that is utter nonsense. Jesus is not born of a biological virgin mother, but then what is meant by saying that Mary was virgin? ‘Virgin’ simply means utterly pure, so pure that there is no sexuality in the mind. It is not a question of the body but a question of the mind — so pure that there is no idea of sexuality.
And at the deepest core everybody is a virgin. Virginity means purity of love. Jesus must have been born out of great love. Love is always virgin. Love transcends sex — that is the meaning of virginity. But there are foolish people everywhere; they go on insisting that “No, he WAS born of a virgin mother.” They make him a laughing-stock. And because of THEIR foolishness, a great parable, a great metaphor, loses all meaning.
I do not know how many of you read great Indian sacred novel ” Mahabharata”. This book is as much sacred to Hindus as Bible to Christians. You will find a similar story in Mahabharata where Kunti – chief Mother of Mahabharata characters gives birth to her son in a similar fashion. Now how can this be a coincidence that two great scriptures of our time written entirely at two different eras tells similar stories about woman giving birth to child as a virgin? I don’t feel any coincidence here. the only coincidence I see here is that centuries of misinterpretation by so called scholars across the world of two great religions. Every scholar of yesteryear has Interpreted virginity thru his head not thru Heart.
That’s why across the globe you find most woman saints in only one religion and that is Sufi. In fact it is wrong to call Sufi a religion. Sufi, rebel wing of Islam is a way of life. Sufi is based on love. Sufi is about beloved. When your spirituality is based on love . You are bound to have more woman saints. No other religions this has happened. It’s good too because Love has to be taught by woman. Any religion based on love bound to produce more Woman teachers.
A mother and her daughter came to the doctor’s office. The mother asked the doctor to examine her daughter. “She has been having some strange symptoms and I am worried about her,” the mother said.
The doctor examined the daughter carefully, then he announced, “Madam, I believe your daughter is pregnant.” The mother gasped. “That’s nonsense!” she said. “Why, my little girl has nothing whatsoever to do with men.” She turned to the girl, “You don’t, do you, dear?” “No, Mumsy,” said the girl. “Why, you know that I have never so much as kissed a man.” The doctor looked from mother to daughter and back again, then silently he stood up and walked to the window. He started out; he continued staring until the mother felt compelled to ask, “Doctor, is there something wrong out there?”
“No, madam,” said the doctor. “It is just that the last time anything like this happened, a star appeared in the East — and I was looking to see if another one was going to show up.”
Mary must have been in tremendous love; that’s why she is virgin. Mary must have been so deep in love that sex was not the point at all.
Remember, you can make love to a woman without any love in your heart — then it is pure sexuality, animality; it is prostitution. You can make love to a woman with no idea of sex, then love is just a pure communication of two energies, a sharing, a dance, a celebration. No idea of sex in the mind and you can make love to a woman, and the woman can make love to you not thinking of sex at all. The whole point is where your mind is. If you are thinking of sex, if your mind is obsessed with sex, you simply want to use the woman, the woman simply wants to use you, it is ugly. It has no aesthetics in it, no poetry in it. There is nothing of the beyond in it — it is very muddy.
But the same act…. Remember, the act will be the same: when two lovers make love and when a man goes to a prostitute biologically the act is the same, but spiritually there is a tremendous difference. The man who goes to the prostitute is thinking only of sex, and the lover when he makes love to the woman has no idea of sex. It is simply a communion, coming closer and closer. Then sex happens only as a gesture of communion. It is virgin.
Every Mother is a virgin. She is pure in love to her child. Every child comes out of pure love.
That’s my idea of virginity. The lover always remains virgin; the lover cannot lose his virginity. And Jesus, a man like Jesus, can only come out of great love. But please try to understand the language of the ancients. It is very simple to misunderstand, because centuries have passed, words have changed their meanings. And we have forgotten that the old days were not days of scientific language but of poetic language.
Love dear ones and lots of it.
Suresh
what’s happening here! You have singularly destroyed my peace in last few weeks. you are making me think on issues whihc I never paid attention. All my assumptions and values have been destroyed by your provocative writing!
I have to pay attention to my life now?
You make me cry with such joy everytime I read Your blog. I hate you so much that I will give my life fo ryou.
whoever you are? Rogue?Angel? Guru? Asshole? does’t matter. I just want to let you know you changed my life forever thru this blog.
Love you so much
Annie
September 14, 2006 at 2:51 pm
@Annie, Careful Dear, sweet and kind perhaps, filled with words of wonder and beauty, certainly, and his photos are magnificent and majestic in thought and vision…but remember…he is human, and as such as is the rest of us, fallable, if that is the right word. Change is a wonderful thing in that it teaches us how many paths there are. Look inside yourself, like a blind man with first sight, for the way. Pedestals are not a place to put people. And yes, I like this blog too. And come back frequently. Lots of blogs out there to experience joy, wonder and success with soul, spirit, life, sharing. And was that really peace that was destroyed or complacent thought. Namaste. None of us are angels…all of us are loved.
Now, I think I will take heed to my own words, remembering that we are all searching for comfort, joy, acceptance wherever we turn. Like a mother’s arms, with a tender kiss on the brow before a sound sleep, safe at least for awhile.
Here’s to nurturing the best in ourselves! Sometimes we must see through another’s eyes, like a blindman, holding on, learning to let go, feeling our way along…until we see with our hearts and not our minds. I think I’ll finish this as a post, for someone ery dear to me may think I do not care because I’m beginning to see…
Sometimes I surprise myself.
Kristine
September 14, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Thanks Annie for your comments , I have nothing to tell you except find your own center, Words are way to wake you up! Only and only you can find answers for yourself, I am sorry if I have hurt you but hope this hurt will lead you to higher awareness!
Kristine, sweetheart- we know you care, At least I know you care – thanks for your words and time.
Suresh Gundappa
September 14, 2006 at 4:06 pm
Yeah Krstine, You are right I should have expressed myself better
Sorry suresh , I love your blog and Like Kristine said I need to take care of myself!
Annie
September 14, 2006 at 4:19 pm
This mother is always grateful for your appreciation of women on a much deeper level than normally expressed in Western culture. It’s nice that you have chosen to share several of the the many gifts you were born with for our pleasure through your eloquent writings and photographs. I especially liked:
“But please try to understand the language of the ancients. It is very simple to misunderstand, because centuries have passed, words have changed their meanings. And we have forgotten that the old days were not days of scientific language but of poetic language.”
It’s a shame the meaning is so simple yet so misunderstood and can be all but forgotten in our rushed, modern society so thanks for the reminder, my friend.
As always,
Peace
Gracie
September 14, 2006 at 10:08 pm
You know I haven’t spoken to my daughter for few years now, I read your article on a web and for a moment I realised that my understanding of Woman is completely different from you. May be bitterness of divorce and failures of marriage totally left me totally disillusioned.
She left home long back and I heard from someone that she is pregnant now. Your blog left me deeply disturbed and left be completely hurt. I called her yesterday to tell her I missed her. She told me that she thought of me more often now she is pregnant.
I never been inspired by articles or book but I have to admit your one blog changed my life for a while. If you ever come down to Atlanta let me know I would love to buy you a drink!
Andrew
September 15, 2006 at 7:33 am
Andrew,
I hope you will not be offended by my words but understand how much your daughter needs you despite the past. There are few things that are more special than the relationship between a father and his little girl, regardless of her age. This is coming from that “little girl” that would give anything to hear my father’s voice just one more time. You see he died when I was 19 so there are no words (I can’t write like Suresh) to express how much I miss him.
Good luck to you,
Peace,
Gracie
Gracie
September 15, 2006 at 7:31 pm
The virgin birth means all of us were born in love. I like that. I imagine I was.
I am in a life moment where the purity of love is intellectually obvious yet I seem to resist it with the pain of attachment. This seems to be a human story.
When I was young we went to church, the Episcopalian expression of Christianity. I remember Sunday school and fear; they went hand in hand. I remember love when I think about the Mexican restaurant we went to together and I had my cornhusk tamales and the waitresses were beautiful Mexican women.
When I was 12 I was asked what I wanted to do, continue with church or not. My response was: I want to go camping. So we went camping and backpacking which is where I found my church.
When we moved to Maine from Houston, Texas I decided I wanted to attend the Congregational church in our small town, my parents always made sure I got there. I went to camp, I did group activities, and I spent time with folks who were connected in ways I loved. I felt a part of a whole and I was engaged in the Jesus story.
One day the young minister asked to talk with me about joining the church in a formal manner, through ritual. As he spoke, I listened carefully, and he moved into a monologue on the devil. I sat there stunned. This was not my relationship with Christianity. I had been reading about religion since the 7th grade when I started studying Buddhism. I could not integrate this fear based, no mention of love moment.
I chose not to “join” I ambled though my life reading, writing, keeping my journal, writing awkward adolescent poems, studying in the graveyard at my high school, and finding men mentors for my individual language needs. They were father figures who gave to my soul.
Love is the core.
The core is connectivity for me. In the core there is nothing but love. For me Jesus was the core, his birth spoke of the magic that lives in being alive, being energy in a world of bouncing atoms and fantastically explained phenomena that never can tell us where “it” came from. Think of birth. We can biologically explain procreation. THINK ABOUT IT! I find the entire biology of birth magical.
And sex? What? The biological imperative, I get that. What about the rest?
In a relationship that is changing in ways difficult for me I had a discussion with my friend. He said he was thinking of giving up love, that it was a pain in the butt. I said, “Yea, it is. It is also the most magnificent part of being human.”
He then said, “But what is it?” I said, “Are you asking what is love? Are you asking me what love is to me?” “Yes.”
I said that love is knowing that at the core we are all connected, we are all love, and we are all human. I also stated that I have my messy attached human moments always. But, I always know what love is and where it lives.
He responded by saying mine was more Zen, his was more destructive, immature, and that he was trying to mature. It was an amazing moment, to express words for love, to attempt conveying how I saw, felt, was love. (I also felt some sadness.)
On a sardonic note, I tell men I do not engage in “sex” without soul. I do not say love, though I have been known to mention it. I seem to be physically alone a lot! That is okay, because I want love. I seem to be saying, as I read your words, I want more than the biological act.
Thank you Suresh.
Kim
kimtelas
September 16, 2006 at 3:14 am
I never heard this before! Like Kim said I like this Idea of Love being Virgin. I was born out of wedlock and for years I used to hate my Mother. Nobody ever told me that it does’t matter who Mama was that you are born out of love. Man goddammit,, wish I had someone like you when I was young telling me about love. My life would have been less paiful.
I am going to share your theory with couple of my church friends.
Great blog Suresh, Incredible photos I really enjoyed your blog. I wonder how you look like?
Charles
September 16, 2006 at 4:00 am
Gracie,
Just to let you know I made peace with my daughter! I can’t write much but I just want to thank you for your words. They mean much to me! Thank you Suresh . God bless you!
Andrew
September 16, 2006 at 5:32 pm
YES! Broadminded will attributed virginity to love.
Sathiyan S
September 18, 2006 at 6:56 am
Suresh, I am really amazed at your point of love, It has been an immense pleasure reading your blogs…. it was beautiful.
Shells
September 19, 2006 at 11:07 am
my comment: my original expression love, eloi
eloi
May 7, 2007 at 3:18 am
what great thought about virgin
simply superb suresh we are proud of you
noble thought comes from noble men and
you are one keep up the tempo we all relish
the writings and feel it and nurture it.
praneshachar
May 12, 2007 at 6:58 am
suresh, congratulations on excellent, novel interpretation of what virginity is.
it has to be interpreted through heart and not head! such a noble idea.
but suresh, how many can digest this concept? the ordinary, mundane life lead by millions of people, who have never known what true love is, in all its connotations, your interpretation of virginity becomes highly idealistic and may get misinterpreted and misused and abused too! it requires maturity beyond words to think on these higher planes. i appreciate your spiritual connotation of it, but am afraid the bitter experiences of life may get glorified by this poetic language in the hands of unscrupulous people.
latha vidyaranya
February 4, 2008 at 5:43 am