Whenwebegintoexaminethetotalityoflifeandtheuniversalityofdisease,webe-
gintoseeapictureinwhichmenandwomenarenotasdifferentastheymayappear
tobeonthesurface.Thisunderstandingshouldservetohealtheanimosities,resent-
mentsandfearsbetweenthegenders,whichhavepersistedoverthelastseveral
thousandsofyears.ThefollowingisanexcerptfromthebookEgyptianTantra
Yogaby Muata Ashby, which illustrates these issues in more detail.
Modernmedicalscienceandgeneticsrevealthatwhilehumanbeingsappeartobedifferentonthe
surface(sex,race,etc.),inrealityallhumanbeingsareremarkablyalike.Theymakeuseofthesame
foodandtheirbodiesaremadeupofthesamesubstances,althoughthesearearrangedinslightlydif-
ferentways.Skincolorationismostlyadifferencebasedonthearrangementofpigmentationinthe
skin.Somepeoplehavemoreandsomeless,butallhaveitinvaryingquantities,therefore,beyond
the outer appearance, all are in reality essentially the same.
Sexuality, Its Purpose and Abuse
Uponcloseexamination,menandwomenarefoundtopossessthesameorgans,althougharranged
slightlydifferentlyandexhibitingdifferentemphasisoncertainlevelsofdevelopment.Forexample,
themalepenishasitscounterpartinthefemaleclitoris,themaletesticlesinthefemaleovaries,and
themaleprostatewiththefemaleuterus.Itisthisunderstandingoftheonenessoftheandrogynous
naturewhichunderliesmaleandfemalehumanbodies,thatistheheartofTantricmysticalphilo-
sophy.Whenthisunderstandingisreachedandintegratedinthehumanheart,itconstitutesanexten-
sion(Tantra)fromlimitedconsciousnessbasedonasexual(dualistic)understanding,toanawareness
ofthenon-duality,whichistheultimatereality.Thuswhilesexualityexistsasapracticalrealityof
life,thepractitionerofTantradiscoversthea-sexualityofexistenceaswell,therebyexpandingin
consciousness to encompass all (sexuality and androgyny, duality and non-duality, etc.)
Manymoreexamplescouldbegiven. 88 Thepointis,fromtheperspectiveofmysticalphilosophy,
thatthetrueessenceofahumanbeingisnotsexual,notthebody,mind,sensesoranythingwhichis
intherealmoftimeandspace,becausetherealmoftimeandspaceistherealmofdualityandillu-
sion.SexualityisonlyanexpressionofthepersonalitybasedonanemphasisoftheSpirit,whichhas
tendedtowardapolewithintherangeofhumanconsciousness(male-polarity,femalepolarity).Hu-
manexistenceisbasedonthekarmicdesiresofanindividualsoul,whichisexpressedwithinthelim-
itsallowedbythegeneticbasisoftheorganism.ThismeansthattheSpiritcanexpressastheDNAof
theparticularlifeformallowsittobeexpressed.Theselimitsaredivinelyordained,andthisiswhy
theyfollowsetrules(cosmiclaw-MAAT).ThustheSpiritcanmanifest(incarnate)asamaleorfe-
malewithinthegivenspecies.Thisistherangeofexpression,whichisallowedbytheDivineWill,
which created and supports all life in the universe.
Simplystated,theSpiritoperatesthroughthegenesandislimitedtothemodesofexpressionwhich
aredictatedbythegeneswhichfallwithintherangeofeithermaleatoneextreme,orfemaleatthe
other.However,humanbeingsareinrealitythesameessentialbeing.Inotherwords,allhumanbe-
ingsareoftheself-samenature.Thisfactorbecomesmostevidentwhentheegoisticfeelingsand