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Opposites Attract: The Fundamental Yoga

Updated on June 7, 2012
Shiva and Shakti
Shiva and Shakti

Male and female, positive and negative, here and there, what is had vs. what is sought, pure thought vs. desire... life is movement and movement comes about through difference.... when point A seeks point B. When sameness is recognized movement ceases... there is no need because all is unified. You could say that in a sense, dissatisfaction drives us; I want to get something I don't have… this right here is not enough-- desire urges us. Realizing that the things desired only increase without ever bringing us lasting satiety, one comes to understand and redirect desire to the source or cause of all things sought. No longer satisfied with different objects of desire one follows the thread to their unified source. This is the natural progression of yogic thought. Hunger seeks fullness, sadness seeks happiness, poverty seeks wealth.... man and woman seek each other. Both states are temporary and we often find ourselves teeter tottering at the mercy of emotions in either predicament... afraid of loss or distraught with longing.

But when needing is joined with having, when sadness meets happiness or poverty joins with wealth both are fulfilled-- their extremity is resolved in fulfilling the other. To have yields a desire to dispense to need yields a desire to have. Give resolves with take. In the union of opposites desire is fulfilled, thus movement is no longer necessary... that which is sought is attained. At this perfect moment, in this sublime stillness, peace prevails and God is perceptible.


Rather than trying to futily attain each desire be it for wealth, fame, enlightenment or what have you, a seeker of union follows the thread of desire for things until it becomes the urge to transcend the very state of desire itself. It leads, unequivocally, to the satiety of tantric union... the cacophonous eruption and experience of enjoyment. A burning for that peace-filled state... for the divine, progressively eclipses all other desires. Incessant thoughts are quelled when one faces the primal urge of sexual passion and sexual desire is tempered when one embraces pure thought. Woman as desire and man as pure thought in conjugal union represent the resolution of all opposites... engaging in which is a profound meditative act for one undergoing an evolved self-development. One's complimentary opposite should be worshiped as all that is desirable. Having attained all such illustrious desires one's vision clears allowing for the manifestation of the divine which was previously obscured by those things which promised only illusory satiety. It becomes clear that Causal Divinity is the root and epitome of fulfillment.

To ignore desires only strengthens their hold. Abstinence and renunciation, while helpful in some cases and at certain stages, can act as a kind of cork trapping emotions which become volatile once repressed. To instead, through disciplined self-analysis and responsible expression, use such desires and emotions as a springboard... the greater the sense of fulfillment and the greater the psychic release via tantric exploration with one's partner. With our individual wills out of the way, it is more possible for the divine will to manifest and be perceived. The way is through love. By loving all that you desire in your partner you can ultimately enjoy true fulfillment. Submission in devotion is fundamental on the path of yoga, the goal being enlightenment or union with the divine. But opposites can sometimes foster antagonisms, especially when the ego is involved.


Looking to the spiritual expositions of Kemet, we can see the battle between Heru and Set as the battle between the wisdom of pure thought and the wild emotions of desire (the sex urge) --the eye of Heru vs. the phallus of Set. The conflict resolves when Auset gets Set to admit his place, leading to the surrender of his ego to the service of Ra (the perpetuation of life and moral order).

Some place greater stock in intellect but it is just the flip side of desire. Thought is a subtle form of desire... as tendrils unfurl seeking knowledge... longing, needing. Actually, thought and sex urge compliment and counterbalance each other. The fiery serpent rising to the crown to meet her lord in Kemetic and Tamil iconography represents yet again the power of resolved opposites. Moreover, the ankh symbolizes this balance of thought and desire, the male and female sexual organs joined.

The intellect is impotent alone, lacking the motive power necessary to reach divine ends. This is why many spiritual traditions, such as Vodoun, Kemetic, Ifa and Tamil, emphasize adoration of deity. For those who truly seek the divine there is no other way save love. “To understand” is symbolized in medu (hieroglyph) as “Saa”-- to feel. Not limited to logical reasoning, understanding based on love allows a seeker to chant unceasingly, endure strenuous fasting, face his or her own egoistic nature and other frightful truths without running in terror. Only love allows you to walk into the dark in hopes of meeting the beloved.

So with or without a partner, love the divine as it presents itself to you. Let your desire to see or hear the divine build and offer chants at a spiritual altar. With success, your beloved will begin to flirt with you, giving you glimpses, whispering for you to come closer... and you will instinctively know how.

We'll go into facing such terrors as ego death next time. Until then, I hope you enjoyed.

-Sekayi Khita Hetep

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