Ardhanarishvara (Sanskrit: अर्धनारीश्वर, Ardhanārīśvara),(Tamil:அர்தனாரீஸ்வரர்) is a composite androgynous form of the Hindu god Shiva and his consort Parvati (also known as Devi, Shakti and Uma in this icon). Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half male and half female, split down the middle. The right half is usually the male Shiva, illustrating his traditional attributes.
-wiki
The "Berdache" are also known as llahamana, adonisgi, gatekeepers, nadle, mexago, winkte, yirka- la ul, and i-wa-wisp. They are those individuals who, because of their essential energetic androgyny, have the power to enter the Otherworld. This is NOT a sexual orientation. It is spiritual. Some Berdache are gay, but that is more a choice of action, a preference, than it is a mandate for the usage of this gift.
The indigenous thought about the Other World, the realm of the Gods, is that it is a realm of ONENESS. The Gods or spirits are both masculine and feminine in one. Though a certain spirit might manifest before a human in either a masculine or feminine character, it is---at it's core---BOTH genders.
The Berdache are special in the fact that they carry this androgynous energy---the energy of the Gods. It is what makes them able to exist both in physical form and also "journey" into the other realms as well. Hermes Trismegastrus and the Egyptian God THOTH were both examples of this propensity for androgyny. In fact, the term "hermaphrodite" (Hermes+ Aphrodite) refers to the marriage of the archetypal male and female (these two were the children of Zeus). This important predisposition is seen clearly in the African culture. In childbirth, the spirit of the fetus is exhorted through the voice of the mother. It is at this time that the "energy" of it's soul is examined by the village Shaman. Certain souls who possess this androgyny are seen to be "blessed from birth." They are called "the holy ones." It is in this African tradition that the name of "Gatekeeper" is given to the child. Many preparations are made to welcome it into the community, including the giving of an appropriate name to "harmonize" with it's sacred purpose.
The Berdache are the highest shamans, healers, teachers, diviners, dreamers, prophets, and guardians of the Gateway. To them, sexuality is nothing more than an extension of their spiritual being. If their energy was not used for this purpose, there would develop a blockage or build-up that would seek expression. Quite often, that expression would end up being sexual, since touching another human always causes this energy to flow.
- http://www.reconnections.net/androgyny2.htm
Were We Once Whole?
In Hindu lore, physical existence is the result of an explosion of primal unity, which separated Shiva (the male principal) and Shakti (the female principal), creating a state of duality. This separation is the source of suffering, illusion, and the slavery of mankind. The goal of tantra is to reunite these two principles (male and female). The tantric awakens the kundalini (the sleeping Shakti) and through breathing and energy techniques, moves her through his chakras to the top of the skull where Shiva dwells.As a result of this union of opposites, one can abolish duality and transcend the phenomenal world. Some schools teach that one achieves this perfect unity and transcendence by immobilizing the breath, the semen, and thought.
What now?
An historical look at androgyny traditions, is interesting, but what can we do with it at a practical level? Once we learn to evade our biological mating script in the bedroom, is the ultimate solution indeed a matter of advanced scientific technique, as Michael Winn suggests? Or is it a matter of healing our resentments toward our beloved so completely that we truly want to merge again? Or does the key lie somewhere else altogether? Perhaps as we use controlled intercourse to move toward unconditionally loving union and heightened spiritual awareness, the answers will appear.
- http://www.reuniting.info/wisdom/divine_androgyne_michael_winn_spiritual_orgasm
- http://www.reuniting.info/wisdom/divine_androgyne_michael_winn_spiritual_orgasm
