Published by In the Hindu theology God is described as unification creation and creator. He is called Arthanariswar, that means God the union of male and female. Artha means half, Nari means woman and Eswar means God. The statue of Arthanariswar, half male and the other half female, can be seen in many temples of South India.
God as the Lover and Spouse of the Tamil Poet Bharathi
The famous Tamil poet Bharathi, the national poet of India, calls God as his other half and his Loving Spouse Kannamma. He describes her how madly she is after him every moment. The bright eyes of her beautiful face, the hot sun and the cool moon, are always looking at him taking the extreme care of him. Bharathi asks why there should be so many unnecessary ceremonies and rituals when God, his Spouse, is fully alive and active in him.
The Unequal Love of God
God is love. There can be nothing that can be equal to the love of God. His unselfish love is universal. It extends even to the evil and wicked. “He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5: 45) God is madly in love of human beings. Mad with love, God is chasing humanity as ‘the Hound of Heaven’. He doesn’t count the cost, nor does He ask for the permission of human beings to care for them. He simply loves because He is love.
Spouse of a Saint
There are many saints and mystics who tried to explain the love of God. St. Bonaventure, the Prince of Mystics, looks at God as his own Spouse. In his book, “Mystical Opuscula,” St. Bonaventure writes about the seven steps by which one can attain the sweetness of God’s love.
The Seven Steps to enjoy the Sweetness of ‘The Spouse’
St. Boneventure describes the seven steps in which one can reach and taste the love of God. He explains in his book marked above that by proceeding these seven steps one by one patiently one can definitely attain perfect charity and love of God.
- Watchfulness is the first step since the Spouse is at hand. Each and every minute is expected to be alert as the Spouse may turn up at any time.
- Faithfulness is the second step. Trust must be the comfort of the soul. Along with Job the soul waits faithfully for the Spouse.
- A burning desire is the third step as the Spouse is sweet. The desire must inflame the soul so that one can exclaim, “As the deer longs for the running waters, so my soul longs for you, O God.”
- Uplift by the rapture is the next step since the Spouse is lofty. It makes the soul exclaim, “How lovely is Your dwelling place, O lord of hosts!”
- Peace brought by delight comes next. Since the Spouse is exceptionally beautiful, delight in the Spouse must bring peace, so that one may exclaim with the bride, “My lover belongs to me, and I to Him.”
- Being filled with happiness is the sixth step. Since the Spouse is rich, one must be filled with happiness, so that he may exclaim, “When cares abound within me, Your comfort gladdens my soul.”
- Close intimacy with the Spouse will be the last step of attainment. Since the love of the Spouse grows strong, close intimacy must weld one to the Spouse, so that one may exclaim, “For me, to be near God is my good, and who shall separate us from our love?”
God’s Sex
God is Love. God is beyond all sensual or sexual barriers. We can call God either He or She. God can be Arthanariswar( both male and female). God can be also an ‘ali’(sexless).
