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One must now come to the issue of the genders and that of man and woman. It is said that the biggest endeavour of the devil is to draw man and woman apart; there is even an Islamic hadith (saying) about it. There is also a saying by Prophet Muhammad that marriage is 'half of your religion'. It is sad that so many have not grasped the esoteric meaning behind this saying; as it refers directly to the balanced state of Immanence that is required after Transcendence is realised (or too often merely 'formalised') in religion. This is the former half that gives balance to the latter and thus helps bring closeness to the knowledge of God as opposed to the awful state of separation and lack of unity in which we now live.

It is said in the Quran that the husband and wife are garments for each other; and this has an important meaning. They are to complement each other and unite and become one harmony. Instead we have in the world; a state of distance and lack of unity between man and woman. We have socio-economic control, sexual exploitation, excessive emotionality and a total lack of presence and mutual respect of the equal roles of the two genders. These genders are subtle reflections of the Divine; and as long as they remain in a state of disharmony then the entire family and also the entire society will be affected by this unresolved disunity. One cannot become a balanced individual until the gulf between the sexes is filled with love and mutual support; not animalistic desire or materialistic ends. So subtle
and dynamic is the interplay between man and woman that it is a great
struggle to maintain this balance and yoga (union). The key is to bring spirituality into the marital relationship and to stay present and not allow the animal-mind to enter its habit of expectance, reflection or agitated discontent. This can only be done affectivley when one brings the subtle and imperceptible knowledge of the Transcendent into the marital connection in the daily life. This is what is known as dhikr (rememberance of the Divine). The subtle light of the absolute Transcendent is then filtered through the pure consciousness and grace of man and woman and in its manifest reflection of two individual souls uniting. We then realise that we are vessels of this reality, not posessors of it. We are responsible for both serving it and expressing it and this can only be done when every aspect of our relationship remains grounded in the present and not the excited agitation of the expectant animal soul. On the intimate level, passion is then redirected spiritually beyond the realms of lowly sensationalism and separation and into balanced unity. It is sad indeed that such a union of man and woman has been ignored for so long; with the tension between the two exploited by those who wish to cause great mischief upon the earth. Hedonism and promiscuity merely intensify the separation of man and woman; creating great sicknesses. The energies of the body are exploited for mere sensation in itself, thus starving any possible realisation of a divine reflection and harmony in daily-life.

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