Conscious Childbirth

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What lesson about childbirth can we learn from the birth of the Pandavas as narrated in the Mahabharata? Sex can be used for excitement or it can lift us to higher levels of consciousness and sensitivity. The male is a symbol of being active and aggressiveness, whereas the female represents receptivity and passivity. We are not talking of genders, but of male and female energy, both of which are present in both man and woman.

When sex is passionate and aggressive, the male principle is active in both partners, leading to a state of hypnosis. Biologically a child is a child, but the Mahabharata says there is a difference in conception through excitement and that through receptivity and sensitivity. These days many children are conceived through accidental sex. A child conceived with a meditative attitude knows right from wrong, and will be free of negativity and violence.

Pandu was cursed by a rishi that if he had union with his wives, he would die. Kunti, his wife, had a mantra by which she could invoke a god and bear a child from him. Here, Rishi Vyasa suggests that a higher soul can be invoked. Pandu does not take part in the act of having children. This signifies that Pandu, the Male principle, is just a silent witness remaining in meditative receptivity. Kunti, the female principle, is in a state of prayer, calling on something from a higher dimension to manifest as a child in our time and space. We relate sex only with excitement and cannot fathom the quality and beauty of this happening.

The three children born to Kunti have a different quality about them. The eldest was intelligent, benevolent, and commanded respect. The second was extremely strong but gentle at the same time. The third child, or Arjuna, was not conceived immediately.

Pandu practiced severe austerities for one year before Kunti invoked Arjuna. Not only was he the greatest warrior, but also the embodiment of a disciple for whom Lord Krishna spoke the verses of the Gita. She then gave the mantra to Madri, who invoked twins — the most handsome of all men. If our youth could be educated in child birth today, we may see a different humanity tomorrow.