Scattered Aurora

The other night I was talking to a friend and we just happened to stumble upon this hypothetical topic which erupted into a major debate and lasted for around 2 hrs. By the end of it there was no clear winner as we both completely refused to give even an inch to each other and by mutual admission wanted to bang each other's head on the wall. All in all a pretty frustrating debate but I really enjoyed it a lot especially because we were having it at 1 at night... So to give you a taste of it, I've decided to blog it...or as much of it as I can remember...So sit back, relax, take a deep breath, and enjoy..!

It all started with my views on sex and marriage (which I won't go into now) and the big question in my mind that if sex was supposed to be such a holy act of marriage why couldn't have God created an order in which humans would have just had to have intercourse once to have one child and twice for two kids and so on, rather than indulging in it whenever their body's desires require them to?

Actually this was the main question which triggered a chain reaction in my mind creating a hypothetical history with a lot of "what ifs". And my argument was completely based on the "free will" that God has attributed to us humans and is what distinguishes us among all of his creations and which we humans treasure and misuse more than anything.

I think we'll all agree that this "free will" was also exercised by our ancestors, and that some of their choices back then have created, what we know them today as, our pre-determined beliefs. These beliefs are what we have grown up with, what our parents and their parents have grown up with, what no one even imagines the thought of questioning them; so much so that they have become embedded in our DNA and are an intrinsic part of being human. What if our ancestors also faced a choice between "sexual desires" and "sexual needs" and the choice that they made became another of our pre-determined beliefs and overtime evolved its way into human psyche in such a way that now its considered normal?

Before I move further into the depths of my theory, it think to avoid confusion I should explain what I mean from the terms "sexual need" and "sexual desires".

Sexual need represents only the need to reproduce offspring and to ensure a survival of genes. It is more common in animals who mate once a year to ensure production of offspring. Sexual desire, on the other hand, is having sex not only for reproduction but also for enjoyment and pleasure.

Here, I am not talking about celibacy or restraint but about our body's sexual urges which are felt irrespective of our control over it. This choice has slowly but firmly evolved in such a way that it has come to be known as a physical need, apart pf our body. A desire which has to fought consciously if one wishes to.

So what if our ancestors were given the choice to choose between only having sex the number of times corresponding to the number of children one wants and to reproduce children as well as satisfying lusty urges whenever one wants. Its like asking someone to choose between mineral water and plain tap water. Tap water quenches your thirst only but mineral water also provides a few essential minerals along with quenching your thirst. What if our ancestors had to exercise their "free will" over this matter and their choice of sexual desires was what our beliefs are based on.

Today, sexual desire is considered to be man's primal instinct. It is the foremost priority on every human's mind, be it man or women, consciously or unconsciously. Everything we do today in this world is aimed towards gaining sexual satisfaction in the end. Every man and woman, works not only to fill their tummy but to afford the luxuries of life which makes them more attractive to the opposite sex and thus, results in mutual pleasure.

But what if sexual desire wasn't the primal instinct of man? Reproducing for the sake of off-springs was the basic primal instinct and later man discovered the pleasure an decided to choose the pleasure and reproduction rather than just the reproducing. What if this desire was a choice man had to make. God has said that He has put both goodness and evil in us and has left it on us to choose which of these we want to manifest itself on our souls. He has also put needs and desires in us but maybe it has been our ancestors choice to bring those desires to life rather than letting them stay dormant. Just like He gave us the knowledge to tell lies or hurt people but also left it upon us to choose between right and wrong. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with basic sexual desire, just that maybe it didn't start out this way. Maybe its just another one of those pre-determined beliefs that has its roots in our ancestors choices. Today our beliefs determine our choices but what if back then this choice was what determined our belief!

If this is so, then maybe the Holy institution of marriage is a method devised by God to control this choice of humans. In Islam, the main reason for the institution of marriage is adultery. Basically adultery is an assuagement of sexual desires with different partners anytime. Maybe God clearly saw the pitfalls of this choice-based-belief and introduced marriage and its laws to counteract or control it by limiting it to married partners.

If we think about it, it all fits together in a perfect pattern. God gave man knowledge; man discovers both sexual need and sexual desire and when confronted with a choice, chooses sexual desire; man's choice becomes a belief which through time and generations evolves and becomes an intrinsic part of our genetic makeup; God seeing the ensuing pitfalls, introduces the concept of marriage so that people may control their desires and do not let it run rampage.

The basic question in my mind still is that what if our ancestors did make a decision; a choice which governs our past, present, and future for all time to come! The choice to decide between sexual desire and sexual need has been taken out of our hands and has been already decided upon but what if...?