When these two elements meet, two things happen. Firstly, the merging of the two constituent parts creates a new, third entity. This entity is both the sum of its original components plus a percentage of its own uniqueness. Secondly, a transformation occurs within each of the original parts.
   This parallels the life experiences of most people. Woman mates with man and a baby is produced which has some amount of both the physical and mental components of its parents, plus its own unique nature; the woman and man become parents (that is their individual adultness is raised to another level of parenthood).
   This is the human process of reproduction or procreation – as it is also called. “Re + production” or “Pro + creation”. The latter seems to me to be a more poetic and spiritual term for what we do, than the former. Although some people may just re-produce, that is replicate their own genes, others consider parenthood as a way to pro-create something beautiful out of nothing other than a few milligrams of DNA. Aspiring parents would also hope to create something even a bit more enlightened and useful to the planet than perhaps they have been themselves.
   The urge to reproduce is the second most basic of human instincts, the first being that of one’s own survival. At the most gross level, mating is about biological survival of the species, but this predominantly instinctive urge is then overlaid with desires (both conscious and unconscious) for security, pleasure, power, love, companionship, ancestral lineage and many other subtle social factors. It is interesting that some people do have an urge to procreate during their lives and some don't. Some have a knowing, “it's my destiny” thing, whilst others have a take it or leave it attitude, a “we'll see what happens” approach, and yet others have a “no thanks, no way” attitude.
   Below I am going to trace the influence of the chakras and the process of conception from the yogic and tantric viewpoint. In these systems, human life begins with the descending journey of consciousness commencing from the highest, most subtle philosophical starting point.

Sahasrara
   According to yoga, all attitudes to fate, destiny, luck, cosmic or divine intervention are expressions of the consciousness as represented by the highest chakra, Sahasrara. Many people have no awareness of spiritual destiny within their lives, or what is called dharma in Sanscrit. They live focussed

very much on the outside world with little consideration of their internal life or their self-consciousness. They seem to bumble from one accidental life event to another, wondering why things happen to them without rhyme or reason. In yogic philosophy, all such events are the results of their unconscious actions or their karma, their enforced destiny which is caused by instinctive nature and self-unconsciousness.
   For such people their first awareness of conception and pregnancy will be realised in the genital area, arising from either an instinctive urge to procreate or an accidental pregnancy arising from an instinctive urge for pleasure. “Oh, I am pregnant – what a surprise!”. Their lack of awareness about their own fertility or else their lack of conscious choice in these matters has forced a destiny upon them (leaving aside for now decisions about termination).
   However, at the other end of the scale, a spiritually aware conception is one which arises out of a conscious realisation of one’s destiny or dharma. Basically this means getting in touch with one’s correct place in the cosmos, discovering what is needed for you to evolve in the best way, and getting on with that. If, for example, a woman intuitively knows that she will be pregnant at some stage in her life, she only has a series of acts along the way to manifest what she knows is to be. If she tunes in or chooses the timing of the conception, she won't get a rude shock when such a thing is unexpectedly “delivered” to her, or find herself fighting the conflicts of “will I have this baby or won't I”. This cosmic destiny, which some call God's will, God's grace, guru’s grace fate, destiny or dharma, can be discovered through self reflection, meditation or prayer. Of course, it is wonderful if her partner discovers the same realisation, so that they can both work towards the same direction.
   This metaphysical region of “beyond self” is called Sahasrara and is described as a thousand petalled lotus – thousand simply meaning infinite – which spreads out from the top centre of the head. At the top of a baby's head is the fontanelle, a small gap in the skull plates which does not close over for some eighteen months. It is believed in many cultures that the soul enters (and on death leaves) the body through this hole and that a child is not fully in their body until it has closed over. This formless place, beyond even the tantric union of shiva and shakti, is not really a chakra or energy centre. It is the realm of Divinity, Pure Consciousness, Non Self, Oneness, God-ness, Heaven, Nirvana, Samadhi, Self Realisation, Self Transcendence,