I have just read that The Da Vinci Code has been banned in Pakistan at the request of both Christians and Muslims. The million-seller book and the movie made from it tell the story of a Harvard professor who teams up with a beautiful woman cryptologist in Paris to solve a murder and stumbles upon a secret the Roman Catholic Church has hid for 2,000 years: that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and they had a daughter whose descendants are now living somewhere in a French château.

The story may seem convincing enough, but it is just a work of fiction, and many of its premises are false or at best inaccurate. The biggest mistake of all, however, is not in The Da Vinci Code  but in the minds of the Christians.

Clerics, both Catholic and Protestant, fear that people may believe the story and lose faith. If Jesus married and gave in to the desires of the flesh, they argue, then he could not be divine and the very foundation of Christianity would be shaken.

Now I have always understood that the divine nature of Jesus was proved by his Resurrection, not by his marital status. I have no reason to believe The Da Vinci Code, but neither is there any reason to believe that a divine incarnation, or avatar, cannot marry. If Jesus stayed single, that was his choice, but a choice nonetheless.

The Bible speaks of only one avatar—Lord Jesus Christ—but the Vedic scriptures speak of many, both single and married. Marriage and sex, say the Vedas, are not lowly or bad in themselves even though people may make bad use of them. Lord Krishna even says that He is present in sex that follows religious principles:

"I am the strength of the strong, devoid of passion and desire. I am sex life which is not contrary to religious principles, O lord of the Bharatas [Arjuna]." —Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 7.11

Sri Nityananda Prabhu and Sri Advaita Acarya both married and had children. Sri Vishnu is married to Srimati Laksmi. Lord Caitanya was married but had no children. Lord Krishna married 16,108 women and fathered ten sons and some daughters with each of them, something only God could manage.

Banning the movie will not stop people from finding out what is in it, but a little Vedic knowledge would solve the whole problem. "So you think Jesus was married, do you? So what?"

By the way, if you want a little laugh, check out some of the errors in The Da Vinci Code at this site: http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/davinci-code.htm

© Umapati Swami
June 4, 2006