In its ruling on 8 Nov 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada invalidated the patent for Viagra and hence opened the door to generic versions of this erectile dysfunction drug. This hot market will soon be hotter and hotter. My short version of explaining the popularity of this drug despite its well-known negative side-effects is the mating and procreating instinct driven by the universal evolutionary force symbolized as the serpent power in many different cultures. Until Adam and Eve were not exposed to this power, they lived in Eden, land of infantile innocence. While the Western culture contemned the serpent power as a demonic temptation, the Indian culture worshipped it as a divine force. Adam covered the manifestation of the seductive serpent; Shiva (the third of the three main Indian Deities responsible for creation, maintenance and destruction respectively) wears serpents around his neck. Adam and Eve lost their paradise, symbol of innocence, and began their existence as sinners as a punishment for succumbing to the serpent power; Shiva's mighty nudity is worshiped in the form of Shiva Lingam (Shiva: bliss, joy; Lingam: symbol, phallus). These two contrasting images of fig-leaf (sin to be covered) and lingam (glory to be praised) are two utterly different perception of reaching the adulthood. A sin-mongering culture (e.g. absolution by confession and sales of indulgences) arose from the condemnation of the natural human act while the lingam worship elevated it to the highest spiritual expression of human existence.
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