The Real Kama Sutra is not Tantra...
This e-letter is not intended for persons under
the age of 18.
Dear Friend,
Tantra and the Kama Sutra are often lumped together by sex writers
today. But as you'll find out below, the two, very worthy subjects are
only distantly related!
Modern sexual marketing has ensured that the first things most people
envision when they hear "Kama Sutra" are images of statues with
entwined limbs and bodies in exotic sexual positions. These images are
the frequently re-printed photographs of explicitly sensual statues in
the Dakini temples of Southern India. These are tantric temples - but
the only relationship between the pictures and the Kama Sutra is the 30
or so love positions mentioned in that Text...
Many illustrated books and websites about the Kama Sutra contain only
these few chapters - the ones on sexual positions, methods of embrace,
kissing, scratching, biting, touching...
But only getting these excerpts is to limit yourself as a sensualist.
The Kama Sutra is much more. But it's not, strictly speaking,
tantric...
Any good lover can tell you that arousal and captivation are more than
just sexual techniques, that knowing 30 sexual positions isn't enough
to keep a lover thinking about your naked body, even years later...
Understanding the mind and senses of your lover fosters an eroticism
far more ecstatic and profound than just learning techniques... Tantra
takes that one step further and couples spiritual ecstasy with this
sensual and sexual bliss. This step is what's missing from the Kama
Sutra...
"Kama Sutra" is frequently mistranslated as "the arts of love," but
really, Kama means "love, pleasure, and the life of the senses" and a
Sutra is a group of aphorisms - short, pithy sayings.
The Kama Sutra was written by Mallanaga of the clan or sept called
Vatsyayana. Mallanaga was a holy man, a seer, and a sage, and in all
of the spiritual senses of the word, a tantric. He worshipped the
Divine as both feminine and masculine, and lived primarily a religious
life.
He wrote the Kama Sutra for the ruling class, which at that time in
India's history was the Kshatriya, or Warrior caste. Based on mentions
of 1st Century historical figures in the Kama Sutra, and on mentions of
the Kama Sutra in early 5th Century works, we know that Mallanaga
Vatsyayana wrote the Sutra sometime between the 1st and 4th Centuries
A.D.
In writing his treatise, Mallanaga Vatsyayana wrote:
"...an intelligent person, attending to Dharma (the spiritual life
and obligations) and Artha (worldly welfare and the obligations of
society), and attending to Kama also, without becoming the slave of his
passions, obtains success in everything he may undertake"
Kama Sutra begins with a salutation to the Divine balance of these
three principles, Dharma, Artha, and Kama.
There are no tantric sexual or spiritual practices (puja) in the Kama
Sutra. There are, however, a few examples of simple magical tantra -
the making of charms, potions, and amulets - in the final chapters
titled "On Attracting Others".
In fact, most of the spiritual and sexual Tantras (tantric teachings)
were only oral tradition in Vatsyayana's time. It wasn't until several
centuries later that the Tantras were turned into scripture (The
tantras were written down beginning in the 5th century, and continuing
through the 19th century...)
To someone who has bought "Tantra for Dummies," or any similar books
written by a marketing-savy western sexologists with no Tantric
background, the lack of "tantric" material in the Kama Sutra may be
quite a surprise. Vatsyayana, like his peers, kept the tantric secrets
secret - as oral tradition.
So don't look to Kama Sutra to spiritualize your lovemaking, but do
look to it to understand sensuality and human nature.
Look to the Kama Sutra for exactly the purpose for which it was
written: As a manual for satisfying, balancing and enjoying the realm
of the senses.
The Kama Sutra is simultaneously a manual of matchmaking, flirting,
sensuality in life and in sex, romantic love, human nature, attracting
a man, turning on a woman, how to seduce a man, how to captivate a
woman, how to get a man or woman to marry you, arranged marriages,
affairs, gold-digging, the economics of love, affairs with courtesans,
keeping the affections of a lover or spouse, love potions, charms, and
everything in between...
Mallanaga was brilliant in his insight that sexuality...
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begins before the bedroom, in the realm of the senses and in the
imagination. He expresses that attitude, bearing, and mystery are as
important in love as technique. That simply knowing positions and
techniques doesn't captivate a lover. You must first capture their
sensual experience through suggestive conversation, smell, and brief
touches...
This understanding of the importance of mental and emotional attitude,
and of bodily focus, is distinctive of a tantric. But it is applied
only in its worldly form in the Kama Sutra.
In his own spiritual pursuits, Vatsyayana applied the same
understanding to the pursuit of Realization and Liberation. He was an
acknowledged spiritual master of his time. It also seems quite certain
from his knowledge of women and their pleasures that his spirituality
was sensual, and not celibate.
So why did Mallanaga Vatsyayana *not* include tantric sexual practices
in his most famous work?
Because he knew that sexuality is only an appropriate spiritual tool
for some. He wrote the Kama Sutra for the ruling class - so they could
balance and enjoy their sensual appetites with their social and
spiritual obligations as rulers. Not to pass on secrets he knew would
be lost on many of these students.
So feel free read the real Kama Sutra, exploring the power of your
sensuality, just as you explore your worldly and spiritual life. And
if you want something deeper, if you feel drawn to Divine expression
within everything - including your sensuality - you won't find it in
"Tantra for Dummies." You'll find it by learning from real Tantrics!
For every student, there is a teacher.
Keep in touch, smile, breathe right, and keep your tongue up!
Your Friend,
Tao Semko
www.UmaaTantra.com
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