He says in his book on the science of Kama Shastra, “We become aware of the comprehensive grasp of the inner man-woman relationship by the genius Vatsyayana, who lived sometime in the midst of the classical renaissance in the post-Christian centuries. Lance Dane, who wrote one of the finest commentaries on the Kamasutra by a Westerner, has much to say about this fact. They were just two sides of the same coin.Ĭomparing this with the dryness of Western literature and its seemingly antiseptic view when it comes to human sexual behaviour, we see an astonishingly liberated and enlightened view in the East towards sexual desire. Spirituality and pleasure were not different in the Hindu way of life.
Indeed, every activity was an opportunity to move forward in the path to moksha or mukti, the ulimate liberation which was one of the most significantly, and in fact, the ultimate goal in Hinduism. From Kalidas’s poems to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, all are metaphors for the divine union, sometimes represented through yoga and spiritual practice, and sometimes through bhoga or worldly activity. Sanskrit literature is replete with examples of this union described. This is the underlying basis of the Tantric principles, and is the foundation of Tantra – to unite the division within, so as to experience union or yoga with the divine.
Truly, if one heeds the wisdom enshrined in the Kamasutra, we can see that the sage Vatsyayana showed an immense grasp of the relationship on ida and pingala, the inner man and woman in every human being. Part II Regarding virility The Significance of the Kamasutra Book
It is called Aupanishadika, secret love, extraneous stimulation and sexual power The final section looks at making the body beautiful and other ways of sexual pleasure and satisfying sexual desire. This section looks at rather diverse topics and has 6 parts. Part VI Conduct of ladies of the inner court This book has 6 parts and deals with the various ways and wiles of both men and women, and how one can make out whether an opposite member is attracted to them. Part II Paradarika, seducing the wives of others Part I Bharyadhikarika, the wife duties of a wife eldest and junior wives This section looks at family life and marital bliss, and how each member of marital situation mut conduct themselves. Part I&II Instilling confidence in the bride The magical image was dramatised, so that it may yield the power to bring forth progeny and pleasure.”
He filled the physical union with a grace that uplifted the human couple to the state of godhood. He exalted the intensity of spontaneous love. He revealed how tenderness, in the approach of the bodies of male and female, could take the co- equals to the depths of each other. He touched off the sources of love in the twin souls of man and woman. Lance Dane gives a beautiful explanation of what the Kamasutra is all about and why it is significant: “I believe that not only did Vatsyayana’s book come after several sacred compilations about the ritual of love making, but it enshrined the essences of two thousand years or more of the worship of love. Print versions are available from Flipkart in India and Amazon in the US.
In English (Illustrated pictures – 1.3 MB): Download PDF (Right-click and Save-as) PDF In English (Positions depicted through sculpture – 8.3 MB): Download PDF (Right-click and Save-as) PDF In Hindi (without pictures – 2.8 MB): Download PDF (Right-click and Save-as) Kamasutra PDF Book Download: English & Hindi