Ancient Karma Sutra

When you hear of the Indian culture, apart from the Taj Mahal and Mahatma or Mohandas Gandhi , it’s Kama Sutra that most people remember the country by. For most people, it is even more interesting to know anything that has to do with the Karma Sutra than India’s becoming a super power and being able to send a space shuttle to the moon.

The mystery perhaps of this ancient literature comes from the fact that it is an ancient text that is taken as a standard human sexual behavior and knowing how traditional the Indian culture is with its caste system, people might think it almost improbable for these people to speak about sensuality and sexuality.
In the Sanskrit language, the word “kama” means sensual or sexual pleasure while sutra means the thin thread or line that binds together.

According to translations, the Karma Sutra has seven parts that discuss about the most significant aspects of sex and sensuality such as sexual union, choosing a wife, being a wife, about the other wives, even among the courtesans and the power of making one’s self attractive to others.

Indian people are known to be sensual as seen on the four principles that they follow: dharma or living in virtues, artha means prosperity while the third principle is kama which is aesthetic and erotic pleasure.

The fourth principle is the moksha which is the cycle of life and rebirth. Remember that Indian people believe in reincarnation.
 
The current Kama Sutra that most people have read is an 1884 translation of the orientalist and popular author named Francis Burton.  It is said that the Karma Sutra is the oldest Hindu manual of love while others especially contemporary arts consider it an ancient tale of love.

Most people are fascinated with this ancient literature as the manual exhibits the many sexual positions that are practiced by Indian couples, a thing that is considered hush- hush in many cultures.

How vast is the influence of the ancient Karma Sutra to the Indian culture and society and the arts? There have been a number of films and other forms of art that touch on the sexuality aspect of the Karma Sutra.  In 1996, an Indian film about the tale of two sisters who became sexual rivals during their adult years. Although Bollywood has almost reached the film noir status in the recent years, that film has made a stir in people, making them curious about the Kama Sutra although most of these people merely focus on the sexual aspect of the book.
 
It’s high time that people should look beyond the thought that the book is merely a love manual. It is a book that incorporates the hierarchical order of the major principles that Indian people live by. Karma Sutra illustrated is a start to something very special