VATSYAYANA'S CONTRIBUTION
The Kama Sutra, is the earliest surviving
example of a written Hindu love-manual. It was compiled by the Indian sage
Vatsyayana sometime between the second and fourth centuries A.C.E. His work was
based on earlier Kama Shastras or "Rules of Love" going
back to at least the seventh century B.C. and is a compendium of the social
norms and love-customs of patriarchal Northern India around the time he lived.
Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra is valuable today for
his psychological insights into the interactions and scenarios of love, and for
his structured approach to the many diverse situations he describes. He defines
different types of men and women, matching what he terms "equal"
unions, and gives detailed descriptions of many love-postures. In what is now
considered NewAge_KamaSutra, the emphasis is again on the "equal unions'
being either opposite sex partners or same sex partners.
The Kama Sutra was written for the wealthy male
city-dweller. It is not, and was never intended to be, a lover's guide for the
masses, nor is it a "Tantric love-manual." About three hundred years
after the Kama Sutra became popular, some of the love-making
positions described in it were reinterpreted in a Tantric way. Since Tantra is
an all-encompassing sensual science, love-making positions are relevant to
spiritual practice.
SPIRITUAL SEX POSTURES
Generally, Tantras only recommend the use of only a few
different love-postures during spiritual sex sessions. Five principle positions,
all of which are found in the Kama Sutra, cover what is normally
appropriate. These five principle Tantric love-making positions (which have many
variations) are:
l) Man on his back, man or woman on top;
2) Woman or man on their back, man on top;
3) Woman or man and man on their sides, facing each other;
4) Woman or man with their back to the man;
5) Seated positions, normally face-to-face.
Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra is divided into seven
parts; general remarks, amorous advances, acquiring a wife, duties and
privileges of a wife, relations with other men's wives, and a section about
courtesans and occult means. The seventh and last part of the Kama Sutra
is an appendix to the main work. It includes detailed formulations of
substances familiar to Ayurvedic (Indian indigenous) medicine,
with the emphasis on virilifics and aphrodisiacs. Some magical procedures of a
type that in later times would be described as Tantric, are also found in the
last chapter of the Kama Sutra.
The terminology used by Vatsyayana is context specific. For
example, when he uses the word Yoga he is referring to sexual
intercourse, the word Tantra means to him "method,"
"technique," or "mechanics," and he uses the word Tantra to
mean the sexual organ "utilized as an instrument," or to mean a dildo
or "artificial love device." Lingam specifically refers
to the male sex organ, while Yoni refers to the female sex organ.
The Kama Sutra has hardly any resemblance to any
known Tantra, nor do any Tantras resemble it, except in their common inclusion
of brief descriptions of love postures. Nevertheless, the Kama Sutra
is the earliest surviving sexual "how-to" and set the stage for many
others, including those in which sexual techniques, postures, potions, charms
and superstitions were promoted over the centuries.
Modern Kama Sutra is often confused with or mixed with Tantric sex. Tantra is a very spiritual practice which teaches that the energy of the universe is within us and we use that spiritual energy to guide us.
Kama Sutra on the other hand teaches us the process of treating ourselves and other people in an appropriate manner based on their social classes, gender, and even jobs. Some of these teachings are somewhat outdated or irrelevant to western civilization, but interesting all the same.
Kama Sutra, when combined with Tantra, can teach us the most rewarding kind of sexuality.
It mixes various positions with the energy and spirituality that makes the positions more than just sexual positioning.
The combination offers an experience that is meaningful and sensual for both partners; an experience that the couple will want to relive often, which is sure to enhance any relationship.
Tantra-tantric sex-karma sutra
TANTRIC SEX or Tantra is a form of active meditation; it’s spontaneous and promotes the development of an intimate relationship with self that is then shared with a partner in everyday life and in intimate lovemaking. The history of Tantra dates back many thousands of years and evolved in India. Tantric practices were at their most popular between 500 and 1300 AD. The Tantric texts specify that sex has three distinct and separate purposes — procreation, pleasure and liberation.
The Kama Sutra (Sanskrit for "Aphorisms of Love") of Vatsyayana is perhaps the most well-known published work on Tantric Philosopy. Written in ancient India the text is a beautiful and in-depth guide to love, sexuality, sexual positions, sexual techniques, and kundalini yoga and meditation. It focuses on increasing and experiencing sexual enjoyment and other sensual pleasures. It also contains profound historical and anthropological insights into the mores, customs and cultural paradigms of ancient India.
Through Tantric sex you learn to extend the sexual experience and to build and channel potent orgasmic energies, thereby raising your level of consciousness. There is no goal in Tantric sex, only the present moment of perfect and harmonious union. Tantra teaches you to revere your sexual partner and to transform the act of sex into a sacrament of love.
Tantra teaches that sexual experience, when entered into with presence and conscious awareness, is a gateway to both sexual and spiritual ecstasy. In India people sought, through the sacred act of sex, to merge the dual nature of their sexuality into an ecstatic union. From this came the harmonisation of their internal masculine and feminine polarities, and a realisation of the blissful nature of the Self that goes beyond the illusion of duality.
Many people who experience deep ecstatic sexual states or orgastic states liken these to transcendental spiritual experiences. They realise that the distinctions between carnal and spiritual may be unclear. Sex in Tantra aims to heighten and extend the connection that develops between two people when they are lost in the ecstasy of love. That thin line that separates you from feeling ‘one’ with everything dissolves, leaving you in the ‘bliss state’ you were originally born into.
Today in the Western world, most people have been taught very little about their own bodies and their potential to experience pleasure and satisfaction. Hence, there has been a rekindling of interest in Tantric sexual practices. With Tantra, as you become expansive, your awareness increases and by engaging in more trusting sexual practices that involve sharing intimacy, your life perception becomes more playful and joyous - you can start to grow spiritually through beautiful and loving experiences.
In essence Tantric sex is an intimate practice – like meditation or yoga. Tantra uses pleasure, satisfaction and sexuality as a springboard to higher levels of consciousness. It enables you to be present with your lover and, ultimately, with your self within everyday life.
