The Narrow-Minded Colonial Moralization of Kama Sutra
There have been quite a few conversations regarding the meaning of life. From Hegel’s definition to Monty Python’s classic, there hasn’t been a shortage of philosophical and spiritual explorers trying to find the meaning of life. But there is one aspect that commonly pops up during the search for this answer: pleasure and pain.
Some aspects of life are difficult to understand. In short, life is a complex puzzle. But in the end, we all try to do things that make us happy. Sometimes that happiness doesn’t come easy. We might have to work hard to achieve that happiness. The pain of working for it makes pleasure valuable.
One of the most common forms of pleasure is sexual pleasure. Many experts have done their part to help people maximize their sensual fulfillment during sexual intercourse. However, there is one book that predates all the modern-day experts: Kama Sutra.
The Kama Sutra gets its name from the Sanskrit words Kama (desire/pleasure/lust/joy) and Sutra (meaning thread but used in a pedagogical context). It can be called a manual for satisfying sex. It was written by Sage Vatsyayana who is said to have lived between the 1st century and 6th century CE. It’s a wildly popular sex manual in a lot of countries. Yet, it’s…
