The Kama Sutra delves into the timeless delights of sexual pleasures…
I confess great ignorance on this matter, but recently I have been doing some reading on Hinduism, and of course I came across the famous sex manual, the Kama Sutra. Now, again I must emphasize that I know very little about all this, but what I find interesting is that in Hindu philosophy, there is the notion of “kama” which means, among other things, sexual and sensual pleasure. This “kama” is one of the three goals of Hindu life. The Kama Sutra was written as a sort of sex manual to help those achieve this goal of sexual pleasure. It was created between 400 BC to 200 AD. As a sex manual it covers everything from oral sex, spanking, different positions, etc. I have yet to read it, but I plan to.
Unfortunately for the religious prudes, erotica has been around a long time…
What I find initially interesting in all this is the contrast between Eastern and Western spirituality. Many people have commented on this blog about the more open environment towards sexuality in the Eastern religions. The Kama Sutra seems to be an indication of this. I look forward to finding out more about the sexual ethics of other religions, and comparing and contrasting those with Christianity. The fact that there is a portion of Hindu philosophy and religion which is devoted to “kama”, sexual pleasure, is already an interesting contrast to the traditionally negative view that much of Christianity has towards sexual pleasure. My recent post on St. Augustine sheds some light on the traditionally negative view of sex in Western Christianity.
Erotic sculpture from a Hindu temple, ca. 1000 AD.
“Kama” also includes purely aesthetic pleasure, which I find interesting, since I often equate sexual and sensual pleasure with aesthetic pleasures, especially when it comes to erotica. There is an aesthetic enjoyment in good porn.
A lovely silk tapestry of erotic art.
If anyone knows of any good, up to date editions of the Kama Sutra, with traditional Indian drawings, please let me know.
Erotic loveliness transcends time and culture…
And one more thing: the more I journey on a path of exploring different faiths and religions, the more I search for a truly healthy union with the Divine, the more I feel I am coming closer to God. My spiritual life has truly deepened and become more integrated. This is not a rejection of Christ, but rather an affirmation of the truth and goodness in other faiths as well. The world of religion is incredibly complex, and exploring that world is a wonderful experience. I can no longer be trapped in the narrow, bigoted, hate filled ignorance of so much of contemporary Christianity (e.g., Rick Santorum, Michele Bachman, Tony Perkins, The Family Research Council, James Dobson, many Christian blogs, just to name a few), including certain wings of Catholic Church (Opus Dei, The Legion of Christ, Bill Donahue and the Catholic League, etc.). Being free from such things is truly liberating. I thank God for that.
divinethings said:
To Racer,
Much of catholicism does deal with sexuality in a good light/way.I am sure you are familiar with the Catholic mystics like St John of the Cross,St Teresa of Avilla and others like them.i have read much of their work and it is steeped heavily in eroticism.The Catholic Church does venerate them as Saints.
I think all sects or denominations of Christianity condemn sex in an unrestrained,unbriddled way but in the context of a marriiage it is encouraged and enjoyed.
Will it shock you if I told you that I am married to an Eastern Catholic Priest (the marrying variety!)and he and I do have a delicious and erotic sex life.We pracitise oral sex,anal sex and sometimes ‘kinky’ sex ie blind folds,he ties me up etc.We have an amasing sex life.many couples come to us for counselling and we have helped many couples unshackle themselves from warped and erronous teachings that is steeped in bad theology and fear.
Thank you for allowing me to comment .
Racer X said:
Divinethings,
Thanks for the comment. Your description of your healthy sex life with your husband is quite nice to hear, especially given the fact that you are married to an Eastern Rite Priest. Quite interesting!
Butterfly Flower said:
@Divinethings:
So Eastern Catholics are allowed to have kinky sex? I never knew that!
I’m a cradle Roman Catholic that recently converted to the Anglican Church [my fiance’s Christian denomination]. My fiance didn’t know much about the Catholic faith, but when I told him about all the rules pertaining to marital sex he was really turned off. He was like “what does the church have against blowjobs?”
I guess Catholicism is a great faith for women who think giving head is icky. “Honey, not tonight, my he…I mean do you want to piss of Jesus? Yeah, let’s go with that…”
CL said:
@ Butterfly Flower
The rule for Catholics is no finishing outside the vagina, so oral (anal I guess too?) is OK so long as seed isn’t spilled there and it is wanted by both partners. I find it difficult to care much either way about that though.
I tend to think what each couple does is up to them, barring involving others and artificial contraception*. I haven’t found any evidence that there are any more rules than that, although people keep talking about how restrictive Catholic sex is. I also find the the couple of rules that do exist have sound reasoning behind them.
Of course there will always be puritanical types who try to make it more restrictive than necessary, which is fine for them but not so fine when they try to impose that on everyone else (e.g. social conservatives).
I suspect certain people allow their own sense of disgust (emotional reaction) to decide where their morals are, when there really isn’t anything immoral about the act in question in many cases, assuming it takes place within the bounds of a committed marriage.
(*Caveat: I think you said somewhere you use artificial contraception due to other meds that make pregnancy dangerous for the baby, so I’m not trying to start anything over that just to be clear. Not my business! Just stating that I have yet to discover all these supposed rules for Catholics when it comes to marital sex.)
There’s always this for contraception though: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coitus_reservatus
Racer X said:
Butterfly,
Kinky Eastern Rite sex! I need to find out more about this.
CL,
Coitus reservatus…haha..I highly recommend it. The practice of that does help to deepen one’s sexual pleasure. As a man, you can actually experience smaller types of orgasms, multiple, without ejaculating. It also contributes to staying power.
Butterfly Flower said:
Just stating that I have yet to discover all these supposed rules for Catholics when it comes to marital sex./i>
I was alluding to the rules in my Catholic Marriage Preparation textbook [it was a class I had to take back in High School]. It listed the Catholic rules pertaining to marital foreplay. Stroking your husband’s penis was labeled “mutual masturbation”. Any form of oral stimulation [even if the guy does not cum] was considered oral sex.
I’ve also read a few Catholic pamphlets about sex. I’ll try to find scans of them. If you want to try to find them in your own church, look in the marriage pamphlet section. Usually the marriage pamphlet with an ambiguous title is the one about sex.
*Caveat: I think you said somewhere you use artificial contraception due to other meds that make pregnancy dangerous for the baby, so I’m not trying to start anything over that just to be clear.
I’m not using contraception now; however I’ll have to use it when I get married. It’ll only be temporary. I recently stopped taking MTX, but I have to wait 6 months for it to be expelled from my body. My doctor said then it should be safe to TTC.
Kinky Eastern Rite sex! I need to find out more about this
Is Eastern Rite the Russian Catholic Church? ’cause one of my best friends is Russian and she’s into really freaky sh!t. I thought it was just some Russian girl thing, but maybe it’s an Eastern Rite thing?
Butterfly Flower said:
*oops, italicized wrong
@ CL:
Just stating that I have yet to discover all these supposed rules for Catholics when it comes to marital sex./i>
I was alluding to the rules in my Catholic Marriage Preparation textbook [it was a class I had to take back in High School]. It listed the Catholic rules pertaining to marital foreplay. Stroking your husband’s penis was labeled “mutual masturbation”. Any form of oral stimulation [even if the guy does not cum] was considered oral sex.
I’ve also read a few Catholic pamphlets about sex. I’ll try to find scans of them. If you want to try to find them in your own church, look in the marriage pamphlet section. Usually the marriage pamphlet with an ambiguous title is the one about sex.
CL said:
I was alluding to the rules in my Catholic Marriage Preparation textbook [it was a class I had to take back in High School].
Ah, I see. Another point in favour of homeschooling then. The Catechism doesn’t say that, nor does the Bible that I’m aware of. Who knows where some people get this stuff from. What exactly is supposedly OK for foreplay? Kissing? LOL
I wouldn’t put much stock in what some pamphlet says. There are also pamphlets in the church from the social justice types that are basically Marxism with a cross on top; also a load of garbage that has nothing to do with actual Catholicism. I can certainly see how the church (and Catholic schools) could cause a person to lose one’s faith though.
Butterfly Flower said:
Ah, I see. Another point in favour of homeschooling then. The Catechism doesn’t say that, nor does the Bible that I’m aware of. Who knows where some people get this stuff from. What exactly is supposedly OK for foreplay? Kissing? LOL
I believe the textbook was Traditional Catholic [possibly Sedevacantist?] material. I’m not sure if homeschooling will help, since it still gives hyper-traditionalist fundie Catholics free reign to propagate their Puritan heterodoxy.
One of the reasons I think my fiance is so confused about Catholicism, is because as of lately fundie Catholics have been the most vocal group of Catholics. When non-Catholics encounter them, they just assume all practicing Catholics are like that. My fiance doesn’t want to be a sex-hating Puritan, or have his wife saunter around the house in frumpy “modest” burka-looking dresses [a lot of these fundies think it’s a sin for women to wear pants, or tight-fitted clothing. Not just in Church, like, in general]. & to be honest, I’m confused too. Was I just a cafeteria Catholic, for desiring a less orthodox life?
I wouldn’t put much stock in what some pamphlet says. There are also pamphlets in the church from the social justice types that are basically Marxism with a cross on top; also a load of garbage that has nothing to do with actual Catholicism. I can certainly see how the church (and Catholic schools) could cause a person to lose one’s faith though.
Yeah, I’ve read a lot of wacky Catholic pamphlets. I don’t think they’re officially published by archdioceses. So for all we know non-Catholics are writing them.
So, um, thank you for correcting me about the Catholic sex rules thing.