PREPARING FOR
THE TRUE KAMA SUTRA
The True Meaning of the Kama Sutra
The Kama Sutra was written in India between the third and fifth centuries, and its authorship is attributed to the scholar Vatsyayana. It combines Taoist sexual techniques gathered from Chinese bedroom books
with the seduction methods described by the Roman poet Ovid, although the Kama Sutra places more emphasis on love (distinguishing it
from desire and passion) than did Ovid and the Chinese. Vatsyayana repeatedly interrupts his descriptions of sexual techniques or seduction to
insist that the rules do not apply to people in love, who only have to let
themselves go and be led by instinct.
Most people associate the Kama Sutra simply with multiple positions in which to perform the sexual act, a mixture of pornography and
acrobatics. In the Orient, the true meaning of the Kama Sutra lies very
far from this purely gymnastic idea.
5 2 SE X AN D TH E PERFEC T LOVE R
From both the perspective of the Tao of Love and that of Tantra,
every sexual union is sacred and reproduces the ultimate act of creation:
the union of the male and female cosmic principles, a union that is the
cause of the created and manifest universe. Sexual contact, no matter
how trivial it may seem, is sacred and cosmic, even when those who
experience such sexual contact are unaware of this.
The Kama Sutra teaches a series of asanas, which are yoga positions
that have ritualistic meaning. Its purpose is to "divinize" the couple and
their sexuality. Without this spiritual component, the Kama Sutra loses
its ritualistic meaning.
The aim of the positions is not only to experience sensual voluptuousness but also to facilitate meditation as a couple. Some positions
enable them to prolong the sexual union for up to two hours without
the need to move much, so as not to disturb the internalization of the
divine sexual act. Often the comfort level is such that it allows a complete physical and mental relaxation that will lead them to various states
of awareness.
Asanas also promote exchanges of magnetic and vital energies, and
facilitate the control of ejaculation. In this regard, Tantra disregards, at
least at the beginning, the position most often used in the West, commonly known as the "missionary position" (uttana bandka in Sanskrit),
in which the man lies on top of the woman. This position, according to
the scholars, does not facilitate seminal control.
The Reason for the Positions
Let's try to understand the reason for the positions by means of an example. Start by inverting the missionary position and placing the
woman on top. The advantage of this variation is that the woman (representing the goddess) can initiate the movements and control the experience. The man, on the other hand, although almost motionless, is
better able to relax and let himself go.
PREPARIN G FO R TH E TRU E KARM A SUTR A 5 3
This position also allows for an inverted union, in which the man
adopts the position typically held by the woman, that is, lying on his
back with his legs apart. The woman, in turn, performs the typical role
of the man in the union and keeps her legs closed tight. This way the
man can identify with female energy and reach a better understanding
of his partner