The ancient India
The ancient India. Exotic culture, exotic ceremonies. Huge phallus, revered as Siva’s lingam. Temples covered with erotic sculptures and group sex scenes.
In this century, interest in Indian culture has increased worldwide. Especially because the western world has discovered that it finds exciting things in this culture. Expressions of sex and eroticism. The Kama Sutra, the Shiva–lingam, people in naked breasts and loving poses. Naked saints, passionate Sanskrit poems, etc.
We are confused but this contradiction is in our thinking. Because of the fundamental difference between the traditional Hindu and modern Western perceptions. We think completely differently about life and the role of man in creation. The general view in European consumer cultures is one sentence. “I live once, therefore life is for enjoyment”. The Hindu, by contrast, feels that they have had countless lives and must be reborn until they realize the truth. That they are an eternal soul, an integral part of God, so their life makes sense if they live for God.
Sex and erotic
Physical pleasure, sexuality, is at the forefront of Western interest. Sexuality is present in different ways. In speech, literature, fine arts, advertising, workplace relationships, expressions of love, and so on.
In the ancient India it was different. Interestingly, the Vedas also say that sexuality is the root of material existence. Sexual desire binds man to the material world, and we must master that desire. If we are to attain the true purpose of life, spiritual self-realization. For man is a soul with a body. That is why Vedic teaching recommends mastery of the senses and moderation.
However, the sometimes astonishing manifestations of the Vedic culture have nothing to do with pornography! It just seems.
Unfortunately, western readers of the Kama Sutra are only interested in how to do the sexual act perfectly. But the teaching here does not end there. True tantra yoga has nothing to do with pursuing pleasures.
The Vedic view is that every action has the same, but opposite, effect. This means that good deeds will produce good results and bad ones will do bad things. The results come in three phases. Immediately, in the future, and the next life. Kama (aka lust) overshadows the consciousness of the soul, resulting in bad karma. No matter how controversial and at first glance obscene, the Vedic statues, paintings, poems. The teachings behind them are meant to avoid or neutralize bad karma!
Symbols and naturalness
In India, yogis and pilgrims still live today. Some have no clothes, no more than a torn loin. But no one thinks, it’s scandalous! The founder of Jainism also piloted and taught naked. In the eyes of the people, this was a total renunciation. And not an erotic challenge! If someone shows up naked on the street with us, it is a sham. Most Hindus to this day have retained this natural, childish attitude. And for this reason, they are no more sexually explicit than other natural phenomena. The sculptures on the walls of the ancient temples are only erotic symbols in our imagination.
Seemingly profane
The allegory of erotic love has shocked many westerners: would God be so profane and human? In the loving relationship between the Supreme and man, love is only seemingly profane. This is the highest level of reality, which is as if it were mundane. But only because the material world is a mirror image of the spiritual world. The affection of the Supreme and the pure human soul is free from all physical and material aspects. This attraction is depicted in the sculptures of many temples, which are spoken of in erotic poetry.
Unfortunately, we explain the Indian culture, the way we like it. In this way, the exalted, nobleman is transformed into the same corrupt person as we are.
For consciousness plays an extremely important role in the evaluation of erotic manifestations. The wise Hindu has a saying. A person who looks for a mistake in everything and sees the bad is like a fly. The fly is always looking for a dirty, dirty place, and you are left with only dirt. The negative-minded person is also looking for the dirty, leaving behind impure thoughts. This concept is, of course, found in all parts of the Earth. And “gratitude” is the so-called the modern, materialistic view of life, is now spreading even in Hindu society.
So be careful and try to understand the teachings of these traditions rather than popular explanations!
Khajuraho
Khajuraho churches. One of the most beautiful churches in the ancient India. The Kama is the god of love in Indian mythology. His holy book, the sutra, which depicts all existing forms of sexuality. There are some strange temples in India which are all sexual forms of Kama Sutra.
Khajuraho is a village in the Indian province of Madhya Pradesh, approx. 620 km southeast of Delhi, capital of India. One of India’s most popular tourist attractions. With hundreds of statues depicting the various positions of lovemaking on the walls of the temple complex.
These temples are being built approx. in 100 years between 950 and 1050 AD. From the original 80 Hindu temples, only 22 remain in their original state, currently spread over 21 km2.
At the end of the 20th century, archaeologists discovered the temples. And the UNESCO declared it World Heritage Site. These temples have a spiral structure, adhering to North Indian traditions. The construction of the temples is of sacred importance. The spiral, the successive figures all have underlying content.
The statues of the temples are very expressive and are still being researched. These sculptures depict handsome men and charming women expressing deep emotions. As well as other heroes and celebrities who are singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, kissing or making love, and elevating it to a higher level in the spiral temple structure.
Read more about the story of sex and eroticism here , here and here!