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What does Kama Sutra mean?
A History of the Kama Sutra
It is widely believed that people have been reading the Kama Sutra for thousands of years. Historians have estimated that the Kama Sutra was written by Vatsyayana, a Hindu philosopher, sometime between 400 B.C. and 200 A.D. Certain historians believe that the Kama Sutra was compiled into its most recent form as early as the second century. While many people believe that the Kama Sutra is merely a manual for several unique sexual positions, the Kama Sutra is also a guide for living a virtuous life that is filled with love, family and other pleasures.
The Kama Sutra, a guide for living.
The Kama Sutra is a philosophical guide for the three main goals of everyday Indian life, which includes "dharma," or virtuous living, "artha," or material prosperity and "kama," which is aesthetic and erotic pleasure. For many people, it can be incredibly liberating to realize that seeking out sensual pleasures is actually a way you can become a better, more well-rounded human being. The Kama Sutra, when used as it was intended to, can awaken sexual hungers and allow people to become comfortable with expressing themselves in creative ways that can amplify the emotions of affection and love.
Full translations of the Kama Sutra are divided into seven main parts, which include an introductory section, a part on sexual union and sexual acts, a section on how to acquire a wife, another section outlining the duties of a proper wife, a section on the wives of other people, a section on the lives of courtesans and a section on how you can attract attention from the opposite sex. Although many of these sections offer unique insights into the lives of ancient Indian people and Indian cultural traditions, contemporary readers tend to associate the Kama Sutra with simply being a sex manual.
While many readers might find the sections on the acquisition of a wife and becoming irresistible to the opposite sex quite alluring, it's hard to argue that the highlight of the Kama Sutra isn't the section titled "On Sexual Union." While early versions of the Kama Sutra didn't contain illustrations, current readers will be happy to know that several editions of the Kama Sutra come complete with diagrams, pictures and other illustrative aids.
Ultimately, the Kama Sutra is a complete guide to human sexuality, including both hetero- and homosexuality. Most of these descriptions and acts were written to be performed by a man and a woman, although this by no means indicates that the methods of the Kama Sutra are limited to heterosexual couples. However, for the purpose of explaining these procedures with clarity, most of these tips and techniques will still be described as being between a man and a woman.
The creator of the Kama Sutra understood that displaying affection, being intimate and having sex is an art form. Through these physical expressions of love, humans become more virtuous in their physical and emotional interactions, which allows them to give and receive more love from the world.
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