Her lap is a sacrificial
altar; her hairs, the sacrificial grass; her skin, the soma-press. The
two labia*(lips) of the vulva are the fire in the middle

This man (ama) am I; that woman (sâ), thou!
That woman, thou; this man am I!
I am the Sâman; thou, the Rig!
I am the heaven; thou, the earth!
Come, let us two together clasp!
Together let us semen mix,
A male, a son for to procure!

Whenever
the issue of love, nudity, sex and Hinduism comes into picture, we
usually get to see one of the following reactionaries: (a) The West in
general and its scholars studying South Asia [for example RISA(2)]
in particular, and their Indian counterparts who consider Hinduism to
be a mix of voodoo and pornography; or (b) The Hindu orthodoxy which
thinks sex is taboo.

Now let's examine how valid these perspectives are.
Hindu purusharthas:
Purushartha
means "objectives of a human being". They are the canonical four ends
or aims of human life. They serve as pointers in life. The four
Purusharthas from the lowest to the highest are: kama - pleasure or desire(3), artha - wealth, dharma - righteousness or morality and moksha - liberation from the cycle of reincarnation.

According
to the Kamasutra, "In the beginning, the Lord of beings created men and
women and, in the form of commandments in one hundred thousand
chapters, laid down rules for regulating their existence with regard to
dharma, artha, and kama."(4) Further, it says, "Man, the period of whose life is one hundred years, should practise dharma, artha and kama
at different times and in such a manner that they may harmonise
together and not clash in any way. He should acquire learning in his
childhood, in his youth and middle age he should attend to artha and kama, and in his old age he should perform dharma, and thus seek to gain moksha, i.e. release from further transmigration."(5)

So,
according to the Hindu scheme of things, even though enlightment is the
ultimate goal of life, it encourages people to enjoy everything and
fulfil all material desires. Moksha is a long process. It can
be achieved only when all material desires are quenched. And hence,
Hindu religion prescribes two methods: the path of renunciation and the
path of a householder. There is another less popular but more maligned
path: the path within, or tantras, which accepts everything material and condemned as taboo and, hence, aims to rise above bestial desires.

Sex as yajna:
Yajna or sacrifice is derived from the root, yaj. It means "worship" or "the offering of oblation".
Max Müller defines yajna as "an act by which we surrender something for the sake of gods"(6).
Sex
is worship. It is an act by which the partners in a couple surrender
their ego in order to gain pleasure, progeny and, eventually, even
enlightment.

"Her lap is a sacrificial altar; her hair the
sacrificial grass; her skin the soma-press. The two labia of the vulva
are the fire in the middle. Verily, indeed, as great as is the world of
him who sacrifices with the Vâjapeya ["Strength-libation", libation is
an act of pouring a liquid as a sacrifice (as to a deity)] sacrifice,
so great is the world of him who practises sexual intercourse"(7) (Brhad-Âranyaka Upanisad)

These
verses clearly show that sex was treated as a form of worship, an act
to not only to fulfil one's desires and gain pleasure, but also as a
sacred act.

Sex as Meditation:
In Vijnana Bhairava Tantra(8), during a conversation between Shiva and Shakti, Devi asks: "O
Shiva, what is your reality?/ What is this wonder-filled universe?/
What consttutes seed?/ Who centres the universal wheel?/ What is this
life beyond the form pervading forms?/ How may we enter it fully,/
above space and time,/ names and descriptions?/ Let my doubts be
cleared!"

Shiva explains her 112 methods of meditation to attain enlightment. He says: "At
the start of sexual union/ Keep attentive on the fire in the
beginning,/ And so continuing,/ Avoid the embers in the end./ When in
such embrace your senses are shaken as leaves,/ Enter this shaking./
Even remembering union,/ Without the embrace."

These verses
clearly indicate how the sexual act can be utilised for achieving
enlightment. Enlightment is a state where all egos vanish. In a sexual
act, too, the partners in a couple leave behind their ego and unite
with each other and achieve sexual ecstasy. This very thing can be
utilised to achieve spiritual ecstasy.

Kamashastra:
It is the study of 64 arts(9)
like singing, playing musical instruments, dancing, union of dancing,
singing, and playing instrumental music, writing and drawing,
tattooing, etc. The Kamasutra or the "art of lovemaking" is only a part
of this shastra (discipline).

Is Hinduism pornography and tantra
a sex manual? The straight answer is a simple "no". It is Victorian
puritanical authoritarianism which condemns any depiction of sex.
Hinduism recognises the role of sexual desires in human lives. The
sexual depictions in some of the temples were meant to not only educate
the people, but also to help those who were involved in sexual sadhanas
(penance) for enlightment. There is a difference between nudity,
expression of beauty and pornography. What appears in the Hindu Puranas and Itihasas are expressions of genuine beauty and not pornography.

"Tantra"
is a much maligned word. It actually refers to a vast body of
literature called the "Agamas" which are practical manuals for
meditation. There are many Shaiva, Shakta, Pancharatra Agamas. Using
sex for meditation is prescribed in only a few of the many different
paths described in the Agamas. So, it is wrong to equate tantra with sex.

Sex education:
This
branch of education has throughout featured in Hindu history.
Vatsyayana says, both men and women should learn the Kamashastra(10).

Pre-marital sex and love marriages:
In
Hindu society sex was always considered a matter of individual choice.
There are many such instances in our history. Scriptures too depict
pre-marital sex and love marriages. So, complaining that they are
"anti-Hindu" is ill-informed. The Manusmriti recognises eight kinds of
marriages of which "gandharva marriage(11)" is one. It is a voluntary union of a maiden and her lover, which arises from desire and sexual intercourse for its purpose.

The
same can be said about extra-marital affairs. As they are personal
affairs, we should let individuals decide about it. Hinduism has always
given this much freedom to its people.

Conclusion:
In
the Hindu society, sex is neither taboo nor pornography. Sex is sacred.
Sex is recognised as human desire, which should be satisfied and which
can be used to attain the ultimate goal of enlightment.

Nithin Sridhar

References & Notes:

1 Brhad-Âranyaka Upanisad forms part of the Satapatha-brâhmana. The verses are
taken from chapter titled "Incantations and ceremonies for procreation"
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe15/sbe15098.htm

2
Religions In South Asia (RISA), a department under the American Academy
of Religion (AAR), has been sponsoring studies for years now to deride
Hinduism. Our gods and goddesses like Ganesha, Shiva, Parvati, Laxmi
and Kali, our rituals like
Upanayana our saints like Sri Ramakrishna
Paramahansa and scriptures, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Gita all have
come under such distasteful sexual
connotation and nauseating voyeurism that one begins to wonder if it can at all
be called academics.
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=195&page=2

3
Kama in general means material desires and pleasures: physical,
emotional, sexual and psychological. According to the Kama Sutra of
Vatsyayana: "Kama is the enjoyment of appropriate objects by the five
senses of hearing, feeling, seeing, tasting and smelling, assisted by
the mind together with the soul. The ingredient in this is a peculiar
contact between the organ of sense and its object, and the
consciousness of pleasure which arises from that contact is called
Kama."
http://www.sacred-texts.com/sex/kama/kama102.htm

4 Chapter 1, Preface, The Kama Sutra of Vatsayayana, Translated by Sir Richard Burton:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/sex/kama/kama101.htm

5 Chapter 2, Observations on the Three Worldly Attainments of Virtue,
Wealth, and Love, The Kama Sutra of Vatsayayana, Translated by Sir Richard
Burton.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/sex/kama/kama102.htm

6 Max Müller's Sacred Books of East series.

7 Brhad-Âranyaka Upanisad

8 Vigyana Bhairava Tantra.
http://www.escapefromwatchtower.com/vigyan.html

9, 10 Chapter III. On the Study of the Sixty-Four Arts, The Kama Sutra of
Vatsayayana, Translated by Sir Richard Burton.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/sex/kama/kama103.htm

11 http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/extra/bl-wed-types.htm