Deepak Chopra: Kama Sutra

"This is the worst book Deepak Chopra has ever written. I don't even think that this book is written by Deepak.
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~ Written on 2007-07-09

"There are some Indians who look down on authors who choose to retell classical works of Indian literature--in particular, works seen as 'Hindu' in content. Perhaps it's a colonial hangover--the old 'British knew best' attitude that continues to plague the English-speaking urban elite even today. But speaking for the growing number of people like myself who hunger to rediscover the richness of our heritage and past, I can honestly say that our interest in the classics has nothing to do with things like Hindutva, Ram Mandir, and all that political claptrap! Just as one respects and loves one's mother and finds 'her story' fascinating--because her story is also our story--so one delves into 'history' as well.

Take Vatsayana's Kama Sutra for instance.

For over a century, our knowledge of our own classical literature has come mainly from translations and interpretations by British or European authors. From the 19th century translation by Sir Richard F. Burton down to the latest glossy coffee table book with glossy pictures of blonde couples contorting in uncomfortable postures, our experience of this classic work has come to us almost entirely from the west. And sad to say, that interpretation is almost always a biased one, no matter how cleverly repackaged and reinvented it may be, replete with subtle racial bias and overt Catholic guilt.

So it's with an element of hopefulness that one looks at this new edition, with original illustrations instead of the usual embarrassing pictures, and text by the one-man-new-age industry, Deepak Chopra.

And Chopra actually delivers. He brings an instinctive Indian understanding of the work that is missing from those endless versions by Western authors. His tone captures the eccentricities of Vatsayana's mischevious style perfectly, conveying that sense of wicked leela that permeates this evergreen classic. Unlike those ubiquitous foreign editions, there's no attempt here to market the KS as a pornographic sex manual. In fact, the sexual positions--most of which are impossibly gymnastic--are the least interesting part of the Kama Sutra. It's the insights into human relationships that made this a seminal work of our culture. When Chopra translates the passage about a husband dreaming of the celestial cow Kamdhenu with his estranged wife's face, and of the subsequent reunion of the couple, it's an unmistakably Indian moment: Which western male would consider viewing his spouse's face superimposed upon cattle as a spiritual revelation? Chopra uses simple, deftly chosen words and phrases, to convey the essential quirkiness of this moment, as well as the eroticism of the subsequent reunion.

This is all done at the Post-it note level of writing prose, mind you. Everything is reduced to byte-sized fragments, quotable quotes and pithy epithets. You could produce a couple of hundred greeting cards from this book--or a few dozen evocative love letters! But it's done with great sensitivity, skill and a holistic sense that balances the spiritual messages alongwith the erotic mischief.

In place of the typical blow-up pics, the book is illustrated with an excellent selection of stylishly provocative paintings. The style is modern and perfectly suited to the text. Refreshingly, there's no attempt to illustrate every single position. Instead, the paintings are tastefully erotic, subtly sensual. There is both male and female nudity in plenty--this is the Kama Sutra after all!--but it's gracefully displayed, with R-rated suggestiveness rather than X-rated explicitness.

Most of all, there's the sheer delight of seeing Indian bodies, Indian complexions, faces, features, details, that no western edition can ever match. Both illustrations and style capture the essential Indian spirit of this evergreen masterpiece with an economy and elegance that makes the book well worth possessing for any young couple.

To put it in sms-speak: The DC KS rocks. "
~ Written on 2006-09-08

"With this latest book the well-loved and popular mind-body guru Deepak Chopra lends his take on the spiritual messages of this ancient text to craft a modern interpretation of the Kama Sutra; one very well suited to the Western mind.

Fans of the Chopra distillation method (conversion of any universal truth to seven behavioral steps) will embrace his latest effort with rapturous glee. This would be an excellent gift for a couple, a lover, or anyone interested in a consideration of the meaning and import of sexuality and spiritual evolution.

It's beautifully written in a conversational style that invites exploration and reflection, yet preserves the overall sacredness of the content. As well, it's stunningly illustrated with new artwork by - ironic in this case - the Virgin Illustration Studios along with a number of individual artists including Gotham Chopra. At first I rather missed the classical illustrations with their occasionally improbable postures and attitudes, but this faded as I warmed to the beauty of the recently commissioned modern art.

The text is divided into three sections, and links the concepts of spirituality and sexuality through discussions of pleasure and how this relates to shame, life goals, passion, and other emotions and concepts. None of the archaic prejudices are removed, yet the reader is gently reminded that while the modern mind may differ, we should look for the underlying lesson in these texts, and observe how we have evolved and how much further we have to go as a sentient species. As the author writes: " any given paragraph can be wise, cynical, ribald, witty, fantastic, irreverent, manipulative, and clinical by turns". And yes, gentle reader, there are the classic descriptions of the positions for intercourse.

But it's not all serious. Some of the pages are humorous in modern context, such as the page defining "Easy Women", which includes listings such as "an actor's wife" and "older women". This section and those similar in attitude ( "Advice for Seducers") should have book clubs cackling with fresh discussion.

Buy it. Revel in it. Play with it. Learn from it.

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~ Written on 2006-08-08

"Even though most of us would be uncomfortable leaving a book which so boldly celebrates our sexuality out in the open, this book is so beautifully done that you might be tempted to leave it on the coffee table. The artwork is spectacular. At first I was so struck by the beauty and sensuality of the artwork I didn't do much reading, just paging through enjoying the images - even images of lovemaking which would normally shock or embarrass me seemed beautiful and natural. Okay, some still seemed shocking, but in the back of my mind lurks the possibility that within the context of a loving relationship there is purity and godliness within those erotic acts and images. Could that be true?

I imagine it is so, but like many of us I still have my share of discomfort and shame surrounding sexual desire and its expression. And I think that this book may be helpful to me in that regard. In fact in the first chapter, Deepak Chopra says that the Kama Sutra can be read as "an antidote to shame" and I think he may be correct. The Kama Sutra combined with Deepak's introduction and his perspective on uniting sex and love make a strong case that sex is not meant to be a source of shame but instead can be a pathway to more fully realizing the Divine.

I highly recommend this book."
~ Written on 2006-06-28