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School of pleasure
ama - is the Hindu god of love. The word also refers
to the pursuit of love or pleasure, one of the four aims of life in
Hindu traditions. Kama is always depicted as a handsome youth,
shooting arrows of love that produce love. The Kama Sutra, which
means Sex Science, is the earliest surviving example of a written
Hindu love-manual.
Vatsyayana’s Kama Sutra has 1250 verses, distributed in 36
chapters, which are further organized into 7 parts. According to
both the Burton and Doniger translations, the contents of the book
are structured into 7 parts “Dharma is better than Artha, and Ar-
tha is better than Kama. But Artha should always be first practised
by the king for the livelihood of men is to be obtained from it only.
Again, Kama being the occupation of public women, they should
prefer it to the other two, and these are exceptions to the general
rule.” (Kama Sutra)
Of the first three, virtue is the highest goal, a secure life the sec-
ond and pleasure the least important. When motives conflict, the
higher ideal is to be followed. Thus, in making money, virtue must
not be compromised, but earning a living should take precedence
over pleasure, but there are
exceptions.
In childhood, Vātsyāyana says, a person should learn how to
make a living; youth is the time for pleasure, and as years pass
one should concentrate on living virtuously and hope to escape
the cycle of rebirth. The Kama Sutra acknowledges that the senses
can be dangerous: ‘Just as a horse in full
gallop, blinded by the energy of his own speed, pays no attention
to any post or hole or ditch on the path, so two lovers, blinded
by passion, in the friction of sexual battle, are caught up in their
fierce energy and pay no attention to danger’.