What if God, politics and the Kama Sutra are not mutually exclusive? Stay with me here. What if God, in his infinite wisdom actually gave Buddha the Kama Sutra? Much like he gave Moses the Ten Commandments? What if we only applied the Kama Sutra to politics? If you haven’t read the Kama Sutra, here it is:
The Kama Sutra
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers or elders.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason, and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live to it.”
Now what if we applied the Kama Sutra only to politics? If you used the Kama Sutra when approaching any political issue at the end of the day, you would come to your own conclusions based on nothing other than your own experiences and learning. Forget about the partisan talking heads, the shout jocks on TV and radio and the well known among us who just love to share their opinions. Sounds pretty simple, right?
Yet in the United States we say religion and politics are separate; when in fact the two are intertwined in our culture like Apple pie and ice cream, hot dogs and baseball, guns and America and – you get the idea. Religion and politics are one in the same. A large majority of people use their religious beliefs to make political decisions. Fiery religious issues are used as hot buttons by both Democrats and Republicans. Yes, Democrats do it too – how about them “Blue Dog Democrats.”
It’s not very cool, kosher or politically correct to say that you are a practicing Buddhist (Richard Gere anyone?). Oh, you can makes jokes about it and say that’s what you are, but if you are actually practicing the Kama Sutra on a daily basis and using it to make life decisions, then you are just weird, shunned by society, looked upon by your friends as amusing and eccentric. And believe me, I have a few Buddhist friends and they are pretty much checked out of society as we know it.
But what if we could make Buddhism work for the everyday stuff? Use the Kama Sutra and get involved instead of checking out? I truly believe that Buddhists do have it figured out. If there is a flaw, it is that once they have it figured out, they keep it to themselves. Once every other religious denomination thinks that they have it figured out, they gear up, start protelizing and preaching, and spending big bucks spreading the gospel. And that is where the Kama Sutra fails.
There are no big houses of Buddhist worship on this continent. No way to make money from a quiet congregation who is going to sit around and chant. The phrase “Big houses of Buddhist worship” is actually an oxymoron because it is an individual choice – being a Buddhist. You cannot preach the Kama Sutra. To preach means “to force or propel in an indicated direction.” You cannot sermonize the Kama Sutra because to sermonize means “to make a moral judgment.”
Therein lies the quandary of the Kama Sutra – so simple in its meaning and so hard to execute – just like politics and the tough choices they say we need to make – when the choices are actually pretty simple. Everyone needs access to affordable healthcare (check), we need to feed, house and cloth the poor and hungry (check), we need to educate our young (double check) and make the elderly a part of our everyday lives (checkmate).
Yet by simply “being here on earth” we cannot make these things happen. We have to practice doing what is good for the whole a little every day. Even on the smallest scale doing a little every day has a profound effect on those closest to you and ultimately a small ripple effect on the planet.
So today, tomorrow or next week, cut out the Kama Sutra, post it somewhere like I did years ago and try to read it every day. I never remember to read it every day. I think about it most often when I am outside doing yard work (if I was a real Buddhist I would have a garden), walking in the park or sitting and letting the sun beat down on me on a nice, breezy summer day. Those places are places God created, so that’s where I feel his presence the most in my life.
When I look at the big issues through the words of the Kama Sutra it all seems so simple. So the next time you are studying a political issue; apply the words of the Kama Sutra and find out if you reach a different conclusion than the crowd. Its power is within each individual and isn’t that what democracy is all about – individual power? Being an individual while still being part of the whole of humanity is the core belief of Buddhism. It also needs to be the core belief of this great democracy that we call America because, no matter what you believe or how you slice it – America has a profound effect on the world.
Author Resource:
Pam Gersh is a public relations consultant and freelance writer with 20+ years of experience. Gersh formed her own company in 2000 and has worked with a variety of clients in diverse industries to build successful public relations and media relations programs. She is also a prolific writer who has written on a vast array of topics. Her goal is to help small to medium-size businesses get the recognition they deserve. Her web site is http://www.gershpr.com
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