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Kama

Kāma (Sanskrit|Skt., Pali; Devanagari: काम) is pleasure, sensual gratification, sexual fulfillment, pleasure of the senses, desire, eros, the aesthetic enjoyment of life in Sanskrit. In Hinduism, ''kāma'' is regarded as one of the four goals of life (purusharthas): the others are worldly status (artha), duty (dharma) and inner freedom (moksha). '''Kama-deva''' is the personification of this, a god equivalent to the Greek Eros and the Roman Cupid. '''Kama-rupa''' is a subtle body or aura composed of desire, while '''Kama-loka''' is the realm this inhabits, particularly in the afterlife.

The Indian god Kama

is the Hindu god of love.The Book of Hindu Imagery: Gods, Manifestations and Their Meaning By Eva Rudy Jansen p. 93 He is represented as young and handsome man, sometimes with wings, who wields a Bow (weapon)|bow and arrows. His bow is made of sugar cane, the season of spring, and the gentle breeze. His epithets include '''Ragavrinta''' (''Stalk of Passion''), '''Ananga''' (''incorporeal''), '''Kandarpa''' ("God of amour"), '''Manmatha''' (''churner of hearts''), '''Manosij''' (''He Who Arises from the Mind''; the contraction of the Sanskrit phrase ''Sah Manasah Jāta''), '''Mādana''' (''intoxicating''), '''Ratikānta''' (lord of the seasons), '''Pushpavān''', '''Pushpadhanva''' (''one with bow of flowers'') or just '''Kāma''' ("desire"). According to the ''Shiva Purāna'' Kāmadeva is a son of Brahma, creator of the universe. According to the ''Skanda Purāna'' Kāmadeva is a brother of Prasuti; they are both the children of Shatarupa. Later interpolations consider him Vishnu's son.The Book of Hindu Imagery: Gods, Manifestations and Their Meaning By Eva Rudy Jansen p. 93 Kāmadeva is wed to Rati|Ratī, a daughter of Prasuti and Daksha (another son/creation of Brahmā). According to some, Kāmadeva was also once reincarnated as Pradyumna, the son of Krishna and Rukminī. The ''Stala Purāna'' indicates that Kamadeva was reduced to ashes after disturbing the meditation of Shiva at Kameshwara temple, Aragalur. This temple has ashta Bhairava (8 bhairava) statues.

Kama in Buddhism

In Buddhism's Pali Canon, the Gautama Buddha|Buddha renounced (Pali: ''nekkhamma'') sensuality (''kāma'') en route to his bodhi|Awakening.See, for instance, ''Dvedhavitakka Sutta'' (Majjhima Nikaya|MN 19) (Thanissaro, 1997a). The Buddhist householder (Buddhism)|lay practitioner recites daily the Five Precepts, the third of which is a commitment to abstain from "sexual misconduct" (''kāmesu micchācāra'').See, for instance, Khantipalo (1995). Typical of Pali Canon discourses, the Dhammika Sutta (Sutta Nipata|Sn 2.14) includes a more explicit correlate to this precept when the Gautama Buddha|Buddha enjoins a follower to "observe celibacy or at least do not have sex with another's wife ".(Ireland, 1982).

Theosophy: kama, kamarupa and kamaloka

In the Theosophy of Blavatsky, Kama is the fourth principle of the Septenary (Theosophy)|septenary, associated with emotions and desires, attachment to existence, volition, and lust/Farthing 1978 p.210. The '''Kamarupa''' (desire-form) is a "form" or subtle body created of mental and physical desires and thoughts, a form that survives the death of the body. After death three of the seven "principles" or planes of consciousness, the body, its astral prototype and physical vitality, being of no further use, remain on earth. The three higher principles merge into the state of Trailokya|Devachan, in which state the Higher Ego will remain until reincarnation. The eidolon (astral double)|eidolon, the "image", the pale copy of the man that was, persists for a period of time determined by the past life. Bereft as of its higher mind, spirit and physical senses it will gradually fade and disintegrate. But if forcibly drawn back from Trailokya|Kamaloka (desire world) into the terrestrial sphere by the passionate desires and appeals of the surviving friends or by necromantic practices the Kamarupa may become a vampire feeding on the vitality of those anxious for its company. In India these eidolon (astral double)|eidola, called Pisachas, are much dreaded.Theosophical Glossary, 1892
Kamaloka is a ''semi''-material plane, subjective and invisible to humans, where disembodied "personalities", the astral forms, called ''Kamarupa'' remain until they fade out from it by the complete exhaustion of the effects of the mental impulses that created these Eidolon (astral double)| eidolons of human and animal passions and desires. It is associated with Hades of ancient Greeks and the Amenti of the Egyptians, the land of Silent Shadows; a division of the first group of the ''Trailõkya''.

Sources

- Ireland, John D. (trans.) (1983). ''Dhammika Sutta: Dhammika (excerpt)'' (Sutta Nipata|Sn 2.14). Retrieved 5 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.14.irel.html.
- Khantipalo, Bhikkhu (1982, 1995). ''Lay Buddhist Practice: The Shrine Room, Uposatha Day, Rains Residence'' (The Wheel No. 206/207). Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society. Retrieved 5 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/khantipalo/wheel206.html.
- Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series (n.d.) (SLTP). '''' (Anguttara Nikaya|AN 5.1.3.8, in Pali). Retrieved 3 Jul 2007 from "MettaNet-Lanka" at http://mettanet.org/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara3/5-pancakanipata/003-pancangikavaggo-p.html.
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997a). ''Dvedhavitakka Sutta: Two Sorts of Thinking'' (Majjhima Nikaya|MN 19). Retrieved 3 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.019.than.html.
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997b). ''Samadhanga Sutta: The Factors of Concentration'' (Anguttara Nikaya|AN 5.28). Retrieved 3 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an05/an05.028.than.html.
- H. P. Blavatsky, 1892.'' The Theosophical Glossary''. London: The Theosophical Publishing Society

References

External links

- About.com page
- Shiva purānam
- http://www.webonautics.com/mythology/kamadeva.html
- Kamadeva's holy sacrifice
- God Of Desire: Tales Of Kamadeva In Sanskrit Story Literature (book)
- Theosophical dictionary on Kamadeva
- ''ENCYCLOPEDIC THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY: A Resource on Theosophy'', G. de Purucker
- Theosophical Glossary, 1892
- Geoffrey Farthing, ''Exploring the Great Beyond'', Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton, 1978, p.210. Category:Hindu gods Category:Love and lust gods Category:Hindu mythology Category:Sanskrit words and phrases Category:Purusharthas Category:Buddhist terms Category:Theosophical philosophical concepts

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