CES She LOVEMAKING TECHNIQUES REINTERPRETED FOR TODAYS LOVERSCONTENTS INTRODUCTION 6 PREPARING FOR Love 14 TOUCHING AND CARESSING 24 KISSING AND MOUTHPLAY 44 KAMA SUTRA POSITIONS 66 ANANGA RANGA POSITIONS 90 PERFUMED GARDEN POSITIONS 108 THE PosiITIONS OF THE TAQ 136 BEFORE AND AFTER LOVE 150 InpEx 158 ADDITIONAL READING 160 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 160INTRODUCTION When I as frst asked to write a commentary for a new edition of the Kama Sutca, | was less than enthusiastic. In the ‘60s and '70s there seemed to be dozens of versions of the Kama Sutra. All were removed from my own lifestyle, and didn’t feel chere was much I could relate eo inthe text, Although P'm fascinated by human sexual nature, I'm not very interested in sex practiced as a style of gymnastics. I would defend freedom for the aficionado of sophisticated sexual positions, but I've never fele that athletic poses had much to do with my own sex life. So it was with reluctance that 1 sat down and began w read a copy of the Burton and Arbuthnot translation, which was firse published in 1833 and which I have quoted extensively in this book. To my surprise, | got far more out of the experience than Id thought possible. I began to understand the sense of humor behind some of the more exotic poses and realized that many of the poses were not just about sex—they were also about the union of body and mind. Some of the sexual poses in the Kama Sutra are yoga positions, and the goal of yoga is to create mental and physical harmony, The Kama Sutra makes sense in our sophisticated world in that we still strive for the experience of ecstasy The Kama Sucra and its assoctated texts, the Anango Ranga, The Perfumed Garden, and the Tao, are not as baldly sexual as we might assume. ‘There isa connection between these ancient writings and life in the 20th century. It's a con: nection that centers on feelings. Although it is possible for us to interact sexually with many people, unless we have also cultivated some love and warmch toward che person who ly arousing us, we won't got near the real goal of kama, The concept of kama involves the “enjoyment of appropriate objects by the five senses of hearing, feeling, seeing, tasting, and smelling, assisted by the mind together with the soul.” Asa concept, kama is just as relevant to us now as it was to the Indians in around ab 400.