India , Culture and Pornography
Part One: The Philosophy
of Khajuraho
It’s been around 10 years;
this was my first visit to Khajuraho. It was a shocking experience to see the statues,
erotic expressions. I was wondering, WTF, in a temple how can these images be
there?
Intrigued with questions in my
mind, I sat below a tree and was contemplating the motive behind such concept
in a temple. An old man, looked a Seer, probably was tired therefore sat beside
me under the shade.
-"Hello", he looked at
me and said.
"Hi Sir, I
responded with a smile.
- So what are you doing here?
I came to see temples as
part of my History research activity.
- So what did you find here,
anything special, anything mysterious?
Not really, but yes, these
are not just temples, these are something else. No words to explain but I will
not keep them under category of temples.
- Hmmm, he took a pause and
said, so you did not understand the core logic of erotic structures, isn't it?
"What’s there to
understand, this is result of lust of either king or the chief artist who used
their power to carve something unexpected and unnecessary", I grinned.
- Oh my almighty, still people
are perplexed with your ways.
"Kama is one way to the
quest of emancipation. It is just another way of reaching to God. Imagine, if
kama was not there, where humanity would have gone. Definitely, we must have
been finished by now. Kama drives the fundamental duty of human being, which is
"self-propagation". This self-propagation ensures that you live even
after you die, in faces of your children and their children. Your culture, your
science, your existence finds the continuity just because of Kama. This cycle
of continuity is the basis of humanity and its very existence."
But don't you think it is
absurd to show erotic images like this in a temple? Was there any motive behind
this? I questioned.
- Certainly not! They are not
absurd, but they are beautiful representation of combination of Purush
and Prakriti. This is manifestation of the Third Purushartha2 (aim
of life). This is representation of Cosmic explosion of universe where the
energy within gets released. The sculptures don't merely show man and
women or their physical union but it represents more philosophical meaning. It
represents the cosmic truth1.
Moreover, the erotic statues are hardly 10% of all statues in the temple. If
you closely watch the pattern, you will find that the life has been represented
here. It is a frozen book with exemplary information of the era bygone. This is
ultimate book of information which gives you an account of life of people who
lived in that era. As a student of history, there cannot be a better book which
talks to the learner.
I certainly don't know about their
motive but when I see the sculptor, I feel indebted to the creator as they have
frozen the time for us. They have given us something which we can see, feel and
understand. This is testimony to the continuity of life; they are still living
with us in the face of images, sculptors."
I had received answer to few of
my questions but yes, I got to know the other side of story. Khajuraho is not only about sex or porn, but there is a deeper meaning underneath. We cannot change the thought process or mindset , thus it is better to be left at individual capacity to understand.
Part Two: Today’s
Context
But do you know why I am writing
about all this today. What is the motive?
Yes there is a motive indeed and
it is due to the NDA government decision to ban Porn websites, though
temporarily. The GOI has banned 857 websites which it considers
pornographic. By order no. 813-7/25/2011-DS (Vol.-V), the department of
Electronics and Information Technology has notified the Department of Telecom
to direct internet service providers to block 857 URLs, under the
provision of Section 79(3) (b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. This is
due to the content hosted on these websites relate to morality, decency as
stated in Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India.
This is a regressive step which
is against the fundamental rights as per Article 21 of Indian constitution.
This was even echoed by Supreme Court earlier but even then GOI went ahead with
its moral policing act.
Let us examine the rationale
behind this decision.
1. Let me take a wild guess -
Pornography is against our culture, isn't it?
Yeah, this will be biggest
weapon in the arsenal of so called thinkers but didn't I explain earlier that
the Kama was part of our culture. If somebody argues on this then for sure
either he is ignorant or devoid of basic level of understanding.
Base of Hinduism is love. When
we read Ramayana, Bhagwan SriRama fell in love with Devi Sita, it was divine
love. Lord SriKrishna is manifestation of Prem and there is no denial of Ras-Leela. We celebrate Shiva-Parvati as one,
The Shiva-Parvati relationship represents the ultimate union of the male and
female energies which ultimately represents the union of transcendent knowledge and
knowledge of cosmos.
When the base of Hinduism is love even then very interestingly, even today our society doesn't allow love marriage. Ironical isn't it?
The reason behind this irony is that so called representative of society does not know their culture.
When the base of Hinduism is love even then very interestingly, even today our society doesn't allow love marriage. Ironical isn't it?
The reason behind this irony is that so called representative of society does not know their culture.
Problem is crude mindset of people who have started treating women as an object. An object which can be subjected to sex as and when they want. This is a problem within this society which does not give equal right to women. They are considered weaker gender without any reason.
If our culture was strong and vibrant, we wouldn't have seen incidents like Nirbhaya case.
If our culture was strong and vibrant, we wouldn't have seen incidents like Nirbhaya case.
India was a vibrant culture which saw likes of Rani Laxmi Bai, Raziya Sultan but it is unfortunate to see the current mindset of people who discriminate in the name of culture.
Morality cannot be kept intact
by policing but instead GOI can think of polishing of thoughts. Teach true
culture and humanity to people, it will serve the purpose.
In a country plagued by
corruption and crime, if a person talks of Morality then surely he is at
the wrong corner of the room. If at all government wants to ban, then please
ban bribes, ban illegal sand-mining, ban illegal rock-blasting, ban illegal
arms trade, ban illegal infringement of copy rights, ban illegal use of money
and power by Politicians, ban black-money in politics, ban people inciting
hatred.
With all due respect to
regressive thinkers in the government, your job is to run the country and take
it on the path of development. Don't act as a Moral Police, this isn't your
job.
What next?
Ok
let us practically think whether this ban will really make any impact?
No sir! Not at all.... are 857
websites/portals not even a drop of the porn ocean. There are n-numbers of
other avenues where a user can go. In the age of internet where
proxies, torrent downloads are unchecked and rampant, you just cannot stop
somebody from accessing something or anything.
So dear GOI, forget about the
impact you aimed at. Instead you gave a chance to the cyber
world to find the way around the ban.
At an age where prostitution
should be legalized and checked by the Government agencies, moral policing of
this sort is sending a negative message to the general public.
To save the face, you can revert
the complete ban and put up membership websites. Pay and watch. This will bring
more responsibility on the ISPs and the viewers as well. This will not only
check the minor viewer but also bring transparency on the access & usage of
porn sites. Let people pay for what they watch.
I wish GOI reconsiders its
decision and decides on the basis of merits & demerits. Remember, when you
force somebody to hide and act, it becomes dangerous in the long term.
Best part is now Government has retracted and revoked the ban except for child pornography. One of my friend showed me a message making rounds in social media which says :
"Thank you NDA! you gave us a list of sites which we didn't knew earlier".
Best part is now Government has retracted and revoked the ban except for child pornography. One of my friend showed me a message making rounds in social media which says :
"Thank you NDA! you gave us a list of sites which we didn't knew earlier".
Every society graduates with time;
this is about time for us to show maturity, isn't it? Think!!
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