WHY SEX ON TEMPLES ?
The ancient art was not only art; it was, deep down, mysticism. Deep down, it was out of meditation.
It was objective, in Gurdjieff’s terminology. It was made so that if somebody meditates over it, he starts falling into those depths where God lives.’
Khajuraho or Konark — if you meditate there, you will know what the Tantra masters were doing. They were creating in stone something that is felt in the ultimate orgasmic joy.
It was the most difficult thing to do, to bring ecstasy into the stone. And if the stone can show the ecstasy, then everybody can move into that ecstasy easily.
But people who go to Khajuraho are foolish people.
They look either at Khajuraho sculpture as obscene — then they miss the whole point, then they are seeing something which is within their own unconscious; or they are too moralistic — then they don’t meditate on any statues, they are in a hurry to get out of the temple somehow, they just throw glances.
Khajuraho sculpture is not just to see, it is for meditation.
Sit silently and meditate for hours. If one goes to Khajuraho, one should live at least for three months there, so he can meditate on each possible inner posture of orgasmic joy.
And then, slowly slowly, the at-onement, slowly slowly, the harmony; then suddenly you are transported into another world — the world of those mystics who created this temple. This is objective art….
Indian sexology has existed at least for five thousand years.
The oldest sexual scripture is five thousand years old — Vatsyayana’s Kamasutras. And in the time of Vatsyayana, writing sutras on sex — kama means sex — maxims for sex, guidelines for sex, was not thought to be a bad act; Vatsyayana is respected as one of the great seers of India, and it is said that only a seer like Vatsyayana could have given those beautiful sutras.
They reveal the intricacies and the mysteries of the energy of sex, and how it can be transformed.
These temples in Khajuraho have, on the outer side, beautiful women, beautiful men, and all in love postures. Inside there are no love postures. Inside you will find the temple empty, not even a statue of God.
The idea is that unless you pass through your sexuality with full awareness, in all its phases, in all its dimensions — unless you come to a point when sex has no meaning for you…only then you enter the temple. Otherwise you are outside the temple, your interest is there.
So that was a symbol that if you are still interested in sex, then the temple is not for you.
But the message is not against sex; it is the outer wall of the temple, the temple is made of it, and you have to pass through the door and go beyond. And the beyond is nothing but utter emptiness.
~ Osho, The Book of Wisdom…
