Confessions of a Philophile
A new ecstasy takes root every time I think of you
blooming into a jungle of exhilaration
redolent with shenanigans
blooming into a jungle of exhilaration
redolent with shenanigans
Stripping subterfuge on muggy
afternoons
we plunge into ourselves
let go of the world as we know it
we plunge into ourselves
let go of the world as we know it
Hold our breath as we explore our allness
right from the shallowness of our skin
to the deepest end of our beings
right from the shallowness of our skin
to the deepest end of our beings
Unfettered by fears of going under
we fondle the precious in us
unleashing the joy in spurts
we fondle the precious in us
unleashing the joy in spurts
You were not the first
you won't be last
for I become love
every time I think of you
you won't be last
for I become love
every time I think of you
temple relief at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India
A philophile is a lover of love itself. Masturbation is one of the more common ways in which this attitude is expressed, but the word did not exist until the 18th century, based on a corruption of the Latin "manusturpare" (to defile with the hand), which may have been associated with a supposed word for penis ("mazdo"). In 1760 Samuel-Auguste Tissot's "Onanism: or, A Treatise upon the Disorders produced by Masturbation: or, The Dangerous Effects of Secret and Excessive Venery" introduced many of the myths associated with the practice, including the notion that it caused blindness. Throughout the 19th century many devices were patented to discourage the practice, including "The Cage,' which allowed erections but prevented boys from touching themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe Khajuraho temples were Hindu and Jain structures built by the Chandela dynasty of Jejakabhukt (modern Bundelkhand in central India) between 950-1050. Khajuraho was derived from the Sanskrit words meaning "date palm" and "one who carries" and where Shiva got married. Of the 85 temples there, 25 survive, including the Kandariya Mahadeva Mandir ("the great God of the Cave"), built by king Vidyadhara after his victory over the Ghaznavid ruler Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn. Less than 10% of the thousands of sculptures have erotic themes. In his history of the Kamasutra" James McConnachie wrote about these images, "Twisting, broad-hipped and high breasted nymphs display their generously contoured and bejewelled bodies on exquisitely worked exterior wall panels. These fleshy apsaras run riot across the surface of the stone, putting on make-up, washing their hair, playing games, dancing, and endlessly knotting and unknotting their girdles.... Beside the heavenly nymphs are serried ranks of griffins, guardian deities and, most notoriously, extravagantly interlocked maithunas, or lovemaking couples." Stella Kramrisch interpreted the sexual images in a spiritual manner, saying the "state which is 'like a man and woman in close embrace' is a symbol of moksa, final release or reunion of two principles, the essence (Purusha) and the nature (Prakriti)."