November 21, 2009
UTNE READER

The Politically Correct Kama Sutra

(Page 3 of 3)

November/December 1996
By Jon Spayde, Utne Reader 
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Shiva and Shakti in the Garden of Fairness

The lovers imagine themselves to be avatars of Shiva, the Creator, and Shakti, the Female Principle. Swelling with the power of these eternal deities, they embrace one another about the midsection, singing hymns to the God and the Goddess. "I honor you as an earthly manifestation of the Great Shiva," says the woman. "I honor you as an earthly manifestation of Shakti, Mother of the Myriad Things," replies the man. As the moment of union approaches, however, their awareness grows that Hinduism, although a beautiful and valid expression of spirituality, is only one of the world's great religious traditions. Vows that suggest that Shiva and Shakti are "primordial" or "universal" may be deeply offensive to members of other faith communities. In a spirit of profound respect for religious pluralism, they draw apart, the man's lingam withers, and the woman's yoni parches.

Cover story, November/December 1996.

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