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Kama
India is the only civilization to elevate kama-desire and pleasure-to a goal of life. Kama is both cosmic and human energy, animating life and holding it in place. Gurcharan Das weaves a compelling narrative soaked in philosophical, historical and literary ideas in the third volume of his trilogy on life's goals: India Unbound, the first, was on artha, 'material well-being'; 7he Difficulty of Being Good, the second, was on dharma, 'moral well-being'. Here, in his magnificent prose, Das examines how to cherish desire in order to live a rich, flourishing life, arguing that if dharma is a duty to another, kama is a duty to oneself.
This fascinating account of love and desire sheds new light on love, marriage, family, adultery and jealousy. Are the erotic and the ascetic two aspects of our same human nature? What is the relationship between romantic love and bhakti, the love of god? How do we prepare for the day when desire disappears and turns bitter?
Gurcharan Das shows us that kama is a product of culture and its history is the struggle between kama pessimists and optimists. The yogis and renouncers regarded kama as an enemy of their spiritual project. Opposed to them were those who brought forth Sanskrit love poetry and the Kamasutra. In the clash between the two emerged the Kama realists, who offered a compromise in the dharma texts by confining sex to marriage. Ultimately, this ground-breaking narrative leaves us with puzzles and enigmas that reveal the riddle of kama.
This fascinating account of love and desire sheds new light on love, marriage, family, adultery and jealousy. Are the erotic and the ascetic two aspects of our same human nature? What is the relationship between romantic love and bhakti, the love of god? How do we prepare for the day when desire disappears and turns bitter?
Gurcharan Das shows us that kama is a product of culture and its history is the struggle between kama pessimists and optimists. The yogis and renouncers regarded kama as an enemy of their spiritual project. Opposed to them were those who brought forth Sanskrit love poetry and the Kamasutra. In the clash between the two emerged the Kama realists, who offered a compromise in the dharma texts by confining sex to marriage. Ultimately, this ground-breaking narrative leaves us with puzzles and enigmas that reveal the riddle of kama.
548 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2018
70 people are currently reading
434 people want to read
About the author
Gurcharan Das
38 books405 followersGurcharan Das (Punjabi: ਗੁਰਚਰਨ ਦਾਸ, Hindi: गुरचरण दास), (born October 3, 1943), is an Indian author, commentator and public intellectual. He is the author of The Difficulty of Being Good: On the subtle art of dharma which interrogates the epic, Mahabharata. His international bestseller, India Unbound, is a narrative account of India from Independence to the global Information Age, and has been published in many languages and filmed by BBC.
He is a regular columnist for six Indian newspapers in English, Hindi, Telugu and Marathi, and he writes periodic pieces for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, and Newsweek.
He graduated with honors from Harvard University in Philosophy. He later attended Harvard Business School (AMP), where he is featured in three case studies. He was CEO of Procter & Gamble India and later Managing Director, Procter & Gamble Worldwide (Strategic Planning). In 1995, he took early retirement to become a full time writer. He is currently on many boards and is a regular speaker to the top managements of the world’s largest corporations.
His other literary works include a novel, A Fine Family, a book of essays, The Elephant Paradigm, and anthology, Three English Plays.
He is a regular columnist for six Indian newspapers in English, Hindi, Telugu and Marathi, and he writes periodic pieces for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, and Newsweek.
He graduated with honors from Harvard University in Philosophy. He later attended Harvard Business School (AMP), where he is featured in three case studies. He was CEO of Procter & Gamble India and later Managing Director, Procter & Gamble Worldwide (Strategic Planning). In 1995, he took early retirement to become a full time writer. He is currently on many boards and is a regular speaker to the top managements of the world’s largest corporations.
His other literary works include a novel, A Fine Family, a book of essays, The Elephant Paradigm, and anthology, Three English Plays.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 50 reviews
December 30, 2019
I loved the way the emotions associated with innocent love, marriage, adultery, separations and reconciliation, were tied to Indian mythology, Greek mythology, Sanskrit poetry, Western philosophy and works by Shakespeare, Proust, Tolstoy and Manto using excerpts or synopses. The author has given us exquisite translations of Vedic poetry and Sanskrit literature which includes description of the divine love between Radha and Krishna & Shiva and Parvati.
The book also introduced me to some mind boggling revelations like it was Brahma’s lust that lead to creation of animal life on earth, because of under population in India, young men were barred from becoming monks until obligatory procreative sex (which probably was why Gautama Buddha abandoned his family and kingdom the very day his son was born), how the church banned sex for pleasure even between married couples in the 11th century, the repercussions of section 497 of the Indian Penal Code…
It's quite a fat book, and could be quite daunting at first, but I would highly recommend going slow and enjoying every bit of Kama: The Riddle of Desire.
The book also introduced me to some mind boggling revelations like it was Brahma’s lust that lead to creation of animal life on earth, because of under population in India, young men were barred from becoming monks until obligatory procreative sex (which probably was why Gautama Buddha abandoned his family and kingdom the very day his son was born), how the church banned sex for pleasure even between married couples in the 11th century, the repercussions of section 497 of the Indian Penal Code…
It's quite a fat book, and could be quite daunting at first, but I would highly recommend going slow and enjoying every bit of Kama: The Riddle of Desire.
May 1, 2019
#LongReview
Another one of Gurucharan Das’ trademark works (but not as well segregated as TDOBG).
He looks at kama from all angles
- The Kama optimists. People who encourage it as a means of not only pleasure (but also moksha). Liberals, ancient Indians (Gupta period predominantly), ancient Greeks and even the bhakti movement and tantra sect.
- The Kama Pessimists. Jains, Buddhists, Christianity, psychologists, philosophers, Brahmanical Hinduism. People who promote abstinence.
- Marriage. The one place where these two agreed. Kama only for procreation. Not for enjoyment. Be it the Christianity doctrines or our own system of life’s 4 stages.
- The kamasutra man. Can man love pleasure without engaging into it’s complexities. Flirt, wine, dine, enjoy good music-sex-literature without craving for something ‘more’.
- The jealousy, the betrayals, The possession that comes with kama.
- Marriage and it’s ups and downs. Do we crave stability or do we get bored of it?
- The relationship between love and death.
- How kama changes with life’s stages. We don’t want the same things all throughout our lives.
- Romantic love and it’s web. Born out of our natural loneliness ( or whatever Freud may call it). The misery it causes by demanding and expecting perfection.
- Isn’t kama a form of greed? We get one thing and want more. The cycle goes on and on.
He leaves the narrative open. He also leaves it a little confusing and wanting. Maybe that’s what kama is. Who knows? 13th down.
- Akshay
Another one of Gurucharan Das’ trademark works (but not as well segregated as TDOBG).
He looks at kama from all angles
- The Kama optimists. People who encourage it as a means of not only pleasure (but also moksha). Liberals, ancient Indians (Gupta period predominantly), ancient Greeks and even the bhakti movement and tantra sect.
- The Kama Pessimists. Jains, Buddhists, Christianity, psychologists, philosophers, Brahmanical Hinduism. People who promote abstinence.
- Marriage. The one place where these two agreed. Kama only for procreation. Not for enjoyment. Be it the Christianity doctrines or our own system of life’s 4 stages.
- The kamasutra man. Can man love pleasure without engaging into it’s complexities. Flirt, wine, dine, enjoy good music-sex-literature without craving for something ‘more’.
- The jealousy, the betrayals, The possession that comes with kama.
- Marriage and it’s ups and downs. Do we crave stability or do we get bored of it?
- The relationship between love and death.
- How kama changes with life’s stages. We don’t want the same things all throughout our lives.
- Romantic love and it’s web. Born out of our natural loneliness ( or whatever Freud may call it). The misery it causes by demanding and expecting perfection.
- Isn’t kama a form of greed? We get one thing and want more. The cycle goes on and on.
He leaves the narrative open. He also leaves it a little confusing and wanting. Maybe that’s what kama is. Who knows? 13th down.
- Akshay
September 22, 2019
Great expectations from Gurcharan Das but looks like he is preaching a set narrow view about marriage and relationships through a boring story.
Cheap Erotica at best. Extremely disappointed with this
Cheap Erotica at best. Extremely disappointed with this
September 7, 2018
This book explores the riddle of the Kama in its myriad forms. In the Purusharthas of human tradition, Kama is considered to be a goal in itself. It just does not involve the lust, it is an all-encompassing term which includes all sensual pleasure including sex. Compared to the West the Kama is not considered as a original sin but rather as a creative principle from which life seems to have stemmed. It is very much part of the creation myths, also in various other stories in our Mythology. It is not seen in a very limited and narrow mindset that the West looks down upon Sex. In a fundamental way, the sexual instinct manifests to express various other creative works like Music, Art. Fundamentally all our creativity stems from desire. So it is vital to the working of the life. I am reminded of the story from Mahabharatha where Parikshit performs a yagna to destroy all the snakes, and the boy rishi Asthika son of Manasa intervenes and saves the snake Aasthika. Tamil writer Jeyamohan has explained that in Indian Myth snakes, in general, refer to the principle of Rajoguna which is fundamental to the creative health of the society and a society lacking in the Rajoguna does not grow creatively.
In a similar way, Kama is the creative principle which creates and sustains life. Hence its fundamental to the society and henceforth its elevated to a life goal in the Indian tradition.
The book is two parallel streams with one being the personal experiences of the Narrator. The other being the parallel narration comparing with various classics on Kama in Indian literary heritage like the Kamasutra, to the famous western novels like Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, Proust In search of lost time. It is the way in which the stories are interlinked which make you like the book.
The narrator first love is full of highs it has the magic and charm of the adolescent love.
It throws him out the dull routine of every day and makes him look at life in a new way.
The love ends tragically and it affects deeply the young psyche of the narrator.
In the second stage as the narrator gets involved in romantic love with his future wife Avantika.
The love gives great happiness and eventually, they marry and settle down.
With the everyday life set in a routine the responsibilities of the life-crushing the desire and reducing the sexual life. The narrator gets into an incestual relation with another married woman in his mid-life. This gives him feel the lost vigor and love and desire that he felt as a young man. Albeit it's immoral but you tend to sympathize with the narrator as desire seems to be a fundamental biological aspect that is too curtailed by society. This is a common theme in many novels like Madame Bovary, Anna Karenina etc where an incestual relationship created out of desire destroys the life of the protagonist both being woman in the novels. You tend to wonder love and desire tends to get saturated in the routine of everyday married life. Desire is always in the looking forward to the new in a sexual relationship. But marriage is central to the functioning of the society. This dilemma between the biological and the cultural is central to the tension of married life. It destroys many families even today. The same thing happens to the narrator where he accepts his relationship with Amaya and Avantika separates from her with his children. This makes him realize how Avantika is central to all of his happiness. He realizes a different love a one for a different age as it happens in the Tolstoy novella "Family happiness".
In a similar way, Kama is the creative principle which creates and sustains life. Hence its fundamental to the society and henceforth its elevated to a life goal in the Indian tradition.
The book is two parallel streams with one being the personal experiences of the Narrator. The other being the parallel narration comparing with various classics on Kama in Indian literary heritage like the Kamasutra, to the famous western novels like Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, Proust In search of lost time. It is the way in which the stories are interlinked which make you like the book.
The narrator first love is full of highs it has the magic and charm of the adolescent love.
It throws him out the dull routine of every day and makes him look at life in a new way.
The love ends tragically and it affects deeply the young psyche of the narrator.
In the second stage as the narrator gets involved in romantic love with his future wife Avantika.
The love gives great happiness and eventually, they marry and settle down.
With the everyday life set in a routine the responsibilities of the life-crushing the desire and reducing the sexual life. The narrator gets into an incestual relation with another married woman in his mid-life. This gives him feel the lost vigor and love and desire that he felt as a young man. Albeit it's immoral but you tend to sympathize with the narrator as desire seems to be a fundamental biological aspect that is too curtailed by society. This is a common theme in many novels like Madame Bovary, Anna Karenina etc where an incestual relationship created out of desire destroys the life of the protagonist both being woman in the novels. You tend to wonder love and desire tends to get saturated in the routine of everyday married life. Desire is always in the looking forward to the new in a sexual relationship. But marriage is central to the functioning of the society. This dilemma between the biological and the cultural is central to the tension of married life. It destroys many families even today. The same thing happens to the narrator where he accepts his relationship with Amaya and Avantika separates from her with his children. This makes him realize how Avantika is central to all of his happiness. He realizes a different love a one for a different age as it happens in the Tolstoy novella "Family happiness".
November 19, 2025
Having just put down the book, I would be lying if I said it did not evoke strong emotions. Interspersed between the inherent lightness and play-fullness around discussions of kama are also the heavy ideas of death. The book also does not shy away from elucidating the negative aspects of kama, as they have been held by the 'kama-pessimists' throughout our history.
But I thought there is another layer of kama-optimism that only emerges from the depths of kama-pessimism that the book did not dwell enough upon.
Besides that, I found, maybe as a result of a lack of appreciation for the subtlety of the ideas being talked about on my part, that the philosophical ideas were often too scattered to make a coherent whole. As for the fact that the same ideas underline the bulk of the book and appear repeatedly, I will not complain much, because it only serves to help the ignorant reader, such as myself, digest them better.
All in all, the storytelling keeps one engaged and presents much relief to the reader when the philosophy gets too heavy, making the book accessible to almost anybody. For all its shortcomings, I believe this is definitely a book worth reading for anyone that has ever tried to make sense of the desires that permeate our very being as humans.
But I thought there is another layer of kama-optimism that only emerges from the depths of kama-pessimism that the book did not dwell enough upon.
Besides that, I found, maybe as a result of a lack of appreciation for the subtlety of the ideas being talked about on my part, that the philosophical ideas were often too scattered to make a coherent whole. As for the fact that the same ideas underline the bulk of the book and appear repeatedly, I will not complain much, because it only serves to help the ignorant reader, such as myself, digest them better.
All in all, the storytelling keeps one engaged and presents much relief to the reader when the philosophy gets too heavy, making the book accessible to almost anybody. For all its shortcomings, I believe this is definitely a book worth reading for anyone that has ever tried to make sense of the desires that permeate our very being as humans.
April 29, 2020
Ratings: 4.5/5
Kama: The Riddle of Desire, it’s one of the most underrated books I have ever read. The word Kama and its meaning have been stereotyped and the real meaning of the word has been stripped off. The author here has brilliantly written this as a memoir rather than a book which is solely based on the word ‘ Kama ‘. He has made sure that the word is not just viewed as the sexual desire but as the DESIRE in general. The book contains 12 chapters and each chapter can be has been nicely divided so that the author explains a part of his life and tries to provides an explanation about that with the works of many philosophers, psychologist, writers, novels and novellas such as Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Sigmund Freud, Aristotle, Plato, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy to name a few. He had made sure that each part of the story is explained with the examples taken from their works in details. He had included the verses of the epic of Mahabharata and Ramayana too. Using the examples of Lord Krishna and Lord Shiva’s lives to show a deeper meaning of the word Kama, he had included the paragraphs and verses from some Upanishads and Gitagovinda too. Whilst the author had included his life here, he had tried to answer the most important questions related to sex, love and marriage. Each chapter tries to answer a new question which becomes exciting to read as there is also an explanation. The usage of classical works and poems from the Indian history, he had tried to differentiate the periods of the classical age to that of semi modern age and also east from the west, but simultaneously trying to find the similarity which has stayed hidden over years. As the writer’s story is based post-Independence and before the 90s revolution, his major focus was the relation of the Kama to Hinduism, which as per me he had done it brilliantly.
July 21, 2022
It is almost impossible to speak about an author’s work without referring to his earlier work. At least for me that’s the case. India Unbound was the first book I read. Since then the love affair sort of began. Difficulty of being good and Elephant paradigm followed in quick succession. The fire had abated in the past few months but when I chanced upon this book in a Sunday book market I had to get my hands on it.
When one starts reading Gurcharan Das at first most of them might not be pleased, (I certainly wasn’t or rather I was much displeased) but you give him some time and keep an open mind and he’ll bring you around to his camp. He is rather devious in his ways. What astonished me the most was his understanding of ways of our nation in multiple fronts and also a deep understanding of Hindu mythology especially Mahabharata (which shouldn’t be so surprising after all he literally wrote a book on Mahabharata). Not only does he observe well, but he provides solutions to those problems in his own provocative manner. Mostly he tended to confine his solutions to the economic sphere. But as his voice started to gain more listeners he became more audacious and treaded many other paths of which Dharma, politics, & Kama are the prominent names which come to mind.
His books contain hints of autobiographical account and by now I had imagined that he might have run out of stories related to his life to insert in his book{after all one can only do so much in his professional life as the head of a company} or so I thought. However he used the tool of writing fiction this time to convey his message.
Initially it felt unlike the usual Gurcharan Das. I even termed the experience as reading a “Chetan Bhagat” book {I’d let you to be the judge of whether that counts as a compliment or an insult}. He catches up pretty fast I guess and quickly tries to make amends.
There are two components to this book. The story part and the commentary part. The book is a strand wherein story and commentary weave together to provide an enthralling experience. The story is nothing special. It is Bollywood-esque. Or a story straight out of a Chetan Bhagat’s pen. So be prepared to be disappointed or entertained on that part depending upon your outlook. However it is the commentary part which will draw your attention every 2-3 pages or so.
We really haven’t specified what this book is all about, after all not all of us are well versed with Sanskrit titles. Kama or desire is one of the main aims of humanity apart from dharma, moksha, and artha. Kama would mean different things to us under different contexts but there is pretty big stereotype related to this title so let me just address it, Kama-sutra, the volume written by Vatsyana. This book borrows a lot from there but it is about much more than just the fulfillment of our sexual appetite. And if you are willing to shed those inhibitions and embark on this journey with the author to unravel the mystery of Kama then you are sure to encounter a lot of entertainment and insights into and about our own life. To be fair I am rather incompetent or unqualified for most of the matters that this book deals with, so I really cannot judge the accuracy of the thoughts expressed on those matters. Only time would tell I guess.
Many of his ideas which I had encountered in the previous books were expressed here as well. There are some interesting philosophical ideas and mostly there are summaries of famous stories of the west and Hindu mythology. So let me caution you in advance in case you do not want any spoilers of Marcel Proust’s, Leo Tolstoy’s, Dostoevsky’s novels and god knows how many other authors are there. Just beware. He borrows freely from these stories and tries to prove his case through these stories. Which at times looked pretty weird but soon you get used to it.
That’s about it. Good luck unlocking the riddle of desire.
{3.5/5}
Thanks for sticking by.
Until next time
-Manvendra
When one starts reading Gurcharan Das at first most of them might not be pleased, (I certainly wasn’t or rather I was much displeased) but you give him some time and keep an open mind and he’ll bring you around to his camp. He is rather devious in his ways. What astonished me the most was his understanding of ways of our nation in multiple fronts and also a deep understanding of Hindu mythology especially Mahabharata (which shouldn’t be so surprising after all he literally wrote a book on Mahabharata). Not only does he observe well, but he provides solutions to those problems in his own provocative manner. Mostly he tended to confine his solutions to the economic sphere. But as his voice started to gain more listeners he became more audacious and treaded many other paths of which Dharma, politics, & Kama are the prominent names which come to mind.
His books contain hints of autobiographical account and by now I had imagined that he might have run out of stories related to his life to insert in his book{after all one can only do so much in his professional life as the head of a company} or so I thought. However he used the tool of writing fiction this time to convey his message.
Initially it felt unlike the usual Gurcharan Das. I even termed the experience as reading a “Chetan Bhagat” book {I’d let you to be the judge of whether that counts as a compliment or an insult}. He catches up pretty fast I guess and quickly tries to make amends.
There are two components to this book. The story part and the commentary part. The book is a strand wherein story and commentary weave together to provide an enthralling experience. The story is nothing special. It is Bollywood-esque. Or a story straight out of a Chetan Bhagat’s pen. So be prepared to be disappointed or entertained on that part depending upon your outlook. However it is the commentary part which will draw your attention every 2-3 pages or so.
We really haven’t specified what this book is all about, after all not all of us are well versed with Sanskrit titles. Kama or desire is one of the main aims of humanity apart from dharma, moksha, and artha. Kama would mean different things to us under different contexts but there is pretty big stereotype related to this title so let me just address it, Kama-sutra, the volume written by Vatsyana. This book borrows a lot from there but it is about much more than just the fulfillment of our sexual appetite. And if you are willing to shed those inhibitions and embark on this journey with the author to unravel the mystery of Kama then you are sure to encounter a lot of entertainment and insights into and about our own life. To be fair I am rather incompetent or unqualified for most of the matters that this book deals with, so I really cannot judge the accuracy of the thoughts expressed on those matters. Only time would tell I guess.
Many of his ideas which I had encountered in the previous books were expressed here as well. There are some interesting philosophical ideas and mostly there are summaries of famous stories of the west and Hindu mythology. So let me caution you in advance in case you do not want any spoilers of Marcel Proust’s, Leo Tolstoy’s, Dostoevsky’s novels and god knows how many other authors are there. Just beware. He borrows freely from these stories and tries to prove his case through these stories. Which at times looked pretty weird but soon you get used to it.
That’s about it. Good luck unlocking the riddle of desire.
{3.5/5}
Thanks for sticking by.
Until next time
-Manvendra
April 9, 2020
This book will make you look deep inside yourself; you will find parts of the book that you too have lived through. It will resonate with probably the exact feelings you had experienced; will let you re-live those memories and then bring you back to the present as a new, rejuvenated person with much more clarity about life.
The central theme of this book is obviously Kama (and not just in the sexual sense). The book covers all aspects of Kama some of which are love, desire, passion, adultery. One of the key discussions of this book is between Dharma and Kama. Dharma is the duty to others while Kama is duty to oneself. This is probably a constant battle that an individual has to deal with at any stage of life; should we live life thinking about Dharma i.e. what is right for others and humanity in general or should we live life thinking about ourselves as we have a duty towards our own well being also.
The book looks at various stages of life and tries to answer this question. The answer to this dilemma obviously lies somewhere in between. It is important to follow Dharma otherwise we probably would not be better off than animals but having said that if we are not fulfilling the duty towards ourselves, are we not cheating self? And if we our not fulfilling Kama, can we be happy in long term and still think about the society (dharma)? This is one of the difficulties that this book comes back to.
One striking example that got me thinking was of adultery. While one loves his/her spouse/partner there usually comes a moment in life when one cheats (and the book goes on to explain this through evolutionary biology how having multiple partners is how we as humans have developed). When one is cheating, he/she knows that if he/she cheats, then that is not good for the spouse, family, children. However, if he doesn’t cheat, then there could be a chance that the person is cheating himself, his own desires. This could lead him to be discontented and in the end probably the entire family unhappy. So should one fall into the trap of adultery? While the moral answer might be a straight no for most of us but is that morally correct for one own self? (the author in this case has assumed that the adulterer is in love with the adulteress and it is not just for sexual pleasures). Another question this book asks in this aspect is that “could one really put faith in such a person who has never been tempted?” But for the betterment of all, the right answer probably should be that the restraining hand of dharma must trump kama. And the reason for that is that if one goes too deep into kama (fulfilling own’s desires), he/she can lead to the downfall of humanity.
The way this book is written is something unique. It falls in between the fine line of fiction and non-fiction. The author has narrated the fiction through the character of Amar who goes through various stages of life right from childhood to death and how his Kama (desire and pleasure) changes at each stage of life. All of us live through these stages and can very well relate with dilemmas we face in these stages of life. The fiction part of the book is not very imaginative and probably rightly so so that all the readers can relate with the character and dilemmas he face.
Author goes on to explain these dilemmas through several lenses such as Philosophy, Indian Mythology, Greek Mythology, Western Philosophy, Indian Philosophy, and works by Aristotle, Freud, Shakespeare, Tolstoy and many others. This book is an amalgamation of many other streams of teachings that bind our lives.
This is one book that should probably be the bible for everyone because as a society we always have this battle between right and wrong (kama vs dharma). This book can offer the correct lens through which we can look at a situation when there is a battle between kama and dharma.
The central theme of this book is obviously Kama (and not just in the sexual sense). The book covers all aspects of Kama some of which are love, desire, passion, adultery. One of the key discussions of this book is between Dharma and Kama. Dharma is the duty to others while Kama is duty to oneself. This is probably a constant battle that an individual has to deal with at any stage of life; should we live life thinking about Dharma i.e. what is right for others and humanity in general or should we live life thinking about ourselves as we have a duty towards our own well being also.
The book looks at various stages of life and tries to answer this question. The answer to this dilemma obviously lies somewhere in between. It is important to follow Dharma otherwise we probably would not be better off than animals but having said that if we are not fulfilling the duty towards ourselves, are we not cheating self? And if we our not fulfilling Kama, can we be happy in long term and still think about the society (dharma)? This is one of the difficulties that this book comes back to.
One striking example that got me thinking was of adultery. While one loves his/her spouse/partner there usually comes a moment in life when one cheats (and the book goes on to explain this through evolutionary biology how having multiple partners is how we as humans have developed). When one is cheating, he/she knows that if he/she cheats, then that is not good for the spouse, family, children. However, if he doesn’t cheat, then there could be a chance that the person is cheating himself, his own desires. This could lead him to be discontented and in the end probably the entire family unhappy. So should one fall into the trap of adultery? While the moral answer might be a straight no for most of us but is that morally correct for one own self? (the author in this case has assumed that the adulterer is in love with the adulteress and it is not just for sexual pleasures). Another question this book asks in this aspect is that “could one really put faith in such a person who has never been tempted?” But for the betterment of all, the right answer probably should be that the restraining hand of dharma must trump kama. And the reason for that is that if one goes too deep into kama (fulfilling own’s desires), he/she can lead to the downfall of humanity.
The way this book is written is something unique. It falls in between the fine line of fiction and non-fiction. The author has narrated the fiction through the character of Amar who goes through various stages of life right from childhood to death and how his Kama (desire and pleasure) changes at each stage of life. All of us live through these stages and can very well relate with dilemmas we face in these stages of life. The fiction part of the book is not very imaginative and probably rightly so so that all the readers can relate with the character and dilemmas he face.
Author goes on to explain these dilemmas through several lenses such as Philosophy, Indian Mythology, Greek Mythology, Western Philosophy, Indian Philosophy, and works by Aristotle, Freud, Shakespeare, Tolstoy and many others. This book is an amalgamation of many other streams of teachings that bind our lives.
This is one book that should probably be the bible for everyone because as a society we always have this battle between right and wrong (kama vs dharma). This book can offer the correct lens through which we can look at a situation when there is a battle between kama and dharma.
October 23, 2021
Gurcharan Das is an author I have loved reading earlier. And though I read it now, I had bought this one immediately when it came out. But, I think both the structure and the ideas are ordinary (even pedestrian).
As with Amish's last book "Dharma", Das too has used the vehicle of fictional characters continuing throughout the book to talk about the philosophy of "Kama". I despise this dumbing down and this pretense. It would have fine if it would have been autobiographical and/or heartfelt and literary. Ironically, I am in love with In the Light of What We Know which too has conversations between 2 friends on a range of topics but is literary fiction.
Secondly, one thing that Bollywood cinema has been good at is - Love-stories. Especially the poetry and the music. So, for an avid reader who is also a Bollywood buff and a music lover, there was hardly anything insightful in this book ! Dump this and read/listen to a bit of Ghalib & co.
As with Amish's last book "Dharma", Das too has used the vehicle of fictional characters continuing throughout the book to talk about the philosophy of "Kama". I despise this dumbing down and this pretense. It would have fine if it would have been autobiographical and/or heartfelt and literary. Ironically, I am in love with In the Light of What We Know which too has conversations between 2 friends on a range of topics but is literary fiction.
Secondly, one thing that Bollywood cinema has been good at is - Love-stories. Especially the poetry and the music. So, for an avid reader who is also a Bollywood buff and a music lover, there was hardly anything insightful in this book ! Dump this and read/listen to a bit of Ghalib & co.
February 4, 2021
Not an easy topic to condense even in this 500+ pager . But the author has explored Kama in it’s various forms and left it to the readers to ponder over.
I wish there weren't so many occasions of bland "book reviews" that were too often and too repetitive to be brought up.
Took some time to complete it. Looking forward to get back again for new insights.
I wish there weren't so many occasions of bland "book reviews" that were too often and too repetitive to be brought up.
Took some time to complete it. Looking forward to get back again for new insights.
August 16, 2022
Book has a strong start from oedipus complex and then Guracharan Das tried to make it more interesting by using a fictional story and ofcourse his philosophy and meticulous observations. However, i found few topics as repetition and i just can't pin point exactly what it is but the natural flow of book was not what i expected. Although topic is more interesting here, I liked India unbound more than this one.
April 5, 2019
A sublime read. GD explores love/kama in Kama: The Riddle of Desire. He quotes extensively from literature, mythology, philosophy and scripture as he weaves his tale in an attempt to understand love and desire, and the impulses behind these intense emotions. And yet the riddle remains as do other existential questions. Mightier men have addressed them and we remain none the wiser.
This is a book to be read slowly and savoured; it makes you think about life, existence, love, desire, friendship and so much else.
This is a book to be read slowly and savoured; it makes you think about life, existence, love, desire, friendship and so much else.
August 31, 2019
After one book on artha, 'material well-being' (India Unbound), and another one on dharma, 'moral well-being' (The Difficulty of Being Good) – Gurcharan Das has done a great job of explaining kama, 'desire and pleasure' in this book. What makes it a fantastic read is author’s ability to explain nature of kama through philosophy, literature and history.
July 23, 2022
What are you #reading right now?
I recently wrapped up reading #Kama: The Riddle of #Desire by Gurcharan Das @gurcharandas1943
Amar's intriguing life and choices left me spellbound - there were moments when I saw a version of myself in him and then there were moments where he and I couldn't have been further from each other.
... I loved the evolution of the character's thoughts as well as parts in him that were cemented throughout.
... He was unapologetically himself as well as owned and apologized where he caused hurt.
... He was admirably unique in one moment and obnoxiously obvious in another!
He was perfectly imperfect.
Like every book that I've been hooked to in the past, this left me with some beautiful #questions that I needed to answer for myself at this moment in my #journey...
✨ How and where does desire show up in my life and in what forms?
✨ How do stories of my past show up today and what do I choose to do with them?
✨Why do men and women feel differently about infidelity? (This was a definite aha!)
✨ Where do allegiance of kama optimists and kama pessimists lie w.r.t. love?
... And many many more!
There were moments of impatience too - especially when the analogies to different books/plots became too much or when my favourite characters were making obvious/unimaginable moves.🤭
Here's to more #fiction in 2022!
#love #learning #limitlessness #reader #writer #poetess #books #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookworm
I recently wrapped up reading #Kama: The Riddle of #Desire by Gurcharan Das @gurcharandas1943
Amar's intriguing life and choices left me spellbound - there were moments when I saw a version of myself in him and then there were moments where he and I couldn't have been further from each other.
... I loved the evolution of the character's thoughts as well as parts in him that were cemented throughout.
... He was unapologetically himself as well as owned and apologized where he caused hurt.
... He was admirably unique in one moment and obnoxiously obvious in another!
He was perfectly imperfect.
Like every book that I've been hooked to in the past, this left me with some beautiful #questions that I needed to answer for myself at this moment in my #journey...
✨ How and where does desire show up in my life and in what forms?
✨ How do stories of my past show up today and what do I choose to do with them?
✨Why do men and women feel differently about infidelity? (This was a definite aha!)
✨ Where do allegiance of kama optimists and kama pessimists lie w.r.t. love?
... And many many more!
There were moments of impatience too - especially when the analogies to different books/plots became too much or when my favourite characters were making obvious/unimaginable moves.🤭
Here's to more #fiction in 2022!
#love #learning #limitlessness #reader #writer #poetess #books #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookworm
July 2, 2019
The book was such a long drag, I expected it to be on the lines of a spiritual journey of the characters in the book. However it was just an accumulation of the author's summaries on different books of a similar genre with the backdrop of a really weak self developed story in the backdrop. I would definetly not recommend this book to anyone. In case you want to just go through the story, you can skip a lot of the book and complete it in just a day's time.
December 15, 2019
Das' relative lack of talent at writing fiction makes this book an insipid read. A shorter non-fiction book with fewer meanderings and repetitions would have been much more readable.
December 16, 2022
I admit I was at once interested and sceptical about this book when I picked it up at the airport. I had read Das’s other books and know him to be an immaculate researcher and writer on topics of ethics, morals, economics and commerce. But a book on desire and its role in the human condition was definitely a surprise for me. That is until I learnt that he is planning to write a series of books on the 4 human goals mentioned in our spiritual texts - dharma, artha, Kama and moksha. I was intrigued.
Mr. Das sticks to his way of writing - great insights gleaned from meticulous research and delivered through elegant prose. To be honest though, the book didn’t start well for me. The book is a fictional story of a man (Amar the narrator) through various stages of life and his interpretations of desire, love, sex, marriage etc which is interspersed with thesis on how these topics have been defined, understood, practiced and morphed by society over centuries. The author uses vedic, spiritual and classic literature (eastern and western) as inspirations for his theses. This style of the book took some getting used to and I did not feel invested in the narrator’s own story until midway. Once you invest enough time with the book, you understand that without the fiction, the thesis would have been too boring and without the thesis, the story too pointless and banal.
I loved the references to various classic books and authors and their version of love and Kama as a voice of what was prevalent in their age and time. It was educational. I was always intimidated by classics like Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina or Proust’s Remembrance of the Things Past or even great Sanskrit poetry like Gitagovinda, Bhagavadgita and the eponymous kamasutra (all of which feature heavily in the book) but now knowing they are based on universal emotion of love and desire - I’m willing to give them a try. Im thankful to the book for that.
The narrator is essentially a common Joe and his experiences through various stages of life are meant to be ours and we are supposed to vicariously feel all of his experiences w.r.t kama (elegantly put in vedic texts as 5 stages of love) - infatuation of youth, excitement of love, intense passion, desiccation and death of love in old age and interspersed in his story are the interpretations of these different versions of desire and love as seen in great classics and vedas and how great thinkers of their time dealt with these stages.
Throughly enlightening was to understand how romance and love developed from primitive times. Why do we think of love the way we do, why do we fantasize and love one person if the whole biological purpose of sex is to procreate, what was the purpose of marriage when it was invented, is it still relevant today, how is desire different for men and women? How something that is at its core biological morph into a societal need? Why does society curb something that should be basic and readily available for all. All of these themes are explored. Mr Das does not preach “a right interpretation” nor does he leave things jumbled (through the narrators choices in his life he picks an interpretation for himself which all of us do in our lives anyway). Given most of us in our lifetimes grow up with the current interpretation of these themes in society it was refreshing to understand how these concepts developed over centuries. This really helps one see them just like any technology that developed over centuries and not necessarily as rigid ethical things that are not to be meddled with.
There are moments in the book where the interpretations stretch really thin but the book overall is a good expose on the topic. At its core the book is an ode to desire and great one at that.
Mr. Das sticks to his way of writing - great insights gleaned from meticulous research and delivered through elegant prose. To be honest though, the book didn’t start well for me. The book is a fictional story of a man (Amar the narrator) through various stages of life and his interpretations of desire, love, sex, marriage etc which is interspersed with thesis on how these topics have been defined, understood, practiced and morphed by society over centuries. The author uses vedic, spiritual and classic literature (eastern and western) as inspirations for his theses. This style of the book took some getting used to and I did not feel invested in the narrator’s own story until midway. Once you invest enough time with the book, you understand that without the fiction, the thesis would have been too boring and without the thesis, the story too pointless and banal.
I loved the references to various classic books and authors and their version of love and Kama as a voice of what was prevalent in their age and time. It was educational. I was always intimidated by classics like Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina or Proust’s Remembrance of the Things Past or even great Sanskrit poetry like Gitagovinda, Bhagavadgita and the eponymous kamasutra (all of which feature heavily in the book) but now knowing they are based on universal emotion of love and desire - I’m willing to give them a try. Im thankful to the book for that.
The narrator is essentially a common Joe and his experiences through various stages of life are meant to be ours and we are supposed to vicariously feel all of his experiences w.r.t kama (elegantly put in vedic texts as 5 stages of love) - infatuation of youth, excitement of love, intense passion, desiccation and death of love in old age and interspersed in his story are the interpretations of these different versions of desire and love as seen in great classics and vedas and how great thinkers of their time dealt with these stages.
Throughly enlightening was to understand how romance and love developed from primitive times. Why do we think of love the way we do, why do we fantasize and love one person if the whole biological purpose of sex is to procreate, what was the purpose of marriage when it was invented, is it still relevant today, how is desire different for men and women? How something that is at its core biological morph into a societal need? Why does society curb something that should be basic and readily available for all. All of these themes are explored. Mr Das does not preach “a right interpretation” nor does he leave things jumbled (through the narrators choices in his life he picks an interpretation for himself which all of us do in our lives anyway). Given most of us in our lifetimes grow up with the current interpretation of these themes in society it was refreshing to understand how these concepts developed over centuries. This really helps one see them just like any technology that developed over centuries and not necessarily as rigid ethical things that are not to be meddled with.
There are moments in the book where the interpretations stretch really thin but the book overall is a good expose on the topic. At its core the book is an ode to desire and great one at that.
June 2, 2023
Kama, the Riddle of Desire" by Gurcharan Das is an exquisite masterpiece that seamlessly weaves together fiction and psychology, taking readers on a captivating journey through the intricacies of human desire. This book is a testament to the author's skill in embedding a vast amount of knowledge into a single narrative, encompassing everything from Greek mythology to Indian Upanishads.
One of the most remarkable aspects of this book is the beautiful approach taken by Gurcharan Das to explore the multifaceted nature of desire. Through the compelling story of the protagonist, readers are immersed in a world where the complexities of human longing are unravelled and examined with great depth. It is a testament to the author's craftsmanship that he manages to integrate psychological insights seamlessly into the narrative, making it an engaging and enlightening experience.
The extensive research conducted by Gurcharan Das is evident throughout the book. Drawing from a wide range of sources, including ancient texts and philosophical traditions, the author skillfully brings together various perspectives on desire. Whether it's delving into Greek mythology or exploring the profound wisdom of Indian Upanishads, the book offers a rich tapestry of knowledge that enhances the reader's understanding of desire from different cultural and historical contexts.
What truly sets "Kama, the Riddle of Desire" apart is its ability to evoke both emotional and intellectual satisfaction. The characters are vividly brought to life, each with their own desires and struggles, making them relatable and deeply human. The narrative unfolds in a way that keeps readers engaged, while the thought-provoking exploration of desire's complexities stimulates introspection and reflection long after the book is finished.
Gurcharan Das's writing style is elegant and poetic, beautifully capturing the essence of desire and its intricate connections to human existence. The prose flows effortlessly, immersing readers in a world of enchantment, passion, and self-discovery. It is a testament to the author's talent that he can convey profound philosophical ideas in such a accessible and engaging manner.
In conclusion, "Kama, the Riddle of Desire" is an extraordinary blend of fiction and psychology that offers a profound exploration of one of humanity's most compelling forces. Gurcharan Das's ability to seamlessly embed a wealth of knowledge into a single narrative is commendable. The book leaves readers emotionally and intellectually satisfied, and its thought-provoking insights will resonate long after the final page is turned. It is a must-read for anyone seeking a captivating and enlightening journey through the mysteries of desire.
One of the most remarkable aspects of this book is the beautiful approach taken by Gurcharan Das to explore the multifaceted nature of desire. Through the compelling story of the protagonist, readers are immersed in a world where the complexities of human longing are unravelled and examined with great depth. It is a testament to the author's craftsmanship that he manages to integrate psychological insights seamlessly into the narrative, making it an engaging and enlightening experience.
The extensive research conducted by Gurcharan Das is evident throughout the book. Drawing from a wide range of sources, including ancient texts and philosophical traditions, the author skillfully brings together various perspectives on desire. Whether it's delving into Greek mythology or exploring the profound wisdom of Indian Upanishads, the book offers a rich tapestry of knowledge that enhances the reader's understanding of desire from different cultural and historical contexts.
What truly sets "Kama, the Riddle of Desire" apart is its ability to evoke both emotional and intellectual satisfaction. The characters are vividly brought to life, each with their own desires and struggles, making them relatable and deeply human. The narrative unfolds in a way that keeps readers engaged, while the thought-provoking exploration of desire's complexities stimulates introspection and reflection long after the book is finished.
Gurcharan Das's writing style is elegant and poetic, beautifully capturing the essence of desire and its intricate connections to human existence. The prose flows effortlessly, immersing readers in a world of enchantment, passion, and self-discovery. It is a testament to the author's talent that he can convey profound philosophical ideas in such a accessible and engaging manner.
In conclusion, "Kama, the Riddle of Desire" is an extraordinary blend of fiction and psychology that offers a profound exploration of one of humanity's most compelling forces. Gurcharan Das's ability to seamlessly embed a wealth of knowledge into a single narrative is commendable. The book leaves readers emotionally and intellectually satisfied, and its thought-provoking insights will resonate long after the final page is turned. It is a must-read for anyone seeking a captivating and enlightening journey through the mysteries of desire.
June 6, 2020
Kama: The riddle of desire by Gurcharan Das is a delightful book. From the very first pages until the end, the author weaves together ideas from philosophy, art, psychology, literature and general knowledge of things to form a narrative about human relationships, the nature of love and desire, warts and all. In its essence, this book is about, why we do, what we do. The last book in the trilogy on life's goals, Artha( India Unbound), Dharma( The difficulty of being good) and Kama; this book far exceeds the previous two in terms of the comprehensiveness of the content and the narrative style.
Das uses the fictional story of Amar Kumar, the protagonist writing his memoir, as a springboard to put out his ideas. It is this element of the fictional in the book, which is otherwise non-fiction, that makes it compelling to read and trudge, for the book is a bit exhaustive, till the end. Through the spectrum of Amar's life, his loves, marriage and adultery, the author gives an insightful account of desire, both physical and emotional, and its workings between human nature and culture. Das's fundamental argument is how excessive cultural repression over the millennia of the primal instincts and desires of humans, through institutions like religion and morality have had a huge impact on the way humans tend to behave. Ideas such as romantic love exported and consumed world over through pop culture are at the heart mythical in nature. He breaks down the paradoxes and the complexities inherent in the ideas that float around in the society by employing the tools of history and science. The author borrows from sources as varied as Freud, Proust, Aristotle and Kalidasa. Amar's story juxtaposed with the author's ideas make for a very languorous and immersive read.
The prose is lucid and easily accessible, despite its quasi academic nature. The charm and feel of the the post independence India, life and times in the twin cities of Delhi and Bombay, and the slow and lazy journey until the reforms in 1990s, and its spilling over into the new century, augments the reading of Das's book. However, the book remains an introspection on heterogeneous relationships and fails to accommodate the homogeneous and the bisexual.
Das uses the fictional story of Amar Kumar, the protagonist writing his memoir, as a springboard to put out his ideas. It is this element of the fictional in the book, which is otherwise non-fiction, that makes it compelling to read and trudge, for the book is a bit exhaustive, till the end. Through the spectrum of Amar's life, his loves, marriage and adultery, the author gives an insightful account of desire, both physical and emotional, and its workings between human nature and culture. Das's fundamental argument is how excessive cultural repression over the millennia of the primal instincts and desires of humans, through institutions like religion and morality have had a huge impact on the way humans tend to behave. Ideas such as romantic love exported and consumed world over through pop culture are at the heart mythical in nature. He breaks down the paradoxes and the complexities inherent in the ideas that float around in the society by employing the tools of history and science. The author borrows from sources as varied as Freud, Proust, Aristotle and Kalidasa. Amar's story juxtaposed with the author's ideas make for a very languorous and immersive read.
The prose is lucid and easily accessible, despite its quasi academic nature. The charm and feel of the the post independence India, life and times in the twin cities of Delhi and Bombay, and the slow and lazy journey until the reforms in 1990s, and its spilling over into the new century, augments the reading of Das's book. However, the book remains an introspection on heterogeneous relationships and fails to accommodate the homogeneous and the bisexual.
March 31, 2024
This book is part of the trilogy on the three 'purusharths' (goals of human life) of the Indian philosophy: 'artha' (material well-bieng), 'kama' (pleasure and desire), and 'dharma' (righteousness/duty) by Gurcharan Das. I had earlier read The Difficulty of Being Good: On the Subtle Art of Dharma (read my review here) which got me invested in this trilogy.
Unlike the book on dharma, in this book, the author employs the tool of fiction to navigate through the various aspects of kama or pleasure. The book is a comprehensive treatise on kama not just from the Indian philosophical perspective but also from Western and Greek philosophies, and the works of Proust, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, and so on. The author cleverly uses the four main characters' personalities to weave in the different perspectives on kama. Through the eyes of the protagonist, the content becomes relatable to real life, where one often faces the dilemma of kama vs dharma (duty to oneself vs duty to others), and there are no easy answers. The riddle of desire remains enigmatic but the author offers the lens of kama optimism and kama pessimism, presenting both the beauty and the beast that desire represents. In his signature style, the author was sensitive to the influences of patriarchy in many of the philosophies on kama.
The book would have benefitted from better copyediting. I spotted two typos and the many philosophies within the ~500 pages could be condensed to avoid repetition and make it more crisp.
A beautiful and highly underrated book!
Shashi Tharoor's review does justice to the book "This is an exquisite book, at once tender and profane, like desire itself."
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic, or for a leisure read.
Unlike the book on dharma, in this book, the author employs the tool of fiction to navigate through the various aspects of kama or pleasure. The book is a comprehensive treatise on kama not just from the Indian philosophical perspective but also from Western and Greek philosophies, and the works of Proust, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, and so on. The author cleverly uses the four main characters' personalities to weave in the different perspectives on kama. Through the eyes of the protagonist, the content becomes relatable to real life, where one often faces the dilemma of kama vs dharma (duty to oneself vs duty to others), and there are no easy answers. The riddle of desire remains enigmatic but the author offers the lens of kama optimism and kama pessimism, presenting both the beauty and the beast that desire represents. In his signature style, the author was sensitive to the influences of patriarchy in many of the philosophies on kama.
The book would have benefitted from better copyediting. I spotted two typos and the many philosophies within the ~500 pages could be condensed to avoid repetition and make it more crisp.
A beautiful and highly underrated book!
Shashi Tharoor's review does justice to the book "This is an exquisite book, at once tender and profane, like desire itself."
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic, or for a leisure read.
July 7, 2022
Gurcharan Das is one of my favourite authors. I've read India unbound (which is about economic liberation of India in the 90s, so basically about "artha"), India grows at night (sort of a sequel about the later economic years) The difficulty of being good- The subtle art of Dharma (which, as the name suggests is about righteousness, so about "dharma"). Then the author decided to write about Kama, the third of the purusharthas. The fourth is Moksha.
This book has a backbone of fiction, where the protagonist narrates his life experiences and via the various people that he encounters, he analyses the various kinds of personalities- the pleasure seekers, the narcissistic who want to be loved but not love in return, and the empathetic who feel love is about making the beloved happy. At appropriate places the writer makes references to ancient Indian texts like Rigveda, classics like Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Greek mythology and their concepts of Agape, Eros and Philia and Indian writings like that of Manto and also films like Ray's Charulata. As the protagonist battles his feelings, we contemplate what is love versus possession and isn't possessiveness of the beloved natural?
Isn't it interesting how Kama is a life goal- one of the four purusharths in our civilization?! I think love is a process that changes you gradually. And as Proust puts it, ‘What matters in life is not whom or what one loves… it is the fact of loving’.
It's indeed a thought provoking narrative.
This book has a backbone of fiction, where the protagonist narrates his life experiences and via the various people that he encounters, he analyses the various kinds of personalities- the pleasure seekers, the narcissistic who want to be loved but not love in return, and the empathetic who feel love is about making the beloved happy. At appropriate places the writer makes references to ancient Indian texts like Rigveda, classics like Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Greek mythology and their concepts of Agape, Eros and Philia and Indian writings like that of Manto and also films like Ray's Charulata. As the protagonist battles his feelings, we contemplate what is love versus possession and isn't possessiveness of the beloved natural?
Isn't it interesting how Kama is a life goal- one of the four purusharths in our civilization?! I think love is a process that changes you gradually. And as Proust puts it, ‘What matters in life is not whom or what one loves… it is the fact of loving’.
It's indeed a thought provoking narrative.
August 9, 2023
In his over 400-page book, Gurcharan Das talks a length about a neglected goal of life: kama and the eternal enigma of duty to oneself (kama) and duty to others (dharma), calling it a debate between kama optimists and kama pessimists. The protagonist Amar undertakes a tedious journey, encountering different phases and faces of kama in his life, experiencing infatuation in adolescence, romantic love in his twenties, and adultery in his forties and the ultimate realization of the true constantly changing form of kama in his life. The book divides the act of romantic love into four stages; falling in love, being in love, staying in love, and eventual death, with a special emphasis on the third stage. The author reaches a fair conclusion asking us to have an equal and balanced focus on all four goals of life (dharma, artha, kama and moksha) as "monolithic goals exclude majority of humanity".
Every chapter begins with the main story, diverting frequently to discuss evolution, cultural impact, and perception around the world of kama. The French Novelist Marcel Proust's works, Jayadev's Gitagovinda, Leo Tolstoy's several pieces, and Bhakti movement in India among others are often highlighted and discussed thoroughly to understand the several other perspectives and how an amalgamation of sacred and sensual is not only possible and has already been talked about in Indian scriptures and myths.
Every chapter begins with the main story, diverting frequently to discuss evolution, cultural impact, and perception around the world of kama. The French Novelist Marcel Proust's works, Jayadev's Gitagovinda, Leo Tolstoy's several pieces, and Bhakti movement in India among others are often highlighted and discussed thoroughly to understand the several other perspectives and how an amalgamation of sacred and sensual is not only possible and has already been talked about in Indian scriptures and myths.
October 18, 2020
One of the most underrated books I have ever read. The word Kama and its meaning have been stereotyped and the real meaning of the word has been stripped off. The author here has brilliantly written this as a memoir rather than a book which is solely based on the word 'Kama'.
Das uses the fictional story of Amar Kumar, the protagonist writing his memoir, as a springboard to put out his ideas. It is this element of the fictional in the book, which is otherwise non-fiction, that makes it compelling to read and trudge, for the book is a bit exhaustive, till the end. Through the spectrum of Amar's life, his loves, marriage and adultery, the author gives an insightful account of desire, both physical and emotional, and its workings between human nature and culture. The book covers all aspects of Kama some of which are love, desire, passion, adultery. One of the key discussions of this book is between Dharma and Kama.
The book contains 12 chapters and each chapter has been nicely divided so that the author explains a part of his life and tries to provide an explanation about that with the works of many philosophers, psychologist, writers, novels and novellas making it basically a book of quotations.
Das uses the fictional story of Amar Kumar, the protagonist writing his memoir, as a springboard to put out his ideas. It is this element of the fictional in the book, which is otherwise non-fiction, that makes it compelling to read and trudge, for the book is a bit exhaustive, till the end. Through the spectrum of Amar's life, his loves, marriage and adultery, the author gives an insightful account of desire, both physical and emotional, and its workings between human nature and culture. The book covers all aspects of Kama some of which are love, desire, passion, adultery. One of the key discussions of this book is between Dharma and Kama.
The book contains 12 chapters and each chapter has been nicely divided so that the author explains a part of his life and tries to provide an explanation about that with the works of many philosophers, psychologist, writers, novels and novellas making it basically a book of quotations.
March 25, 2021
A difficult topic to write about and to read too.
The author also brings out this discomfort in his fictitious story which runs parallel to his reflections about Kama. Growing up in the 80-90s, this topic was never freely discussed. It is only in the last 5 years or so with the boom of social media I feel people are opening up and expressing. I wish I had this understanding while growing up. In matters of expressing and playing out the desire, no matter how open minded I get, there is always that little stone of guilt which drags my feet.
The beauty of this book is that it acts as a mirror to reflect one's own relationship with Kama. This book has helped me deal with a lot of misconceptions and given me enough food for thought.
The only compliant I have with the book is it rambles on in some places. I wish the story was a little more crisper.
Having said that, this is a book for keeps. One can keep going back to sections and re-read them. I would highly recommend this book!
The author also brings out this discomfort in his fictitious story which runs parallel to his reflections about Kama. Growing up in the 80-90s, this topic was never freely discussed. It is only in the last 5 years or so with the boom of social media I feel people are opening up and expressing. I wish I had this understanding while growing up. In matters of expressing and playing out the desire, no matter how open minded I get, there is always that little stone of guilt which drags my feet.
The beauty of this book is that it acts as a mirror to reflect one's own relationship with Kama. This book has helped me deal with a lot of misconceptions and given me enough food for thought.
The only compliant I have with the book is it rambles on in some places. I wish the story was a little more crisper.
Having said that, this is a book for keeps. One can keep going back to sections and re-read them. I would highly recommend this book!
May 2, 2020
The eternal argument of defining “duty to oneself”, the essential message of Kamasutra is to live one’s life for the sake of pleasure.
Gurcharan Das (ex-MD & CEO of P&G) comes up with the third volume of his trilogy on life’s goals, the other two being (A) India Unbound, the first was on “material well-being” (B) The Difficulty of Being Good, the second was on “moral well-being”.
KAMA, The Riddle of Desire, is the author’s latest book on “personal well-being” where he tries to provide a different perspective on love, marriage, family, infatuation, adultery and jealousy. He argues that being erotic and being ascetic can be two different aspects of our same human nature. He tries to associate life’s different emotions to Indian & Greek mythologies, Sanskrit poetry, Western philosophy and works by Shakespeare, Manto and Tolstoy.
Of course, the book shows that the author is very well read as he quotes from literature all over the world and inadvertently presents the book as a “book of quotes”. He rarely gives his own thoughts, reflections, and interpretations. The book is a long drag and seems ever ending.
It is a daunting task to read a book of 450+ pages with extractions from Vedas and other literary sources. However, the book does present a fictional narrative which helps the reader absorb abstract notions with ease.
One can skip multiple pages of the book and read the author’s story only if you are a fan of his work.
I would rate the book an average read.
Gurcharan Das (ex-MD & CEO of P&G) comes up with the third volume of his trilogy on life’s goals, the other two being (A) India Unbound, the first was on “material well-being” (B) The Difficulty of Being Good, the second was on “moral well-being”.
KAMA, The Riddle of Desire, is the author’s latest book on “personal well-being” where he tries to provide a different perspective on love, marriage, family, infatuation, adultery and jealousy. He argues that being erotic and being ascetic can be two different aspects of our same human nature. He tries to associate life’s different emotions to Indian & Greek mythologies, Sanskrit poetry, Western philosophy and works by Shakespeare, Manto and Tolstoy.
Of course, the book shows that the author is very well read as he quotes from literature all over the world and inadvertently presents the book as a “book of quotes”. He rarely gives his own thoughts, reflections, and interpretations. The book is a long drag and seems ever ending.
It is a daunting task to read a book of 450+ pages with extractions from Vedas and other literary sources. However, the book does present a fictional narrative which helps the reader absorb abstract notions with ease.
One can skip multiple pages of the book and read the author’s story only if you are a fan of his work.
I would rate the book an average read.
June 4, 2020
One thing that I loved the most about this book is the Topic itself - Kama - Desire !! I never ever dreamt of stumbling upon book like this where author has not only dissected most intricate , difficult emotion of human psyche quoting right from Upanishads, Vedas to Anna Karenina & Crown. A torch bearer for many humans who struggle choosing between dharma or kama. All the characters in story , Isha Amar Anand Avanti Amaya , share their journey of balancing the four tenets of human life. However the question - betray oneself or betray other us still left unanswered in my opinion. It is still left with reader to choose between two. Odes to the author for bringing up the most vital yet most ignored part of being human.
November 5, 2018
This is book which shows that the writer is very well read, literature from all over the world is quoted, making it basically a book of quotations.
A good book is one which is interesting to read and provides something new- writers own thoughts, reflections, interpretations, imagination & what not.
Mr Gurucharan Das disappoints on that front, he has nothing new to say neither it is autobiographical. It is neither fiction nor philosophical, but good source to read excerpts & quotes from Rigveda, Vatsayan, Proust, Tolstoy and many more.
A good book is one which is interesting to read and provides something new- writers own thoughts, reflections, interpretations, imagination & what not.
Mr Gurucharan Das disappoints on that front, he has nothing new to say neither it is autobiographical. It is neither fiction nor philosophical, but good source to read excerpts & quotes from Rigveda, Vatsayan, Proust, Tolstoy and many more.
December 23, 2019
This book is one which has been written with a lot of heart. The author has tried and explained his perspectives on Kama, Marriage, Love, infatuation, jealousy and possessiveness by using a fictional narrative which helps the reader absorb the otherwise abstract notions with ease. The quotes from books on romance, Kama shatstra and philosophy are present to give literary context to the story and the idea being talked about.
Just like sensual pleasures, the book should be absorbed and read and enjoyed at a slow pace :)
Just like sensual pleasures, the book should be absorbed and read and enjoyed at a slow pace :)
August 4, 2023
It was a difficult read in the way that life is difficult and sometimes we make the wrong choices and it’s difficult to live with.
I am, without question, a romantic. I believe in love, almost foolish in my idealism. This book was not necessarily a cynical take on love, relationships and marriage but it was realism with a hint of pessimism; good things always come to an end, but they will be good.
So, it was a beautifully written book with some fascinating insights, but god I hope that he was wrong. Or if he wasn’t, I hope that I am an exception.
I am, without question, a romantic. I believe in love, almost foolish in my idealism. This book was not necessarily a cynical take on love, relationships and marriage but it was realism with a hint of pessimism; good things always come to an end, but they will be good.
So, it was a beautifully written book with some fascinating insights, but god I hope that he was wrong. Or if he wasn’t, I hope that I am an exception.
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