It is possible to look at the unclothed form of a fellow human being and simply admire the beauty. It is about the beauty of the person in a nak.ed state. The way you really are. Without having sex or trying to be sexy. Without cute clothes, fancy lingerie, make-up or hair style. Without suggestions. Just you, nu.de as God made you. Call it Simple Nudism or Pure Nudism. Can you think of anything more natural?

But the mere suggestion of nudity, much less, the sight of it, provokes violent expressions of outrage from many, not least people of the faiths. To those who are at home with nudism, this revulsion at nature may defy logic. But some insight can be offered as to why this is so. We will come to that presently, but first let me define what nudism is and what it is not.

Nudity exists in two forms: art and life. It exists in art forms such as photography, sculpture, painting and theatre. It also exists in human form such as people sunbathing at nu.de beaches and resorts. A photograph of an unclothed girl sitting on a chair and smiling is nudism. A picture of two people having sex is not nudism, it is p.or.no.graph.y. (That is, of course, at the basic level. For a photograph or any work of art can constitute p.or.no.graph.y if there are lewd gestures. It can even portend more than p.or.no.graph.y, as anyone familiar with the works of the French philosopher Marquis de Sade will attest. Whereas a picture of the sexual act can indeed serve the decent purpose of being a specimen for some scientific endeavour, or a tool for helping people improve their sex lives. Many would place the body of work based on the Kama Sutra in the latter category.) Nudism is not p.or.no.graph.y. While nudism can build up, p.or.no.graph.y tears down, for it sows desires that ought not to exist and may not be quenchable.

A nu.de photograph can either be art or ero.tica. It is art when its objective is simply that: Art. On the essence of art, there is no consensus in philosophy or art psychology as to whether it is the pleasure of aesthetics, the expansion of the human spirit to novel experiences, or the education of the human mind in humanity. It is ero.tica when its objective is to stimulate sexual desire. There is nothing wrong with that since there is nothing wrong with sex, intrinsically. Both Art and Ero.tica are outside the purview of what I call Simple Nudism or Pure Nudism – the primary objective of which is to forward and celebrate the human person and her (or his) beauty.

There are two reasons why anyone would oppose nudity: her religion, or his inborn tendency or operational principle. Religious opposition to nudity is principally a matter of interpretation. It is also quite understandable. But the reason many oppose nudism would be the latter. I think of relevance here will be the classification of the three gunas that constitute the fundamental operating principles or tendencies in nature in classical Vedic literature: tamas guna, rajas guna and sattva guna.

Generally destructive, the tamas guna are divinely excommunicated from joy. A guna tamas will bend over a flower, not to admire it, but to expel the contents of his nostrils on it. This is the kind of person that has no worries about stealing from his employer or lying except the possibility of getting caught. His sexual passion is uncontrollable and when it seizes him, he can do anything to satisfy it. To this person, the sight of nak.ed body sets off a violent palpitation or perspiration. Sex is filthy, and so is the nak.ed body. And so they use filthy words to describe the sexual act and body parts. These people live constantly in condemnation.

For the rajas, the look of a beautiful nak.ed body is a sign of sex only. Here we are not talking about the animal lust of the tamas who see sex as a means of satisfaction of the self, but sex as something of enjoyment for two. The rajas are capable of appreciating beauty and harmony.

The sattva guna will see the natural beauty of the nak.ed human body as nothing but beauty to behold, and attunement to nature and subtlety. A sight that offers a possibility to advance in the spiritual part and get closer to God. There is zero sexual stimulation and no thought of intercourse. This is something people of the rajas and tamas cannot comprehend. Why? Because “to the pure, all things are pure.” (Titus 1:15)

Beyond the three guns there are more spiritually advanced people who will appreciate this beauty but will not contemplate it for long. How I value such elevated souls.

The majority of people who swim and sunbathe on nudist beaches, the majority of parishioners who attended that nu.de church service in Amsterdam, do not relate it with sex. They just seek oneness and harmony with nature and people, they seek tenderness and simplicity. Sexuality here is replaced by a respectful, tender and fond attitude toward fellow human beings. This is something many cannot understand. But there are masters who believe that the attainment of this emotional state is important in spiritual development. Jesus the Christ seems to agree with this. “When you strip without being ashamed, and you take your clothes and put them under your feet like little children and ‘trample’ them, then you will see the Son of the (eternally) Living One.” (The Gospel of Thomas, 37).

There are health benefits to nudity. The body of many is only seen by them and their partner who may not be adept at observing physiological changes. If the world were nu.de and everyone saw everyone imagine how many cases of bosom cancer would be detected early. Cervical cancer will probably reduce due to the circulation of air through the body. And everyone would be encouraged to observe proper hygiene.

Nudity is a human right. But you cannot remove your clothes on the streets because there are many who will be harmed thus. Thus, while I do not think a government should be so big it regulates such matters, I believe there is a case for covering up properly when we go out in public places, particularly in such a society as Nigeria. For nudity can only be practised in the presence of like minds, of those who can handle it. In many countries there are nu.de beaches, hotels, resorts and even a village in France. There are nu.de events, and even nu.de churches – they had one in Amsterdam but mob threats forced further services to be cancelled. These are the places to practice nudity. There are no nu.de resorts in Nigeria. This is understandable – societies evolve and African societies are not prepared to handle such as of now. Maybe in another 50 years. Since, as already established, the nudist lifestyle is not something everyone can handle, either because of their religious inclination or emotional state, this write-up is not an invitation to remove your clothes.

deceive yourself
so de sade is now a philosopher? he was a pervert
i Snort with laughter.
health benefits of nudity? so we now detect "bosom cancer" by sight? wonderful i guess then the mammographs have been phased out then
cervical cancer prevented by air circulation? last i checked the main source of air in the body is the nose and what does that have to do with the wearing of clothes or are the nude women walking around, sitting or standing with their legs spread wide? do you know where the cervix is located?
no one opposes nudity just public display of, which you affirm
nudist "churches" ? are these based on the bible or the vedic literature you quote so copiously?
do, oh i give up! *leaving this ridiculous thread in disgust*



ps
i am off to start the first nudist political party in nigeria. watch for our convention on c-span

trekkie:

deceive yourself
so de sade is now a philosopher?
i Snort with laughter.

No. He always was. He wrote novels and philosophical treatises. Third rate? Maybe. A philosopher, still. Not the issue here, though.

trekkie:

deceive yourself
so de sade is now a philosopher? he was a pervert
i Snort with laughter.
health benefits of nudity? so we now detect "bosom cancer" by sight? wonderful i guess then the mammographs have been phased out then
cervical cancer prevented by air circulation? last i checked the main source of air in the body is the nose and what does that have to do with the wearing of clothes or are the unclothed women walking around, sitting or standing with their legs spread wide? do you know where the cervix is located?
no one opposes nudity just public display of,  which you affirm
nudist "churches" ? are these based on the bible or the vedic literature you quote so copiously?
do, oh i give up!  *leaving this ridiculous thread in disgust*

ps
i am off to start the first nudist political party in nigeria. watch for our convention on c-span 

De Sade was a pervert, that is why I cited him as example. Did you miss the context?

No, mamograms are not phased out but how many routinely go for them in developing countries? In any case, whatever health benefits may be accruable from nudity are not its principal objectives so that is a moot point. It is simply a cultural practice. It was practised in Africa before the coming of Europeans. Some of them called tribes barbaric for practising it and with a what result? There is a reported case of a soldier who died in Sierra Leone from "heat apoplexy" for insisting on his sort of clothes in the smoldering heat.

The unclothed church was convened by a group of nudist Christians based on their freewill. They are people who see nothing with nudism, neither should you. But that is your prerogative. It is a matter of self expression. It is about going back to the state you truly are. Do you deny the words of Christ in the Gospel of Thomas?

Highly unlikely around here. It's not a lifestyle without its own problems. For one, there are far more tamas in your community. And some sound arguments can formulated against it both from religious and secular approaches. Then there are issues with the practice itself. There are strict rules in nude beaches and there are even bearing legislations. Around here you have absentee governments and things are generally not done right so you will have a lot of issues.

What d hell is dis thread doing in religion section- A K O&Manmu what are u doing to stop d opening of frivolous threads in here? God hav mercy

Ignorance regards the temporary as the permanent,

The impure as pure,

The bad as good.

This leads to violence, dishonesty, lust, anger,

And these lead to suffering and delusion . . .

True words, imhotep. Very true words. But I am hard put to see the ground declaring impurities here.

toba:

What d hell is dis thread doing in religion section- A K O&Manmu what are u doing to stop d opening of frivolous threads in here? God hav mercy

Can you itemise the points of frivolity?

imhotep:

Ignorance regards the temporary as the permanent,

The impure as pure,

The bad as good.

This leads to violence, dishonesty, lust, anger,

And these lead to suffering and delusion . . .

Presumption or haste declares impurity where there is none.

This leads to delusion or misapprehension.

These lead to conflicts.

but wat the poster said about the gunas seem kinda true.

Very insightful thread maybe to me cos i was once intrigued by pure nudism as an extension of my belief of the purity and beauty of the human body; however on second thoughts and research i have to see it is wholly impractical at least; there is no way a fellow who is still struggling to keep his zip up or her skirt on her waist to see the naked body without lusting after it! Even avowed pure nudissts get hard ons for the men in their nude beaches albeit involuntarily.

Aside this obvious point, inasmuch as the human body is beautiful, it is also sacred, simply because it houses the soul it which has the capacity to be residence of the Holy Spirit, the Third person of the Holy Trinity, unlike the souls of beast that roam the wild. It must be percieved with the reverence proper to the Divine like a Bible, Conscrated Altar, Tarbancle etc (like we have them in Catholic Church).

Purity is a thing of the mind, it can not really be achieved by pulling off; i suspect nudists whose sensitivity to the human body as sexually provocative is a consequence of what naturally happens when you have seen things too frequently it looses it fancy (Gynaecologists will affirm this). Nudists are unconsciously seeking what every human soul seeks: freedom from tension, in this case sex. Ironically even the sex maniac seeks this freedom from sexual tension but erronouesly does so by indulging in the ACT with just everyone,almost everytime with every position, little did he (she) know that true sexual freedom comes by the possesion of the true FACTS about what is sex actually is, its beauty, purpose and limitations, sadly our generation seem not to have inkling (now i digress!)

Since purity goes beyond insensitivity to a nude human body especially of the opposite gender; infact this sensitivity is God-given and must not be regarded as a weakness or pervasion of the human will. Christain Purity is not about having dimiinished libidos (that is why Origen the prominent early christian scholar was never canonised by the RCC cos the felllow eronouesly castrated himself) but having controlled of the sexual instincts which is indispensable for procreation and expression of love within the booundaries of love characterised by life-long commitment, i mean marital love.

I believe God was being practical when just after the fall of our first parents in the graden He got them covering for their naedness; covering the body is to be the path for fallen humanity to manage his loss of pure vision; even after the redemption by Jesus Christ clothes would still be the case, as Jesus garbed Himself, so much so that the helm of His clothes healed a woman with a flow of blood and the roman soldiers casts lots for it at the foot of the cross.
PURITY RESIDES IN THE INFORMED MIND NOT THE ENUMBED ONE.

49cents:

Very insightful thread maybe to me cos i was once intrigued by pure nudism as an extension of my belief of the purity and beauty of the human body; however on second thoughts and research i have to see it is wholly impractical at least; there is no way a fellow who is still struggling to  keep his zip up or her skirt on her waist to see the naked body without lusting after it! Even avowed pure nudissts get hard ons for the men in their nude beaches albeit involuntarily.

Aside this obvious point, inasmuch as the human body is beautiful, it is also sacred, simply because it houses the soul it which has the capacity to be residence of the Holy Spirit, the Third person of the Holy Trinity, unlike the souls of beast that roam the wild. It must be percieved with the reverence proper to the Divine like a  Bible, Conscrated Altar, Tarbancle etc (like we have them in Catholic Church). 

Purity is a thing of the mind, it can not really be achieved by pulling off; i suspect nudists whose sensitivity to the human body as sexually provocative is a consequence of what naturally happens when you have seen things too frequently it looses it fancy (Gynaecologists will affirm this). Nudists are unconsciously seeking what every human soul seeks: freedom from tension, in this case sex.  Ironically even the sex maniac seeks this freedom from sexual tension but erronouesly does so by indulging in the ACT with just everyone,almost everytime with every position, little did he (she) know that true sexual freedom comes by the possesion of the true FACTS about what is sex actually is, its beauty, purpose and limitations, sadly our generation seem not to have inkling (now i digress!)   

Since purity goes beyond insensitivity to a  nude human body especially of the opposite gender; infact this sensitivity is God-given and must not be regarded as a weakness or pervasion of the human will. Christain Purity is not about having dimiinished libidos (that is why Origen the prominent early christian scholar was never canonised by the RCC cos the felllow eronouesly castrated himself) but having controlled of the sexual instincts which is  indispensable for procreation and expression of love within the booundaries of love characterised by life-long commitment, i mean marital love.

I believe God was being practical when just after the fall of our first parents in the graden  He got them covering for their naedness; covering the body is to be the path for fallen humanity to manage his loss of pure vision; even after the redemption by Jesus Christ clothes would still be the case, as Jesus garbed Himself, so much so that the helm of His clothes healed a woman with a flow of  blood and the roman soldiers casts lots for it at the foot of the cross.
PURITY RESIDES IN THE INFORMED MIND NOT THE ENUMBED ONE.

Thanks for a beautiful and well thought out post. I concur almost all the way and I think what you said about practicality reiterated what I stated clearly in OP. Personally, I am against "indecent exposure" as is common on modern dressing.

I don't believe that the issue of insensitivity to the nude human body applies to all nudists. There can be no doubt that the matter of seeking release from tension by conquering spontaneous stimulation at the sight of someone of the opposite sex is a factor in nudism. But that is not an absolute theory. For, you see, I seriously doubt that a reasonable degree of success will be attained if nudism were to be administered as a therapy on sex maniacs. Which would suggest that nudism is for disciplined and continent people, which takes us back to the issue of the emotional state or development of the individual. I strongly suspect that with many, it is to do with that: their inner emotional state or maturity. They do not overcome sensitivity and, consequently, their sexuality. Far from it. They simply are able to separate sex from the nude human form! Point I am making is, I believe one can be a nudist because he is informed, rather than enumbed. This category of nudists are in it not to get release from tension but to experience true beauty, harmony, simplicity, purity and oneness with nature.

I do not concur that nudity is unharmonious with the sacredness of the human body. There can be nothing irreverent or ungodly about removing our clothes and being in our true state in the presence of those fellow human beings who are comfortable with it.

I agree 100% that purity is a thing of the mind and cannot be achieved merely by pulling off.

Nudism is a relative thing really; there have been Natives of southern American (centuries)who go topless as we have in africa without shame or trying to catch the fun nudists speak about or even to be one with nature; for these fellows it as natural as putting on clothes, tthere is actually no particular reason for nudity though not total as we have with conventional nudists.

@poster You spoke about being one with nature as the motive behind nudism; my question is even if your motive is satiated why exactly do you want to feel one with nature?

Thanks for your response, 49cents.

49cents:

Nudism is a relative thing really; there have been Natives of southern American (centuries)who go topless as we have in africa without shame or trying to catch the fun nudists speak about or even to be one with nature; for these fellows it as natural as putting on clothes,

I agree. As stated, in fact, emphasised, in the OP, this is not an absolute theory. It is neither a recommendation, an invitation, a proposal, nor a draft bill for the African Parliament sitting in Cape Town. It is a write-up highlighting the beauty and possible benefits of nudism when it is practised without skewed intents. The benefits of nudism are already a part of the lives of the natives you speak of. They don't need to seek them.

49cents:

tthere is actually no particular reason for nudity though not total as we have with conventional nudists.

@poster You spoke about being one with nature as the motive behind nudism; my question is even if your motive is satiated why exactly do you want to feel one with nature?

There is nowhere in this thread I have presented oneness with nature as the reason for nudism. It is simply included in a list of benefits (or reasons) of nudism. Note, also, that I do not deny your position that some may go into it to seek release from tension.

Nudists try to feel one with nature because they want to feel one with nature. Why do you prefer one type of auto to another even though they may have the same capabilities? Why do you like to watch a sunset or hear birds sing?

I believe Humans are the crown of God's creation; Humans are the only creatures God created for Himself directly the rest of nature God made for man's (womans's) use, domination and a means through which humans can use to come into some certain consciousness of their invisible Maker who is mirrored somewhat in the gnat as wel as the elephant; do you not think that seeking to be one with nature is tantamonut of classing the rational soul of humanity to the lower souls of animals and plants including the inanimate nature of all other matter?

does draping the body with garments (that are made from from nature, directly or indirectly) cut off from nature: oneness with nature must be from the standpoint of hunans as being superior and lord not equals; some tribes like Romans worshipped natural elements like the Sun just as the yoruba worship iron and ibos thunder, this is plain idolatary, which is worshipping creation not the creator.

Shouldn't the human nature seek to go upwards to its Creator (merging itself with Divinty) than dwelling with creations that are lower than its rational state?

Inasmuch as nature reflects the sublime beauty of its creator it must be regarded approriately and used correctly. The good thing i like about the nudist stand on their lifestyle is that they do regard the body in a far more honourable than those who cover it in public only to abuse it within their closets (in self seeking sexual gratification as it exists in extra-marital sex, masturbation) who use it a means to seduce their fellow humans etc; the point of deviation is that they do not regard it as something sacred, though this dimension comes as a result of faith, which allows a truer perception of the human body as higher than other physical forms of nature, since God Himself finds is fitting enough to dwell in.

From personal experience i find sleeping nude (in my room underlocks) especailly when the weather is not too cold as having positive physiological effects as it proves relaxing; but the obstacle i have with social nudity is that it seeks to go against the human instinct to cover (and preserve) itself; nudists always speak of body conscoiusness which comes naturally with age as something to be stopped in kids and corrected in adults, they claim is a result of social conditioning, surely a kid would be conditioned to nudism by nudist uprbringing also, since humans are social beings who are essentially preys of the society they find themselves.

DO YOU THINK THE DRIVE OF WANTING NOT TO BE SEEN NAKED, BY JUST ANYBODY IN ABOUT ANY PLACE, AS IT HAPPENED TO ME AS WITH MOST PEOPLE IS UNNATURAL?

h

women in my tribe dont really cover their top at times, in my village. we do not see it as lustful. it is just normal human body.

south africans dance naked

q