Hinduism view of homosexuality and, in general, LGBT issues (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender), diverse and different Hindu groups have different views. Homosexuality is considered one of the possible expressions of human desire. Although some texts of Hindu dharma contain the command to fight homosexuality, a number of Hindu myth stories have described the homosexual experience as natural and fun. There are several Hindu temples that have carvings depicting men and women involved in homosexual sex. Same-sex relations and gender variations have been represented in Hinduism from the Vedic age to the present day, in rituals, law books, religious narratives or so-called myths, comments, paintings, and sculptures. The extent to which these representations embrace or reject homosexuality has been debated in both religion and beyond. In 2009, the British Hindu Council issued a statement that 'Hinduism does not condemn homosexuality', after the Delhi High Court's decision to legalize homosexuality in India. India's Supreme Court then overturned a high court ruling. A high-ranking member of an influential right-wing Hindu racial group has publicly stated that he does not believe homosexuality should be illegal, and that RSS has no official stance on the matter because it is a matter of personal preference.
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The difference between Western and Hindu views of male sexuality
Unlike the West, Hindu societies have no concept of 'sexual orientation' that classifies men on the basis of who they want to be. However, there is a strong ancient concept of a third gender, which for individuals who have strong elements of both men and women in it. According to Sanskrit texts such as Narada-smriti, Sushruta Samhita, etc., this third sex or gender includes people conventionally called homosexual, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI). The third gender is described in ancient Vedic texts as men of female nature - referring to homosexual men or men of the female sex. The gender/sexual role of the third sex has long been associated primarily with accepting penetration from men, as sex/sexual roles have penetrated male, female or third sex. However, the Kama Sutra clearly depicts the male of the three sexes with the assumption of masculine and feminine identity as well as the dominant and receptive sexual role.
Although the Hindu community does not formally acknowledge sexuality among men, it formally recognizes and gives space for sexuality between men and the third sex as male-female sex variations (ie, part of heterosexuality, rather than homosexuality, when analyzed in Western terms). In fact, Hijras, Eyebrows, Kotis, etc.-- the three most prevalent gender forms present in India - all characterized by the gender role of having anal and oral sex recipes with men. Sexuality between men (different from the third gender) continues to flourish, largely unspoken, informally, within the male space, without being seen as 'different' in the way it is seen in the West. As in some other non-Western cultures, it is considered to be more or less a universal aspect of maturity, even if not socially desirable. This is a weak male sexuality for men (or for women) who are seen as 'different' and are categorized differently. Men often refer to their sexual play with each other as ' must .'
The Hindu concept of homosexuality seeks to break the difference between sex and third male, and isolate sexuality between men along with the third sex, with all its negative consequences. Thus, men in India have long rejected the concept of 'gay,' and have sex with men without identifying it as 'homosexual.' Gay activists seek to introduce locally acceptable terms for 'homosexuals' for two decades, with no results. Finally, the term MSM is taken, because it is technically difficult for men to avoid, if they have sex with men. However, it was also rejected by Indian men, because it was seen as just another term for 'gay.' However, in recent years, the concept of 'homosexuality' has finally taken root, as male spaces have weakened, as Westernization and gay groups have become stronger with years of gay rights activism and HIV/AIDS activism.
A significant fall from this point is that the sexual desire among humans, which approached the previous universe, is becoming increasingly isolated from the mainstream, because men abstain from it because of the stigma of chastity or the third gender embedded in the idea of ​​'gay'.
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Contemporary Hindu society
Sexuality is rarely discussed openly in contemporary Hindu societies, especially in modern India where homosexuality is illegal until a brief period begins in 2009, due to British colonial law. On July 2, 2009 the Delhi High Court in a historic decision decriminalizing homosexuality in India; in which the court noted that the existing law violates the basic rights to personal freedom (Article 21 of the Indian Constitution) and equality (Article 14) and the prohibition of discrimination (Article 15). However, India's Supreme Court reaffirmed its criminal law provisions and overturned Delhi's High Court ruling, effectively reimposing the legal ban on homosexuality. Now penalties include life imprisonment as well as torture, vigilante execution and fines.
Although Hinduism has never been known to exclusively prohibit homosexuality, some Hindu nationalist factions oppose the localization of homosexuality while some prefer to remain silent. However, in the last twenty years, homosexuality has become increasingly visible in print and audio-visual media, with many LGBT people, active LGBT gestures, and a large Indian LGBT presence on the Internet. From the 1990s onwards, modern gay and lesbian Hindu organizations have emerged in major Indian cities and in 2004, a sensible call was made for the first time to repeal India's law against homosexuality.
The Deepa Mehta film of 1996 Fire , which describes the romantic relationship between two Hindu women, was officially banned because of "religious insensitivity" after Hindu Nationalists attacked the cinema where the film was played on the grounds that it undermined Indian culture, on the basis of homophobia, a position shared and confirmed by Madhu Kishwar's feminist. In addition, Bharatiya Janata's ruling party in India at the time, refused to ban it. Similar protests occurred in 2004 against lesbian-themed girlfriends - although this portrayal of lesbianism is clearly unsympathetic. Some human rights groups such as the People's Union for Civil Liberties have asserted that the sexual minorities in India face severe discrimination and violence, especially those from rural and lower caste backgrounds.
In his book Ryus Cinta, Ruth Vanita examines the phenomenon of same-sex marriage, many by Hindu rituals, which have been reported by the Indian press over the last thirty years and with increasing frequency. In the same period, same-sex suicide cases have also been reported. Most marriages and suicides are committed by middle-class women's couples from small towns and rural areas across the country; these women have no contact with the LGBT movement. Both cross-gender couples and same-sex couples, when faced with family opposition, tend to choose elopement or marriage or commit suicide along with the hope of rejoining the next life. Vanita examines how Hindu doctrines such as rebirth and impartiality are often interpreted to legitimize socially disagreeable relationships, including same-sex relationships. In a 2004 survey, most - though not all - swamis say they oppose the concept of gay marriage sanctified by Hindus. But some Hindu priests have taken same-sex marriage, arguing that love is the result of the attachment of the previous birth and that marriage, as the unity of the spirit, is transcendental to gender.
Later, Vanita solidified the ideas in her book into an article, "same-sex marriage, Hindu Tradition and Modern India". Here, he summarizes special cases in which women specifically commit suicide together, marry and separate, or get married. He points out three "different powers that have helped a female partner". These are: the courts of law, the media, and some Hindu authorities (such as the swamis mentioned earlier in this article) from his book. When women's couples can stay together under social pressure and get to court, the courts generally defend their decisions, sticking to the fact that women approve adults. While this does not always stop harassment, it gives couples more legitimacy under the law. In addition, same-sex marriages are more successful for women are women who are financially independent. If they get social support from their family and community - for the most part - then they may be able to live together peacefully. The media may also play an important role in same-sex marriage. In drawing attention to their marriage, women who do not always know about LGBT rights groups can be contacted and supported by these groups after media attention. However, the other side of this is that the anti-LGBT group can also reach out to their marriage.
Some Indian and Hindu intellectuals now openly support LGBT civil rights. Some liberal Hindu reform movements, especially those in the West, also support the social acceptance of gay, lesbian, and other gender minorities. Psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar writes that Hindus are more receptive to "aberrations or eccentricities" than Westerners, who usually treat sexual variants as "anti-social or psychopathological, requiring 'correction' or 'medicine'". Hindus, he argues, believe that each individual must fulfill their personal destiny ( svadharma ) as they travel the path to moksha (transcendence).
Commenting on the legalization of homosexuality in India; Anil Bhanot, general secretary of the Hindu Council of England said: The point here is that homosexuality is part of God's natural law; it must be accepted as is, no more and no less. Hindu people are generally conservative but it seems to me that in ancient India, they even celebrated sex as a fun part of procreation, where priests are invited to ceremonies in their homes to mark the beginning of the process.
3rd gender
Hindu philosophy has a third or third gender concept ( tritiya-prakriti - literally, "third nature"). This category includes a wide range of people with mixed male and female characteristics such as sissy men, masculine women, transgender, transsexual, intersex, androgynes, and so on. However, the true nature of the third gender has nothing to do with sexual orientation as reported by contemporary and contemporary western LGBT sects. The third sex has no relationship to sex among men (which is universal). The third sexes have different gender from men and women because they have women inside regardless of who they are sexually attracted to. Many of the third gender MTF are not only interested or at all for men, but are exclusively exclusively for women or bisexuals. Many FTM transgender people are attracted to men. Such people are not considered fully male or female in traditional Hindu religion, as a combination of both. They are mentioned as the third sex by nature (born) and are not expected to behave like ordinary men and women. They often take care of their own community or residence in the city, perform certain jobs (such as masseurs, hairdressers, florists, housemaids, etc.) and are generally associated with semi-divine status. Their participation in religious ceremonies, especially as cross dancers and devotees of certain temples/goddesses, is considered to be advantageous in traditional Hinduism. Some Hindus believe that third sex people have special powers that allow them to bless or curse others.
In 2008, the state of Tamil Nadu recognized "Third Sex"; with the civil inventory department providing in the ration card the provisions for the new sex column as 'T', different from the usual 'M' and 'F' for men and women respectively. This is the first time that authorities anywhere in India officially recognize the third gender.
Hindu religious narrative
In the tradition of the Hindu narrative, the story of gods and human beings that change gender occurs. Sometimes they also engage in heterosexual activity as distinct reincarnated sexes. Homosexual and transgender Hindus commonly identify with and worship various Hindu gods connected to gender diversity such as Ardhanarisvara (Shiva androgini form and his consort Parvati), Aravan (the hero whom Krishna was married after becoming a woman), Harihara (a Shiva and Vishnu incarnation combined) , Bahuchara Mata (goddess connected with transsexuality and eunuchism), gadhadara (incarnation of Radha in the form of man), Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (incarnation of Radha and Krishna combined), Chandi-Chamunda (twin goddess goddess), Bhagavati-devi (Hindu goddess associated with crossdressing), Gangamma (the goddess connected with crossdressing and disguise) and the goddess Yellamma. There is also a special festival connected with the worship of these gods, some of whom are famous in India for their cross-worshipers. These festivals include the Aravan Festival from Koovagam, the Bahuchara Mata Festival from Gujarat and the Yellamma Festival in Karnataka, among others. Gods featuring gender variants include Mohini, female avatar of Lord Vishnu and Vaikuntha Kamalaja, the androgynous form of Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi.
The interpretation of LBGT is also illustrated in the legend of the births of the gods Ayyappa (a god born of Shiva and Mohini association), Bhagiratha (king of India born of two elderly women) and Kartikeya (where the fire god Agni "swallows" the seed of Shiva after disturbing his partner with his wife Parvati). Some homosexual Hindus also worshiped the Mitra and Varuna gods, which are associated with two phases of moon and same-sex relations in ancient Brahmin texts.
Gender variances are also observed in the heroes of the Hindu scriptures. Hindu Epic Mahabharata tells that the hero Arjuna took the oath to live as a member of the third sex for a year as a result of a curse that he should cherish. He then transformed into Brihannala, a third gender member, for a year and became a dance teacher for a princess. Another important character, Shikhandi, was born a woman, but was raised as a man and even married to a woman. He became a man because of the grace of yaksha. Shikhandi eventually became the reason of the death of the warrior father, who refused to fight the "woman." Another character, Bisma accompanied Yudhishtira's curiosity about the relative enjoyment of the couple during sex by telling the story of the Bhangasvana King, who had a hundred sons turned into a woman while hunting. He returns to his kingdom, tells the story, hands over the kingdom to his children and retires to the forest to become a hermit's spouse, with whom he has a hundred other sons. Ila, a king of Hindu narratives, is also known for her gender changes.
Several versions of the Ramayana Criticism, the most popular Bengal texts on Ramachandra (Vishnu's incarnation), tell the story of two queens containing a child together. When the king of the Sun Dynasty, Maharaja Dilipa, died, the gods became concerned that he did not have a son to continue his lineage. Therefore, Shiva appeared before the two widowed queens and commanded them, "You two make love together and bless me, you will give birth to a beautiful son." Both wives, affectionately to one another, executed Shiva's command until one of them conceived a child. The sage of the corresponding Astavakra is named the son of "Bhagiratha" - he who was born of two vulva. Bhagiratha became king and was credited with bringing the Ganges down to earth through his hermitage.
Hindu texts
Hindus have many sacred texts and different communities give special meaning to different texts. Even more than other religions, Hindus also cultivate different interpretations of the meaning of various texts. The Vedas, which are the basis of Hinduism for many, do not refer explicitly to homosexuality, but Rigveda says of the Samsara that Vikruti Evam Prakriti is (diversity/diversity is what nature, or what seems unnatural), which some scholars believe recognizes the firmness of the homosexual/transsexual dimension of human life, like all forms of universal diversity. Persons of the third sex ( tritiya-prakriti ), not entirely male or female, are mentioned here and there in all Hindu texts such as Purana but not specifically defined. In general they are described as sissy, often cowardly, and without women's wishes. Modern readers often draw parallels between this and the modern stereotype of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender sexual identities.
The historian Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai, in their pioneering book, Love Same Love in India: A Read of Literature and History, for the first time collected extracts from Indian texts, from ancient times to modern times, including many Hindu texts, translated from 15 Indian languages. In the accompanying analytic essay, they also show that Hindu texts have been discussing and debating the same-sex passions since the earliest times, with a tone ranging from critical to nonjudgmental, to games and celebrations.
The Devdutt historian Pattanaik summarizes the site of homosexuality in Hindu literature as follows: "though not part of the mainstream, its existence is recognized but not approved." Other indologists assert that homosexuality is not approved for brahmins or who are twice born but accepted among other castes.
In his book, Tritiya-Prakriti: Third Sexual Figure , Vaishnava monk Amara Das Wilhelm demonstrates how the ancient expression Hinduism accommodates homosexual and transgender people is much more positive than we see in India today: "Vedic Early teachings emphasized responsible family life and asceticism but also tolerate various types of sexuality in the general population. "
Mahanirvana Tantra
Tantra Mahanirvana excludes the third gender of inheritance rights, although it establishes they have the right to be financially supported by their families.
Kama Sutra
The Kama Sutra is an ancient text relating to kama or desire (of all kinds), which in Hindu thinking is one of the four normative and spiritual goals of life. Kama Sutra is the earliest and most important work in the Sanskrit literary tradition of Kama Shastra. It was composed by the Vatsyayana philosophers around the 4th century, from earlier texts, and explains the practice of homosexuality in several places, as well as various sexes/sexes'. The authors acknowledge that this relationship also involves the love and bond of trust.
The author describes masculine and feminine types of the third sex ( tritiya-prakriti ), as well as women, doing fellatio. Part Two, Chapter Nine The Kama Sutra specifically describes two types of men we will recognize today as a masculine and feminine homosexual, but which are mentioned in older Victorian and English translations as "eunuchs." This chapter describes their appearance - the type of woman who dresses like a woman while the masculine type retains the physical muscle and grows a small beard, mustache, etc. - and their various professions as masseurs, barbers and prostitutes are all explained. Such homosexual men are also known to be married, according to Kama Sutra: "There are also third gender citizens, sometimes very attached to each other and with full confidence in each other, who married together." (KS 2.9.36). In the "Jayamangala" of Yashodhara, an important 12th-century commentary on the Kama Sutra, it also states: "These homosexuals, who leave women and can do without them voluntarily because they love each other, marry together, are bound by a deep and trusting friendship. "
After describing the fellatio as it was done between men of the third sex, the Sutra then mentions the practice as an act between men and women, where homosexual acts are derided, especially for brahmins. (KS 2.9.37)
The Kama Sutra also refers to svairini, who are "independent women who are often their own kind or others" (2.8.26) - or, elsewhere: "liberated women, or svairini , is a person who rejects a husband and has a relationship in his own home or in another home "(6.6.50). In a famous commentary on the 12th-century Kama Sutra, Jayamangala explains: "A woman who is known for her freedom, without a sexual bar, and acts according to her wishes, is called svairini . She makes love to her own kind. He stroked his partner at the point of unity, which he kissed. "( Jayamangala in Kama Sutra 2.8.13). Lesbian practices are described in detail in Part Two, Chapter Eight of the Kama Sutra.
More
There is another ancient Hindu/Sanskrit text which refers to homosexuality. Sushruta Samhita, for example, a highly respected Hindu medical text dating from at least 600 BC, mentions two different types of homosexual men (kumbhika) - men who take passive roles in anal sex, and asekya - men who gobble up other men's semen) as well as transgender people (sandha - men with female qualities, behavior, and speech). It also states that men who behave like women, or women who behave like men, are determined as such at the time of their conception in the womb. (SS 3.2.42-43) Sushruta Samhita also mentions the possibility of two women united and became pregnant as a result of their sexual fluid mixing. It states that a child born from such a union will be "boneless." Births like these are described in the Ramayana of Bengal Critic (see below).
Other texts include different types of men who are impotent with women (known in Sanskrit as sandha , kliba , napumsaka , and panda ). The Sanskrit-Sanskrit dictionary, for example, lists twenty species, as well as Kamatantra and Smriti-Ratnavali from Vacaspati (Ages 14th). Narada Smriti also lists fourteen different types. Included among the list are transgender people, intersex people, and three different types of homosexual men ( mukhebhaga , > kumbhika and asekya ). Such texts suggest that third sex terms such as sandha and napumsaka actually refer to different types of "impotent men with women," and simplistic definitions such as "eunuchs" or "neutral" may not always be accurate and in some cases completely wrong. In his article Homosexuality and Hinduism, Arvind Sharma expressed his doubts about the general English translation of words such as kliba to "eunuchs" as follows: "The practice of limited castration in India raises another significant point for the rest of the discussion, ie, whether to make a word like "kliba" as "eunuch" regularly is true... "
Arthashastra Kautilya symbolizes the text of the principle of secular law and describes the court's attitude toward sexual matters. Heterosexual vaginal sex is proposed as the norm by this text and legal issues arising from the irregularities there from which can be punished by fines and in extreme cases with the death penalty. Homosexual acts are referred to as small offenses that can be punished by fines.
Sangam Literature
Sastra Sangam uses the word 'Pedi' to refer to transwomen ladies; Likewise, the character of the famous Sangam period King Koperunchozhan and Pisuranthaiyar are other examples for same-sex love and They are said to have never seen each other at all and have not shared love and likewise. for each other, so much, that they die at the same time in different places. "For example, the friendship between King Pari and the Kabilar poet is shown as something more than a friendship There is a lyrical tone that shows their intimate relationship, but since there is no explicit representation, one can only posit a possibility.
Third-class Hindu sect
Below are listed some of the third most common gender sects found in Hinduism. There are approximately half a million "eunuchs" of crossdressing in modern India, linked to various sects, temples and Hindu gods. Although called "eunuchs", the majority of these people (91%) do not perform castration but are more accurately associated with transgender.
The Hijra
The third most popular gender group in India is probably hijra in northern India. The hijra is the only sect that practices castration, a custom introduced during Muslim rule around the tenth century A. Male castration is not recommended in the Vedas and not traditional Hindu practices. It is estimated there are 50,000 hijrah in northern India. After interviewing and studying hijra for many years, Serena Nanda writes in her book, Both Men and Women: The hijras of India, as follows: "There is widespread belief. in India that hijra was born as an intersex and taken away by the community emigrated at birth or in childhood, but I found no evidence to support this belief between hijraah that I met, all of whom joined the community voluntarily, often in their teens. "Nanda also stated:" There is absolutely no question that at least some hijra - maybe even the majority - is a homosexual prostitute Research (1967) Sinha on hijras in Lucknow, in Northern India, recognizes the role of hijra as a player but sees the primary motivation for hiring to emigrate community as the satisfaction of individual homosexual encouragement... "The hijra especially worship Bahuchara, the Hindu goddess who leads transsexuality.
The Aravani or Ali
The most numerous third gender sects (estimated at 150,000) are aravani or ali from Tamil Nadu in southern India. The aravanis is usually their transgender and main festival, the popular Koovagam or Aravan Festival is celebrated in late April/early May, attended by thousands of people, including many transgender and homosexual people. The aravani worshiped the Hindu god, Aravan, and did not practice any castration system.
The Jogappa
A third less well-known gender sect in India is jogappa from South India (Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh), a group also associated with prostitution. The jogappa is connected to the goddess Yellamma (Renuka), and includes transgender and homosexual people. Both act as dancers and prostitutes, and they are usually responsible for the devadasis temple (female waiter of the goddess who also serves as a dancer and prostitute). Great festivals are celebrated in these temples, where hundreds of parades are clad in devadasis and jogappas across the streets. The jogappa does not practice castration.
Religious art
Medieval Hindu temples like the one in Khajuraho describe the sexual act in the statue on the external wall. Some of these scenes involve same-sex sexuality:
- Orginal group of three women and one man, on the south wall of the Mahadeva Kandariya temple in Khajuraho. One woman was stroking the other.
- A similar group, also on the south wall, shows a woman facing the audience, standing on her head, apparently having sex, even though her partner is facing away from the audience and their sex can not be determined. She is held by two female officers on both sides and reaches out to touch one of them in her cock area.
- Also in Khajuraho, the relief of two women who embraced.
- At Lakshmana temple in Khajuraho (954 CE), a man receives fellatio from a man who sits as part of an orgiastic scene.
- At the Shiva temple in Ambernath, built in 1060 AD, a very obsolete relief shows erotic interest between two women.
- At the Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, dating from the 10th or 11th centuries, a statue depicts two women who perform oral sex.
- The 12th-century Shiva Temple in Bagali, Karnataka describes a distinct oral sex scene between two men on a statue under Shikhara.
- In Padhavli near Gwalior, a devastated shrine from the 10th century shows a man in an orgiastic group receiving fellatio from another man.
- The 11th century sandstone statue of Odisha, now at the Seattle Art Museum, shows Kama, the god of love, firing flower-tipped arrows on two hugging women.
See also
- Homosexuality in India
- LGBT Topics and Hare Krishna movements
- A non-westernized concept of male sexuality
References
Further reading
- Gandhi's Tiger and Sita's Smile: Essays on Gender, Sexuality and Culture by Ruth Vanita. Yoda Press, 2005.
- Homosexuality and World Religions by Arlene Swidler. Trinity Press International.
- Rite of Love: Same-Sex Marriage in India and West by Ruth Vanita. Penguin Books India, 2005.
- Both Men and Women: The Hijras of India by Serena Nanda. Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1999.
- Same-Sex Love In India: Reading from Literature and History by Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai. Palgrave, 2001.
- Complete Kama Sutra by Alain Danielou. Park Street Press, 1994.
- Men who are women and other strange stories from Hindu Lore by Devdutt Pattanaik. Harrington Park Press, 2002.
- Gender Third, Third Sex: Beyond Sexual Dimorism in Culture and History by Gilbert Herdt. Zone Books, 1993.
External links
- Gay and Lesbian Vaishnava Association - Information and support for GLBTI Vaishnavas and Hinduism.
- 'Hinduism does not condemn homosexuality'
- Pink Pages, Indian National Gay and Lesbian Magazine - Interview with Amara Das Wilhelm, founder of GALVA.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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