What do you think of homosexuality?

Somebody asked me this question - What do you think of homosexuality?

Below was my answer

I am assuming you want to know the opinion from a Krishna conscious perspective.

Homosex is sex between the same gender. Nature has created beings to have sex with opposite gender for the sake of procreation. Laws of nature is universal and not sectarian and applies to all beings. So if the same gender engages in sexual relation, then that is unnatural. Thats all. Much like we have nine holes in our body. If we put food through any hole but the hole of the mouth, then that causes pain and perhaps even death - why? Because it is unnatural and the other holes are not meant for that purpose. If we remove the cultural, political, religious and personal biases and just look at homosex from the perspective of natural design, then certainly it is not natural.

Yet, as humans, we engage in sex with the same gender just to enhance pleasure of the body. Humans with a higher intelligence and ability to discriminate engage in sex (homosex or heterosex does not matter) just for the pleasure of the body. This is also unnatural. While sex is an important need, if we engage in it just for pleasure, such unnatural pleasure seeking will result in mental or physical shortcomings or disease. When the mind is crippled with attachment to sex thinking sex is the highest pleasure and that there is nothing wrong with it, then that is a disease of the mind? Why because according to Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, the living being is NOT this body but spirit soul encased inside this body (much like a driver inside this car). If the driver thinks he is the car, then instead of drinking water when thirsty, if he drinks gasoline, then he will die. Similarly, when the soul thinks it is the body and simply engages in bodily pleasures as the end all, then it is like the driver drinking gasoline. It is unnatural and death is inevitable.

Homosexuality is a political problem. But I am not instead in politics. Homosexuality is also a cultural question. But I am not interested in culture promoting bodily comforts. Homosexuality is a religious debate of sin or not sin. But I am not interested in mundane religiosity of  sin vs not sin. I am interested in the natural condition of the self. This natural condition is an universal concept and not sectarian. From that point of view, to me, homosexuality is unnatural as it defies natural laws (this includes indiscriminate heterosex as well) and such unnatural behavior will cause pain in the future in the form of mental aberrations or physical disease.

If we touch fire, we will get burnt. No use blaming fire. If we counter a germ like cholera, we will get cholera disease. No use blaming the germ. Instead, we have to practice restraint and take preventive measures from the germ. Similarly if we do not practice restraint but behave unrestrictedly just because my mind is telling me, then just like cholera or getting burnt, we will have to face the consequences of such unnatural state of existence.

Personally, for me, I am not pure or clean in any sense of the word so gay or not I accept everyone on the same pedestal of my mind as I try to see everyone as part and parcel of Krishna.

Hare Krishna

Path to Krishna is not that clean

The process of Krishna Consciousness is a humbling process. No other spiritual path or method of worship (to other gods) is humbling. Only Krishna when approached first will purify us (which is humbling) and then accept our offering. Those willing to accept Krishna’s medicine (medicine will hurt our ego), tolerate the hurt, be humble transform the heart, and proceed on-wards in their service, to that person Krishna will show mercy. But if we do not accept Krishna’s humbling methods (even if  initiated) but be rigid on our path, then we will not make spiritual progress.

So if we want Krishna’s grace we have to be willing to go under the operating table to be cleansed before we can get accepted by Krishna. Other spiritual paths or Gods do not require this purification process hence even though there are exalted students in other paths’, still they are not completely pure.

Only those who aspire to serve Krishna and accept Krishna’s demands humbly will be able to proceed. The rest will not.

Hare Krishna