No Comment. Just stop him!

There is a difference of opinion as to whether the Hindu religion does or does not condemn homosexuality - what is not clear in any of the reporting of this story is whether these opinions are based on personal, religious or yogic values.

I fail to see how they can be yogic but I am a new scholar to the texts of yoga so please someone point me in the direction of them if you know of some.

There is discord within the Hindu religious world as to if there is or is not any word against homosexuality, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_issues_and_Hinduism#Hindu_texts

The United Kingdom Hindu Council said: The point here is that the homosexual nature is part of the natural law of God; it should be accepted for what it is, no more and no less. Hindus are generally conservative but it seems to me that in ancient India, they even celebrated sex as an enjoyable part of procreation, where priests were invited for ceremonies in their home to mark the beginning of the process
http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/jul/03/hinduism-does-not-condemn-homosexuality.htm

So that leaves personal opinion... which everyone is entitled to.

It should also be noted that is was the British (waay back in 1860) who introduced the penal code that was recently revoked and been the catalyst for these discussions and press.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_377_of_the_Indian_Penal_Code

I should also state for clarity and transparency - I am an out gay man who has never had a negative experiences from any of the discussed groups.

Namaste

I guess I will shock people but I think that the Baba is right somehow that yoga can help to solve this "mis-function" ...
But on the otherside he just forgets that nature is well made and homosexuality is a great thing to solve the problem overpopulation without violence. So if people love and respect each other whavever their sex is why should society reacts against it and repress them.
Repressing tends to make people overreact, to go overboard and to express their difference in not always pleasant ways ...
So yoga is about love and respect of every living being. I think Baba should put this first before traditions although nobody should despise his traditions .... Balance is the key!

"Congenital defect"??? Where does he get this information? Sounds more like Ramdev's own prejudice against something he knows little about. We hear all kinds of ignorant statements about homosexuality from religious leaders, right-wing politicians, etc very similar to what Ramdev said.

It was not all that long ago that left-handedness was thought of as a sickness (congenital defect), a "sin", etc and kids were slapped on the hand at school when writing with their left hand. My dad was a victim of this sort of ignorance. Thankfully, science helped shed light on the issue. Some people's brain are wired to favour writing with left hand and some the other (and some both - ambidextrous). Science is now shedding light on homosexuality with such discoveries as different regions of the brain being bigger/smaller, more/less active in lesbians and gays.

Ramdev would do well do keep his own personal opinions to himself. Heading to court to overturn the new law? This is what he finds most important to do with his time? I wonder why the issue of homosexuality is the subject that suddenly makes him so politically motivated? Eerily similar to conservative american senators and other politicians vehemently decrying the deviance of homosexuality only to be found engaging in gay relationships in secret.

Tara

I went to yoga teacher school with two gay people. I sincerely don't think they were bad yogis because they are gay. Our studio even held a fundraiser to raise awareness for gay rights. I have a hard time believing that being gay is 'un-yogic'.

Thanks for posting this bit of news. Given the differences between Eastern and Western concepts of gender, it can be hard to figure out what resources yoga gives us for understanding contemporary homosexuality. While yoga is about balance and openness, it's never been clear to me whether or not the tradition and particular schools within it truly welcome LGBT practitioners or queer philosophies. Perhaps Swami Ramdev's comments will prompt some explicit discussions about these issues.

British influence on the Indian Penal Code was based upon the official opinion of the Crown which is the head of the Church of England. This does not mean that Indian scriptures were completely silent on the matter i.e. the Garuda Purana does warn against it: http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/gpu/index.htm

It has been said that it was not a traditional Indian value to persecute homosexuals but they were socially stigmatized. How you are oriented and your success in attaining your desires has to do with karma. However, there comes a time in many people's lives when they become less concerned with getting what they want ... and more concerned with what they want to give. At that time sacrificing what they feel are their 'rights' becomes simple.

Everything in this universe created by the Nature (God), we human are not exception to that. Obviously, anything which is against the Laws of Nature is 'unnatural' i.e. leads to bizarre or destructive results.

It is a well known fact that homosexuality is "Unnatural" because this is a bizarre combination against the rules of nature. This act can simply be described as "Mental Disorder" and "Psychiatric Problem".

People suffering from this problem must consult 'Real Indian Yoga Gurus and Saints', because they are the only and ultimate resorts to these poor guys (Gays). These Gurus will teach them the values and dignity of being a human, treat their psychiatric problems and take them out from the crappy life.

As a student of yoga and a teacher and practitioner of its sister science, ayurveda, I am hesitant to level criticism at anyone, much less pass judgement on another. In this instance, I must make an exception.

Swami Ramdev's actions have nothing to do with yoga or healing nor with the Sanatana Dharma. His attempts to bring the sanctions of the criminal law against the life choices of others categorize him as an enemy of freedom and truth, willing for the sake of egotism to sacrifice the happiness and well being of millions on the altar of the god of self-aggrandizement.

Some notion of the Swami's concept of and committment to promoting health might be had from his fraudulent claims of curing AIDS, cancer and - most egregiously - his promotion of a purported ayurvedic "medicine" labelled Putravati, supposed to help women to selectively give birth to sons.

Swamiji's efforts to promote the marginalization of homosexuality and the dispossession of gay and lesbian people of their human rights may well win applause in the homophobic, misogynistic backwaters of the subcontinent's countless villages. His condemnation of the peaceful methods of Mohandas Gandhi and the utility of non-violence in gaining India's independence bloodlessly may play well to the right-wing rump of Indian reactionary politics, but he has revealed himself to a much wider world to be a charlatan and a poseur.

This is no man of God, and his reprehensible conduct is a disgrace to the sannyasin's robe.

Hi user "Yoga Pranayama"

Please don't hide behind nature in expressing your prejudice and bigotry. Anyone can justify hate based on religious text (whilst ignoring neutral or positive messages!). If everything against the laws of nature were bizarre and incorrect, most of the modern world would not exist. Including the concept of TOLERANCE.

With all due respect, Yoga has many wonderful benefits but these do not include righting all the wrong in the world. A self-appointed or religiously nominated 'guru' or 'saint', working and prescribing with no empiric basis, has no place commenting on issues which ultimately affect society and mental health.

Keep pulling the poses, and open your mind. Isn't that what yogics believe?

Oh, and P.S. .... how dare you insinuate that anyone in particular has a 'crappy life'. Get over yourself!

Ramdev's recent comments and the planned challenge to the Supreme Court ruling decriminalizing homosexual acts are a great example of the need to make a distinction between (borrowing from Ken Wilber) states and stages. Ramdev seems to have conscious access to deep states of consciousness (gross, subtle, causal - namely the ability to "witness" all three states) however he is clearly made minimal progress in terms of stages of consciousness (egocentric, ethnocentric, world-centric).
Ethnocentric yogis such as Ramdev are certainly nothing new to the world of spirituality. All states of consciousness are always already available to everybody and always have been. Stages, on the other hand, have to be cultivated step by step. Give poor Ramdev time and he'll grow out of his bigotry.

I would have appreciate Baba ramdev if he had goven some data based on his experiements or referred to ancient texts that homosexuality can be cured. He is making very derogatory statements against gays and people who support gays purely based on his personal opinion and without any reference to facts. This definitely is condemnable.

Unfortuantely he has large following in India. Hope he does not change the constitution of India to make it fascist.

Yoga Pranayama,

1. There are may instances of homosexual behavior occurring naturally in the animal world.

2. Even if there weren't, there are so many things we humans do that are "unnatural"--wear clothes, cut our hair, shave, take medicine, use air conditioning, drive cars, wear cosmetics, fly in airplanes, use computers, keep domestic animals, live in big cities, listen to music with iPods, use cell phones, etc., etc., etc., etc. The whole "natural" argument is really just a ruse to justify bigotry.

It is truly sad to come here and see such naked bigotry thinly veiled by poor arguments about what is 'natural' and what isn't, what is "correct' spirituality and what is a violation.

I suppose such hatred exists even in a community where people are intentionally striving for enlightenment. I simply find these intolerant opinions and those who express them reprehensible.

I don't tell others that they must be such and so - you shouldn't tell me that I must be what you believe I should be. This applies to all of life and INCLUDES whether one is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered.

PRACTICE acceptance and tolerance - don't just give it lip service, please.

hi. great article!

Thank you, William, for your thoughtful analysis of this unfortunate situation. I agree with you whole-heartedly that Ramdev's opinion about homosexuality has nothing to do with yoga, and has everything to do with prejudice, fear, and hatred. It is really too bad that he is using his power and influence to encourage his followers to harbor those same prejudices and create a climate of fear for LGBT folks. Decriminalizing homosexuality in India was a very important step for civil rights there. I am saddened to see that Ramdev is using yoga to argue that being gay is deviant and can be cured. This kind of talk in popular discourse will only intensify the climate of fear. There is nothing remotely yogic about his actions.

As a Yoga student who longs to be a teacher, I am really asking myself whether doing Yoga and being gay involves in the path to teach Yoga. I am an out gay man and when I read such shocking propos about Yoga and Homosexuality, the love and passion that I have for the practice of Yoga become less enthusiasmic. Because I've been believing that one of the main rule of Yoga is ACCEPTANCE of everything and everyone whatever their race, nationality, body structure, sex, age.....and gender(?)... So why does such a hard and unkind opinion about Homosexuality which can be "treated" by Yoga can be told like that? Since when Yoga "treats" the sexuality? Do I have to come to the point that Yoga discriminates Homosexuality by the 21st Century? I'am so sad to read such lines, as a Gay Yoga student who wants to be a teacher, I am really wondering how can I go on whithin my practice and my studies without having a sense of guilty and confusion about my life as a gay and Yoga.

Namaste

Hello William Courson

I do not want to hurt anyone and not any matter of prejudice or bigotry.

Yoga is not religious and not even limited only to physical exercises as assumed in most of the countries. Not even it is a property of any single guru or saint.

In India, where it was originated about five thousands years back, 'Yoga' means 'union', the unity of 'atma' (soul) and 'parmatma' (God). Yoga is a 'way of life' and solution to human's physical and mental problems. And of course, it has the solution of sexual disabilities as well.

Hello Preyas,

Why do you compare yourself with the acts of animals? Don't you think you are a human who has been gifted a 'brain' by the 'nature', who has much better logical, rational and judgment powers than animals. Humans have power to find out what is right and wrong.

Wearing cloths, cutting hairs, flying airplanes, playing iPods...etc...etc... are good examples of using this 'brain'. And you know very well, these kind of acts can never be done by animals.

So, my dear friend, why to act like animals, if we humans have such a great brain to rationalize things so well.

For sale:marine engines,marine motors;rebuilt:Ford,Chevrolet,Chrysler, 6.5 marine diesel,outboard,inborad,rebuilt marine engines,repair,boat engine,marine engine,used marine engines,engine marine:performance,for sale,used,sports,parts.
thanks