Acceptance of LGBTQ in Hinduism

[aupmanyav]

It is gratifying to know that Hinduism accepted LGBTQ even in the dark middle ages.

"Ram-charit-manas", a highly revered book and very popular in North India, was written in 1631 by Saint Tulsidas in Awadhi language (spoken around Lucknow and Ayodhya). It is not just the story of Lord Rama life but also a compendium of folk wisdom. It says:

"Purush, napunsaka, nari, va jeev charachar koi; sarva bhava bhaja kapata taji, maya parampriya soi."
(Men, not men, women or any other moving or non-moving living being, who worships me abandoning deceit, that person is my most loved."
(Ramacharitmanas, Uttara Kanda)

Adhyatma Ramayana (Spiritual Ramayana) is another revered book supposedly written by Saint Ramananda in 14th Century which says:

"Living beings are all-pervading and eternal. Be it a woman, a man or a transgender; they are all definitely as eternal, clear and non-dual as the sky. So how can anyone be sorrowful?
(Adhyatma Ramayana, Kishkindhakanda)

 

[southernhybrid]

Thanks for posting that, and let me add that it's good to see you here. . Imo, in the US, it's the conservative Christians who are the problem, when it comes to denying civli rights to people who they perceive as sinners or condemned by their religion. Perhaps if you have the time, you could point out some of the more positive aspects of the religion that you embrace as an atheist.

 

[aupmanyav]

Perhaps if you have the time, you could point out some of the more positive aspects of the religion that you embrace as an atheist.

Sure, Southernhybrid, it is so very simple with people who follow a strict 'Advaita' (non-duality) philosophy. Since it is non-dual, one cannot have God/Gods/Goddesses in it. So, no God, no soul, no heaven, no hell, no reincarnation. What is perceived is looked as an 'illusion' (maya, but what cannot be ignored in the world, a reality at a lower level). At the higher level, there is no creation, no birth, no death, always constant, as I pointed out in another post, in the state of changeless change.
Then 'what is it that exists'? Jut one substrate, 'physical energy', that is what we started with at the time of Big Bang. That alone constitutes all things in the universe -humans, animals, vegetation, non-living things, air, water and sand, everything without any exception.
That is why our books say "Eko sad, dwiteeyo nasti' (what exists is one, there is no second). 'Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman). 'Tat twam asi' (That is what you are too).'So Aham' (I am also That). 'Sarvam Khalu idam Brahma' (All things here Brahman).
That is the whole of the concept in short. No God to send one to hell, action is the individual's responsibility, no apocalypse, no judgment (you judge yourself), no deliverance to strive for since you are yourself It (which is not a God).

 

[southernhybrid]

That's interesting. Where does the concept of free will or lack of free will fit in with your beliefs? I assume you believe that we have free will since you mentioned that action is the individual's responsibility. I do like the idea that we judge ourselves. I admit that I know almost nothing about Hinduism. I don't think I considered it, when I was going from Christian to atheism during my early 20s, while examining other religions along the way.