Question #2 « Destination Outpost

Question #2

07Apr08

Uffe Elbæk the founder of the Kaospilot school and now project manager for World Out Games Copenhagen 2009 asked us this question: “What are the living conditions for homosexuals in India. Socially, culturally and politically?”

Many people have tried to answer this question in our class, but since I’m in Milan and don’t have the opportunity to do any empirical groundwork myself I will delve deeper into something one of my classmates touched upon.

Ylle wrote an interesting post about the strangeness of the acceptancy of the so-called hirjas (transvestites) in india but the utter non-acceptance of homosexualism. So let’s dig a bit deeper.

Hirjas are percieved as being of a “third sex” instead of the normal man or woman.

Here’s my rant:

In indian religious tradition the gods are traditionally percieved as being androgynous. In effect they have internalized and transformed themselves to embody both the feminine and masculine energies/qualities.

This is parallelled in greek tradition where plato speaks about humanity as originally being made up of two halves masculine and feminine parts that at one point got split from eachothers. Hence the longing in everybody for ones choosen soulmate or “other half”. In various esoteric spiritual traditions around the world there is also a recurring theme where the adept on his/her path to spiritual enlightenment must develop/aquire the polarity/qualites/energies of the other sex in order to be a full being. These energies are then eventually fused into a non polarized third state. The androgynous being. Superior to the average human.

So my theory is that the strive towards androgynism is supported and backed up by indian religion, hence the acceptance of hirjas in Indian society. After reading some more I seem to be somewhat right:

Hirjas and Religion
In Hindu contexts, hijras belong to a special caste. They are usually devotees of the mother goddess Bahuchara Mata, and/or Shiva. In Tamil Nadu each year in April/May, hijras — or aravanis, as they are called there — celebrate an 18-day religious festival. The aravani temple is located in the village Koovagam in the Ulundurpet taluk in Villupuram district, and is devoted to the deity Koothandavar. During the festival, the aravanis reenact a story of the religious epic Mahabharata: the mythical wedding of Lord Krishna (who had assumed the form of a woman) and Lord Aravaan, son of Arjuna, followed by Aravaan’s subsequent sacrifice. They then mourn Aravaan’s death through ritualistic dances and by breaking their bangles.

Here’s more:

Hijras also perform religious ceremonies at weddings and at the birth of male babies, involving music, singing, and sexually suggestive dancing. These are intended to bring good luck and fertility. Although the hijra are most often uninvited, the host usually pays the hijras a fee. Many fear the hijras’ curse if they are not appeased, bringing bad luck or infertility, but for the fee they receive, they can bless goodwill and fortune on to the newly born. Hijras are said to be able to do this because, since they do not engage in sexual activities, they accumulate their sexual energy which they can use to either bestow a boon or a bane.

and here:

Becoming a Hirja
Becoming a hijra is a process of socialization into a “hijra family” through a relationship characterised as chela “student” to guru “teacher”, leading to a gradual assumption of femininity. Typically each guru lives with at least five chelas; her chelas assume her surname and are considered part of her lineage. Chelas are expected to give their income to their guru, who manages the household. Hijra families are close knit communities, which often have their own houses.

Even the great indian sage Ramakrishna dressed up as woman during one period in his life in order to understand/get closer to and know “the mother” (Kali) more intimately. Developing the servicing, loving and feminine sides of ones personality like this can definitely be seen as a form of Bhakti yoga (Devotional yoga)