LET’S FIND A CURE FOR THESE PREJUDICES
These are unnatural acts not designed for human beings. The decision of the High Court, if allowed to sustain will have catastrophic effects on the moral fabric of society and will jeopardise the institution of marriage itself. This offends the structure of Indian value system, Indian culture and traditions, as derived from religious scriptures.’ This was Baba Ramdev’s rather overthe-top response to the courts decriminalising homosexuality. Now we have Sri Sri Ravi Shankar gently telling us that homosexuality can be reversed and that people with such tendencies can become normal again.
I have always wondered why these two and many other godmen and women don’t use their vast influence to fight prejudices or at the very least come up with authentic information. For Ramdev, gays can be cured through yoga and ayurveda, for most other godmen, this is indicative of perversion and a decline in moral values.
There are many godmen we know of who are sexual predators, even paedophiles but when it comes to preaching to the faithful, they insist on strict moral codes. It is simply no use saying that homosexuality was probably par for the course in the days of yore. Indeed, there are temple friezes which depict gay sex. But, attitudes today seem to have taken a great leap backward. The concept of finding a cure for homosexuality is quite common among Indians. The most obvious is marriage, that omnibus remedy for all ills from mental problems to homosexuality.
Today, thanks to the active intervention of the courts, LGBT rights are out in the open though many would rather steer clear of expressing their opinions on this. The cure idea has been around for some time even in more open countries. At one time, it was thought among psychiatrists that a gay person can be treated.
The debate over nature and nurture with regard to a gay person is still on. Clearly, some of our godmen go with the nurture theory. The whole debate is vitiated when godmen like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar refers to normal people as opposed to gay people. I can only hope that the treatment that these godmen have in mind for gays is nothing like that which used to take place in the West many decades ago. It involved locking up gay people, not allowing them to bathe and letting them wallow in their own waste. The aim was to create a revulsion towards themselves and their lifestyle choices. Of course, it didn’t work . Here, being gay is associated with many other ills like being immoral, a paedophile, indolent and a provocateur. It is a seen as an unnecessary indulgence which has no place in our superior moral milieu.
It took even someone as powerful as Karan Johar a good long time before he was comfortable enough to state his sexual orientation publicly. To an extent, his wealth and fame protect him from too much scrutiny. But for the average Joe, the fight against prejudice is long and arduous. Most parents will consider this a passing phase, one the person will grow out of, or will at least get over once married. But the fact that such influential gurus are coming up with these theories is dangerous and disturbing.
They could if they put their mind to it dispel such notions with the power of their words. But while preaching love and compassion, they do not seem to look beyond accepted tenets and truths. Imagine what a difference it would make if a Sri Sri Ravi Shankar or Ramdev would speak up for gay rights. To speak against prejudice and against the notion that this is an illness that can be cured. That a good human being should be judged by other yardsticks than his or her sexual orientation. That would be a turn up for the books, wouldn’t it?