My point is to show cultural differences in what is accepted as 'normal' behaviour. No doubt kids in the west have problems, but they're certainly not as uptight as their parents or grandparents generations. Gayness is now being seen as something quite normal. That is my point. Cultures are not fixed entities, and don't come down to us 'from above' as some believe. We make our own cultures. If we want a society where gays are free from opression and hate, we can create it.
And why is celibacy good and for what reasons? I also know of a pope, who had many mistresses and many illegitimate children as well. So , do they boast of yoga, vipassana, transcendental meditation, laya yoga, pranayama and other stuff ? These guys have initially practiced strict rules and exercises and techniques to develop a very high stage of spiritual development and mind control, as charecterized by concentration and detachment and an iron self-control.I believe a few months of strict practice is enough to achieve this state. When this state is reached, then one can immerse oneself in anything, without being attached to anything. One can eat chicken, meat, drink wine, practice sex, all in moderation, and no evil comes out of it. The only evil is uncontrolled attachment to sensory pleasures, and this is not present in these masters due to their powers of detachment and mind-control. These strict rules and exercises and diet and techniques and ideas of mind control are not present among the catholics or others, and these should be adhered to in the beginning in order to ensure that one attains a high level of mind control and non-attachment. The very thing is contradictory , because spiritual energy depends on sublimation of the sexual energy. If one is castrated , ones spiritual growth suffers as well. And I am not aware of any sadhu castrating himself. And which post is it ? Well, it is fun and enjoyable , as long as they do not get addicted or inordinately attached to it. Then it will become a problem.
In my humble opinion , I think gays and lesbians are condemned in the west, because homosexuality is seen as an evil in the Abrahamic religions. Remember the Oscar winning film 'Philadelphia' .
Probably quite right. Other western traditions such as Paganism, Magick and even 'Libertarian Christianity' (Cf. the works of William Blake) take a more realisic view of such matters. The Abrahamic religions are all based on fear, and Abe himself was clearly a psychopath. At least, that's how we'd regard a man today who was ready to kill his own child on the basis of voices he heard in his head, after mutilating his own genitals.
I'll concur with that...when I was a teenager in the 1960's, old enough to be aware of different types of sexual behavior, male "queers" were considered the lowest form of life, even below blacks, in the Bible-belt area of the USA where I grew up and still live. Things have changed in 40+ years...gays co-exist peacefully here with the hetero majority now, and hate crimes against them are rare and usually confined to verbal harrassment and minor vandalism, rather than the beatings, torture, extensive property damage, and outright murder that used to occur regularly.
