I'm not intersex or homosexual, but it hurts me greatly to see how my brothers and sisters devotees and other people who are intersex and homosexuals suffer from discrimination.
People do not know about statistics. They are not doctors who have to live with the daily reality of people born intersex and also homosexuals.
Most people who speak ill did not have a family member like that.
I have a cousin who is homosexual and always has been ever since. Since birth. He attempted suicide because his father rejected him. Fortunately his mother always supported him. He also has my full support. He is my great friend and has a big heart and he is always ready to help me. He is married to another guy and they are very happy.
When I was a Temple President in Porto Alegre Brazil, a couple of lesbian devotees from our congregation did a lot of service in the Temple. Nobody cleaned the Temple like them grin emoticon
They also had my complete support when they married. They married civilly. But as they were fully accepted by me as a Temple President was not necessary make any religious ceremony.
And that is exactly what homosexual and intersex devotees ask. They do not ask a religious ceremony, because the minority does not want to impose something on majority, they only ask for respect and acceptance. I never told this lesbian couple of devotees they could not participate in the Temple and that they were demonic people. On the contrary, I even recommended their initiation.
So the advice that is given to intersex and homosexual devotees is seeking devotees leaders who are open to the theme. Hard to find wink emoticon
People and devotees, on the topic of human sexuality, hardly change. They have a formed idea. Those who think that intersexuality and homosexuality is an aberration, a disease to be treated, something demonic, bla, bla, bla .... hardly change unless they are doctors who have to deal with it every day.
Here a link to statistics:
http://www.isna.org/faq/frequency
And even then you will find doctors who discriminate. As you will find doctors who discriminate vegetarians.
The true is, in this world, we must seek to live with people who are on the same syntony that we, otherwise it is ... hell !!!
Ah, and Srila Prabhupada accepted as a disciple ... a transsexual one.
The very merciful Srila Prabhupada Ki Jaya !!!
Of course nowadays the disciple of Srila Prabhupada Jennifer Gopinathadasi Woodward (formerly Bhakta Wayne) lives away from the devotees to be very mistreated.
As was to be expected !!!
You will find her on Facebook.
Someone told me that she is not Diksa disciple of Srila Prabhupada and get this name from the great Sriman Jayananda Dasa Prabhu.
Ok, if even then, she would be a SIKSA disciple of Prabhupada. And get a name from Jayananda Prabhu is also very auspicious .... and so we see how devotees as Srila Prabhupada and Jayananda Prabhu dealt with these homosexual and intersex devotees. They were very inclusive. Quite different from others that we know that prohibit entry into the Temples and are all the time calling them demons !!!
Krsna and Prabhupada, please, protect me from Your followers !!!
Honolulu
10 June, 1975
75-06-10
Jennifer Wayne Woodward
3081 16th St. #201
San Francisco, CA. 94103
My dear Jennifer,
Please accept my greetings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated June 6, 1975 and have noted the contents. First of all, you decide whether you are female or male, then be one or the other. Then, you may enter our temple any time you like. But sometimes man and sometimes woman, that is not proper. Such awkward thing cannot be allowed. It will be disturbing to others. Anyway, continue to chant Hare Krishna as much as possible.
I hope this meets you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
ACBS/ps
And she did the operation and was not well received anymore.
And another important point is that Prabhupada did not say for Bhakta Wayne (male) to forget this nonsense sex change. Prabhupada might as well have said, "Forget it I'll get you a good wife this of sex change is an aberration..."
Prabhupada did not say that, on the contrary. He approved the operation.
====================
I did a research and all the arranged marriages of Gay Prabhus with straight Matajis and Gay Matajis with straight Prabhus have failed.
They all failed.
This is one of the absurd solutions that devotees offer. If the devotee is Gay, marries a straight devotee.
They all failed.
Of course, how could it work? Both the straight and the Gay will be unhappy and dissatisfied.
The best thing to do in my opinion is to bless marriages between devotees who are Gay and gradually follow the natural order of Vanasrama.
First Brahmacari, then family life (Straight or Gay), then gradually renounce family life with Vanaprastha and at the end of life completely renounce family life and concepts of Gay and Straight.
Both Straight and Gay devotee couples should follow this order of Vanasrama.
Now, trying to force Straight devotees to marry Gay devotees will not work.
It never happened.
