Liberalism

So before we get started on the deep topics that most of us face let me give you a brief jist of what the philosophy behind this blog is. People watch television, read new, follow stories, because of the message and the intention that that message is attempting to convey. If anybody that I didn't know follow one of my facebook links, or unintentionally come across this blog through some googling, you're probably curious what message I am trying to convey.

So here goes:

This blog is an open-minded Hindu blog. I am not proselytizing, I am not attempting to convert, I am not attempting to change anyone's opinions on matters of faith. To be frank, I'm not attempting to change anyone's opinion. However, while this blog will draw from many paths of life and many faiths, the essence is still Hindu. This was a blog written by a Hindu, and it was meant to help other Hindus with difficulties, and it will take most of its inspiration from Hindu literature.

But more important than being a Hindu Blog...this is a Liberal Hindu Blog. Which comes to the biggest issue: Liberalism.

When I say liberal in this blog, I do not mean Democrat or Republican. I do not mean pro-Obama or pro-McCain. I do not mean Pro-life, Pro-choice, Pro-guns, Anti-guns, socialized health care, or open privatized economy.

I am using the term Liberal here, the same way that education in the West honors and deifies the "Liberal Arts" Education. Liberal, as used in Liberal arts, traces its roots to "liber" or "freed". This was the well-rounded education that was considered appropriate for the "free man". The free-man, in Post-Renaissance Europe, is a term that slowly had its borders expanded until it came to identified all people, with all the rights and privileges that are deserving of us. This website is a place where each one of you has the freedom to comment and speak as you wish (Mind you that comes with my freedom to censor this blog, since it is personal property, as I please as well). Ask questions, demand answers, confront hypocrisy, and I welcome you to tear down any personal discriminatory viewpoints that I may have.

Education is meant to be a dialogue, and if this blog is going to be educational for you and for me, there needs to be that dialogue. The great Plato wrote in the form of dialogues. The Bhagavad Gita is written in the form of a dialogue. Even the word Upanisads mean "sitting nearby the place of". All the great Native American stories were meant to be told between a teller and a listener. It is that power of connection; that incredible thread that connects the gift of teaching and the gift of receiving that I am attempting to create over the internet. This blog can not be written without me, but it also serves no purpose without you, acting as the listener, the critic, the cynic, the flatterer, or even the silent, but attentive observer.

And that is the liberal atmosphere I am attempting to create in this blog.

Religion is often mistakenly equated with conservative tendencies, whether they be social, political, or educational. The irony is that religion exists on a purely liberal mindset. The great founders of all faiths. Liberalism demands questioning and changing the "status quo". Conservatism, essentially means preserving the status quo. However, what religious text follows that format? When Buddha abandoned his duties and royal responsibilities, to search for a path which he discovered to neither be in the asceticism or the overindulgence of worldly pleasures he saw in the world around him, was he being conservative? When Jesus taught his message of love and peace, do you think he was merely echoing the feudal tradition of the Middle Eastern culture of the times? When Krishna refused to heed to Indra's warnings and requested that the villagers of his town instead turn their worship towards Mount Govardhana, was he not breaking the status quo?

And that is also what this blog is about. It's about bending the rules, maybe pushing your understandings a little further than you expected, and about opening your mind to things that never came to you. We all carry our baggage of prejudices with us. In that we can find commonality and comfort. But from here forth, maybe we will be able to challenge those skeletons in our closet.

Welcome, to Tamasoma Sat Gamaya, the Liberal, Hindu Blog.

"Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit"
- Mahatma Gandhi

A place where LGBT can meet being Hindu

Hello friends,

Today, I'm creating a Blog for all LGBT Hindus. Once every three days, I will post on here a post about my views of what the religion of Hinduism means to me from the perspective of an LGBT individual. I hope for this blog to expand beyond this, into a site, perhaps a forum, perhaps a local group, and maybe one day, an international venue where people like myself who are passionate about their faith but also true to the way God made us can speak our mind and find acceptance.

Since every temple is consecrated with a Kumba Abhishekam, every life is celebrated with a birthday, I will celebrate my own "rebirth" today. Every LGBT individual has this second birth. It's called coming out. So let's start with me. My name is Hari. I am what many would call, a queer. I am attracted to men, and all that the word "attract" may entail.

I questioned my sexual orientation for a long time, but I never questioned my faith to the degree that I questioned my orientation. Therefore, I stand before you as a Hindu LGBT, not as an LGBT Hindu.

You will have questions, you may get answers from me or others. You may have doubts, and to be fair, doubts may not disappear. You will disagree with me, and that's the best part of Hinduism. You are free to form your own opinions. You are free to learn on your own.

This site isn't about changing people's minds. Homophobes and Allies all have the right to feel and think the way they do. That is our right as humans. We live in a civilized society where we can all choose to formulate our opinions.

What this is a place of is a place to shine light where some of you thought you were crouched in the darkness. Were you raised conservative? We are there with you. Were you compelled to marry a person of the opposite gender? We are there with you. Are you frightened to tell your family? We are there with you. Are you a married man with four children and a wife and finally need some resolution for that internal turmoil? We are there with you.

There is one quote which I want to leave this first post off with. The quote which is our title.

"Tamasoma Sat Gamaya"....I hope that this site will do this for many.
"From Darkness lead us to the light".

Namaskaram

Hari