At one time I wondered how and why my mind goes round and round, swerving through twisting thoughts, and confusing me thoroughly about my world around me. It all seems very strange to have your thoughts moving so swiftly, analyzing the world around us, inferencing conclusions without apparent control.
Well for one, it made my reading of Henry James easier!!
The world does go round for everyone, unless we wear blinders. Some do some don’t! The former are rigid and narrow-minded, the latter have a wealth of knowledge and perceptions with an undoubtedly well rounded understanding of it.
We all think that we are all in the category of the latter. But is that really so?
Do we accept situations and people around us as they are without expecting compromises?
We all have notions of what is right or wrong, based on which we judge the world around us. That for us is the universal truth. This may include a religion, a way of living, certain conventions that we may so rigidly be following, that we wrong everything that negates it blindly.
A trend that is now thankfully changing is the acceptance of the life of people with alternative sexual preferences.
Earlier, only the love of opposite sexes was accepted. And on the basis of that, the Indian constitution, under the Indian Penal Code, regarded sexual activity between same sex people illegal and a crime in the eyes of the law.
My attempt to write this article is to point at the way we think, and the sheer use of blinders, which we all deny, in that we do not accept the life, or the choice of the life adopted by an individual with respect.
In building a case for people who are slightly different, I would say that most often we do not even consider the base of the entire concept!!!
So what is the base of the concept of homosexuality or bisexuality?
It is a universal phenomenon called Love.
The evolution of man and animal has been such that only two species on Earth associate love and sexual activity as one, and not just a way to promote or allow a species to live on.
And it is love that brought so many people who have been hiding in the past to love each other despite the taboos on being homosexual or bisexual.
It is amazing to see how many people have come forth to have their relationship recognized by law, so that they do not need to hide their love for one another. Statistics show that in the past 3 months in a state that made gay marriages legal about 10 million couple came forward to tie the knot. This shows an increasing majority that is proceeding to adopt this kind of a lifestyle.
The second reason of such evolutionary trends is a new biological trend. Of being made different.
However, in such a case as well, why do we condemn a person made differently, why can’t we accept a differently structured person? Here as well the question of being narrow-minded arises, and to enable an evolution of intellect as well, I feel that we need to open our minds to people who are different and accept them.
However this change is coming about very slowly.
Now that I have related our conventional thinking to an issue at hand, and explaining at the change and difference having an underlying phenomenon that touches everyone’s hearts; as something that is a basic need as described as a base level need in Maslow’s pyramid of needs.
I would like to proceed to the situation of my Native- India.
The concept of Gay persons in India is extremely complicated to understand, unless one understand the fact that in Olden India, things that people did not understand, they feared, and they then granted the feared phenomenon as divine or as Plato called the Unexplained that was not in the reach of Man, which then becomes at the level of the Gods.
In India this idea on one hand condemned the identity of being Gay, on the other hand worshipped them, while also believing them to have special powers. And this is reflected in their solemn appearances at a wedding or the birth of a child, etc
This led them to become clanlish and survive on incomes derived from such occasions.
Though many claim that they are in complete acceptance with the idea of having a different sexual preference, this is now however translated on ground when it comes to be working with Gay persons.
It is easy to say, what one thinks is correct, but to be able to wipe out old beliefs (on the basis of which we develop concept of right and wrong) and understand a new concept and accept it inherently is an entirely different ball game, that is taking a lot of time.
Today, in a world where acceptance of such persons is increasing, we in India and other similar parts of the world need to accept Gay people, and respect their identity, without judging them as wrong because of a few old inherited ideas.
In India, there are a few people who are actively fighting for gay rights and others who at a legal level is promoting a positive translation and understanding of our constitution, where being Gay no longer is translated and understood to be a crime.
For this one aspect of our constitution, I have always believed that the most comprehensive and detailed constitution (written in a way to bring justice to all and never be mis-interpreted) in the world has gone wrong and wronged many.
