Baba Ramdev, Yoga Guru, Challenges Gay Verdict In Indian Supreme Court

By Varun Bubber

It's been less than a week since the Delhi High Court abolished Section 377 of India's Penal Code, decriminalizing consensual sexual intercourse between homosexuals. Ever since, the historic verdict has created waves in Indian society, invoking joy and relief among the nation's embattled gay community and its supporters, and outrage from several sections, including religious and moral leaders, as well as some politicians.

Yoga a Cure for Homosexuality?

Most recently, an influential yoga guru, Baba Ramdev, has filed a petition in India's Supreme Court demanding that High Court's verdict be struck down, claiming that "homosexuality is a disease that is curable" and that [the] "right to privacy as a facet of right to life cannot include the right to enjoy deviant sexual preferences and sexual behaviour."

An ardent proponent of ancient Hindu techniques like yoga and herbal medicine, Baba Ramdev commands a massive following in India, claiming over 2 million followers (including several key politicians and celebrities) and presiding over televised "yoga camps" that attract over 20,000 participants and millions of viewers. The West's recent interest in yoga notwithstanding, Baba Ramdev is widely credited with reviving the practice of yoga in a nation that is growing increasingly apathetic towards ancient traditions.

Religious Rage

The Baba's legal move comes after religious leaders from several faiths condemned the High Court's decision in the media, with the Catholic Church being particularly vocal in its dissent.

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Joseph Dias, general secretary of the Catholic Secular Forum (CSF), said recently that Indian Christians were in "greater danger" of being lured by the "glamour of the gay world" and were in "imminent risk of getting drawn into vice and sin, as homosexuality is forbidden by the Church." He called for the Central Government to appeal in India's Supreme Court, echoing demands by the leading Islamic organizations in India.

Politically Correct

And while the bulk of India's political establishment has remained guarded in its reaction to the verdict, the notoriously outspoken Member of Parliament and Ex-Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, has demanded that the central government appeal the judgement in the Supreme Court, saying that "some people may like or consent to these things, but these things are not acceptable in our society" and "[homosexuality is] a crime... Such obscene acts should not be allowed in our country. The society is adversely affected." Yadav has also threatened to raise the matter in India's Parliament, which may force the government to take a stand.

A Queer Future

The Delhi High Court, however, seems to have anticipated such morality-based appeals, and the judgement appears to pre-emptively counter them. "Moral indignation, howsoever strong, is not a valid basis for overriding individuals' fundamental rights of dignity and privacy. In our scheme of things Constitutional morality must outweigh the argument of public morality, even if it be the majoritarian view," wrote the two-judge panel of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S Muralidhar. So for now at least, the striking down of Section 377, this first, crucial step in the gay rights movement in India, remains safe, buffered against the storm of public outrage that is coming its way.

Read more from Indipepal.

Comments

[jaykoch21]

I am really glad people got to see his true colors. I was saddened to see his books on the streets and his T.V. shows with "asans and pranayams.­" He seems to have an answer to every issue. I guess, people who are truely yogic cannot be famous.

[WACourson]

As a student of yoga and a teacher and practitioner of its sister science, ayurveda, I am hesitant to level criticism at anyone, much less pass judgement on another. In this instance, I must make an exception.

Swami Ramdev's actions have nothing to do with yoga or healing nor with the sanatana dharma (the eternal truth). His attempts to bring the sanctions of the criminal law against the life choices of others categorize him as an enemy of freedom and truth, willing for the sake of egotism to sacrifice the happiness and well being of millions on the altar of the god of self-aggra­ndizement.

Some notion of the Swami's concept of and committment to promoting health might be had from his fraudulent claims of curing AIDS, cancer and - most egregiously - his promotion of a purported ayurvedic "medicine" labelled "Putravati," supposed to help women to selectively give birth to sons.

Swamiji's efforts to promote the marginalization of homosexuality and the dispossession of gay and lesbian people of their human rights may well win applause in the homophobic, misogynistic backwaters of the subcontinent's countless villages. His condemnation of the peaceful methods of Mohandas Gandhi and the utility of non-violence in gaining India's independence bloodlessly may play well to the right-wing rump of Indian reactionary politics, but he has revealed himself to a much wider world to be a charlatan and a poseur.

This is no man of God, and his reprehensible conduct is a disgrace to the sannyasin's robe.

[llisa]

I had to laugh when a yoga ad popped up in the middle of this story.

[email]

d

[Khirad]

Just for a different perspective, a piece from Pakistan:

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/jawed-naqvi-gay-but-not-quite-happy-979+

[FHTB]

Will all the trendites on the left STILL think Yoga is the ultimate in urban chic if they know an Indian spiritual leader is as misguided as any other religious leader who espouses ridiculous BS like this guy does?

[Khirad]

Trendy Yoga isn't Yoga, and he's aligned with the Sangh Parivar.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the schools of Indian Philosophy sometime, I'm sure they're profound.

[javalab]

There is famous temple for the god named "Ayyappan" in Sabari Hills, state of Kerala. He is the son of the god of protector "Vishnu" & god of destroyer "Shiva". You can still witness "Mohini" (beautiful, enchanting young woman) form of "Vishnu" on one of the ten days during each year spring festival in all southern Indian "Vishnu" temples.
Homosexuality runs deep in Hindu epics. It is well written in ancient texts and depicted as sculptures in temples. Due to invasion by Islamic forces and subsequent colonization by Victorians, lot of these sculptures were mutilated, text were burned and interpretation has been censored or banned, thus leading to the loss of a way of life.
Sadly, the modern religious fanatics will deny or misinterpret the texts, which will be proudly complied by the male dominant society of modern India.

[bismillah001]

It is inaccurate to suggest that Mohini represents anything homosexual, or sexual at all. That kind of representation transcends any idea of human sexuality, as does much of what is commonly used to perpetuate simplistic notions of exotic Indian "sex worship" and the like. You're taking a purely symbolic representation which is used to illustrate complex philosophi­cal/metaph­ysical ideas, and spinning it as something basely sexual. That is the totally wrong way to read it, but most people have little familiarity with Hindu metaphysics so they're susceptible to believing such misinterpretations.

[TheWanderer]

"Moral indignation, howsoever strong, is not a valid basis for overriding individuals' fundamental rights of dignity and privacy. In our scheme of things Constitutional morality must outweigh the argument of public morality, even if it be the majoritarian view,"

I wish our courts could respond to anti-gay rights legislation as clearly and judiciously as the Indian Supreme Court.

[llisa]

I thought the same when I read that.

[souroil]

A true yogi would know that being gay is absolutely normal and not abnormal. This universal truth comes after many hours of meditation and or yoga. Some people already have an open mind without yoga and meditation but apparently this yogi is not so open, in my opinion.

Maybe the yogi is spending so much time doing the positions that he is forgetting to meditate which is much more important than the positions. Breathing is still even more important than the positions but meditation is what opens the mind. An open mind does not lead a person to call gayness abnormal or something to be cured from.

If this yogi says that yoga can cure gayness, then this yoga is not for real in my opinion. Having knowledge about yoga and doing and teaching the positions are not the yoga. The yoga is the breathing and the meditation. The positions just help you learn how to do this.

[anito]

Kudos to the court. Human rights are not up for debate.

[oldocwoods]

Why are we surprised by this? Baba Ramdev is firmly associated with Hindutva (Hindu fundamentalism), and right wing militant Hindu party leader L. K. Advani.

He is fundamentalist extremist.­--the Indian equivalent of Jerry Falwell. Like Falwell, he has been embroiled in controversy for a long time. Like Falwell, he aligns himself with a right wing Nationalist agenda cloaked in religion in order to deter criticism of his agenda. Its just in this case its Yoga rather than Scripture, or Christian lifestyle.

[Khirad]

Thanks, you saved me the effort.

[AJBF]

There are a lot of so called gurus that are nothing but hacks and impostors. The ignorance and hatred expressed by this purported yoga guru clearly shows his true stripes. Yoga = union with God. God = love.

[JohnFromCensornati]

Indian christians, hindus, and muslims have found common ground!

[obtusegoose]

Damn these people sound ignorant. How exactly does a yoga guru know anything about human sexuality? I am kind of curious what Guru Ramdev's cure for homosexuality is. I'm guessing it has to do with bending over backwards and putting your head between your buttocks. It seems to have worked for him.

Of course they never explain how a straight person is "lured" into the "glamour of the gay world". No one ever seems to be answer that question.

[Andolini Baxter]

I believe it must be the footwear..­..)

[The Ghost]

Some just get sucked into the lifestyle.

[stylenease]

hilarious! These damn people are ignorant. Make no mistake about. The bigot's path has plenty of room for a yogamiester too, right in there with all the other religious wingnutz that claim the moral high ground. As for the Catholic Church -- I wouldn't cast any stones when The Vatican finds it impossible to reign in wayward priests.

[Joe Moore]

They get drawn in by our parties. We do throw better ones than any straight person I've met. :-)

[LeeCalif]

Bye bye Baba !!