Guess which religion? That’s right my strong fanatic Hindus, It’s your religion. Hinduism recognizes the transgender or some call it Homosexuality. Some might have known this fact and just kept it towards themselves as this is a very contradicting truth about Hinduism, others might not, but that’s because most Hindus in our beloved Boleh Land, which now has a strong essence of 1 Malaysia which unites all races and gives fair opportunity to everyone regardless of their race or religion that now, we are fighting about the word ‘ALLAH’…… GOSH!!.. it’s after all a word . Dam, I did it again!! Sorry folks, I jumbled up Hinduism and Homosexuals with Politics. How did that happen?? Anyway, coming back to the topic, I was mentioning about the fact that most Hindus do not know that Hinduism actually recognizes Homosexuals because they pray for the sake of praying. They pray, because their great grandparents pray, their grandparents pray, their parents pray and now they just follow these sightless footsteps blindly and pray for themselves. Most Hindus don’t even know the hierarchy of Deities in Hinduism. I don’t blame them, because we have got hundreds of them. Most of us don’t even know our relatives and cousins, how on earth are you going to remember the deities, and their sons and daughters and uncles and aunties and their re-incarnations and the re-incarnations daughters and sons and … phewww!! Etc. I don’t mean to amuse you with regards to the Deities but, do we need that many? Oh yes we do, the more the merrier because the earth’s population is not getting any smaller. You can’t have one GOD to look over the billions. You need to segregate the tasks and that’s why we have hundreds of them. It’s like an MNC organization. God Bless Me.
Now, enough of that and lets focus on how did transgender be recognized in Hinduism. Just like other religions in the world, Hinduism also has scriptures and holy books that are to be followed by fellow Hindus. These scriptures and holy books are not rules that must be followed; it’s similar to a story book where these stories are narrated in such away that you would want to follow it. It’s more of a way of life rather then a rule of law. Of course it didn’t work on me. That because I’ve already got a messed up mind. Thus; these stories are captured by people who were present at those particular moments just like the Gospels in Christianity. Hindus have got the Mahabaratha, the Bagavath Gita, The 4 Vedas, the Sutras and so forth. The transgender part comes from one of the Vedas (Rig Veda), Kama Sutra, and a tiny part in Mahabaratha.
The Hindus in particular know very well of the Mohini. Some label Mohini as a beautiful ghost and some as a beautiful Goddess. Trash the Goddess or Ghost part of it, now we know that she was extremely beautiful and gorgeous. Even now, Hindus will not turn back if they happen to hear footsteps with the sound of anklets around the feet while walking through a dark valley. This is because stories teach us that the Mohini is so beautiful that just one glance at her, you will be astonish and literally be hypnotized by her beauty and eventually be her slave. So how and why is she actually a character in these Holy Scriptures? Well, the explanation is as below.
Arjuna is a warrior in the epic war called Battle of Kurukshetra in Mahabaratha. He is one of the 5 sons of Pandu. These 5 sons are called the 5 Pandavas where each son has got one tremendous skill in helping a war to win. Arjuna of course was the archery expert. Even before the war, Arjuna got married to Nagakanniga and they have a handsome young son by the name of Aravan. During this Kurukshetra war, Aravan is chosen as a sacrifice for the Goddess Kali. Knowing this fact that he is going to die, just like other normal human beings, he wanted to experience lust/sex. So he wanted to marry, but no women would want to marry a man who is going to be sacrificed. Women reading this should not go against this fact because as much as men would love lust so do you. So just read. Now this upset Lord Krishna comes to the picture. How did Lord Krishna come to this picture? Well he was one of the warriors helping the 5 Pandavas win the war. Why does Lord Krishna have to be so nosy about a war? I have no idea. Perhaps he is just bored having fun with women. Hindus would know that Lord Krishna is some kind of a ‘PLAYER’. Well now comes the messed up part. When Lord Krishna got upset knowing the fact that none will marry Aravan, he assumes the form of Mohini and marries him. After Aravan is sacrificed for Goddess Kali, Mohini (previously known as Lord Krishna), dresses up in a white saree, breaks her bangles and cries. If you happen to watch tamil movies, if a lady’s husband dies for whatever reason, she dresses up in white saree, breaks her bangles and cries her lungs out as well. There you go. Transgender Mohini who is actually a male, marries another male Aravan.
Now, for the story of Lord Iyappan. Iyappan is actually a Deity himself because he is a God’s child. Literally speaking that is. God’s child meaning he was born for 2 different Deities. Long story short, King Maahisha Asura was given power by the Gods to be immortal against all Men. However, this poor King was then killed by Goddess Durga as she is a female; she had no issues killing him. Who sent Goddess Durga to kill the king? Well it was the same God that gave the King immortality against Men. Thus; the King’s sister, (the king now died), Princess Maahishi got so freaking pissed off with the God that she started to pray to the Lord Bramma. (Please don’t ask me who Lord Bramma is because that will take another episode to explain. He is basically the highest in the Deity Hierarchy). When Lord Bramma saw this princess’s devotion, he then granted her immortality towards anything at all except the combined power of Lord Shiva who is the Destructor and Lord Vishnu who is the Keeper and this is where things start to get really messed up yet again. But wait, Lord Vishnu is actually Lord Krishna himself. Lord Krishna is actually the 8th re-incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Anyway, the immortal princess starts to rob and conquer the world which upsets the Gods. Lord Vishnu then turns into Mohini. Pretty confusing eh? From Vishnu to Krishna to Mohini. Well, When Lord Shiva saw Mohini, he was charmed by her beauty and his need for lust took over his thinking brain. He, in-fact knew that Mohini was Lord Vishnu/Lord Krishna, but because she was so gorgeous and irresistible, he could not hold his thoughts and lust and thus, Lord Iyappan was born. Lord Iyappan of course successfully killed the princess. End of story. That’s another part where transgender Mohini who is actually a male, gets involved with a lust seeking Lord Shiva.
The religion Hinduism recognizes this transgender as the third gender. There is male gender, female gender and the third gender. This third gender has got a little bit of there and here and they do not socialize with the male and the female community. It’s like they have their own society. They even have temples built for them in India (Lately in S’pore as well) and no male or female can pray to their Goddess. Their Goddess is called Bahuchara Mata. Goddess Bahuchara Mata is a pure woman of course. Now don’t get confused with the trangender/shemales/tranny that you see on the streets nowadays after 12 midnight that is. These people are transgender but they go through genetic operations and take female hormone enhancements. The transgender those days only cross dress and mimic the characteristics of women. There is actually an eighteen day festival for these Indian ladyboys every year around April-May in India at their temple. One of the essential parts of the festival is to break bangles and cry out loud just as the story explained above.
Well my fellow Hindu followers; have I enlighten you with the only religion that recognizes transgender. Do you now have an upper respect or disgrace for these third genders? We have male washrooms, female washrooms, do we have transgender washrooms? We have Hindu temples that ask us to line up in a 2 rows to pray to God where the right is for females and at the left for males. Do we have one additional row for the transgender? Isn’t that the same God that you all pray? Why do you isolate these transgender when the same God that you pray mooted their confidence to become one or even by birth? That’s because society in the 21st century has changed. We find these transgender disgraceful and disrespectful. We have this perception that they are not fit to be the children of God when in reality; holy Hindu Scriptures have long identified and accepted them. Now tell me, aren’t you ashamed of your religion, or did I just opened your eyes wider to accept these third genders? Either way I win because I have successfully educated the fellow Hindus. However, if you chose to claim that I am talking crap, do read the Vedas, the Sutras, Mahabaratha, the Gita and visit the sites below.
Reference:
http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Homosexuality_and_Hinduism_-_Background/id/1480118
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Religious_views_on_transgender_people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_and_homosexuality#Hinduism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_%28South_Asia%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahuchara_Mata
http://passionforcinema.com/navarasa-myth-meets-santosh-sivan/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_Hinduism
http://www.galva108.org/festivals.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/firozeshakir/3279828781/
Now, enough of that and lets focus on how did transgender be recognized in Hinduism. Just like other religions in the world, Hinduism also has scriptures and holy books that are to be followed by fellow Hindus. These scriptures and holy books are not rules that must be followed; it’s similar to a story book where these stories are narrated in such away that you would want to follow it. It’s more of a way of life rather then a rule of law. Of course it didn’t work on me. That because I’ve already got a messed up mind. Thus; these stories are captured by people who were present at those particular moments just like the Gospels in Christianity. Hindus have got the Mahabaratha, the Bagavath Gita, The 4 Vedas, the Sutras and so forth. The transgender part comes from one of the Vedas (Rig Veda), Kama Sutra, and a tiny part in Mahabaratha.
The Hindus in particular know very well of the Mohini. Some label Mohini as a beautiful ghost and some as a beautiful Goddess. Trash the Goddess or Ghost part of it, now we know that she was extremely beautiful and gorgeous. Even now, Hindus will not turn back if they happen to hear footsteps with the sound of anklets around the feet while walking through a dark valley. This is because stories teach us that the Mohini is so beautiful that just one glance at her, you will be astonish and literally be hypnotized by her beauty and eventually be her slave. So how and why is she actually a character in these Holy Scriptures? Well, the explanation is as below.
Arjuna is a warrior in the epic war called Battle of Kurukshetra in Mahabaratha. He is one of the 5 sons of Pandu. These 5 sons are called the 5 Pandavas where each son has got one tremendous skill in helping a war to win. Arjuna of course was the archery expert. Even before the war, Arjuna got married to Nagakanniga and they have a handsome young son by the name of Aravan. During this Kurukshetra war, Aravan is chosen as a sacrifice for the Goddess Kali. Knowing this fact that he is going to die, just like other normal human beings, he wanted to experience lust/sex. So he wanted to marry, but no women would want to marry a man who is going to be sacrificed. Women reading this should not go against this fact because as much as men would love lust so do you. So just read. Now this upset Lord Krishna comes to the picture. How did Lord Krishna come to this picture? Well he was one of the warriors helping the 5 Pandavas win the war. Why does Lord Krishna have to be so nosy about a war? I have no idea. Perhaps he is just bored having fun with women. Hindus would know that Lord Krishna is some kind of a ‘PLAYER’. Well now comes the messed up part. When Lord Krishna got upset knowing the fact that none will marry Aravan, he assumes the form of Mohini and marries him. After Aravan is sacrificed for Goddess Kali, Mohini (previously known as Lord Krishna), dresses up in a white saree, breaks her bangles and cries. If you happen to watch tamil movies, if a lady’s husband dies for whatever reason, she dresses up in white saree, breaks her bangles and cries her lungs out as well. There you go. Transgender Mohini who is actually a male, marries another male Aravan.
Now, for the story of Lord Iyappan. Iyappan is actually a Deity himself because he is a God’s child. Literally speaking that is. God’s child meaning he was born for 2 different Deities. Long story short, King Maahisha Asura was given power by the Gods to be immortal against all Men. However, this poor King was then killed by Goddess Durga as she is a female; she had no issues killing him. Who sent Goddess Durga to kill the king? Well it was the same God that gave the King immortality against Men. Thus; the King’s sister, (the king now died), Princess Maahishi got so freaking pissed off with the God that she started to pray to the Lord Bramma. (Please don’t ask me who Lord Bramma is because that will take another episode to explain. He is basically the highest in the Deity Hierarchy). When Lord Bramma saw this princess’s devotion, he then granted her immortality towards anything at all except the combined power of Lord Shiva who is the Destructor and Lord Vishnu who is the Keeper and this is where things start to get really messed up yet again. But wait, Lord Vishnu is actually Lord Krishna himself. Lord Krishna is actually the 8th re-incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Anyway, the immortal princess starts to rob and conquer the world which upsets the Gods. Lord Vishnu then turns into Mohini. Pretty confusing eh? From Vishnu to Krishna to Mohini. Well, When Lord Shiva saw Mohini, he was charmed by her beauty and his need for lust took over his thinking brain. He, in-fact knew that Mohini was Lord Vishnu/Lord Krishna, but because she was so gorgeous and irresistible, he could not hold his thoughts and lust and thus, Lord Iyappan was born. Lord Iyappan of course successfully killed the princess. End of story. That’s another part where transgender Mohini who is actually a male, gets involved with a lust seeking Lord Shiva.
The religion Hinduism recognizes this transgender as the third gender. There is male gender, female gender and the third gender. This third gender has got a little bit of there and here and they do not socialize with the male and the female community. It’s like they have their own society. They even have temples built for them in India (Lately in S’pore as well) and no male or female can pray to their Goddess. Their Goddess is called Bahuchara Mata. Goddess Bahuchara Mata is a pure woman of course. Now don’t get confused with the trangender/shemales/tranny that you see on the streets nowadays after 12 midnight that is. These people are transgender but they go through genetic operations and take female hormone enhancements. The transgender those days only cross dress and mimic the characteristics of women. There is actually an eighteen day festival for these Indian ladyboys every year around April-May in India at their temple. One of the essential parts of the festival is to break bangles and cry out loud just as the story explained above.
Well my fellow Hindu followers; have I enlighten you with the only religion that recognizes transgender. Do you now have an upper respect or disgrace for these third genders? We have male washrooms, female washrooms, do we have transgender washrooms? We have Hindu temples that ask us to line up in a 2 rows to pray to God where the right is for females and at the left for males. Do we have one additional row for the transgender? Isn’t that the same God that you all pray? Why do you isolate these transgender when the same God that you pray mooted their confidence to become one or even by birth? That’s because society in the 21st century has changed. We find these transgender disgraceful and disrespectful. We have this perception that they are not fit to be the children of God when in reality; holy Hindu Scriptures have long identified and accepted them. Now tell me, aren’t you ashamed of your religion, or did I just opened your eyes wider to accept these third genders? Either way I win because I have successfully educated the fellow Hindus. However, if you chose to claim that I am talking crap, do read the Vedas, the Sutras, Mahabaratha, the Gita and visit the sites below.
Reference:
http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Homosexuality_and_Hinduism_-_Background/id/1480118
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Religious_views_on_transgender_people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_and_homosexuality#Hinduism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_%28South_Asia%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahuchara_Mata
http://passionforcinema.com/navarasa-myth-meets-santosh-sivan/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_Hinduism
http://www.galva108.org/festivals.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/firozeshakir/3279828781/
