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Summary of Question:	Lesbians And Gays In Sikhi
Category:	Other
Date Posted:	Saturday, 9/20/2003 3:28 AM MDT

Waheguru Ji KA Khalsa

Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh,
I wanted to ask what does sikhisim say about homosexual humanbeings? I came to know through a friend that in medical terms,it is considered to be abnormal to have sexual orientation towards the same sex. Was this type of activity prevalent in ancient times or have people started acting like this now? Or is it a new phase of human evolution? Because with this in mind the conditions prevalent in future can be imagined.
Thank you
Sat SRi AKal.

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REPLY
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Sikhi says nothing specific about homosexual people. Sikhi believes that all beings are born for for spiritual experience and that all people, no matter WHO or what they are, can know such experience through Shabd Guru. This includes lesbians and gays.
While homosexuality is indeed not the norm in any society, nor is it a medical norm, it has been around pretty much as long as human beings have existed. Generally, between 2-6% of any population group (nation, town, religious community) are homosexual. (Of course, many homosexuals are heavily closeted so folks don't know who they are.)

No, it is not a new evolutionary phase. What IS evolutionary is that folks have begun to recognize that (1) homosexuality is something one is BORN as, it is not something one 'chooses' to do out of some whim. There is a genetic component to homosexuality, but medical scientists have only just discovered this, so there's not a lot of data on it. Scientists have also found brain differences between homo- and hetero-sexual males (don't know about females.)

Other evolutions in society are that (2) folks who are homosexual are accepting themselves for who/what they are and are living otherwise regular and spiritual lives rather than living lives of societally-imposed shame and guilt, which is hardly a healthy way to live; and (3) more and more members of society (wherever they are) are tolerating or accepting homosexuality as something that is another aspect of this earthly existence, not something that needs to be 'prevented'.
Guru ang sang,
-DKK