Give Us a Break

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Give Us a Break
By Amara dasa

Dear CHAKRA,

Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

On your recent posting entitled "Less Intelligent Women? Give Me a Break!" I noticed that you could not help from adding the following at the end:

[Note: I do not recall Srila Prabhupada asking people if they were homosexual, but he would not initiate anyone who was engaging in any kind of illicit sex. -Ed].

Now please give us a break! Of course Srila Prabhupada never asked anyone whether he or she was homosexual or not. Bodily designations did not matter to him. And duh! Everyone knows that Srila Prabhupada did not initiate people who were engaging in illicit sex.

Your clarifications were not necessary, and they implied that if a person is homosexual by nature he is automatically sexually active or cannot be celibate. This is not true because anyone can practice celibacy if they are determined. It does not matter if he or she is male, female, black, white, gay, straight, etc. Everyone has his or her own material temptations to overcome. There is no more temptation for a gay brahmacari to fall down than there is for a straight householder lying beside his wife. In fact, many could argue otherwise.

I am tired of all of these stereotypes that underestimate and limit a person’s full potential in Krsna consciousness. We should treat and deal with everyone equally as spirit souls. Period.

Your servant,
Amara dasa

[See "Less Intelligent Women? Give Me a Break!" Chakra June 8, 2002
and Umapati Swami's reply, "Give the Editor a Break" Chakra June 13, 2002]