“Any year that you don’t destroy one of your best loved ideas is probably a wasted year” – Munger
Many years back, I destroyed something in my mind. It was neither good nor an idea. It was a prejudice – a wrong notion. The notion to discriminate members of the LGBT+ community. How I picked it up, I don’t know. Most likely from the society around me. The general behaviour of people is to discriminate and mock members of the LGBT+ community. Reason- they are different from us and don’t fit into the established norms of the society. I started behaving like others around me. Monkey see, monkey do. I regret that behaviour of mine.
Over a period of time, the debates and discussions on TV and newspapers sensitised and educated me. I questioned my beliefs and I could see no good reasons to continue holding such beliefs.
Companionship is the most important physiological needs of a human being. Having a companion is a primal urge. According to a Biblical story, Eve was created by God by taking her from the rib of Adam, to be Adam's companion. Companionship is all about meeting of the minds, vibes, chemistry and frequency. Sexual orientation has nothing to do with it.
The case for legal acceptance of same sex marriage in India is with the Supreme Court now. The court has finished hearing arguments and the verdict is awaited. Marriage equality would be a giant leap in making our country more equal. Every citizen in India enjoys freedom under the constitution. Choosing one’s marriage partner should be one such freedom.
As I finish writing the post and wait for the court’s verdict, I wish all my brethren of the LGBT+ the best and recite the following lines from the poem ‘Gitanjali’ by Gurudeva Rabindra Nath Tagore.
“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action -
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake"
