I opened a Twitter account @GaySikh a few days ago to further promote this site. My main aim for this account was to see how the public would respond to an account entitled Gay Sikh. As you can imagine some users found this name not only blasphemous but also misleading.
The first tweet I received was from @AmoSingh1 who clearly is homophobic, the tweet contained a very well designed poster from Sarbat.net:
He found it to be disgraceful. A typical response I thought. Following that, around 9 Sikh guys were involved in a message exchange where they were very angry that I was tarnishing the Sikh name and that there is no space for homosexuality within Sikhism. This was my target audience and my chance to educate and make aware, result!
@samra_007 was the most vocal. He knew his Gurbani very well and had a good understanding of what a good Sikh should do. In our debate, he made some very good arguments:
Sikh Wedding
..ever heard the Shabad ‘Tau Paleh Tendeh Lagee’ key word is ’lagee’ not ’lagaa, this proves that the union is between the Husband Lord and Soul Bride, Shabad: ‘Es Jug Meh Purakh Ek Heh’
A valid point. Yes, it clearly states that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. However, as Sikhs, we are told to be part of a family as we grow up. There is no stopping me settling down with my future partner and creating a family together, possibly even bring a child into this world. To me, I am being a good faithful Sikh by following what Guru Nanak has told me.
Gurbani to condemn homosexuality
please refer to Gurbani to prove how homosexuality is allowed in Sikhi. I will be EXTREMELY surprised if you can prove me wrong
I found this tweet very interesting. Nowhere in the Gurbani does it say that Sikhs are allowed to be homosexual, similarly it also doesn’t condemn it. It’s simply not mentioned. Which obviously means that it’s up for interpretation by each individual. I did push back to @samra_007 asking for a passage which condemned it but one was not found.
The message to take away from this post is simple. There are always going to be others out there that may not agree with the way you are leading your life and sometimes there is nothing you can do about it. No human has the power to control what someone else thinks. You can provide all the facts and the relevant information but if that person does not wish to change their view, then you will need to respect that. In fact, these tweets are very welcome and very positive. It allows me to educate them on why I believe homosexuality does belong within Sikhism. A process that maybe they would never have encountered if it wasn’t for this blog.