Same Sex Marriage: Legitimate or Illegitimate?

Last Sunday night I was interviewed by a college student who asked me what is our position on same sex marriage. I explained to him that since in the Krishna consciousness movement our principle is that sex is only for procreation and not for recreation, same sex marriage does not have any legitimacy in Krishna consciousness. I told him that if a man could make his boyfriend pregnant or a lady could make her girlfriend pregnant, same sex marriage would be acceptable in Krishna consciousness.

If in the Krishna consciousness movement we were to adjust our principle that recreational sex is allowable between husband and wife, then in all fairness we would then also have to legitimatize same sex marriage. In other words, if the heterosexuals are allowed to have recreational sex, why the homosexuals should not be allowed? Therefore to maintain the purity our movement we must faithfully adhere to Srila Prabhupada's principle that sex is only for procreation, not for recreation.

Some will protest that this is artificial restraint. But this ignores the fact that we are not these bodies, that these bodies are only coverings of the actual self. The real satisfaction for the self is be perfectly dovetailed in a loving relationship with Supreme Self, Krishna or God. Material sense gratification will never satisfy the self and is only therefore accepted insofar as it is necessary to keep the body healthy and fit.

Same Sex Marriage Enjoys Increasing Popularity and is Sanctioned by Many Modern Churches

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version

Question: Vedic Scriptures Compatible With Science?

Are Hindu Scriptures compatible with science? Do Hindu Scriptures provide for scientific explanations in today's world? Do they form the basis for scientific reasoning?

Thank you in advance.

A devotee of Lord Dattatreya,

Praneet

Answer: Real Science is Practical, Not Theoretical

There is no question of Hindu scriptures. Hindu is a termed coined by the Muslims. This word is not found anywhere in India's ancient scriptures. So the question should be instead, "Are the Vedic scriptures compatible with science?"

But even this question is not quite proper. What we should really be asking is, "Is modern science compatible with the Vedic scriptures?" The Vedic scriptures present perfect scientific knowledge regarding the universe, its origin, and what lies beyond this universe. While modern science is constantly changing, Vedic science remains unchanged. Knowledge which is constantly changing is not knowledge at all. It is mere speculation. Therefore the Vedic scriptures are actual science while the cosmic view of modern day science is pseudo science.

Real scientific reasoning means that is must be practical. For example when you mix hydrogen and oxygen and get water, that is practical; that is science. But simply theorizing that the universe came out of absolutely nothing, as it is now being proposed by a so-called leading scientist, is not science. Where is the scientific experiment to show that something can come out of nothing? It has never been demonstrated, but yet people are foolishly accepting this dogma in the name of science, which is actually simply nescience masquerading as science.

Instead of speculative hogwash, the Vedic scriptures give the scientific researcher the tools he needs to do the ultimate scientific experiment in the test tube of his own consciousness and personally experience God face to face, eye to eye. And when you know God perfectly you scientifically know everything.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari