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male homosexuality

Some prehistoric cave paintings depict men engaged in what appears to be ritual homo - sexuality, wearing masks of animal heads. The mimicry of animals in order to gain magical power over them is a common practice of primitive peoples. It seems very likely that male homosexuality first developed among groups of hunters who copied and ritualized animal copulation (mounting from behind). Such acts were considered the essential ingredient for assuring a successful hunt.

The Prairie Indians of North America practiced male homosexual rituals during their Bison Dance, the purpose of which was to empower the hunt by a process of imitative magic. The Indians believed this process was necessary before their ancestral protective Spirit would send bison into their territory. In this ritual, the shaman played out the role of a demon who first had to fail in his attacks on the women of the tribe and then was overcome and homosexually raped by male dancers disguised as bison.

Male homosexuality was condemned in ancient Egypt, although there are some indications that it was practiced by the military as a ritual for ensuring the subjugation of prisoners. It began to appear more frequently with the breakdown of the priesthood and was blamed for the weakening of their occult power. Cults that promoted male homosexuality as a secret rite of high magic then developed. Homosexual practices were also promoted among the Babylonian priesthood but they were then also blamed for their loss of magical power.

In ancient Greece, male homosexuality was elevated almost to the status of an institution. A kind of military pederasty existed in Greece from ancient times, linked to warlike activities. In Sparta, it was considered part of the educational system and an essential initiation into soldiery. In Crete, the law protected male homosexuals, even outlining procedures for "correct abduction of young boys." In Athens, homosexuality was reserved for free men and forbidden to slaves. Though the Greek philosophers attempted

to promote the sublimation of male homo - sexuality, it developed into magic cults based on interpretations of the Egyptian mystery rites.

Male homosexuality is only rarely mentioned in the archaic periods of Chinese history. During the Ch'in and early Han dynasty (221 B.C.—A.D. 24), there was a series of ho - mosexual princes and emperors who were recorded in Chinese history as being exceedingly sadistic and who actively promoted male homosexuality. The last emperors of the early Han dynasty lost both political and social power. Eunuchs gained control and the people were heavily taxed. A disastrous epidemic ravaged China and it is recorded that an unusually high proportion of children with homosexual characteristics were born. The people revolted under a powerful Taoist leader and the dynasty fell. From this time until the advent of Moslem influence much later, male homosexuality was viewed with suspicion. It was only condoned when associated with the production of especially sensitive art works.

Homosexual freedom has been also associated with the decline of Greece in some historic accounts. Similarly the decline of the Roman Empire is often viewed in connection with the abundance of homosexuality and the extraordinary extent of male prostitution.

Early Christianity took a strong antihomosexual position, using R o m e as an example of the effect of licensed homosexuality on a nation. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is described in identical terms in the Bible and the Koran. Though the Koran specifically condemns male homo - sexuality, it became firmly entrenched in Moslem culture. Practically all Turkish, Arab, or Persian poetry is tinged with male homo - sexual themes. Arab conquests were always associated with the forceful rape of women and the abduction of young boys. Saladin, the adversary of Richard Coeur de Lion in a Crusade for the Holy Land, was a known homosexual. The Islamic brotherhood spread widely through the power of the sword. In so dominantly a patriarchal society, the creative Female Principle was relegated to a lowly status. Tantric esoteric teachings declare that if a woman is treated very aggressively and degraded during sexual union, then any male child produced will have strong homosexual tendencies. Anal intercourse

Rock carving showing a male mounting an animal. From a prehistoric cave, Val Camonica, Italy.

Angry form of Mahakala, the Protector of Tantric Buddhism in Tibet. The wrathful outer form, conceived of as dark and fearful as outer space, conceals a deep transcendent essence that rests on the tranquil ground of compassion. From a contemporary sculpture in the Rumtek monastery, Sikkim.

with a woman, followed by vaginal intercourse, is said to be one of the ways in which homosexual males are conceived.

The Freudian theory hypothesizes that male homosexuality results from the combination of a dominant, overprotective mother and a weak, uninterested father. The child is thus deprived of a masculine role-model and both overwhelmed and frightened by the company of women. Though it may be that early traumatic experiences with women can create homosexual tendencies in a man, rarely is this a sufficient cause. These tendencies seem to be largely determined by a decreased level of male sex hormones in the body. Sex hormones are secreted by various glands in the body, by the gonads or sex glands in particular. Hormone secretion is controlled by the pituitary gland, which is situated in the head. All hormones exist in both sexes, in varying proportions. Levels of the male sex hormone are increased with exposure to sexual stimuli. Fear, stress, and anxiety cause the testosterone hormone level to diminish. The cause of this biochemical reduction may

originate in the unconscious, but the resulting biological effect is a powerful reinforcement. Studies of homosexual men suggest that they are, in fact, "men with the hormonal chemistry and minds of women . " Generally they have a low sperm count and low levels of the male sex hormone in their body, though dominant and highly aggressive male homosexuals have excessively high levels of these. When testosterone is produced in excess, it triggers aggressive sexual urges. It has been noted that violent criminals produce much higher levels of this substance than do nonviolent ones.

It would appear that the aggressive male homosexual, who usually has a passive lover, is trying to balance out and "externalize" the consuming inner fire of Kundalini-energy. When the Kundalini-fire is untransmuted, it usually is expressed as worldly aggression. This is an intriguing clue to the relationship between sex and aggression, and it explains why aggressive male homosexuality is often linked with military conquest.

If aggression is carried to the extreme, it creates hormonal imbalance, which in turn influences one's sexual desires. A man should reserve real aggression for physical work, sports, business, and, ideally, Yogic transformation. Eastern teachings offer practical techniques to help balance imbalances in the subtle and physical body: Yoga postures, breathing practices, and visualization and meditation techniques. Aggressive energy can be used to transform the psyche, even to the extent of transforming sexual polarity. The Tantric texts outline many visualizations of violent, wrathful entities whose inner natures are always conceived of as compassionate and loving. This symbolizes the way in which the raw Kundalini-energy can be tamed by psychological and physiological processes.

According to recent biological theories, all fetuses are female internally, even if they have male sex organs partly or completely formed. It is believed that they are female until and unless the sex glands release hormonal instructions to the contrary. Though this is not exactly in accordance with the Eastern teachings on this subject, there is an interesting similarity that will help explain some of the factors determining male homosexuality. In an important Tibetan medical work, the Gyudzhi, the following illuminating account of the conception process occurs:

Three things are needed for the formation of a body. These are potent male semen, a fertile female egg, and the mind of a being already existing in the Intermediate State between death and birth, impelled by the right Karma. It depends on the predilection of the being, whether its body is going to become male or female. If it identifies with the semen and is attracted by the mother, at the same time disliking the father, then it will be born a boy. If it identifies itself with the sexual secretions of the mother, but feels anger toward her, then a girl-child will be born.

This shows a remarkable correlation to Freud's Oedipal theory.

The same text goes on to state that "During the third week after conception, it is still possible to influence the sex of the future child. In general, births and subsequent fates are dependent on Karma, but sometimes one can influence this by adding an additional cause. If someone wishes for a son, then during the third or fourth week the method known as Changing the Center can be practiced. It can only be done before the sex organs of the fetus have formed completely." The method referred to involves ingestion by the pregnant woman of specially prepared products that have high male hormone content. Among those listed are the milk from a cow that has had male calves, menstrual blood from a young girl mixed with semen from a virile boy, a special preparation of purified mercury, and other substances that must be prepared in a ritual way and according to astrological requirements.

Yogic teachings state that the movement of the breath in the body is a primary determining factor of gender in children. W h e n there is no harmonization of mood before and during love-making, the breath of the couple may become locked and dominant to the same side of their body. Tantra teaches that this can cause the birth of homosexual children. Eastern teachings emphasize the use of postures to control and harmonize the flow of breath; it is taught that gender of offspring can be predetermined by such techniques. Recent scientific research into the ancient Hebrew tradition of using particular postures to control the sex of offspring is just one indication of the validity in these practices.

Negative aggressive fantasy while having sexual union is another way that sexual preferences may develop in offspring. Parents cre-

ate Karma, which their children must take into their identity. In turn, children "bring Karma to their parents." The intertwinings of destinies passed on from life to life is the basis of continuity between this world and the next.

Kinsey, in his famous report on Sexual

Behavior in the Human Male, found that about four percent of all men are exclusively homosexual throughout their lives. He also noted that about twenty-five percent of his cross section of the male population had had more than incidental homosexual experiences, thirty-seven percent had had some kind of homosexual experience leading to orgasm, and that this figure became as high as fifty percent among those who had remained unmarried until the age of thirty-five.

There are four distinct types of physical exchange between men: mutual caressing without orgasm, masturbation with orgasm, oral sex, and anal sex. The Eastern view is that the first two categories are not necessarily to be viewed as homosexuality, and a man who has had such experiences should not view himself as a homosexual. Oral sex between men is taboo according to Hindu and Buddhist law, though there are references to masseurs in ancient India sometimes relieving their customers in this way and the Kama Sutra does list ways for oral sex between men. The Hindu lawbooks condemn a man who swallows the semen of another. Anal sex between men was unheard of in India until the Moslem invasions and is not a traditional sexual practice of the Chinese or Japanese. The Taoist and Tantric texts unilaterally condemn anal sex between men.

Male homosexuality in the West normally features oral-genital sex, including absorption by the partner of the ejaculated semen. According to Taoism, this causes the Yangessence to be transformed into "male-Yin- essence." Though an exact translation of this process into modern scientific terminology would be difficult, the idea may shed some light on the paradoxes of male homosexuality. Semen contains hormones that, when ingested, undoubtedly help to transform the passive partner into an active one. Anal sex involves the absorption of male hormones through the rectum.

An active, aggressive male homosexual is in a great position of responsibility. By practicing oral or anal sex with his male lover, he "transmits" his Karma as well as his hormones

and vitality. The links in a chain of destiny are established and invariably passed on to others. The Chain of Karma exists on physiological and metaphysical levels simultaneously. We should not consider one aspect without duly taking note of the other. Homosexual men transform one another physically but pay the price of complex metaphysical entanglement.

It is completely natural for young men to explore their own or other young men's bodies, and this should not be confused with ho -

anal sex

The anus has a beauty and sensitivity of its own. No part of the human body should be considered unclean. It is an Eastern custom to wash the anus with cold water as part of the daily ablutions. Tantra teaches control of the anal sphincter muscles, indicating that sexual energy can be conserved in this way. When this muscle is contracted, the sexual center is stimulated and the sex glands produce hormones. Anal intercourse is not recommended by Tantric teachers because, among other things, it tends to stretch and weaken the sphincter muscles, producing energy loss.

Anal penetration disturbs the balance of vital forces in the body. The downwardmoving vital principle, one of the five Prana vitalities, is reversed. This can create digestive problems, leading to constipation, irregularity, and, ultimately, cancer of the rectum.

As an organ of excretion, the anus and rectal passage always contain traces of bacterial waste. A person is in danger of infection through anal insertion and can also suffer severe tissue damage or soreness. If normal sex is engaged in afterward, the dangerous possibility exists that bacteria will be transferred from the anus to the innermost parts of the Yoni of woman.

In ancient India, anal sex with a woman was called lower union. It was not considered normal. Some medical works mention it briefly, claiming it sometimes has the effect of an enema and at other times causes

mosexuality. Science has recorded numerous instances of exploratory "homosexual" advances between animals such as rats, mice, bats, hedgehogs, dogs, goats, pigs, sheep, horses, lions, and monkeys. If aggressive male animals are kept together for long periods without the company of females, a certain proportion will become actively homosexual. This does not suggest that male homosexuality is either natural or unnatural, but indicates the multifarious aspects of humanity to be found in Nature.

constipation. The Chinese tradition takes a similar position, and though anal sex with

Anal sex with another man, or sodomy, has already been dealt with in the section on homosexuality. It was an essential ingredient of Moslem culture, despite the fact that Muhammad condemned the practice. Christianity always linked the Devil to anality, and he was commonly depicted as showing his behind. One of the accusations leveled by the Church against the Knights Templar was that they had "anal knowledge of each other."

Arabian couple practicing anal sex in imitation of animals. From a Persian miniature painting of the nineteenth century.