Osho – Homosexuality has grown out of a male-dominated world

Osho – Truth is never compassionate or is always compassionate. It depends on you, how you look at it. One thing is certain: truth is truth — compassionate or not. This has to be understood.

Homosexuality has grown out of a male-dominated world. Homosexuality is a disease because of male domination; it is not a natural phenomenon. And there is every possibility that homosexuality is going to grow more and more — the possibility that even states and governments and religions will start preaching homosexuality. Within fifty years, you will see it happening. Just as governments are now preaching birth control, abortion, they will preach homosexuality — because the population is impossible, and homosexuality is going to be one of the ways to prevent new people coming to the earth.

Sooner or later, each government of the world is going to allow homosexual marriages — men marrying men, women marrying women. This is going to happen. Already, many more people are moving into homosexuality. The disease has come out of male domination. Just as I said the other day, all the cultures that have come out of the Judaic tradition are homosexual: Mohammedan, Christian, Jewish. The reason is, Judaism is one of the most male-oriented communities — it had to be. They have suffered so much; they have been wanderers, for centuries they had no nation, nowhere to live. Of course, the man became more and more powerful — he had to protect the woman, the children — and the society became more and more centered around the man. Only a relaxed society, when things are going beautifully and there is plenty of food and there is no war, becomes heterosexual. Otherwise, when there is war, continuous struggle, the society leans towards male domination.

In the East, homosexuality has never been a problem. In fact, it has existed only in rare cases. Particularly in India, homosexuality has not been a problem at all. It has been so exceptional, it has not even been discussed. The reason? — the country has lived in tremendous peace, well-being, satisfied. Wars have been there, but India has not fought any war on its own. Somebody came — India was always ready to be conquered; it has not bothered much. Those who came were homosexuals — because the army has to be basically male, and all armies become homosexual. Armies — because only men are there — where are they going to put their love, the energy? They are forced to go homosexual.

So any country that has been continuously in war becomes homosexual. Or, male-oriented communities — for example, monasteries: Buddhist monasteries, Jaina monasteries, Catholic monasteries, all became the breeding grounds of homosexuality because only men were allowed. It has not been researched well, but if one goes deep into it, it will be found always that whenever men will be alone together, homosexuality is bound to be there.

Now the same thing is happening in the world of women also, because the women’s lib movement is the first thing in the world up to now where women are meeting with women and basically women oriented groups are being created. Lesbianism is happening. When women are together and against men, where are they going to put their love? The man is the enemy: they have to love women.

Homosexuality and lesbianism both are growing; these are simple facts. A few things to be understood: I am not saying anything against homosexuality — because I know there are many homosexuals around here. If you are not interested in any higher possibilities, homosexuality is as good as heterosexuality. There is no problem in it. If it is only a question of sexual release, homosexuality is as good as heterosexuality. But if you are interested in higher growth, then you will be in trouble.

Each child born is masturbatory, because the child first learns to love himself. That is the only natural way. He knows nobody else, he plays with his own body. each child born is naturally masturbatory: that is his first love. The second stage of his growth is, he becomes homosexual — naturally so. He has loved himself: if he is a boy, certainly he starts loving other boys — his love is spreading. Girls are very far away, a totally different kind of animal. He loves himself — it is easier for him to love other boys. A girl loves herself — it is easier for her to love other girls; the boys are a world apart. This is the second step, NATURAL step: masturbatory, then homosexuality.

Then the third thing, the third wave, is when you start loving the other — the opposite. Man and woman are polarities, and when polarities meet, only then is there challenge. Yes, there is conflict — and that conflict is the challenge. A homosexual love affair can be more convenient, true, because there is not much conflict. Both are alike: they understand each other, they know each other’s ways and each other’s mind. There is no polarity — and if there is no polarity of course there is no conflict, but there is no growth either. With polarity, conflict arises, challenge — to penetrate and know the other, to understand the ways of the other. And it is part of spiritual growth that a man should come to know the woman and the woman should come to know the man.

Why do I say it is part of spiritual growth? Just the other day, I was saying that at the last moment, at the sixth chakra — AJNA chakra — one has to come to a tremendous meeting of the man and the woman. You are also divided inside into two: man and woman. If you cannot meet with the outer woman, it will be very difficult for you to make space for the inner woman. If you cannot love the other on the outside, it will be impossible for you to create a loving space for the other inside you. A man is not only man, he is man-woman together. He is born out of a man and a woman — fifty-fifty percent he is, and so is a woman. and the ultimate inner meeting, the union, the inner alchemy, is possible only if you have learned the ways in the outside world.

When a man falls in love with a woman he is learning something. When a man falls in love with a man he is not learning anything. When a woman falls in love with a man she is learning something — something of the unknown, something of the opposite, something of the quite other. Man and woman in love, means the right hemisphere in love with the left hemisphere.

So if you are interested in spiritual growth then you have to grow from homosexuality towards heterosexuality. If you are not interested in spiritual growth then there is nothing wrong. You can remain — heterosexual or homosexual, it is all the same. I think I have made it clear. If you are not interested in spiritual growth, then there is no problem. I am not against homosexuality, I am not against anything. It is your life — you have to decide; who am I? I am simply stating a fact that ultimately, inside your being, a meeting is going to happen: be prepared for that meeting. And the outer love with the other prepares you.

The more you understand the woman and the man outside you, the more you will have an understanding of the inner polarity. And one day, at the sixth center of your being — what yoga calls AJNA chakra, and yesterday I called “superconsciousness” — there you will feel that your understanding of the woman and the man helps you tremendously. There, intuition and logic meet, imagination and will meet, initiative and reception meet. You will find it easy. You have learned the ways from the outside world — now you can use them for your inner alchemy.

So let me repeat it. There are many homosexuals here, lesbians too, and that’s natural because there are so many Jews here. And in a way there is some relationship why they are here, why they are attracted towards me; there is some reason in it. Homosexuals, lesbians, they are always inventive people… in fact, they have invented homosexuality. They are always revolutionary people, they are never orthodox. They have discovered a new way in their sexual life. Mm? — they have improved upon nature, they have moved away from nature. They are inventive people, they are not traditional. Hence, more and more homosexuals will be coming to me, because whatsoever I am saying is so untraditional, only very revolutionary minds can come to me. But then there is going to be trouble too. You become attracted towards me because my teachings are so untraditional, so rebellious; you become attracted. My teachings are rebellious, my teachings are unorthodox, but I cannot support any lie. I cannot say to you that your homosexuality is as it should be. I cannot support it… and if you are really revolutionary, try to find out a way.

Go into nature and see. Animals become homosexual only when they are put in a strange situation, otherwise not. In a zoo, animals become homosexual, but never in nature — rarely. In nature they always turn to be heterosexual. In a zoo, they can turn homosexual because they cannot find the female, or the female cannot find the male. That’s an unnatural condition, an artificial condition.

Man also turns homosexual when he is in an unnatural situation. It is not natural — and that is why so many people are turning all over the world, because the whole human situation is very unnatural today; it has never been so unnatural. Everything is artificial. We have gone far away from nature in every other way, so we are going far away from nature in sexuality also. Everything is interlinked and connected. You live in an artificial house, you live with artificial mechanisms, you live in an artificial world — the asphalt roads, technology — everything is artificial. Naturally, your sexual energies will start becoming artificial too.

Man is living in a zoo; it is not a human society, because it is not natural. Hence, sexuality is becoming more and more perverted, finding perverted ways — and I can understand it. The more man has become intelligent, he wants to find new ways: and homosexuality is a new way — so contrary to nature; an invention, a discovery that you can relate man-to-man or woman-to-woman.

There are people who are even more revolutionary. They are relating to false toys. You can make a woman, a plastic woman, and make love to her. That is even more revolutionary — and more convenient too. any moment you can pack her back in your bag, and you can carry her anywhere you want. Homosexuality is more convenient than heterosexuality because the language is the same. But convenience is not the goal: growth is the goal. Growth always happens through inconvenience. Growth always happens through pain, challenge.

If you are interested in spiritual growth, move towards heterosexuality. If you are not interested in that, then there is no problem. If you want to go beyond, if you really want to search your innermost being, the inner space, then heterosexuality will be helpful. Just as I said to you: first stage is masturbatory, second stage is homosexual, third stage is heterosexual, fourth stage is asexual — that is the state of BRAHMACHARYA, celibacy. And only when you have achieved to the fourth stage will you be able to penetrate to the uttermost core of your being — otherwise not.

A masturbatory person remains childish, a homosexual person remains juvenile, a heterosexual person remains animal. These stages have to be passed. Don’t get stuck anywhere. And I am not condemning, remember always; I have no condemnation for anything. Sometimes homosexuals come to me and they say, “But Beloved Master, we feel it is good.” I say, “Okay. If you feel good, it is your life. Who I am to condemn it, and for what? Why should I condemn it? It is your life; if you decide to live it in this way, good. Live it with all my blessings.” But I feel sorry, deep down — sorry because their growth will be hindered, sorry because they will not know what great possibilities they were carrying within themselves.

Sex is not an ordinary thing. It is one of the most substantial parts of your being. One should not be so unalert about it. It is the foundation of your being: you are born through sex, you live through sex; your birth is through sex, your youth is through sex, your love is through sex, and your death is going to happen through sex. Your whole life is a sexual affair. One should be very very alert and watchful of what one is going to do with one’s sex energy.

Source – from Osho Book “The Divine Melody”