The excerpt below was translated from its original source, a news website in Brazilian Portuguese called Razões para Acreditar.
Verônica Monteiro, 23 years old, and Tatiane Alves, 25 years old, performed a beautiful wedding ceremony inside the Hare Krishna Movement in Taubaté (SP), one of the strands of Hinduism. Besides the fact that getting married is exciting, this was the first homosexual couple to get married within the movement here in Brazil!
“We married with the blessings of Krishna and the devotees. The only gay marriage within the movement was in Los Angeles, in 2009, and at that time it received many negative comments and now, 10 years later, we got married and could reinforce the idea that we are not this material body but eternal souls. Also, the 2009 wedding was not disclosed. I only came to know about it in 2017, when I started to research on this possibility” said Veronica.
The ceremony was held at the Bhakti Yoga House. They enlisted the help of devotees and parents to perform a beautiful ceremony!
“They didn’t have to help, but they wanted to and did it willingly. We are very grateful to all who helped us, devotees, parents, priest and Maharaj Chandramukha Swami, who is now my spiritual master and has given us his blessings” she said.
The except below was translated from its original source, an European Portuguese LGBT news website called dezanove.
Verônica Monteiro (23 years old) and Tatiane Alves (25 years old) were married in Brazil, according to the Hare Krishna rituals. It was the first time two women were married according to the principles of the movement, as informed by the couple’s testimony. The first and only known Hare Krishna marriage between two men took place in 2009 in Los Angeles.
“The wedding took place at the Bhakti Yoga House in Taubaté, in the state of São Paulo. We have no temple in Taubaté, the place where we hold the meetings is a devotee’s house. He uses the house as a law and accounting office, and as devotees are always ready to serve, he uses the place on Sundays to carry out the programs, with free yoga, kirtan (mantra chanting), spirituality chat, and finally a vegetarian and vegan meal. The devotees named the place as Bhakti Yoga House”, Veronica Monteiro tells dezanove.
“The movement does not discriminate against anyone, God does not discriminate against anyone. As a devotee named Abhiceta Dasa told me the first time I went to a meeting in Guarulhos: we are all spirit souls and not this material body”, continues Veronica Monteiro, who nonetheless admits that “some devotees have prejudice, a closed mind. And it happens in every religion, everywhere. We will always meet receptive people and others not so much, but if we don’t take the first step, we will forever stand still. When I saw the possibility, I started sending e-mails and messages to people who are advanced within the movement, including Maharaj Chandramukha Swami, a sannyasi, and ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) spiritual master who answered me with all kindness and attention. He sent me several audios explaining how the movement sees marriage and same-sex relationships, and he told me that ISKCON was not ready to receive the marriage, but as God’s blessings are important to any relationship, therefore, if we were sure about our feelings, then we should go to the Brahmin priest Rama Putra and talk about the ceremony”, she recalls.
The pictures of the ceremony that follow below were taken from the dezanove news website.
Here follows some background on the authorities that were involved in the ceremony:
Hridayananda Dasa Goswami is currently serving as the GBC for Brazil, and he’s being assisted by Dhanvantari Swami as a co-GBC. ( source )
Chandramukha Swami: “In 1986, Chandramukha Swami embraced vows of renunciation (sannyasa) in the holy city of Mayapur, India, when he received the venerable title of Swami and became one of the leaders in Brazil ISKCON. Maharaj helped establish Vrajabhumi Ashram in Teresopolis, RJ. Maharaja is a writer and musician. He has authored over twenty books on yoga philosophy and spirituality. He has released eight CDs of mantras and meditation. Maharaja is famous for his ability to make the Vedic wisdom easily accessible to the lay public.” ( taken from the ISKCON Leaders webpage ).
Rama Putra Das: The brahmana who is seen performing the fire sacrifice on the header photo in the original article is Rama Putra Das, who’s currently a leader of the Nova Gokula farm community, the largest of the official projects of ISKCON Brazil. He’s a disciple of Hridayananda Dasa Goswami.
Answering questions from our readers:
Amara Das Wilhelm asked: Very encouraging. There are actually many ISKCON devotees and priests who perform same-sex marriage ceremonies but always outside of the temple proper. I’m not sure what the Bhakti House is but I assume it is not the main ISKCON temple?
Bhakti Yoga House is not an ISKCON temple, but a place for a program that happens every fifteen days and is organized by an ISKCON devotee ( Narada Muni Das ). As far as we can tell, there is no other currently active program which is somehow connected with ISKCON in the same city ( Taubaté ).
Bhakti Yoga House has already been advertised on many occasions by the official page of ISKCON Brazil on Facebook. It also frequently receives ISKCON authorities as guest lecturers. Purushatraya Swami and Lokasaksi Dasa have already given lectures at Bhakti Yoga House, as it can be seen here and here.
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Community is supported. But supporting gay marriage is against the principles. …unless the couple are not going to have sex and completely will devote their life together in service. That’d be ok! But is it true for them? I doubt. For straight couples, the ISKCON standard for sex is that it should not be “carnal” and only valid if the spiritual goal of producing more “children” is fulfilled. Because they would later become devotees. Then it is allowed to have the fun or pleasure in between. However, without that goal, if you marry and have sex, then you are directly doing it only for pleasure.
This is not allowed for anyone, regardless of straight or LGBTQ. That is equality. Now, at least with straight marriage, you can mask it. But with supporting gay marriages, ISKCON would have to support your desire to be sexually happy and close with your partner, without any spiritual goal. That’d be relaxing its standards! 🧐 😊
The LGBTQ community should be supported and approved in ISKCON. They are a beautiful community and deserve equal rights, treatment and respect as all others.
Community is supported. But supporting gay marriage is against the principles. …unless the couple are not going to have sex and completely will devote their life together in service. That’d be ok! But is it true for them? I doubt.
For straight couples, the ISKCON standard for sex is that it should not be “carnal” and only valid if the spiritual goal of producing more “children” is fulfilled. Because they would later become devotees. Then it is allowed to have the fun or pleasure in between. However, without that goal, if you marry, and have sex, then you are directly doing it only for pleasure.
This is not allowed for anyone, regardless of straight or LGBTQ. That is equality. Now, at least with straight marriage, you can mask it. But with gay marriage, how would you do it? Your desire to be sexually happy and close with your partner? Hmm? 🧐 😊
It is great offense to srila prabhupad 4.rules and radhekrishna Bhagavadgita does not teaches this things
I am definitely with this decision, as i am a gay and a iskcon follower from india, and only a gay person can understand this.
THIS IS NUTS. Gay Marriages.
Wrong. It is nuts, and hypocritical for a Hare Krishna devotee who preaches love, to be against other people's happiness.
Wrong. It’s not other people’s happiness. But desires.
Promoting carnal desires is not supported in ISKCON, regardless of Gay or straight! No one is exception.
People in general think that whole ISKCON is approving gay marriage and hence anti-Sanatan.
*Are we against ISKCON?*
But this is the title in public domain. I saw on facebook.
Though the article *is* right, title is misleading.
Again people will question us *the faithful followers of ISKCON* and not one who did it.
I just wish *ISKCON* word should not be there in title. Otherwise it will counterproductive. *अपने ही पाँव पर कुल्हाड़ी मारना।*
*This is also reason why I even don't share any article of Hanuman prabhu, though he may be right, because sometime it acts like a boomerang & hurts our own ISKCON.*
We & any other bona fide followers of ISKCON neither approve nor accept or recommend gay marriage.
So, please, blame should not be on Prabhupada's ISKCON or his faithful followers.
Just think, if I share this article on my facebook page then my more that 1000 friends will start criticizing me, "how can you, the follower of Sanatan Dharma, be part of ISKCON which is anti-Sanatan?"
https://akincana.net/2019/08/03/iskcon-performs-the-first-hare-krishna-gay-marriage-cerimony-in-brazil/
How come the title is not appropriate? There's undeniable direct involvement of one GBC member ( Hridayananda Dasa Goswami ) and at least one more ISKCON sannyasi ( Chandramukha Swami ). You may think that they're not bona fide, but that won't change the fact that they're recognized as bona fide spiritual masters by the Governing Body of ISKCON. And as they're acting as representatives of ISKCON, there's no fault in putting the word "ISKCON" on the title of this article.
Point is that if Krishna will accept such marriege... Acording sadhu shastra and guru will not accept. They can continue in relationship without marriage and not doing disturbances in society. In vedic times was homosexuality punishable. Practical aplication for now days is that its not punishable but no marrieges should be alowed. Krishna will not accept it anyway... Its just some bed karma... Anyway they should go thru vanaprastha life also, so then they will have chance for proper practissing...
Which Prabhupada's words are expected to end the discussion? In the letter to Lalitananda posted above there's this quote, for example: "I do not know why you have taken to such abominable activities. What can I say?" How's that supposed to stop any discussion? There's also a much clearer instruction: "You should stop this homosex immediately" but I don't think anyone ever was able to follow such orders, most probably starting with Lalitananda himself. It might stop the discussion but how would it change anyone's behavior?
In other words, we know homosexuality is demoniac but we don't know what to do about devotees trapped in these demoniac bodies. How to make them keep chanting, keep reading, keep associating with others? Whatever the solution - this should be the result. "End of discussion" is not our goal at all.
I think we should go back to what Sirla Prabhupada said about homosexuality. That should end the discussion right there shouldn't it?