Listen as Paul and Evan take you on a magical journey of Hindu queerness, in honor of our Hindu listeners. Which was pretty easy to do as Hinduism is quite full of gender variance and same sex love. From transgender war heroes to gay gods this episode is sure to intrigue. So hit play and learn how queerness and spirituality have always mixed. As we continue to celebrate listeners around the world, today we pay special tribute to those in or from Southeast Asia. Specifically our Hindu listeners. Now, we realize that not every person from southern Asia is Hindu. But a vast majority do follow the religion, after all it is the third largest religion practiced around the world.. Especially in India and Nepal were 80% of the population adheres to some form of Hinduism. And of course we know we have Hindu listeners in other parts of the planet as well. We want to preface this episode and our uploaded script with a disclaimer. We are not religious experts nor do we have an extensive or deep knowledge of Hinduism. This episode is meant as a surface discussion on the Hindu religion and its queer ties, as reported by other journalists and experts. Also, please keep in mind that we are a comedy podcast and do not mean any disrespect through our lighter tone. So without further delay, let’s get queer. There are many homo-erotic and gender fluid themes in Hinduism. But we must remember that as westerners are looking at these themes through our distorted, binary lens. In Hindu culture, the concept of three genders or fluidity between genders has been taught through stories of the gods and heroes for many millenniums. The break in strict gender roles defies European and American teachings the same way Eastern polytheism challenges Western monotheism. So while we are experiencing a modern enlightenment in the way we perceive gender and sexuality, in truth, these ideas are nothing new. The Vedas is the oldest religious text in recorded history. Dating 6,000 years before the christian timeline, and 5,000 years before the birth of Islam. It is full of many sensual and sexual acts; however, they are rarely performed for pleasure. More often the acts are done as as a symbol or metaphor to a deeper lesson. One of the main ways we see queer themes presented in Hinduism is through the metamorphisis or incarnation of gods. The story of Shiva merging with the goddess Parvarti is one of the most well known in Hindu folklore. In the original telling, Parvarti wanted to share the experiences of her Lord Shiva. So she asked the god to literally join them together. In this bond they became known as Ardhanarishvara, which means “The Lord whose half is a woman”. Hindu scholar Sadhguru explained: “What is being said is that if the inner masculine and feminine meet, you are in a perpetual state of ecstasy” We see the blending of male and female gods repeatedly throughout Hindu teachings. As well as the morphing of male gods into female avatars. And often this would result in sexual encounters that didn’t fit a heteronormative box. For instance, when the god Vishnu transformed into the female seductress Mohini, things got a bit dicey. The enchantress is first introduced in the epic Mahabharata, where Vishnu transforms into her so that he might trick the demons into giving up the elixir of life. After accomplishing her task, Mohini is seen by the Lord Shiva who becomes “bereft of shame and robbed by her of good sense.” He is so enthralled with the enchantress, that he spills in semen on the rocks turning them into gold and silver. Shiva pursues Mohini, even after learning that she is the male god Vishnu in disguise. In one adaptation of the story, Shiva pleads with Vishnu to transform back into Mohini. The writer of this tale states that Vishnu is afraid that he will be turned to ashes by Shiva if he complies. Yet in another similar story, Vishnu happily transforms for Shiva. Prompting the god to ejaculate once again.