Letter - The report in the POST about a gay couple being refused to wed at the Umgeni Road temple refers:
The decision by the authorities was not compassionate and not in keeping with Hindu culture.
Read: Temple in gay wedding furore
Their request to be married according to Hindu rites was perfectly legitimate and should have received due consideration.
There are no fewer than eight types of Hindu marriage ceremonies described in the scripture and the only reason gay marriages did not receive consideration was because the issue did not arise when they were first formulated.
The Hindu Rishis who formulated most ceremonies were unaware of the factor of homosexuality and therefore made no provision for it.
In recent years, the issue of gay marriages has come up for consideration.
In Hinduism, no ceremony of any type whatsoever for any reason whatever is cast in stone.
Ceremonies are formulated to accord with prevailing demands.
Hinduism takes account of the variety of human appearances and formulates ceremonies accordingly for one single purpose only.
To ask for God’s blessings and the people on whose behalf ceremonies are performed are the primary reason for the performance of ritual services irrespective of their sexual or any other orientation.