Sexuality

Gandhi believed that sexual intercourse is intended only for reproduction. He believed that enjoying sexual pleasures is a sin. Gandhi said to Margaret Sanger, leader of the planned parenthood movement in America,

If they [the married couple] do not want to have children, they should simply refuse to unite [in sexual intercourse].[2]

Gandhi even believed that sin is proportional to pleasure! In contrast, Bahá'ís believe that it is healthy to enjoy the pleasures of married life. Absolute chastity before marriage, and complete faithfulness to the spouse after marriage characterize the ideal Bahá'í marriage. Shoghi Effendi explains:

Chastity in the strict sense means not to have sexual intercourse, or sexual intimacies, before marriage. In the general sense it means not to be licentious. This does not mean we Bahá'ís believe sexual relations to be impure or wrong. On the contrary they are natural and should be considered one of God's many blessings   Sex is a very individual matter, some people are more passionate by nature than others, and might consequently suffer more if forced to be continent. But when the world becomes more spiritual there will not be such an exaggerated emphasis on sex, as there is today, and consequently it will be easier for young people to be chaste and control their passions. A man of noble character and strong willpower, could certainly remain faithful to his wife during a long absence! [3]

In Gandhi's days, science had not yet advanced to the point where human reproduction and sexuality were properly understood. It is now well known that human sexual behavior plays important reproductive roles besides the obvious function it has in fertilization and conception. For example, sex is important for ``pair bonding.'' Such bonding between the male and female parents is essential--without it a child will likely be raised in a ``single parent'' home. There is growing evidence that single parenting, though perfectly fine for raising kittens, puppies, etc., is not good for raising children. Unlike our primate cousins whose infants mature very quickly, human infants require some 15 years to mature fully. This is why humans are unsuited to the polygamous, promiscuous reproductive strategy used by our primate cousins, and more suited instead to the formation of (more or less) stable monogamous pairs of male and female. Indeed, sexuality plays a central role in keeping human couples together, at least initially. Since Gandhi thought that sex was fine for reproduction, perhaps he would have taken a less puritanical stance on sex had he known what we know today about the biological, psychological, and sociological aspects of human sexuality. It is fascinating to note that Gandhi seems to have tolerated the so-called ``natural'' birth control methods, which are inherently nonviolent. (It can conceivably be argued that hormone pills, IUDs, spermicides, etc. are slightly ``violent'' forms of contraception that can harm the body.) Mahadev Desai, who was present when Gandhi met Mrs. Sanger, writes:

Gandhiji did mention a remedy which could conceivably appeal to him. That method was the avoidance of sexual union during unsafe periods, confining it to the ``safe'' period of about ten days during the month. That had at least an element of self-control which had to be exercised during the unsafe period. Whether this appealed to Mrs. Sanger or not I do not know.[4]

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