Sex and spirituality are two topics guaranteed to arouse strong feelings in gay-identified persons because of the history of religious persecution of gay people. Many of us were taught explicitly or implicitly that sex, especially gay sex, is the opposite of spirituality. Gay popular culture thrives in the senses, be it opera, disco, or leather. Furthermore, our sensuality is deeply rooted in homoeroticism, in the inescapable fact that we inhabit bodies likely to be erotically stimulating to ourselves. We need a spirituality that works with our sensuality, not against it. Traditional Hindu Tantra offers us exactly this type of spirituality. GAY TANTRA reveals how traditional Hindu Tantra may be adapted to serve the unique spiritual aptitudes and needs of gay-identified persons of any gender. The book demonstrates how a fully integrated gay identity can be a positive aid in the quest for enlightenment.
Author Biography: William Schindler obtained a B.A. in Sanskrit from UC Berkeley (1975), where he also studied Bengali and Hindi, and a Master’s degree in clinical psychology from Antioch University (1986). He has been studying and practicing traditional Hindu Tantra since 1969. He lived in India for two-and-a-half years from 1972-1977 first as a pilgrim, then as a student at Banaras Hindu University, and finally as a monk of the Ramakrishna Order.He worked as a psychotherapist in a variety of settings and founded and coordinated a student counseling program at the public high school where he also taught English for ten years. He has written novels, short stories, and numerous essays on gay spirituality, most of which have been published in the Ashram West Newsletter. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California, where he offers spiritual instruction and counseling for gay men.
