Sex and sexuality in Satyism

Satyism has a longstanding tradition of discourse and analysis on the matters of sex and sexuality, and excerpts from the life of Adripathi Adhikari address the topic in some detail. His immediate successors, some of whom feature in these excerpts, both solidified and expanded the official stance of Satyism towards these topics, and helped to mend perceived doctrinal inconsistencies in a series of rulings and dialogues resulting from an early form of the Phuli Tea Ceremony. Overall, Satyism has been considered a sex-positive religion, and is considered progressive in its official stances towards sexual and gender expression.

In the Jivani, Adripathi Adhikari writes at several points about the nature of love and sex, as well as its positive and negative expressions. An advocate of monogamy, against the polygamy and polyandry of his time, he wrote that to have multiple partners or loose relations was a sign of a weak spirit, and labeled lust, or desire for flesh, one of the Four Great Temptations. By contrast, he states that monogamous love is a sign of control and pure intention. He compares polygamy to addiction, and denounces the practice in public debates.

On the topic of gender expression, Adripathi took a notably favorable stance toward the Four Genders, conventionally translated as Male, Female, Intersex, and Eunuch. This translation has been debated by scholars of the First Phuli Empire and prehistoric Phula, and is often considered to require more context in explanation or otherwise improved terminology. Details on the Four Genders will be provided in this article.

The topic of sexuality in the Jivani is intimate to Adripathi Adhikari himself, whose eldest child was homosexual. His response is said to be a critical moment in the formation of Satyist ideology, and laid the foundation from which Satyist ideals of love, romance, respect, and familial piety. The resulting events would also help to define the rules of the Adhikari Succession and the barriers which it may transgress physically without losing validity. Adripathi Adhikari is said to have initially rejected his daughter, but after a debate, changed his mind and began to accept her unconditionally.