Are We (Hindus) denigrating our Deities ourselves?

August 10, 2008

Om Namo Narayanaya Nama

Are we (Hindus)

denigrating our revered Deities

ourselves? Are you one such Hindu? Find out -

Meaning of the term Denigration:

In a broad sense, denigration means displaying something in an undesirable form/shape, different from its original form/shape.

(Pictures from left to right – Deformed (Vikrut) sculpture of Lord Ganesh, mocking a holy person (sadhu), Lord Shiva depicted as an animal by Teresa Bergen, an artist from United States)

We can also say that any act or object that obstructs emanation of subtle sattvik vibrations of the Divine can also be considered denigration.

How am I concerned, I don’t have time?

As a Hindu and a responsible parent, you are concerned. It is YOUR relationship with God. If you have no time for GOD then God will not have time for you when you would need Him in your bad times. It is not Him who needs us to protect Him. Lord Krishna held the Govardhan Mountain on his little finger but when Gopis also supported Him with their sticks He was very happy with them and He was always there for them.

Read on and find out the reasons why we have to take it up as our own mission!

Negative impact of denigration at mind level

a. Denigration can set unwanted examples for future generations.

b. Create a doubt about the credibility of the Divine / Its Symbol. Finally, it can even cause elimination of religious practices and facilitate destruction of religion.

c. Denigrating the Divine, questions the very relationship humans have with the Divine. Questions the faith of a human in Divinity and Its powers. Erodes values – moral, social and Spiritual.

Negative impact of denigration at spiritual level

At a spiritual level, as per the science of Spirituality when we do good deeds, we earn merits and when we do bad deeds we incur demerits. That is, how we live our lives has consequences that we have to face in this life or the afterlife. To understand the results of denigrating Deities or not doing anything to stop the denigration, let's take an example of the possible demerits on a scale from 1 to 100 that a person would accrue if he were to murder an average person, a seeker and a Saint. The demerits accrued if an

average person is murdered is equal to 30 units, if a seeker is murdered equal to 60 units, and if a Saint is murdered is equal to 100 units. The demerit earned when a person murders a Saint is the maximum possible. This is because a Saint affects society at large positively, at a spiritual level. So from this we can get an idea how it affects us at spiritual level when we are committing a sin at personal level or we are part of a social sin!!

Most common examples of denigration

Laxmi Brand, Bansi, Ganesh papad

What do you do with the package that carry Goddess Laxmi’s picture on it?

Do you throw it in the trash after using the product?

Do you know that trashing the package after use is denigrating (dis-respecting) Laxmi Mata and you are committing a sin?

How is it a sin? Know the spiritual science behind it –

As per the science of spirituality “wherever is the Name or a Symbol or a picture of Deity, the five elements of sound, touch, form, taste, smell, and energy - associated with it also co-exist.” It simply means the energy of God in the temple and on the package of Laxmi brand are not different!

Imagine yourself throwing the image of Deity in your temple room in the trash! It is simply un-imaginable! Then how come the sin is committed by throwing Laxmi brand package in the trash? Is the God different if His image is printed somewhere else?

Now you must be thinking that you were buying the product because it carries Laxmi Mata on it and you should choose that one because you are a devout Hindu!

It is appreciable if your intention is like that behind purchasing such products but on the other hand it is supporting the manufacturer in producing the product and we are unknowingly sharing the sin of denigrating our revered Deities.

You must have seen how the flour bags, rice bags etc. are kept in grocery stores. They are kept on the floors for storage purposes. While in transportation they also come under feet of the workers!

What do you do if there is a picture of your parents or children on the floor? You will rush to pick it up before someone can step on it.

What can you do to stop denigration?

We should remember that ‘Dharmo rakshati rakshitaha.’ Dharm (God) protects those who preserve Dharma.

We can take simple steps in this regard at individual level –

1. Choose other brands like Swad, Nirav, Shakti, Deep, Darbar etc.

2. If you get only Laxmi brand then after bringing it home first cut the picture, keep it for immersion (visarjan) later on and then use the product.

At the level of society –

1. Spread awareness among your friends and relatives in your local area, on the Internet and in India, through your family there.

2. Stop buying these products.

3. Remember, when non-Hindus buy these brands that carry our revered Deities’ Name, picture or Symbols on them they may not have any knowledge about or reverence for these holy symbols, and the denigration of our Deities would continue.

4. Tell the shopkeeper that he should stop keeping Laxmi brand or any other brand, which carries our holy Symbols, Names etc. in his store, and educate him about the consequences. Tell him that he is also sharing the sin of denigrating deities with the manufacturer by selling such products.

5. Educate the manufacturer about the denigration and that it is not tolerable. Explain that if the manufacturer has used Pictures or Names or Symbols of deities out of devotion in the Deities, then how much more would the Deities bless him for curbing this denigration!

Know the various types of denigrations rampant in society

You will be shocked to see in how many ways denigration is happening and how rampant it has become today! Click on this website -

http://www.hindujagruti.org/denigrations/index.php