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Fwd: Insulting to Gods & Godesses

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Hi friends,

Here is a forwarded message, which an American firm for its shoe promotion have printed Hindu Gods & godesses like laksmi & saraswathi on the footwear.

Check out this & register your protest against it.

Rgds - Hema

 

Note: forwarded message attached.

Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere!

 

> >sunfriends

> ><sunfriends >

> >[sunfriends] FW: do register

> >Wed, 23 Aug 2000 13:38:19 +0530

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >d this ok. <<insulting.jpg>>

> >

> >

> > > We know Hindu Goddess will come to help us when we are in trouble, but

> > >

> > > now, we have to help them.

> > >

> > > This is a great insult to us , what americans have done now see the

> > >

> > > picture

> > >

> > > attached and voice u r votes against them in the link given below

> > >

> > > Please visit the site:

> > >

> > > http://www.hindunet.org/ahad/shoes/

> > >

> > > To read American Hindus Against Defamation protest against the images

> >of

> > >

> > > Hindu Gods and Goddess on the shoes recently marketed by Fortune

> >Dynamic.

> > >

> > > We also urge you to sign the online protest book to protest this

> > >

> > > outrageous act. We have contacted the manufacturers and asked them to

> > >

> > > immediately withdraw the shoes and extend an apology to the Hindu

> > >

> > > community.

> > >

> > > Please forward this to as many people you can, and save the Hindu

> >Goddess

> > >

> > > Regards

> > >

> > > Hindu Community

> > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

>

> ______________________

> Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

> <<insulting.jpg>>

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Hi Hema,

You know something? I was just going through some of our messages

from the forum, and I read your posting. I'm presuming that you are

in agreement with the sentiments expressed in the fwded mail about

Hindu Goddesses. I wish you would let me know what you felt because I

forwarded the same mail to our forum as well, but my opinion was

slightly different, and I wanted to clarify that and share my ideas

with you.

 

If any of the protesters were good Hindus, there wouldnt be any

protest at all. The people who call themselves Hindus are those who

are bound by the narrow mentality, lack of tolerance and an acute

feeling of insecurity for their faith - attributes which plague the

majority. Hinduism in its deepest form is a religion (I would prefer

to use the term " Way of Life " ) based on inner wisdom. The self

appointed trustees of this faith conspicuosly lack this quality when

it comes to what they perceive as a threat to their " religion " . A

faith which can survive only by protecting and policing is not worth

following at all. Ofcourse the average Hindu will never realize this.

If he did, there wouldnt be RSS and BJP now. Militancy was never

meant be part of Hinduism. Even now people glorify Chatrapati

Shivaji for killing a butcher (who was only doing his job) because he

had killed a cow and was selling its meat. I cannot agree. Glorify

him for his daring, his cunning and skill, his audacity to fight an

emperor like Aurangzeb. But then we are well known for mixing

politics and religion.

One may ask if the same American company would put the picture of

Jesus or Mary on their shoes? Probably they would, probably they

woudnt. It is irrelevant. We need not measure all systems with the

same yardstick of values. Coming to think of it, what is so demeaning

about a pair of shoes? The attitude of considering some parts of your

body inferior to those of others stems directly from centuries of

programming where the ancient people said and did certain things

with sufficient reason, but chose not to disclose them to their

intellectually lesser fellow humans. And some of those reasons were

valid only AT THE TIMES OF THEIR PRACTICE. But the followers who took

everything literally and continue to hold them for ever. Thus we are

entrapped in dogmas and bigotry, which often give rise to

fundamentalistic tendencies. Centuries of intellectual evolution

has failed to erode some of these deeply held faiths, because the

human mind is irrational (which is what makes life exciting).

 

I am not complaining about this kind of fundamentalist tendencies

cropping up among Hindus. It was these tendencies that resulted in

the cruel deaths and tortures of scores of humans from other faiths

(the most notable being St Thomas, who was killed in Chennai 2000

years ago). I only hope that more and more people get to see the

world around them with a gentler and more tolerant

perspective. Those who think bad of others do so to themselves.

 

I may have erred in my assumption that you agree with the contents of

the fwded message. If so, then maybe you can let me know your opinion

on this?

Aish.

 

ps: You may find it contradictory that i have talked so much about the

non-militancy of hinduism in a militant way. but then i make no

claims about being a guardian of hinduism. it is just that i express

my opinion in a rather forceful way. maybe, thats my personality.

 

 

 

, hema malini <hemamalinib> wrote:

>

>

> Hi friends,

> Here is a forwarded message, which an American firm for its shoe

promotion have printed Hindu Gods & godesses like laksmi & saraswathi

on the footwear.

> Check out this & register your protest against it.

> Rgds - Hema

>

> Note: forwarded message attached.

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Hi to interested listeners,

 

At Samratchana, the 'Chappal Stand' is a mini-temple as the visitors are GOD. Their chappals are taken care of with utmost devotion & faith. In Ramayana, Bharatha held Rama's slippers with utmost care & devotion. An incident, where the padukai is given more important than the Lord too. Also, Rama accepted the slippers of a econmically poor devotee (and that was the only thing he accepted from anybody )when he went to forest - showing his love & importance to the love (and as well to the gift (slipper)?).

 

These incidents, I feel, convey these thoughts indirectly :

1. The chappals/shoes are indeed to be taken care of ( as much as we do to God). And engraving the images of God in that conveys a really high religious thought.

2. Men are really GOD on earth. The high philosophies which we hear everyday from GOD baba, appears to have been conveyed in a simpler way, through these incidents.

3. Americans have also started getting attracted much more to Hindu Gods/Godessess. A great step indeed.

4. Any person wearing such shoes, is consciously aware the He is an part (atma) of the full (paramatma). It would indeed help in his spiritual quest

 

Of course, it all depends on how u look at it. And this we see from contradictary opinions.

 

In my opinion, I would like our views to be conveyed to these americans, and have them accept the High philosophies of Baba, and implement the same with a higher devotion (instead of capitalising on the religious sentiments). If we do not gain much, at least we can introduce 'Samratchana' to them!!

 

We will convey that 'LOVE' is better than anything else in the world, as Aish had correctly put it.

 

Bye

Dev

 

 

-

Aishwarya Santhanakrishnan

Tuesday, August 29, 2000 7:54 PM

Re: Fwd: Insulting to Gods & Godesses

Hi Hema, You know something? I was just going through some of our messages from the forum, and I read your posting. I'm presuming that you are in agreement with the sentiments expressed in the fwded mail about Hindu Goddesses. I wish you would let me know what you felt because I forwarded the same mail to our forum as well, but my opinion was slightly different, and I wanted to clarify that and share my ideas with you.If any of the protesters were good Hindus, there wouldnt be any protest at all. The people who call themselves Hindus are those who are bound by the narrow mentality, lack of tolerance and an acute feeling of insecurity for their faith - attributes which plague themajority. Hinduism in its deepest form is a religion (I would prefer to use the term "Way of Life") based on inner wisdom. The self appointed trustees of this faith conspicuosly lack this quality when it comes to what they perceive as a threat to their "religion". A faith which can survive only by protecting and policing is not worth following at all. Ofcourse the average Hindu will never realize this. If he did, there wouldnt be RSS and BJP now. Militancy was nevermeant be part of Hinduism. Even now people glorify Chatrapati Shivaji for killing a butcher (who was only doing his job) because he had killed a cow and was selling its meat. I cannot agree. Glorify him for his daring, his cunning and skill, his audacity to fight an emperor like Aurangzeb. But then we are well known for mixing politics and religion.One may ask if the same American company would put the picture of Jesus or Mary on their shoes? Probably they would, probably they woudnt. It is irrelevant. We need not measure all systems with the same yardstick of values. Coming to think of it, what is so demeaning about a pair of shoes? The attitude of considering some parts of your body inferior to those of others stems directly from centuries of programming where the ancient people said and did certain thingswith sufficient reason, but chose not to disclose them to their intellectually lesser fellow humans. And some of those reasons were valid only AT THE TIMES OF THEIR PRACTICE. But the followers who took everything literally and continue to hold them for ever. Thus we are entrapped in dogmas and bigotry, which often give rise to fundamentalistic tendencies. Centuries of intellectual evolutionhas failed to erode some of these deeply held faiths, because the human mind is irrational (which is what makes life exciting).I am not complaining about this kind of fundamentalist tendencies cropping up among Hindus. It was these tendencies that resulted in the cruel deaths and tortures of scores of humans from other faiths (the most notable being St Thomas, who was killed in Chennai 2000 years ago). I only hope that more and more people get to see the world around them with a gentler and more tolerantperspective. Those who think bad of others do so to themselves.I may have erred in my assumption that you agree with the contents of the fwded message. If so, then maybe you can let me know your opinion on this?Aish.ps: You may find it contradictory that i have talked so much about thenon-militancy of hinduism in a militant way. but then i make no claims about being a guardian of hinduism. it is just that i express my opinion in a rather forceful way. maybe, thats my personality. , hema malini <hemamalinib> wrote:> > > Hi friends,> Here is a forwarded message, which an American firm for its shoe promotion have printed Hindu Gods & godesses like laksmi & saraswathi on the footwear.> Check out this & register your protest against it.> Rgds - Hema> > Note: forwarded message attached.

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