Funny how just the sight of it makes your skin crawl, huh?
But swastikas weren’t invented by the Nazis, only perverted by them. According to this Beliefnet article, the symbol has ancient roots in Hinduism and are drawn to denote “good luck.” (Guess that luck doesn’t apply to Jews, gays, Catholics, gypsies…)
Writes Aparita Bhandari:
I still hold out the hope that someday the swastika will reclaim its ancient significance and become a symbol of auspiciousness for everyone–not just Hindus. Popularizing the real meaning of the swastika in the West would, after all, be a sign that we’ve repudiated the Nazis and refuse to let them continue to hijack tradition.
Bhandari makes some excellent points while acknowledging the sensitive nature of the subject; it’s a good read, for sure.
However, I think this one’s tainted for eternity, honey. I really like that ‘Om’ thing, though.
(And just so y’all know, the image comes from Babad Bali, a Hindu site.)
I pray that this misunderstanding will get clarified so that people can have a source of elimination of the negativity
First of all, we denouce the atrocities committed by the nazi’s are deplorable. But whatever signs they use to identify themselves are not their copyright, the swatik symbol they use are not their property. In hinduism every good job is started with the service in the name of the good which we call Pooja. We make a swastik sign in a plate and then offer flower as a mark of respect to the god, rice as food, mouli(red thread) as cloth, sugar as sweet, water as drink and doop(scented sticks) etc. This system of workship is going on for thousands of years in history in hinduism and as a proof the nazi’s swastik symbol was only represented for 50-60 years. So it is my humble to all the scholars specially from the jewish community to do the research and certify themselves who has disrespected a religious symbol that was always ours not the germans that Hitler used for his period of time.
Sincerely Mukesh Arora.
HARI OM
Mukesh, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do by linking Bhandari’s article. Jews and most of the Western world have no other reaction to this symbol besides disgust and fear, but I’m willing to consider its previous meaning to the Hindu religion. However, I don’t think it’s realistic that it could be reclaimed as a positive symbol in the West, ever. The Nazis imbued it with too much sickness and evil and it will forever be associated with them. It is a shame that the symbol was co-opted as such, but any effort to reclaim it will always be seen as subversive and purposely provocative. There are many other beautiful symbols of Hinduism that we can all understand and enjoy.
Don’t forget that the proper display of the swastik is as shown above… the Nazis turned it on its side, like devil worshippers turn the 5-pointed star on its side (effectively making it look turned upside down)… I also think the Nazis reversed the direction of the arms, but I’m not sure on that.