Hindus have described; the American reality TV personality Farrah Abraham’s appearance at “2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards” in Los Angeles on May seven wearing bindi on forehead and then reportedly boasting that she felt “freaking amazing…and sexy!”; as “inappropriate” and asked for an apology.
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that bindi on forehead was an ancient tradition in Hinduism and had religious significance and was not meant to be thrown around loosely for seductive effects as fashion accessory.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged Farrah to apologize. He suggested that as a well-known performer, she should get acquainted with the basics of world religions so that she could be more sensitive to the feelings of their adherents in the future.
Rajan Zed pointed out that Hollywood needed to understand that Hinduism, with about 1.1 billion followers, was oldest and third largest religion of the world with a rich philosophical thought. Its concepts and symbols had well-defined meanings and purposes and these were not created for trivializing or just for Hollywood’s usage to add dramatic affects as some sanctity and spirituality was attached to these, Zed added.
Zed noted that bindi (also known by tika, tilak, pundra and other names), also sometimes referred as “third eye” and flame, was an auspicious religious and spiritual symbol, and was also used for meditative purposes.
MTV is a brand of Viacom Media Networks, which terms it as “the cultural home of the Millennial Generation”.
Source: World Hindu News (WHN)