Lord Vishnu
Hindus are upset over ABC’s award-winning television series “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” for hinting at Lord Vishnu being an alien character in their Episode-8 “The Well”, which was aired on November 19 and reportedly watched by about seven million.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that it was inappropriate to unnecessarily drag a highly revered Hindu deity in a television episode and then create misinformation about the oldest and third largest religion among a large audience.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged ABC and makers of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” to apologize and post information about Lord Vishnu and Hinduism on their respective websites. ABC executives and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” makers should get some classes about the basics of major world religions, including Hinduism.
Rajan Zed stressed that inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts or symbols for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees. Moreover, misinformation/misrepresentation created more confusion among the general public.
Hinduism had about one billion adherents and offered a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Zed argued.
Rajan Zed stated that Hindus were for free speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at debasing it hurt the adherents. Television and Hollywood should be more conscious while handling faith related subjects, as television and cinema were very mighty mediums and these could create stereotypes in the minds of some audiences.
Lord Vishnu is “preserver” in the Hindu triad with Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva as the aspect of the Supreme. He has ten incarnations to establish dharma (divine law). Moksh (liberation) is the ultimate goal of Hinduism. There are about three million Hindus in USA.
“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is Marvel’s first television series and is produced by ABC Studios and Marvel Television. ABC (American Broadcasting Company) is an American media company founded in 1943 and headquartered in New York.