Upset Hindus are urging Doral (metro Miami, Florida, USA) based clothing brand “On Cue Apparel” for immediate withdrawal of shorts carrying images of Hindu deity Lord Ganesha; calling it highly inappropriate.
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that Lord Ganesha was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to adorn one’s thighs, hips, groin, buttocks, genitals and pelvis. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts or symbols for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, also urged “On Cue Apparel” and its CEO to offer a formal apology; besides withdrawing “Ganesha BW Shorts” which displayed various images of Lord Ganesha. Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.1 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled; Rajan Zed noted.
Zed further said that such trivialization of Hindu deities was disturbing to the Hindus world over. Hindus were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the followers, Zed added. In Hinduism, Lord Ganesha is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking.
Objectionable “Ganesha BW Shorts” were priced at $34.99. Products of “On Cue Apparel”; founded 2013 and which claims to be “World Leaders in Rave Clothing & Rave Outfits”; include t-shirts, tanks, crops, accessories, etc. With tagline of “Be Unique, Be You, Be On Cue”, it states its goal as: to create unique, creative, and fun clothing that you will love and never want to take off.
Source: World Hindu Network