Upset Hindus are urging Valencia (Spain) based online retailer esKalarTienda for immediate withdrawal of crash-pad carrying image of Hindu deity Shri Ganesh; calling it highly inappropriate.
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Shri Ganesh was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to put your feet on. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, also urged esKalarTienda and its CEO to offer a formal apology, besides withdrawing Shri Ganesh crash-pad from its website.
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.
Ganesh Crash Pad at esKalarTienda.com, an online retailer focused on climbing- mountaineering gear, sells for €320.
In Hinduism, Shri Ganesh is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking.
I condemn the immoral, indecent, irresponsible, insensible, insane, cruel & immature actions of esKalarTienda for insulting & defaming Hindu Gods by showing them on crash pads or other kind of footwear, thereby hurting the sentiments of Hindus all over the world. This kind of attack on Hindu religion, Hindu Gods, Hindu culture & traditions & Hindus CANNOT be tolerated at any cost. I urge the Spain Govt. in Valencia to pressurize the retailer named esKalarTienda to not only immediately ban all its products which insult or defame Hindu Gods but also to issue a general public opology to not only all Hindus but also all Hindus Gods for hurting the sentiments, culture, tradition, religion & Gods of Hindus & that they would NEVER defame & insult Hindu Gods or Hindus or Hindu culture, tradition & religion in future too, by showing them on its products.