This is the story of a symbol of hope, and prosperity in the Hindu culture for thousands of years, stolen and used as a symbol of hate, and evil by the Nazi party for two decades in the 20th C. This is for my history buff bloggers and is quite informative. The BBC always produces such thorough and entertaining as well as educational films. Thanks Judy for the heads up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_reuMKpgow
Namaste. . . . .This Is Culture of the World. . . . . . .
TalesAlongTheWay 
It is remarkable how a symbol can mean diametrically opposite things for people in different parts of the world. Even today, most Indians don’t know that the swasthika is a much hated symbol across Europe. I’ve always wondered about it. 🙂
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I didn’t know about the Hindu significance to the swastika until we went to India, so it was a definite surprise to all of us. Interesting if know if there anything else in the world quite like this contrasting ideas, if this is the only one! I know of no other. Namaste. . . .
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I usually just say Hi. LOL.
Anyways, Namaste. 😀
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😎
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Rewatch the beginning of The DaVinci Code, where the symbologist is showing videos to university students. They hiss at pictures of Ku Klux Klanners, only to discover that they’re Spanish holy men, etc., etc., etc.!
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Oh that is wild. Reminds me of the play Doubt where the premise whether something is true because you “see’ it. Important life lesson, right?
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I expect you know videos can be embedded into your blog so you don’t need to show the link? Good stuff.
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No I am not very tech savvy. Is it easy enough for you to explain to me?
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It is horrible to think that someone can take a symbol of love and peace and turn it into one of outrage, pain and horror as the Nazi’s did. But it is also nice to know that this symbol has such a lovely background as a beginning, and that it can be brought back as such.
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Amazingly people do that to religious symbols and later blame religion. Most of the time they kill on pretext of most noble things, Christ sacrificed for humanity however people continue to fulfil their blood-lust on his name. The human greed manifests itself in all forms..
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Thank you for your beautiful comment that is so true and right on !
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Wünsche dir ein schönes glückliches wee-kend liebe Grüße von mir Gislinde
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I don’t read German. I wish I could know what you said. Namaste. . . .
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Hi Anne, I liked your blog very much. I will like to point out one thing. We, in India, mostly do namaste at the start of meeting someone. So, i suggest you write Namaste at the starting of your comment, not at the end. It will add an appeal to your comments.
Namaste is used to greet. When we take leave from someone, we say other words.
Bye n take care.
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Thank you my friend. I thought it could be used as the Italian ciao, as hello and goodbye! Happy New Year!
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Well, my smart professor husband was able to translate the gist of your comment and good wishes for the weekend. I am sending those good wishes back to you….Happy weekend! Chant again soon! 😎
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OMG…this is a quite shocking news for me. Till now, I only know that Swastika is a symbol of auspiciousness in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism
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Another of my Indian friends said the same thing. It is horrifying to discover this, I am sure. Such a terrible time in world history and you must feel violated to have your wonderful symbol bastardized! I have to say it was a shock to find out that it was such an important sign in India when I knew only the other story! Thanks for writing!
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I am from India and yes, swastika is a religious symbol of Hinduism. Yes, Hitler used Swastika for Nazi symbol. The link between the two is this. I can only give the information because I am not a historian just happen to know something which was not discussed here. There is a prevalent theory (i called it theory because other historians dispute this theory but this theory is known by most). This theory is called “Aryan Invasion”. According to the theory, the Aryan race having birth in somewhere around Germany invaded north-west India and overthrew the culture of Indus Valley Civilization. This is many centuries before the birth of Christ. Hitler believed himself and Germans to be of Aryan race. He also believed in the flawed theory of supremacy of races. That’s why he chose the Swastika symbol. I am not saying Hitler was right in choosing the symbol. I am only trying the connect the two.
I also believe that for us history is still not clear. What to believe in and what not to believe in in history is difficult to segregate.
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http://www.narendramodi.in/satyameva-jayate-truth-alone-triumphs/
Have you seen this? what do you think?
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I will not comment about whether Modi really felt what he has written. I don’t know about the truth of Gujarat riots. Media reports told that the Gujarat government did nothing to stop rioters. I can say just one thing. I never could admire Modi. He may become prime minister of India but I have my reservations about him. He is a bold man, no doubt but I don’t believe in him from the core of my heart.
Similarly, the leader from the other party, Rahul Gandhi looks incompetent. He is a person who has spent all his life may be just living in mansions. He just doesn’t have a real vision. He speaks in generalities like we have to remove corruption or poverty or any other malice.
India needs better leaders than both of them.
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