re: an article regarding symbols and prejudice [was: Re: Swastika - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

i need to write an article regarding symbols and prejudice  (please read "prejudice" as in "preconceived notions" - i.e.  "pre judged" - not just the popular definition, which relates to racial discrimination).

i think that the swastika is the prime example  {it is definitely loaded!}

the swastika, a symbol of good luck for thousands of years, is now maligned and stigmatized since Hitler.  there is talk about a ban on its use {at all} l in Europe, even though is is a religious symbol, from Native America to India, and has been used by countless organizations over the years.

  <<<  i had to go meet with my daughter"s  junior high school principal once because she got in trouble for having an anarchy symbol inked on her backpack! ~ they said it was "gang related" ~ this was a few years ago, and i was worried then about what this country had become, but now i am even more worried - isn't anarchy a way of political thought? - what happened to freedom of speech? what about our symbols? are these fascists actually going to pull this off ??? <<<

the swastika is a great example (maybe the best, even?) of how people relate to symbols in their life, handle the prejudice, and continue on in a rather blinded fashion while the world goes to hell in a hand_basket.

the swastika is basically a medicine wheel - a symbol the crossroads, the juncture of all the forces that create our reality... just a variation of the medicine wheel symbol that i have used for years, and use as a stamp of my identity/purpose.

one of my mantras is "OM SWASTIASTU" ~ that means everything is great ~ OM is the great sound of the universe, and SWASTIASTU (swastika) is a representation and invocation of everything coming together and being good in an immutable way ~ it is even "the hand of god," if you care to go that deep.

and this all cascades into stuff about "brainwashing," ideas of what is right or wrong, popular culture, etc. could be a great article, i guess.

 

     PEACE!

On Oct 28, 2008, at 4:52 PM, x wrote

The swastika in a decorative Hindu form.

The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit word svastik (in Devanagari, स्वस्तिक), meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck

Buddhists outside India generally use the left-facing swastika rather than the right-facing swastika, although both can be used. There are some who claim that the left-facing swastika has inauspicious or "evil" connotations, although others dismiss this as superstition, possibly associated with the stigma of left handedness.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

The swastika (from Sanskrit: svástika स्वस्तिक ) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing (卐) form or its mirrored left-facing (卍) form. The swastika can also be drawn as a traditional swastika, but with a second 90° bend in each arm.

Archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates from the Neolithic period. An ancient symbol, it occurs mainly in the cultures that are in modern day India and the surrounding area, sometimes as a geometrical motif (as in the Roman Republic and Empire) and sometimes as a religious symbol. It was long widely used in major world religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Though once commonly used all over much of the world without stigma, because of its iconic usage in Nazi Germany, the symbol has become controversial in the Western world.

The motif seems to have first been used in Neolithic India. The symbol has an ancient history in Europe, appearing on artifacts from pre-Christian European cultures. In antiquity, the swastika was used extensively by the Indo-Aryans, Persians, Hittites, Slavs, Celts and Greeks, among others. In particular, the swastika is a sacred symbol in Hinduism,Buddhism, Jainism and Mithraism, religions with a total of more than a billion adherents worldwide, making the swastika ubiquitous in both historical and contemporary society. The symbol was introduced to Southeast Asia by Hindu kings and remains an integral part of Balinese Hinduism to this day, and it is a common sight in Indonesia. It is also used by several Native American cultures.^{[citation needed]}