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Taking The Swastika Back
Posted Mar 24, 2006 by Vidisha Priyanka
Updated Mar 24, 2006 at 12:16 PM
It was an ordinary day. A day that provokes no profound thoughts in one’s brain. “Get ready for work,†my brain seemed to tell. I pulled out a blouse from the hanger. It was the new ethnic collection that I had brought from my recent visit home to India. (ethnic in the American psyche, for me it was native, everyday, ordinary)
I slipped it on and with my eyes still fighting sleep, stood in front of the mirror. As my eyes focused I saw my shirt with my trained eyes (The ones that decipher stuff that might seem offensive and undesirable). All I could see was a pattern of Swastikas on it.
My brain started working overtime. Will it be considered “Neo Nazi” if I wore it? Will I be a considered a skinhead with my brown eyes and brown hair?
Nah! I thought, the Swastika is a spiritual symbol in my world. Why would anyone misread it?
In some twisted turn of fate, Hitler borrowed the Swastika from the Hindu religion. He inverted it and made it diagonal. In doing so he subverted it and made it a symbol of hatred and cruelty.
My Swastika is straight and considered auspicious, a symbol of harmony, peace and balance.
The Hindu Swastika is straight, arrows pointing in a clockwise direction and usually has dots in each quadrant.
Hitler’s Swastika became synonymous with death and destruction, with fear and fanaticism; my Swastika is synonymous with spiritual healing, the bounty of nature, the symbol of well being, beauty and kindness.
Hitler’s Swastika was made to instill fear in World War II, my Swastika has been benign for more than 5,000 years.
A part of every auspicious ritual, imprinted on boxes of sweets, painted on walls to bring good luck, printed on shirts to incorporate spirituality, the Swastika has never been used as a weapon of fear or a branding iron in my world.
I remembered an incident as I decided against wearing the shirt.
A friend of mine who married a German was unable to give boxes of sweets to any of her visiting guests for fear that the Swastika printed on the box would be considered as an insult.
I remembered another festive occasion. As I painted floor designs to decorate my apartment in the ‘land of the free and the brave,’ my sister stopped me from drawing the Swastika. “They will think you are a skinhead. Don’t go looking for trouble.”
I drew the Swastika despite her warning. I drew it the way it has been drawn for centuries. Beginning clockwise and straight, symbolic of culture and spiritual healing, symbolic of the beautiful self.
Nothing harmful in that. Is there?
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Reader Comments
Por (JESSICA PRESPARE) on March 30, 2006
VIDISHA, YOU WRITE BEAUTIFULLY. IT WAS WONDERFUL GETTING TO SEE YOU IN JAY BLACK’S CLASS. YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION!!
Por (Wayne Huber) on April 01, 2006
You make a beautiful point. On a similar note I would like to see the word “Gay” once again be used for it’s original meanings such as happy,enlightened,and carefree as it was used until roughly over 30 years ago when Homosexual groups and individuals expropriated the word to describe themselves and their agendas.
Now when one hears the word he/she automatically associates it with the Homosexual Lifestyle and Political Agenda. Very Sad!
Por (david f) on April 11, 2006
Your story brings two qoutes to mind “If you think education is expensive try ignorance” and “A nation that fails to learn it’s history is doomed to repeat it”. People get upset and angry even hateful when they are ignorant about history. All we can try to do is try to educate the people that get offended at a symbol, flag, etc.. that is being shown.
Por (Paul Christopher Allen) on April 25, 2006
While I fully understand the difference between the Hindu and Nazi Swastika after reading your blog, it is unreasonable to expect the average American to know the difference. Religion is not taught in American schools, but everyone that attends high school should know about World War II. Furthermore, the History Channel as well as other similar networks feature programs about Nazi Germany almost daily. I agree Hitler robbed the Hindu religion of the Swastika, and that is unfortunate. However, to those not exposed to the Hindu religion (most Americans), the Swastika is a symbol of evil.
Por (Indian :)) on May 02, 2006
Thats a problem I guess every Indian has faced. So just like you I try to educate as many people as i get in my daily life. But the problem is if you tell this to community manager they will not understand since they do not want to educate others who live there. So being in the minority it’s better that we shut up and just remove that swastik sign from your door. Simple.
. Naah .. I hope some day will come when Swastik will get it’s respect in US.
I like your writing.. keep it up!!!
Por (Ivette S.) on June 24, 2006
Thank you for the education Vidisha, I really did not know this. As Paul Allen wrote, they show programs of Nazi Germany on the History channel all the time, but I hardly see anything on Hinduism! I will search for websites now to learn more.
Por (A canadain) on March 27, 2007
I have nothing to do Hinduism but I think your a vary right but sadly I don’t thing many people will care to learn the difference any time soon and the same with the word “gay”. But that you for the information i didn’t know all of it.
Por (Daniel Sugarman) on October 30, 2007
Vidisha i only found out what this symbol was not to long ago, Being Jewish i had a deap hate for this symbol - All it did was remind me of all that was bad in WWII and how so many people died for no reason what so ever.
I have also heard that this symbol is 4 number sevens backwards and this too has a meaning, do you know of this?