Hindu Groups Say “No” to Statues

Groups denounce sale of religious statues by VA company.

Two Hindu advocacy organizations are crying foul over the sale of statues depicting Hindu gods, calling the practice inappropriate.

They want a Virginia-based company to stop selling them immediately.

Sacred Source, based outside of Charlottesville, Va., is a longtime distributor of deity statues. But the groups said the company has gone too far, selling one statue that shows the god Shiva sitting cross-legged with a nude woman sitting in his lap.

Rajan Zed, the president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said in a news release that the deities were highly revered in Hinduism and inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay, according to The Daily Progress. The Forum for Hindu Awakening said in the report that the statues depicting denigrating positions are unacceptable to Hindus.

Sacred Source said the statues are primarily based on traditional temple images and are not offensive. The Daily Progress reported that the couple who runs the company said the statues are designed and crafted by Hindus for Hindus and that buyers want the statues for their religious devotional purposes.

Sacred Source is the leading provider of ancient deity images. The statues are sold in the US, Canada, Japan, Italy and other countries around the globe.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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