Denigration of Hindu Deities and religious symbols by Shiva’s Drum Yoga Shop

Shiva’s Drum Yoga Shop is a retailer of fashionable yoga clothing, yoga mats, yoga accessories and props as well as jewelry, Indian art and statues, hand drums, incense, candles, gifts, etc. with pictures of Hindu Deities and religious symbols such as Om and Shri yantra, thus leading to denigration

Alert Hindus notified Forum for Hindu Awakening (FHA), about this denigration of Hindu Deities and religious symbols. Accordingly, Forum for Hindu Awakening wrote to the Founder of the Shiva’s Drum Yoga Shop, Mr. Chip Hedenburg, but there has been no response from him. (The letter explaining the denigration is published below.)

See the denigrating items at the below links:

Deity Shiva, Deity Shiva1, Deity Shiva2, Om, Shri yantra

Shri Lakshmi, Shri Hanuman , Shri Ganesh1, Shri Ganesh2

Please see below the email sent by FHA to Shiva’s drum yoga shop

From: Hindu Awakening <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, Jan 5, 2016 at 10:41 PM
Subject: Complaints regarding clothing with Hindu deity pictures and sacred symbols
To: [email protected]

To,
Chip Hedenburg,
Founder,
Shiva’s Drum Yoga Shop
Email:  [email protected]

We at Forum for Hindu Awakening (FHA) have received several complaints from devout Hindus regarding the sale of yoga clothing with Hindu Deities like Deity Shiva, Shri Ganesh, Shri Lakshmi, Shri Hanuman and religious symbols such as Om and Shri Yantra on your online shopping portal http://www.shivasdrum.net/. Please see below some of the links where images of Hindu Deities have been used:

Deity Shiva, Deity Shiva1, Deity Shiva2, Om, Shri yantra

Shri Lakshmi, Shri Hanuman  Shri Ganesh1, Shri Ganesh2

Forum for Hindu Awakening is a nonprofit organization that strives to awaken society to the unique spiritual science underlying Hindu Dharma concepts and practices, to motivate people to live and preserve them, and to facilitate the spiritual progress of humanity. One of the ways we do this is by addressing misrepresentations of Hinduism.

According to spiritual science, the word, touch, form, taste, fragrance and the energy associated with them coexist. Whenever any image of a Deity is used, the divine energy also accompanies it. It helps devotees to obtain the divine or spiritual energy from it. However, when Hindu Deities are used on items like yoga clothes as you have done, they may be touched with dirty hands, get thrown around, collect dust, sweat, etc. Once they become old or worn out they eventually turn up in the waste bin. This amounts to denigration and insult of revered Deities, which is hurtful to the religious sentiments of Hindus and insults Hinduism. Deities’ images should be used only in sacred places like Temples and that too only for the purpose of worshiping them, and not on clothes.

The designers of these products may have used images of Hindu Deities without realizing that it amounts to denigration despite having good intentions of portraying Hindu Deities. Some of the portrayal of Deities like Shri Ganesh is not in accordance with the spiritual science.

One US based company ‘Om Shanti Clothing’ was selling women’s undergarments on which pictures of Deities were printed. On learning about the matter, the management of the Company has since rendered apology and withdrawn such stock from the market.

In view of above, we request you to stop the manufacture, advertisement and sale of products with Hindu deities’ pictures & remove such links from your shopping portal. Awaiting your prompt action and reply.

Sincerely,

Forum for Hindu Awakening