Swastika symbol in most hindu homes in India

The negatinve Swastika symbol (also called "swastika" in the native
tongue i.e. Hindi) can be found drawn in a lot of indian homes . I can
remember it drawn at my grand ma's and several of my relatives (my
mother is not a very religious person).

I think the word has its roots in Sanskrit (possibly Latin too)... and
the meaning (at least in Hindi) is "pure, clean etc..." which would
explain its usage by Nazis. 

Amit

PS: There is a brand of laundry detergent available in india called
"Swastika"... 

"Swastika cleans better..." HA! HA!

A

Yes but the Nazi swastika is a mirror image of the indian one.
It has its tails pointing the other way.

In article <AGR...@lipari.usc.edu>,
	agr...@lipari.usc.edu (Amitabh Agrawal) writes:
>
>The negatinve Swastika symbol (also called "swastika" in the native
>tongue i.e. Hindi) can be found drawn in a lot of indian homes . I can
>remember it drawn at my grand ma's and several of my relatives (my
>mother is not a very religious person).

-- 
*----------*-------------------------------------------------------------*
| Sam   Jam|"Never underestimate the importance of a cheap laugh"-       |
| Liddicott| phu...@csv.warwick.ac.uk                     Plucky Duck TTA |
*---For ScoobyDoo episodes mail with "hoi! list scooby" as subject line--*

	I wanted to concur with the previous poster. The Swastika is a
symbol found all over Asia, especially in India. It is considered a
beautiful and auspicious symbol. It is about time that we stopped
considering it a "not nice symbol." We shouldn't let the Nazis ruin
the symbol for everyone else.
	I don't know why Hitler chose this symbol, if anyone can find
a historical reference, I would be interested.

-Anant

In article <2bm73v$5i...@agate.berkeley.edu> sah...@monoceros.EECS.Berkeley.EDU (Anant Sahai) writes:
>	I wanted to concur with the previous poster. The Swastika is a
>symbol found all over Asia, especially in India. It is considered a
>beautiful and auspicious symbol. It is about time that we stopped
>considering it a "not nice symbol." We shouldn't let the Nazis ruin
>the symbol for everyone else.
>	I don't know why Hitler chose this symbol, if anyone can find
>a historical reference, I would be interested.
>
>-Anant
>


I think, but cannot verify at this time, that he used it (swastika)
in reference to a bent Cross.  I think I remember from a class at
The Ohio State University, that Hitler wanted to study in the Priesthood.
And I also remeber that his predecessors were Jewish.  Soooo, he may
have chosen this 'bent-cross' to symbolize everything he despised.
I'm not a religious-studies major, so no flames...I'm pointing to
what I think to be the historical significance...

One should also note, 'Hackenkreuz' is German for swastika.  When
translated, it means:  "Bent or hooked cross."

If you have further comments, direct them to me as not to clutter
this group with un-wanted rantings.  

One final note, don't write me to tell me something trivial...Like your
religious views...I'll bounce back flames 10-fold, explaining how
I really don't care, due to the fact I'm an atheist.

Later,
--
  Matt Lammers, mla...@world.std.com, lam...@osu.edu
  "Who!?  Me?!  Are you calling on me, professor?"

Anant Sahai (sah...@monoceros.EECS.Berkeley.EDU) wrote:
: 	I wanted to concur with the previous poster. The Swastika is a
: symbol found all over Asia, especially in India. It is considered a
: beautiful and auspicious symbol. It is about time that we stopped
: considering it a "not nice symbol." We shouldn't let the Nazis ruin
: the symbol for everyone else.
: 	I don't know why Hitler chose this symbol, if anyone can find
: a historical reference, I would be interested.

  I don't know for sure why Hitler chose the symbol, but I know several 
cultures consider it a mystical symbol. From reading books on symbolism 
I have discovered that the American Navajo Indians use it as a symbol of 
good luck. The Celts also considered it a mystical symbol, but I have 
not discovered it's meaning in their culture. By posting to a Chinese 
culture newsgroup I have discovered that it is found on the breast of 
some Buddhas symbolizing the One. Several Chinese have also told me that 
there is an organization equivaleny to the U.S.A.'s Red Cross that uses 
the swastika as their symbol and they are called "The Wan Four".

  I myself have this symbol tattooed on my left forearm in a ring of 
green leaves and clutched by an American eagle. We tend to let bad 
experiences darken our minds to the beauty and knowledge of the ages. 
There have been numerous evil uses of symbols, especially here in the 
states. We had the Zodiac Killer and other madmen have used common 
symbols to give people something to identify them with. In some Satanic 
cultures the much widely acclaimed PEACE symbol of the Vietnam era was 
in reality an upside-down broken cross. The two finger peace symbol 
stood for "V for Victory" in WW II. So open our mind when you see some 
type of symbol. Research the history to see it's true beauty.

  In closing, the swastika I refer to is below. Even though the Chinese 
also told me that the also use both swastikas sometimes as the male and 
female.


Bill

                     -----------               
                                |          |
                                |          |
                                |          |
                                |          |
                     ___________|__________|
                    |           |             
                    |           |              
                    |           |  
                    |           |
                    |           |__________ 

                                  
-------------------------------------------------------------
William B. Morris (The Biker Poet)  | William B. Morris                  
Computing Center                    | P. O. Box 5163                         
Box 7109                            | Raleigh,N.C. 27650-5163
North Carolina State University     | (919) 755-0058 
Raleigh,N.C. 27695-7109             |
wb...@unity.ncsu.edu                  |
-------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, enough about this bullshit.  If you want to babble about swastikas, then
either find a newsgroup about it or create your own.  Leave this one to the
purpose it was intended for- ASCII-ART!!!!!!!!

mla...@world.std.com (Matt D Lammers) writes:

>In article <2bm73v$5i...@agate.berkeley.edu> sah...@monoceros.EECS.Berkeley.EDU (Anant Sahai) writes:
>>	I wanted to concur with the previous poster. The Swastika is a
>>symbol found all over Asia, especially in India. It is considered a
>>beautiful and auspicious symbol. It is about time that we stopped
>>considering it a "not nice symbol." We shouldn't let the Nazis ruin
>>the symbol for everyone else.
>>	I don't know why Hitler chose this symbol, if anyone can find
>>a historical reference, I would be interested.
>>
>>-Anant
>>

First of all, this symbol, although it _was_ at one point in time
considered a nice symbol, is not anymore, due to Hitler. The fact is,
whenever you use it, it will always carry the connotation of being
a racist symbol. So the idea is--DON'T use it. It is interesting to
comment on what it meant at one point in time, but NOW it means only
bad things (at least in the Western world).

Take for example the word "colored". While at one point in time, this was
considered the "politically correct" choice of words to refer to a person
whose color was not "white", no one in their right mind would choose to
call a "colored" friend "colored". It has connotations of racism and ugliness
now.

Those were my two cents......

But on the origins of Hitler's use of the swastika, I once did a report in
high school on him, and I remember, in reading a biography about him, that
during his childhood, he sang in a choir at a monastery in his home town.
This monastery had the swastika (or a bent cross) above an awning on the
way into the church. It's interesting to postulate that this is why he chose
the swastika as the nazi symbol.....

I have a strange feeling though that it had more to do with the fact that
it consisted of two S's crossed, connoting that the S.S. was the vehicle
through which any "religious" activity was to be performed. After all, most
people in Germany (aside from the Jews) were Christian, and a "cross" as the
flag might have meant something to them. It's just that the leader of the 
S.S. was not God--it was Hitler.

Those were my OTHER two cents.......

Anyhow, I like this newsgroup--it's main gear is towards just having
fun looking at fun ascii pictures. Nothing harmful--no need to be rude to
people. You know, aside from a few remarks concerning this particular
thread, everybody on this newsgroup has been very well-tempered in their
responses to even "flammable" material.

See you,

Greg

In article <Nov...@remus.rutgers.edu> dea...@remus.rutgers.edu (Gregory Deatz) writes:
   mla...@world.std.com (Matt D Lammers) writes:

   >In article <2bm73v$5i...@agate.berkeley.edu> sah...@monoceros.EECS.Berkeley.EDU (Anant Sahai) writes:
   >>	I wanted to concur with the previous poster. The Swastika is a
   >>symbol found all over Asia, especially in India. It is considered a
   >>beautiful and auspicious symbol. It is about time that we stopped
   >>considering it a "not nice symbol." We shouldn't let the Nazis ruin
   >>the symbol for everyone else.
   >>	I don't know why Hitler chose this symbol, if anyone can find
   >>a historical reference, I would be interested.
   >>
   >>-Anant
   >>

   First of all, this symbol, although it _was_ at one point in time
   considered a nice symbol, is not anymore, due to Hitler. The fact is,
   whenever you use it, it will always carry the connotation of being
   a racist symbol. So the idea is--DON'T use it. It is interesting to
   comment on what it meant at one point in time, but NOW it means only
   bad things (at least in the Western world).

know what? as far as I know, the symbol used by Hitler is different
from the Swaskita.  The direction of "S" is in different direction.

--t.y.

What is considered so beautiful and auspicious about swastikas anyway?  All
I've ever been told is that it's a symbol for magic.


-- 
"The perfect way is only difficult for those who pick and choose.  Do not
like, do not dislike; all will then be clear.  Make a hairbreadth
difference and heaven and earth are set apart; if you want the truth to
stand clear before you, never be for or against.  The struggle between

Funny, but all the "swastikas" *I've* ever seen in the far east (Korea
and China) always pointed counterclockwise, while I thought that the German
Swastikas were clockwise.  BTW, it's a Buddhist symbol... at least in Korea.

--
Edward M. Lee                   email: 	eml...@lehman.com
Derivative Products Group	uucp: 	lehman.com!emlee
Lehman Brothers, Inc.           phone:	(212) 298-5319
3 World Financial Center	beeper: (800) 225-0256 ext. 81432
New York, NY  10285-1200   		(917) 899-1420
				fax:	(212) 528-9371