Hinduism is of course pantheistic. One of the most revered gods is Ganesh, the elephant-headed “Remover of Obstacles.” (And the god involved in the Milk Miracle of a few years ago.)
The other part of this story is the swastika symbol, which Hindus have been using as a good-luck charm for millenia. The word “swastika” is actually of Sanskrit origin.
Now read on.
Ganesh Versus the Third Reich is yet to open at the Melbourne Festival, but news of its storyline has caused consternation among the Indian community.
In the play, which has been described by its producers as rambunctious fable brimming with humour, the elephant-headed Hindu god rampages through Germany on a quest to reclaim the ancient Hindu symbol of goodwill from the Nazis.
As a long-time fan of the great Barry Humphries, I thought I had a handle on Australian humor. Now I’m not so sure.
I am absolutely putting this in my Netflix queue.
Thanks for the Sanskrit etymology, I must say I’m surprised.
Swastika sure SOUNDS like it could be German for “bent symbol.”
I’m surprised that it’s a matter of course that Hinduism is pantheistic. I was under the impression that it was no longer a matter of course even that Hinduism exists, in view of the increasingly prominent argument that the British invented that label as a way of lumping the various religious practices and traditions of India together under a label that they could use to reduce the religious life of the subcontinent to an image, familiar to them, of a small number of Great Religions.
Mind you, I’m not saying that I accept this view, or that I reject the statement that “Hinduism is pantheistic.” But I am surprised at the phrase “of course.”