Sanatani swastik has become a very efficient hate symbol exercised by the vested powers/illiterate hoodlums in west to raise a frenzy against the Hindus, a source of perpetual harassment and embarrassment to the Hindus-as we Sanatanis are rereferred to thanks to the Greek and Persian lisp of tongue.
Let us get down to the basics a bit. Not that I want to get pedantic about what swastik stands for. All of the Sanatani readers know that. But I owe it to the western reader before he jumps to a conclusion with unfortunate results.
It is an ancient symbol used in Hindu culture signifying well-being. Just the meaning of the Samskrit word "swastik" means "conducive to well-being". Then how come such a positive symbol of love came to represent hate or at least that is what is being tried to be shovelled down our throat.
We have allowed the word to be hijacked and incorporating mischievously into Hitler's autobiography-"Mein Kampf". Hitler being raised in an orthodox Christian atmosphere was deeply impressed by the hooked cross which he would see during growing up at several places including the Abbot's statue's coat of arms in Benedictine monastery in Lambach Austria. He details this thought process as to how he implemented it while designing the Nazi flag, Nazi arm-bands (you will ubiquitously see it on those) and all other paraphernalia. He was looking for a symbol that would invoke a hyper German pride among Germans. And what better symbol to use than something that has a deep religious/Christian connotation. For a devoutly Christian country such as Germany, nothing would resonate more than a symbol connected to their roots and religious beliefs. Someone explain to me why he would use a "Hindu" symbol? What good would it get him?
Hitler has used the word "Hakenkreuz" extensively in his autobiography. It was only an Irish Catholic priest and journalist by the name of James Vincent Murphy (who published the first complete translation of Mein Kampf in 1939) who advertently did all the mischief while translating the word Hakenkreuz. This mischief would come to have very adverse repercussions on present day Hindu population and that too those living in the Western hemisphere where exposure to Vedic scriptures, philosophy, symbols etc is very limited. Murphy deliberately mistranslated Hakenkreuz into Swastika while leaving all other German words in original form or translating them properly in English.
It is evident that Murphy was familiar with native German words that didn't really have English equivalents. Furthermore if there were no English equivalents to these words, I can never for the life of me understand how come "Swastika" became the English translation to "Hakenkreuz".
Our dear google also got it wrong. If you use google German to English translator and you enter Haken in, it rightly gives you the English translation as Hook. Enter "Kreuz" and you get Cross. Now enter the combined word "Hakenkreuz" and see magic happen. Instead of returning the combined English word HookedCross, which you would have been expecting it returns Swastika or Nazi swastika.I keep on wondering how Hakenkreuz became Swastika. Even the back page search engine has been corrupted with the virus of political correctness.
I can see some of my politically correct friends smirking in their couches by now and frowning-but it is only a name? Why make such a big fuss about it. Let it go. It may suffice here to say that a lot of hate crime is targeted in this country (U.S.A) on Hindus because of this one mischief in translation done by one Mr. Murphy.
Here we see a particular Home Owner's Association advising an apartment resident in Boston not to display swastika outside his door and to take it down immediately or otherwise vacate the premises, we see a new car being vandalized because it had been worshipped at the local temple and had "swastik" emblazoned on it. We see "Office for the prevention of hate crime in NY" list swastika as a hate symbol. What a travesty of justice! Shame on them for not having done their home work properly and then not having the guts to call it by its real name-Hakenkreuz or in plain English (if the German word comes cross as a tongue twister)-Hooked Cross. Education and awareness on many fronts is the need of the hour.
Hitler did misappropriate a religious symbol to further his political career. But that religious symbol was the Christian hooked cross and not the Sanatani swastika.
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