The Swastika

[Cd.]

Swastika at a Hindu ceremony

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

Hinduism

Children light lamps in the shape of Swastika, on the eve of Diwali (the eve of Hindu new year), a major Hindu festival.The swastika is found all over Hindu temples, signs, altars, pictures and iconography where it is sacred. It is used in all Hindu weddings, festivals, ceremonies, houses and doorways, clothing and jewelry, motor transport and even decorations on food items like cakes and pastries.

It is one of the 108 symbols of Vishnu and represents the sun's rays without which there would be no life.

The Aum symbol is also sacred in Hinduism. Whereas Aum is representative of a single primordial tone of creation, the swastika is a pure geometrical mark and has no syllabic tone associated with it.

In Hinduism, the two symbols represent the two forms of the creator god Brahma: facing right it represents the evolution of the universe (Pravritti), facing left it represents the involution of the universe (Nivritti). It is also seen as pointing in all four directions (North, East, South and West) and thus signifies stability and groundedness. Its use as a sun symbol can first be seen in its representation of Surya, the Hindu Sun God. The swastika is considered extremely holy and auspicious by all Hindus, and is regularly used to decorate all sorts of items to do with Hindu culture. It is used in all Hindu yantras and religious designs. Throughout the subcontinent of India it can be seen on the sides of temples, written on religious scriptures, on gift items, and on letterhead. The Hindu God Ganesh is often shown as sitting on a lotus flower on a bed of swastikas.

Amongst the Hindus of Bengal, it is common to see the name "swastika" applied to a slightly different symbol, which has the same significance as the common swastika, and both symbols are used as auspicious signs. This symbol looks something like a stick figure of a human being.[10] "Swastika" is a common given name amongst Bengalis and a prominent literary magazine in Calcutta is called the Swastika. The stick figure, however, is not mainstream usage in India.


Buddhism

Swastika on a Buddhist temple in Korea.Buddhism was founded by a Hindu Prince and has thus inherited the swastika. These two symbols are included, at least since the Liao Dynasty, as part of the Chinese language, the symbolic sign for the character 萬 or 万 (wàn in Chinese, man in Japanese, vạn in Vietnamese) meaning "all", and "eternality" (lit. myriad) and as 卐 which is seldom used. A swastika marks the beginning of many Buddhist scriptures. The swastikas (in either orientation) appear on the chest of some statues of Gautama Buddha and is often incised on the soles of the feet of the Buddha in statuary. Because of the association with the right facing swastika with Nazism, Buddhist swastikas (outside India only) after the mid-20th century are almost universally left-facing: 卍. This form of the swastika is often found on Chinese food packaging to signify that the product is vegetarian and can be consumed by strict Buddhists. It is often sewn into the collars of Chinese children's clothing to protect them from evil spirits.

In 1922, the Chinese syncretist movement Daoyuan founded the philanthropic association Red Swastika Society in imitation of the Red Cross. The association was very active in China during the 1920s and the 1930s.


On maps in the Taipei subway system a swastika symbol is employed to indicate a temple, parallel to a cross indicating a Christian church.The swastika used in Buddhist art and scripture is known in Japanese as a manji (which literally just means "the Chinese character for eternality" 万字), and represents Dharma, universal harmony, and the balance of opposites. When facing left, it is the omote (front) manji, representing love and mercy. Facing right, it represents strength and intelligence, and is called the ura (rear) manji. Balanced manji are often found at the beginning and end of Buddhist scriptures (outside India).

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Jainism
Jainism gives even more prominence to the swastika than Hinduism. It is a symbol of the seventh Jina (Saint), the Tirthankara Suparsva. It is considered to be one of the 24 auspicious marks and the emblem of the seventh arhat of the present age. All Jain temples and holy books must contain the swastika and ceremonies typically begin and end with creating a swastika mark several times with rice around the altar. Jains use rice to make a swastika (also known as "Sathiyo" in the state of Gujarat, India) in front of idols in a temple. Jains then put an offering on top of this swastika - this offering is usually a fruit, a sweet (mithai), a dried fruit or sometimes a coin or currency note.


The Abrahamic religions
The swastika was not widely utilized by followers of the Abrahamic religions. Where it does exist, it is not portrayed as an explicitly religious symbol and is often purely decorative or, at most, a symbol of good luck. One example of scattered use is the floor of the synagogue at Ein Gedi, built during the Roman occupation of Judea, which was decorated with a swastika.[11]

In Christianity, the swastika is a symbol representing the resurrection of Jesus Christ (the swastika is seen as a hooked crucifix, symbolizing Christ's victory over death.) Some Christian churches built in the Romanesque and Gothic eras are decorated with swastikas, carrying over earlier Roman designs. Swastikas are prominently displayed in a mosaic in the St. Sophia church of Kiev, Ukraine dating to the 12th century. They also appear as a repeating ornamental motif on a tomb in the Basilica of St. Ambrose in Milan. However, a proposed direct link between it and a swastika floor mosaic in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens, which was built on top of a pagan site at Amiens, France in the 1200s, is considered unlikely.

The Muslim "Friday" mosque of Isfahan, Iran and the Taynal Mosque in Tripoli, Libya both have

[oki]

japanese shrines and temples have swastikas too.

[Mystlet]

The Nazis didn't invent the swastika. It's damn near older than dirt.

[IFF]

so hitler was a plagiarist

[angelone]

Interesting, We dont see it much if any here in the states since it represents different meaning here,

[Keylia]

Some series of pokemon cards in Japan had swastikas printed on the back, it was really bad for sales in America because most people only associated the symbol with nazism.

[Sisyphos]

Originally Posted by IFF

so hitler was a plagiarist

Of course. Even his famous salute was recycled from Antiquity, with a little help from his Italian 'friend'-in-arms.

[oki]

nazizm is a retro style.

[Sisyphos]

Nazism was very progressive actually. But in an utter unpleasant way.

[TheGreatMonkey]

Originally Posted by IFF

so hitler was a plagiarist

Yeah, all of the Nazi iconography was...sampled...from other religions and republics. All the eagles featured as prominently as the swaztika's were taken from Rome. If I could remember the other symbols he used I could tell you were most of them came from.

When Hitler was a little boy he spent a lot of time in churches, surrounded by these icons. I guess they made an impression.

[Shogun]

mexica uses it as a symbol that everyone will return from all directions to their old capitol

[oki]

Originally Posted by Sisyphos

Nazism was very progressive actually.

their policies maybe but their looks and culture werent.

[Misteria]

Originally Posted by myst

The Nazis didn't invent the swastika. It's damn near older than dirt.

thank you myst
a swastika is like this :



hindu "Ganesh"
is totally the inverse of the nazi one, not at all the same nor meaning ganesha means peace,wisdom,love.
The nazi swastika was death and destruction as well was shown as the inverse way of the hindu symbol.
卍 卐 which one of the 2 is the nazi one?

[Cd.]

Originally Posted by Keylia

Some series of pokemon cards in Japan had swastikas printed on the back, it was really bad for sales in America because most people only associated the symbol with nazism.

Maybe Piccachu is really a Nazi

[Cd.]

Originally Posted by TheGreatMonkey

Yeah, all of the Nazi iconography was...sampled...from other religions and republics. All the eagles featured as prominently as the swaztika's were taken from Rome. If I could remember the other symbols he used I could tell you were most of them came from.

When Hitler was a little boy he spent a lot of time in churches, surrounded by these icons. I guess they made an impression.

Hitler was also an artist who created propaganda. He did not have a lot of formal education but did know a lot about how to use symbols.

[Red shine´y]

Im sure that without "Savitri Devis" aryan confusion the swastika would never impress fragile minds of german national-socialists...

[Manfred]

Originally Posted by oki

japanese shrines and temples have swastikas too.

Have a good look at the German swastika and those of the Jap and Chinese.
They are different

Manfred

[Misteria]

Originally Posted by Anrora

thank you myst
a swastika is like this :



hindu "Ganesh"
is totally the inverse of the nazi one, not at all the same nor meaning ganesha means peace,wisdom,love.
The nazi swastika was death and destruction as well was shown as the inverse way of the hindu symbol.
卍 卐 which one of the 2 is the nazi one?

Manfred is right

[Manfred]

Originally Posted by Anrora

Manfred is right

Thank you,lol I am a german ass lol

[Misteria]

Originally Posted by Criminal

Hitler was also an artist who created propaganda. He did not have a lot of formal education but did know a lot about how to use symbols.

hitler was a piece of crap who was responsible for the murder and misery caused by his evil mind, nothing to be admired for.