Miami Beach Apparel Firm Tastes Hindus' Wrath

Submitted by Nancy Smith on June 24, 2019 - 8:30pm

Upset Hindus are urging Miami Beach-based sports apparel firm Platinum Sun Inc. for immediate withdrawal of a yoga mat carrying an image of Hindu deity Ganesha; calling it highly inappropriate.

Platinum Sun's Ganesha yoga mat

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada Monday, said Lord Ganesha is highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines, not to be sit on or sweat on. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial purposes is not OK, said Rajan Zed.

Zed, who is president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, also urged Platinum Sun Inc. to offer a formal apology.

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.1 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought, and it should not be taken frivolously, he said. Symbols of any faith should not be mishandled, Zed noted.

He further said that such trivialization of Hindu deity was disturbing to Hindus the world over. Hindus are for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else. But faith is something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the followers, Zed added.

In Hinduism, Lord Ganesha is worshipped as the god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking. There are about three million Hindus in the U.S.

Ganesha Cork Yoga Mat, which is priced at $79.99, claims to be “perfect for hot yoga, Bikram, sweaty practice, pilates, floor exercises, stretching, and meditation”. Its description points out: “Ganesha is the god of wisdom, success and good luck. This will help you attract all of life’s positivities while doing Yoga.”

Platinum Sun Inc., which describes itself as “Elite Sports Apparel” and whose products include watersports apparel and yoga accessories, responed with this: “Our commitment is your fun, comfort, sexy look and healthy lifestyle.”

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