Thursday, November 30, 2017
The History of the Swastika
The swastika is one of the most recognizable symbols in the world. We associate it with the Nazis and their negative background. However, the Nazi's swastika is just a more recent version of it. The swastika can be found in many different cultures from around the world dating back thousands of years. In Hinduism, the swastika is a very important symbol. To Hindus, it meant a "making of goodness" or "marker of goodness". The icon connotes and reminds the viewer of something "conducive to well-being", "make good", prosperity and dharmic auspiciousness. The swastika symbol is commonly used before entrances or on doorways of homes or temples, to mark the starting page of financial statements. For Buddhist, the swastika is supposed to represent the footsteps of Buddha. The shape symbolizes eternal cycling, a theme found in samsara doctrine of Buddhism. The swastika symbol is common in esoteric tantric traditions of Buddhism, along with Hinduism, where it is found with Chakra theories and other meditative aids. Not until Nazi Germany took the symbol, the swastika had a good connotation to it. There are many variations of the symbol but so many look too much like the Nazi rendition, that many cultures have difficulty using it in fear that it would be related back to what the Nazis stood for.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree that this symbol has a deep meaning from past cultures, and how it was used in hinduism and buddhism, but from what the Nazis have done, this symbol should no longer be used. It is now universally represented as Nazism, which many people see as negative, so nobody should use this symbol anymore.
ReplyDeleteI think that it was really terrible that Nazism turned a beautiful and meaningful symbol into something that represents such hate and destruction of humankind. It is good that you and other people can educate others on the real meaning of the swastika because it was not always representing the Nazis.
ReplyDeleteThis symbol is only one of the few things that the Nazis have put a sick twist on since their time. As Mr. Stewart stated in class, the Nazi salute was the way that we used to salute our flag before the Nazis began to do it. We later changed to putting our hand over our heart because we did not want to be associated with them in any way at all. The Nazi culture ended up effecting the way things were done in many other cultures as well.
ReplyDelete