Depiction of Hindu Goddess on swimwear at Sydney fashion show

Hindus are upset at the depiction of the image of Goddess Lakshmi on swimwear reportedly displayed at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW) held in Sydney (Australia) from May 2-6, which they termed repugnant.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was disturbing to see goddess Lakshmi, who was highly revered in Hinduism, on a swimwear displayed by a model at a fashion show. Lakshmi was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not for pushing swimwear in fashion shows for mercantile greed of an apparel company, Zed argued.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, asked the manufacturer Lisa Blue Swimwear and RAFW organizers to publicly apologize and immediately recall all swimwear which showed Hindu Goddess Lakshmi. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed stressed.

Lakshmi is the goddess of good fortune and beauty in Hinduism and is also known as ‘world-mother’. Moksh (liberation) is the ultimate goal of Hinduism.

Lisa Blue Swimwear claims to represent “the girl of the future who can be sexy, beautiful, powerful and environmentally aware at the same time”. Lisa Burke is said to be the designer-owner of this company headquartered in Byron Bay (Australia). Besides Australia and an online presence, it has stockists in USA, Ireland, New Zealand, and Indonesia.

RAFW, held this year against the spectacular backdrop of Circular Quay, is claimed to be Australia’s premier fashion industry event providing a platform for designers to showcase their wholesale collections to the world’s most influential buyers and media. Australian Government, New South Wales Government, Hewlett-Packard, and Intel were some of its partners.