The swastika has held a place of great importance in
India and
Asia for thousands of years, and is widely used by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.
The swastika is to be seen everywhere across the
Indian sub-continent: sculptured into temples both ancient and modern, decorating buildings, houses, shops, painted onto public buses, in taxis - even decorating the dashboards of the three-wheeler motor rickshaws. Many religious and spiritual books display the
symbol. It may well be the most prevalent symbol one will see in
India.
However, the swastika is not limited to India and Asia.
Evidence suggests that the swastika was in use in many other cultures too. For example:
The ancient city of
Troy, in the northwest of present-day
Turkey The Iron Age
Koban culture of the
Caucasus in
Asia minor On prehistoric
Vinca artefacts from
South-Eastern Europe Amongst the ancient Hittites who lived in the area of present day
Syria In
Ein Gedi, near
Israel's
Dead Sea In the
Tang Dynasty of
China In the
13th Century Amiens Cathedral in
France In ancient
Greek architectural designs On
Native American Indian artefacts including those of the
Navajo and
Hopi On pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon and Druidic artefacts
The swastika was also used widely in the pre-National
Socialist Germany twentieth century: Dust-covers of books by
Rudyard Kipling and other authors
Boy Scouts' badges in
Britain from
1911 to
1922 Bank notes printed by the
1917 Russian Provisional Government Emblem of the
British National War Savings Committee
Planes of the Finnish Air force and
Army from
1918 until
1944 Latvian Air Force, 1918 until 1934 The
Icelandic Steamship
Company,
Eimskip, from
1914 The Theosophical Society, founded in
New York in 1875
The swastika has been seen as a symbol for good luck by people in both ancient and modern times. A closer look at the etymology of this Sanskrit word, however, reveals a deeper meaning. When the Sanskrit scholar and spiritual teacher,
P.R. Sarkar visited
Germany in
1979 he gave the following interpretation of the word: su - means "good" asti - means "to be, to exist" ik - means "what is in existence, and will continue to exist" a - denotes feminine gender
So "
Swastika" means a 'good existence' that is not to be destroyed and that remains in a good condition. He went on to say that its deeper meaning is permanent victory
. In the context of the cultural origins of the swastika, this means the victory of dharma - the fundamental spiritual nature of humanity.
- published: 05 Oct 2014
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