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Removal of goddess Parvati from FGO mobile game Urged.
 
Hindus are upset at “Fate/Grand Order” (FGO) mobile role-playing video game, developed by Japan’s Delightworks Inc., for reportedly introducing goddess Parvati as one of the “new” servants; saying it trivializes a highly revered Hindu deity.
 
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, urged Tokyo headquartered Delightworks Inc. to withdraw the character of goddess Parvati in its free-to-play FGO video game, whose tagline is “This is a story about taking back our future”.
 
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that in this mobile game set-up, the player became the Master who summoned and commanded servants controlling their movements, including goddess Parvati; while in reality the devotees put the destinies of themselves in the hands of their deities.
 
Moreover, goddess Parvati depicted in FGO appeared more like a belly-dancer than the Hindu deity devotees were used to seeing, Rajan Zed pointed out, and termed it as incredibly disrespectful.
 
Zed indicated that reimagining Hindu scriptures, symbols, concepts and deities for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees. Controlling and manipulating goddess Parvati by the game-player was denigration. Goddess Parvati was meant to be worshipped in temples and home shrines and not to be reduced to just a “servant” in a video game to be used in combat in the virtual battleground.
 
Rajan Zed further said that Hindus were for free speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at belittling it hurt the devotees. Video game makers should be more sensitive while handling faith related subjects, as these games left lasting impact on the minds of highly impressionable children, teens and other young people, Zed added.
 
Hindus welcomed entertainment industry to immerse in Hinduism but taking it seriously and respectfully and not for refashioning Hinduism scriptures, symbols, concepts and deities for mercantile greed. He or other Hindu scholars would gladly provide genuine entertainment industry seekers the resources they needed for their study and research regarding Hinduism, Zed stressed.
 
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. No faith, larger or smaller, should be mishandled, Rajan Zed noted.
 
In this game, Goddess Parvati is shown as carrying Trisula (trident), which is her greatest weapon; while in reality Trisula is Lord Siva’s most powerful weapon. In the game, when Parvati is equipped with Nandi, it increases her performance; but in Hinduism, Nandi is Lord Siva’s mount. This kind of misinformation spreading creates further confusion among non-Hindus about Hinduism, Zed states.
 
Delightworks Inc. undertakes planning, development and management of games. Tactical, turn based FGO, on iOS/Android platform and composed by Kinoko Nasu, is claimed to be “easy to learn, but hard to master”. “Servant” in this game is “an attendant that serves the Master” and follows orders.
 
Goddess Parvati finds mention in Mahabharata and Puranas.

Rubin Museum New York hosting 24-hour ragas festival where one can bring bedding to sleep
 
Rubin Museum of Art (RMA) in New York is hosting “Ragas Live Festival—24 hours of sacred sound” on October 21-22, where guests with a $280 ticket get handpicked gallery sleeping spot under an artwork and may bring bedding.
 
Starting 10 am on October 21 and ending at 10 am on October 22, this overnight Indian classical music concert, whose tagline is “Color your mind at Ragas Live Festival”, includes performances by over 50 master musicians and is a first for RMA. Museum will also provide lounge areas in the lobby for naps and spaces where guests can make themselves cozy.
 
A worldwide audience will share this “immersive 24-hour global listening experience” in real time via a live radio broadcast. Museum Café will serve “mango lassis”, and the event includes meditation and traditional Hindu sunrise puja (prayer).
 
Musical instruments to be used during the festival include sitar, kanjira, tabla, bansuri, sarod, sarangi, harmonium, mridangam, santoor, etc. It would showcase some hundreds of years old compositions and includes many artists from India.
 
Welcoming RMA for hosting festival of ragas, which were historically integral to Hinduism with roots going back to ancient Vedas, distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and the elements of musical theory were first found in Sama-Veda.
 
Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d’Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to frequently organize Hindu art/culture focused exhibitions/shows/concerts, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.
 
Ragas are stated to be melodies with highest expression of Indian classical music and envisioned as manifestation of the divine. Some are associated with various Hindu deities like Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, etc. Sage Narada is said to have played some ragas. Many ragas produce feeling of reverence, hope, passion, love, joy, devotion, peace, etc. Effects of ragas have been described as bringing dead back to life, curing madness, causing rain, starting fire, etc.
 
RMA claims to “spark new ways of seeing the world”, hosts “out-of-the-ordinary experiences” and has welcomed over 1.4 million visitors. With five gallery floors, it describes itself as “space to contemplate ideas that extend across history and span human cultures”. Robert M. Baylis and Patrick Sears are Trustees President and Executive Director respectively.
 
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about 1.1 billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA.