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Missouri brewery apologizes & removes beer linked Lord Ganesha image after Hindu protest
 
Springfield (Missouri) based award-winning Springfield Brewing Company (SBC) has apologized and removed Hindu deity Lord Ganesha image portrayed on its Bombay Brown IPA beer label after upset Hindus protested, calling it “highly inappropriate”.
 
“SBC sincerely apologizes to Rajan Zed and The Universal Society of Hinduism for the inappropriate usage of Lord Ganesha on our beer brand, Bombay Brown IPA. It was never our intention to offend any person with the artwork used for this brand”, an SBC release said. Lord Ganesha image associated with Bombay Brown does not show up anymore on the SBC website.
 
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, who spearheaded this protest, in a statement in Nevada today, thanked SBC and its management for understanding the concerns of Hindu community, which thought image of Lord Ganesha on such a product was highly insensitive.
 
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, suggested that companies should send their senior executives for training in religious and cultural sensitivity so that they had an understanding of the feelings of customers and communities when introducing new products or launching advertising campaigns.
 
Rajan Zed had said that inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts or symbols for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.
 
Zed had indicated that Lord Ganesha was highly revered in Hinduism and he was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be used in selling beer for mercantile greed. Moreover, linking a deity with an alcoholic beverage was very disrespectful, Zed added.
 
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. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed had noted.
 
It was deeply trivializing of immensely venerated Hindu deity Lord Ganesha to be portrayed on a beer label sporting a wine/beer glass in one hand, Zed had stated.
 
In Hinduism, Lord Ganesha is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking. There are about three million Hindus in USA.
 
“Bombay Brown” (13 degrees Plato, 35 IBUs, 5.5% by volume) was earlier described as a “session-strength IPA with piney, citrus, and floral notes of American hops balanced by bread-like aromas from a blend of dark malt”. It was stated to be a perfect “complement to our sweet and spicy pizza, The Maui Wowie”.
 
Story behind it given on the SBC website earlier went as: The artwork for this beer features Ganesha, the Hindu deity revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as the lord of beginnings and the lord of obstacles, patron of arts and sciences, and deva of intellect and wisdom.  Brewing is often described as a blend of art and science and Ganesha is a fitting symbol of the brewers’ art.

Besides at the site, the beer manufactured by SBC, a craft brewery in downtown Springfield since 1997, is claimed to be sold in various stores in Missouri and Arkansas; including Wal-Mart, HyVee, Lucky’s Market, Macadoodles, Price Cutter, Harter House, etc. Ashton Lewis is the Master Brewer.
 
Upset Hindus urge Walmart to withdraw Lord “Ganesh Toe Ring” & apologize
 
Upset Hindus are urging multinational retail corporation Walmart to immediately withdraw “Ganesh Toe Ring” from Walmart.com, calling it highly inappropriate.
 
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that Lord Ganesh was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to adorn one’s toe. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts or symbols for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurts the devotees.
 
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, also urged Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and Walmart Board Chairman Gregory B. Penner to offer a formal apology, besides withdrawing “Ganesh Toe Ring” from the website, as this was not the first time for the company to offer such products which were deemed offensive by Hindu devotees.
 
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. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed noted.
 
Zed also urged the withdrawal of another inappropriate product involving Lord Ganesh and being sold at Walmart.com: “Shri Ganesha Belly Button Ring”.
 
In Hinduism, Lord Ganesh is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking. There are about three million Hindus in USA.
 
Hinduism “Ganesh Toe Ring”, described as .925 Sterling Silver, was selling at Walmart.com for $8.99; while “Shri Ganesha Belly Button Ring”, at $14.99, was available in Gold and Silver colors.
 
Walmart, headquartered in Bentonville (Arkansas), whose tagline is “Save money. Live better.”, claims that nearly 270 million customers/members visit its 11,718 retail units in 28 countries and eCommerce websites weekly and its fiscal year 2018 revenue was $500.3 billion. Walmart.com claims to have over 1,000,000 products available online.

Zed urges Australian Hindus to help fellow homeless Australians
 
In view of the growing problem of homelessness in Australia, Australian Hindus have been urged to help the fellow homeless Australians.
 
According to a recently released “The Essential Report” by Essential Research of Australia, about one third Australians “know someone who has experienced homelessness” and 42% worry “if my circumstances change I could become homeless”.
 
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, urged Australian Hindus and Australian Hindu temples to wholeheartedly assist the homeless Australians to help them move out of homelessness cycle. Hinduism told us that serving fellow humans was like serving God itself and charity was one of the major virtues of Hinduism; Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, added.
 
Zed suggested Australian Hindus to show compassion and respect to homeless, help them find shelter, donate, teach them income management and first-aid techniques, serve them meals, link them to available services, help them develop skills, direct them to employment opportunities, be a mentor to somebody and engage in philanthropic work to wipe out homelessness from Australia.
 
Our ancient Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord) clearly stated: Strive constantly to serve the welfare of world—by devotion to selfless work, one attains supreme goal of life. Do your work with welfare of others always in mind; Rajan Zed noted.
 
Zed congratulated the Hindu community in Australia for continuing with the traditional values of hard work, higher morals, stress on education, sanctity of marriage, etc.; amidst so many distractions. He advised Hindus to focus on inner search, stay pure, explore the vast wisdom of scriptures, make spirituality more attractive to youth and children, stay away from the greed, and always keep God in your life.