View Single Post
Old 08-06-2004, 10:01 PM  
Mike Okitch
Confirmed User
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Posts: 4,126
Quote:
Originally posted by =^..^=
he wanted the swastika as his trademark because it is the Hindu Cross of Good Luck
Rare to see someone in the know on this board

http://www.falundafa.org/eng/falun.htm

Some Notes on the History of the Wan (Swastika) Symbol

The English and German word Swastika is derived from the Sanskrit word: Svastikah, which means "being fortunate." The first part of the word, SVASTI-, can be divided into two parts: SU- (good; well), and -ASTI- (is.) The -ASTIKAH part just means "being". The word is associated with auspicious things in India ? because it means "auspicious." In India, both clockwise and counterclockwise swastikas were used, with different meanings.

Since the swastika is a simple symbol, it has been used, perhaps independently, by many human societies. One of the oldest known swastikas was painted on a paleolithic cave at least 10,000 years ago. About 2,000 years ago, when Buddhism was brought to China from India, the Chinese also borrowed the swastika and its sense of auspiciousness. In China, the swastika is considered to be a Chinese character with the reading of "Wan" (in Mandarin). It is also thought to be equivalent to another Chinese character with the same pronunciation, which means '"ten thousand; a large number; all."

The swastika symbol has been used for thousands of years among practically every group of humans on the planet. It was known to Germanic tribes as the "Cross of Thor," and it is interesting that the Nazis did not use that term, which is consistent with German history, but instead preferred to "steal" the Indian term "swastika." As the "Cross of Thor," the symbol was even brought to England by Scandinavian settlers in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, long before Hitler. Even more interesting, the sign has been found on Jewish temples from 2000 years ago in Palestine, so Hitler was (inadvertently?) "stealing" a Jewish symbol as well as an Indian one.

In the Americas, the swastika was used by Native Americans in North, Central, and South America. According to Joe Hofler, who also refers to Dr. Kumbari of the museum of Urumqi in Xinjiang, China, the Indo-Aryans of the Germanic branch traveled into Europe around 2,000 BC and brought with them the swastika symbol (sun disk) of their religious art at that time as shown by excavations of Kurgan graves on the steppes of Russia and Indo-Aryan graves in Xinjiang, China.

So it's Hitler who ripped the swastika off.
__________________
SIG TOO BIG! Maximum 120x60 button and no more than 3 text lines of DEFAULT SIZE and COLOR. Unless your sig is for a GFY top banner sponsor, then you may use a 624x80 instead of a 120x60.
Mike Okitch is offline   Share thread on Digg Share thread on Twitter Share thread on Reddit Share thread on Facebook Reply With Quote