Upset Hindus are seeking relocation of Lord Brahma Shrine, located outside iconic Caesars Palace casino on the Las Vegas strip, which they call sacrilegious.
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that it was highly insensitive, disrespectful and out-of-line to place the creator god Brahma in front of a gambling establishment, next to Hell’s Kitchen showing devil’s pitchfork whose signature dish is Beef Wellington, a show tent hosting “adults-only circus variety show featuring a cocktail of wild and outlandish acts”, and a cocktail bar.
Lord Brahma was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be denigrated like this. Inappropriate usage of sacred Hindu deities or concepts or symbols or icons for other agendas was not okay as it hurt the devotees; Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out.
Rajan Zed urged Tom Reed, Chief Executive Officer of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (of which Caesars Palace is a part), whose “Core Values” included “conduct operations responsibly”; to relocate Brahma Shrine to an appropriate location. Casinos should not be in the business of trivializing sacred Hindu deities, which was painful to the Hindus world over, he added.
Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.2 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, Zed noted.
Brahma Shrine includes a bronze statue of four-faced and eight-armed seated Lord Brahma. There are about three million Hindus in the USA.
Caesars Entertainment, Inc. claims to be the “global leader in gaming and hospitality”, “the largest casino-entertainment Company in the U.S. and one of the world’s most diversified casino-entertainment providers”, and “operates on four continents”. It states: “Caesars Entertainment is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen”.
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