Jacdau2@poky.interspeed.net

Prior Protests

9 April 1999

From: Jacdau2@aol.com

Hi,

I was doing some research at Hindunt.org when I came across the following post. Thought that it was very interesting. Would be fascinated to learn if there was any impact on the Hercules show based on this article. Seem
familiar?

JacQuest

ARTICLE : Hindu deities on Hercules TV show
Posted By tkd (tkd@calweb.com)
Fri, 12 Sep 1997 21:22:10 -0700

Namaste. I thought you might be concerned to find out that the producersof the Hercules TV show are intending to do a series where Hercules encounters "Hindu deities." The hero or main character of the "Hercules" show is supposedly the Greek god Hercules. The program regularly features fictional accounts of him fighting with other Greek
"gods." It is entirely fictional, but the so-called Greek gods are manipulated by the scriptwriters and oftentimes appear selfish, lustful, vengeful, conniving, etc., and of course are always defeated by Hercules.

My concern is that the scriptwriters may not treat the "Hindu deities," or Hindu religion and Vedic philosophy with any degree of respect. Rather, they may try to manipulate "Hindu deities" in the same manner as they have done with the Greek "gods." Thus, Hercules may have fictional encounters with the demigods or even Vishnu-tattva in which either the
demigods or Vishnu-tattva are treated disrespectfully or made out to be flawed characters. I am sending a letter to the producers of the show advising them that the Vedic religion is not fictional, and should be
treated with great respect.

It is my hope you will also write the producers of this show a letter discouraging them from treating Hindu beliefs lightly, and that you will encourage your many contacts around the world to do the same. To this end, I am enclosing their address herewith:

Hercules Productions
c/o Pacific Renaissance Pictures
P.O. Box 90409
Auckland Mail Centre
Auckland, New Zealand
FAX: 64-9-820-3838 (this includes country code, area code and local
number)

Due to the timeliness of the situation (perhaps the episodes have not yet been filmed) it would probably be better to fax, rather than mail, your letter.

Information about the upcoming Hercules series can be found in the current (September 6-12) issue of TV Guide magazine, which I quote as follows:

"Hercules: the Legendary Journeys (premieres week of September 29) Harpies, giants, pirates, Hindu deities-and a mysterious new friend-await Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) as his travels enter year four. The season opener recalls "Jack and the Beanstalk" and introduces the Harpies, half human-half bird creatures that Sorbo calls "really, really nasty." Lucy Lawless (of Xena: Warrior Princess) guest-stars as a 1930s-style mobster moll in a parallel universe episode." (page 75)

I think from the verbiage in the article itself that you can see that everything is treated in a very fictional manner. We feel it would be very unfortunate if they were to treat Lords Rama, Krishna, Vishnu, or Shiva, etc., in the same manner.
Thank you very much for your attention to this matter.

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Hecate@ida.net

Hi,

Was reading the AHAD web site looking at their previous protests. Two comments from this protest.

Firstly, Areosmith in a letter to the media claim to have obtained permission from 'International Society for Krishna Consciousness'. Its my understanding that this organisation is an affiliate of the very group who are protesting. It would seem to me that whoever TPTB got to give them advise on 'The Way' they would still have got in trouble. If fact I wonder if the 'AHAD' group would have still protested even if they did advise or give permission as they did with Areosmith.

Secondly, I wonder how Areosmith fans and Sony handled the protest. Can we learn any lessons from the Areosmith fans? Does anyone know of any Areosmith groups similar to ours. From the AHAD website it would seem that Sony did not apologize or pull the record cover.

Liz

http://hindunet.org/anti_defamation/sony/aerosmith_pr.html

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Hindu Anti-Defamation

Our basic Hindu premise is the Rig Vedic belief, Ekam Satah Viprah Bahudha Vadanti, which means that "The Truth is One, but the Wise See it in Different Ways." Acceptability of all paths as true is the cornerstone of all Hindu thought processes.

We Hindus welcome philosophical disagreements, and criticism of Hindu social practices. However, every once in a while, some prominent person or media maliciously assails Hindu dharma. For some, Hindu bashing is a favorite hobby, for some it is fashionable while yet others have used it for political and financial gains.

While we do not believe in an organized form of religion, we do believe that the followers of Hindu dharma need to be organized to take up the challenged posed by the these detractors of Hindu dharma. These pages are intended be the watch dog for anti-Hindu activities. Whether you are a Hindu or not, you are invited to participate on these pages, to point out the events and incidents, news items, television shows etc. that you perceive to be anti-Hindu.

We also invite you to participate in the Hindu activist movements. We will also provide an action plan for countering such propaganda. The action plan will be include Letter Writing, calling, or faxing. If Hindu dharma has to counter the anti-Hindu onslaught, all of us Hindus must join forces.

 "An Invitation to Join AHADC"

March 27, 1997Saprem Namaskar,

We would like to invite you and your organization to join the American Hindu Anti-Defamation Coalition (AHADC).

AHADC is a task force, an entity, convened to address the issue of the Aerosmith music group using the disfigured picture of Bhagwan Shree Krishna on the cover of its latest album "Nine Lives"

AHADC consists of temples, cultural and religious organizations, and concerned citizens convened to act on this important issue. There is no formal membership in AHADC. We merely ask that if you and your organization agree to the following points, you join fellow Hindus all over the USA. These points are :

We believe that Shree Krishna is a prominent Hindu representation of God. Shree Krishna represents auspiciousness to several hundred million Hindus around the world.

We believe that the picture of Shree Krishna should only be kept in places where it is accorded proper respect. It should not be disfigured for commercial gains or trivializing His importance.

We believe that the cover of Aerosmith album is easily recognizable by Hindus everywhere as that of Shree Krishna's battle with Kalia (Kaliya), a serpent demon.

We believe that the placing disfigured picture of Shree Krishna, replacing His upper body with a woman's upper body and replacing His face with that of a cat is highly offensive and
objectionable to Hindus.

We request that Sony/Columbia take into account the sensitivities of the Hindu community and immediately replace the cover of t his album.

We also request the Hindu organizations and temples to join AHADC for the singular purpose of protesting Sony/Columbia's insensitivities against the Hindu community.

We request those who practice Hindu dharma in one of its many forms to write to Sony/Columbia expressing their outrage at the disfiguring of Shree Krishna..

The coalition plans to contact theSony/Columbia with a letter containing the points mentioned above points. We request that you contact your local Hindu organizations and ask them to sign this letter.

The coalition may also publish newspaper advertisements on this issue, containing the points mentioned above and signature of participating organizations.

Please note that AHADC is a single issue task force. Names of the signatories will not be used for any purpose other than the points represented above. We hope that your organization or temple finds this issue meritorious and worthy of importance placed on it.

We urge you to join AHADC

Sincerely,

Ajay Shah, Chetan Tanna, Vaani Chawla
for American Hindu Anti-Defamation Coalition
and Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (World Hindu Council)

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