HPI
LONDON, ENGLAND, September 23, 2005: With advice from Swamini Atmaprakashananda of the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, the Hindu Human Rights group in London has decided how to dispose of 500 pairs of designer shoes with a picture of Lord Rama handed over to them. Hindus in UK did not want the shoes to be disposed off in any manner as the sacred image was on the shoes. The challenge was then what to do with the image and how should it be removed without further hurting the sentiments of a billion Hindus. At a meeting, it was concluded that all the images of Lord Rama be peeled off the shoes whilst chanting “Jai Shri Rama.” The shoes were then burnt in a fire with shlokas of Rama chanted by everyone. The images of Lord Rama will be submerged in the holy Ganga as an act of Visarjana (farewell, the conclusion of a festival when temporary images of the Deity are submersed in the ocean or a river).