I despite being Muslim, picked up the picture of Lord Ganesha from.............?

Salaamun alaikum bro. It is incumbent upon muslims to have love peace, and compassion for your fellow mankind regardless of what thier religion. Just because one does not take Allah as thier Lord, does not at all mean they do not respect Him. Just because one does not become muslim does not mean they are bad. I myself respect many things, Brahman included. If it is created by Allah and is good, why would I show disdain for it? I just will not take as my Lord, yet show much love for insha' Allah (if it is good as that is with Allah). Of course, this will be considered ***** to many muslims, but that will be between me and Allah.

There was nothing wrong with what you did bro, and don't let another tell you otherwise. Islam stands for Peace, and what would a muslim be if he did not practice a religion of peace?

May Allah always grant the best. Ameen.

NO

you didnt say anything wrong at all.

Probably that is why Prophet Mohammad p.b.u.h. prohibited any depiction of the God so that there is no disrespect done to the depiction.

I applaud and appreciate your effort to give respect to the depiction of a Hindu God. Thank you.

Here I'd also like to say that Sanatan Dharma more popularly known as Hinduism has made a distinction between the sacred and its depiction too. Hinduism is a religion wherein faith and respect are for the Supreme worshipped thru physical depictions. At the same time the physical depictions are not to be confused with the absolute. They are just finite representations of the infinite hence cannot be seen as the absolute. Also a depiction when at proper place and with proper respect generates that devotion which it is intended to for the Supreme. the depiction itself on a physical level is nuthing more than clay/paper/metal/stone/wood. It is when the Hman emotion sees in it the reflection of the Supreme is when it becomes revered and respected. This distinction is necessary. Because the physical form is meant to be destroyed as is human body, what remains is the soul which in us humans is a reflection of the Divine itself. and it is the soul which remains unscathed even by death of he physical self. In the same way when reverence is gone the physical depiction is nothing more than physical matter, and hence much thought or attachment is not advised to such things.

Our ultimate goal is to detach ourselves from this physical world and merge into the etheral world of the Supreme where he is ever present and is ever loving.

Thanks again for ur efforts and for this question.

God Bless

I hope that you would have retrieved the card with Lord Ganesha's image on it had you been a Christian or a Buddhist or a Jain or a Sikh or a Parsi or.....whatever your Faith. What I do not understand is WHY you had the need to emphasize that you did so "despite" you being a Muslim ? Are you suggesting that other Muslims, or people of other Faiths, or even Hindus, would not have been so respectful ? One has to respect ALL religions and Faiths -- no matter what. Having said all this, I am very glad and grateful that you showed respect for Lord Ganesha's Image and retrieved it.

Thank you, capn' edib.

Your action shows you have respect for the divine and some understanding of concept of god as well as the reasoning behind depicting god in different forms.

Everything that is created in this world gets destroyed be it paper, stone , cement. Only the time and method varies.

The reason god is depicted in form of picture/idol is to give the seeker some visual identification of what he/she is praying, it becomes unnecessary once you understand the concept but till then its kind of helpful.

Now knowing the reasoning behind having portraits/idols of god , it is each individuals decision to decide how to treat it. The way you treat such portraits/representations indicates your level of understanding of the divine or your level of awareness.

So in this case that you mentioned the incident throws light on people who printed that photo, those who threw it on road/floor and those who swept it with broom. They either do not respect that deity or are just not aware of how to respect its form. Or those people are so evolved in their spiritual quest that they really dont make any distinction cause for them god is everywhere.

Ironically it also underlines the universal truth, everything thats created gets destroyed and photos/idols are just that nothing else unless you attach any meaning/importance to them.

According to Hinduism god is everywhere, hence respect and pray during all your daily activities because thats the only way you are going to be able to fully comprehend this concept.

No. you are right.

But at the same time all stones are not Siva lingas and all pictures won't represent god.

As you know all invitation cards, calenders depicting Gods reach one day or other to garbage.

It is our minds which attributes values.

Like your self if you can keep respect and love about God in our minds no external images required.

But for the most of the people require some external symbols to remind God.

Continuous reminder of gods existence with out symbols is a advanced stage of religious practise. Hinduism and Christianity encourages this as a part of religious practise.

I respect yr respect for others if it is genuine and not just for scoring points. However Hindus do not feel insulted at the drop of a hat and raise Hell.

If some one cannot stand the glory of the sun and starts slinging mud at it, he or she only exposes stupidity. The Sun remains un affected. Hindus know what they have and Its glory can not be touched by pictures of deities in mud nor are our deities so narrow minded.

Thanks for the sermon, and you were right.

BUT your motives were wrong. You did not rescue that Ganesha picture for the right reason, you did it to spite your Hindu co-worker (not friends) and show the superiority of your religion over theirs. That is nothing to be proud of.

In nature no act is right or wrong by itself. it is the motive behind that act is important. If you really were good you would have just did the act, with pure thought of saving the work of art it would have been appreciated.

We also create beautiful work of art during various pujas like Durga, Ganesh and others. We invoke, and see God in them, and then we also immerse them in the water. This is not an insult to any God. It is to show that God is present everywhere and everything. God is not insulted, we insult over selves if we hurt someones feeling. There is deeper meaning, which may not be apparent to others who have nor evolved to that state of mind.

Captain I have seen your postings and I new your motives were not pure. You can fool some people for sometime, but you can not fool all foe ever. Anybody who does not know you should read your answers, specially

A Question To Muslims About The Double Standards Of Their Religion???

You are a honey coated Hindu basher. I know your color. I have made a promise not to write anything about other religion, as I do not know about it, but I can spot a Hindu basher anytime. Please do not glorify your religion, by putting down other religion. Nimmy please pay attention I agreed with you not to write bad about other religion, but you are almost on the line.

Your gesture is really apreciated and hope you will be rewarded for the same by Almighty Allah for putting your efforts to bring the just and reasonable people close together and show the true spirit of Islam.

Now, There are three catagories of people One who believe Allah and at the same time believe that his being is above every creation and he created the universes , time , space and energy etc without being the part of anything.And he needs nothing for his existence and manifestation. He is Subhanahu tala.( Greatest and without any need of anything).

Second catagory of the people who believe that he is inside everything and every creation of the univese is the part of his being. They search him in pictures , idols and in nature. This is basically a concept of limiting him in the restrictions. and this is Shirk.

Third catagory of people do not even believe in Allah and his being as a grand reason of all creations. They are either misusing or not at all using the bounty given to them as Intellect and conciousness.

Now the reply of your question.

If you respect the feeling of others and show the gesture it is something like the same as any Hindu see a piece of paper in the dust bin where Some Quranic Ayat Like 'Bismillah-irrahmanirrahim' or any other one is written and he places it respectfully at some justified place or handover it to any Muslim friend. But it should be with the respect mark only not with any criticism or sermon.

The depiction of picture of muhammad ( SAW) is restricted for many others reasons. I believe the reason given by you was not applicable that time when it was restricted. Allah Aalam.

Wassalam

This is why I, despite being a devout hindu, have ALWAYS opposed the printing of hindu deities on paper.....

Hinduism itself has prohibited this and it is precisely because the ancients knew that the idols would not be respected...I get so angry at the fact that Hindus are doing nothing to reform their religion....we print hindu deities on sweet boxes, incense tins, cloting, shopping bags, calendars - all of which end up in the bin...we have them as cartoon characters....Hindus dont appreciate that they are making their religion so cheap in the eyes of the world by allowing their religion to become decadent...we have preserved our religion in such a bad state and poor condition.....No wonder that the gods are so angry with us.......

Hinduism needs SERIOUS reform and renaissance on a MASSIVE scale......

I get so angry at the apathy and docility of hindus...they are sleeping...Why can't we be more proactive....it seems that we are only good at being controlled rather than being in control....

I appreciate your gesture. No you did not say any thing wrong. The best part of this whole event is your being faithful to the teachings of Payagambar Saheb. You are a true Musalman. You know your religion so you can respect other religions too. May Allah always bless you.