Hindus are upset at the artwork depicting TV star Kim Kardashian, 33, as a Hindu deity, which they say hurt the feelings of devotees and is irreverence and trivialization of the sacred.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was highly inappropriate that Kardashian was shown as Hindu deity in an exhibition in New York recently. Hindu deities were highly revered in Hinduism and were meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be substituted with faces of Hollywood stars for dramatic effects.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged Kardashian to strongly condemn this denigrating depiction of herself as Hindu deity and approach the New York graphic designer and artist Hannah Kunkle (who created it) to immediately withdraw it from public view.

Rajan Zed also urged Kunkle to publicly apologize to disturbed Hindus and to remove it from her website and not put it for public displays in the future. Equating Kardashian with god and showing her as divine was simply not acceptable.

Zed argued that Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly. No faith, larger or smaller, should be ridiculed at; Zed said and added that inappropriate use of Hinduism concepts and symbols was not okay.

Rajan Zed stated that Hindus welcomed artists to immerse in Hinduism but taking it seriously and respectfully and not just for improper showing of Hindu symbols and concepts to advance their selfish agenda. Casual flirting sometimes resulted in pillaging serious spiritual doctrines and revered symbols. Hindus were for free speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at belittling it hurt the devotees. Artists should be more sensitive while handling faith related subjects, Zed pointed out.

Kunkle recently held a public art exhibition of graphic Photoshop collages titled “The Passion of Kim Kardashian” at Palisades in Brooklyn, New York, created under her Kim Kardashian project.

Kim Kardashian (Keeping Up with the Kardashians) is an American television and social media personality, fashion designer, actress, businesswoman, socialite and model.

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