Hindu devotees, outraged by Taylor Swift’s new song “Karma”, are demanding an apology from her for trivializing their serious and ancient religious doctrine of karma, calling it totally inappropriate.
Hindu leader Rajan Zed, in a speech in Nevada today, said that true seekers and devotees take the concept of karma seriously; but Swift irreverently trivialized it for his mercantile or self-serving agenda; holding it in vain; and equating karma with a lover, a purring cat on the lap, a man on the screen, a breeze of hair, etc.; and including a lot of swearing in the song “Karma”.
The doctrine of karma has been prevalent in Hindu thought for thousands of years and finds expression in ancient Hindu scriptures such as Brhadaranyaka–Chandogya– Shvetashvatara and others Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Puranas, Dharmasastra, Shatapatha Brahmana; and various sages peered into it. But Swift handled it quickly without regard to the feelings of the devotees; Zed, who is the President of the Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out.
We accept Swift’s belief in karma, which seems to have a large place in Swift’s cosmos; but he should have handled the concept more appropriately, responsibly and carefully; giving due respect to the sentiments of Hindus spread throughout the world, taking karma seriously. Even Sri Krishna in ancient times Bhagavad Gita speaks of karma yoga, the active path of selfless service; Rajan Zed emphasized.
Singer-songwriters should not be in the business of trivializing serious spiritual concepts. Insensitive handling of faith traditions has sometimes resulted in the theft of serious spiritual doctrines and revered symbols, thereby offending devotees; Zed noticed.
He went on to say that Hindus welcome entertainers to immerse themselves in Hindu Dharma and create projects about/around Hindu doctrines; but seriously and respectfully and not for refashioning/redefining the concepts and symbols of Hindu Dharma, as mentioned in the scriptures, for personal agendas. Moreover, any misrepresentation also creates confusion among non-Hindus about Hindu Dharma. He or other Hindu scholars will be happy to help if the industry needs any help in exploring Hindu Dharma, Zed added.
Zed points out that Hindus are for free artistic expression and speech as much as anyone else if not more so. But faith is something sacred and attempts to trivialize it show disrespect for the feelings of the followers.
The lyrics of “Karma” include: “karma is my boyfriend”, “karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend”, “karma is a cat purring in my lap…flexing like a goddamn acrobat”, “karma is the guy on the screen”, etc.
“Karma” is track 11 on “Midnights”, the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on October 21 via Republic Records. His online store sells “KARMA is my boyfriend” (Cropped Ringer t-shirts) for $40 each.
– by Rajan Zed
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