Upset Hindus urge Brazilian brewery to withdraw Ganesha & Vishnu beers

Upset Hindus have urged Amparo (Sao Paulo, Brazil) based ?award-winning? Cervejaria Ashby brewery to apologize and withdraw Ganesha and Vishnu beers; calling these highly inappropriate.

?Ganesha Ambar IPA? and ?Vishnu Red IPA? beers carry the picture of respective Hindu deity.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts or symbols for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, indicated that Lord Ganesha and Lord Vishnu were highly revered in Hinduism and they were meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be used in selling beer for mercantile greed. Moreover, linking these deities with an alcoholic beverage was very disrespectful, Zed added.

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 frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed noted.

Cervejaria Ashby, which describes itself as ?Brazilian breakfast tradition since 1993? and claims to be the ?first microbrewery in Brazil?, states: The Brewery unites the tradition of the best brewery schools in the world with the Brazilian flavor. Ashby; whose products include beer, chopps and California cooler; claims to have over 100 distributors serving the states of S?o Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Esp?rito Santo, Paran? and Goi?s. Scott Alan Ashby, founder and master-brewer of the brewery, is stated to have graduated as a brewmaster at California University. It claims to be ?inspired by the North American and European breweries? and uses water from Serra da Mantiqueira.

Vishnu Red IPA, with 45 IBU, has alcohol content of 5.8%; while Ganesha Ambar IPA, with 40 IBU, has alcohol content of 5.4%. Amparo, known for its Winter Festival, is the seat of Roman Catholic Diocese of Amparo.

Company :-Universal Society of Hinduism

User :- Rajan Zed

Email :-rajanz@aol.com