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Heidi Klum faces flak from Hindus for posing as Goddess Kali

     Washington: Heidi Klum, who dressed up as Hindu goddess Kali, who symbolises death and destruction, for her Halloween bash, has left the Hindu community in America fuming. The German supermodel dressed up as Kaali for the Halloween party at her place on Oct 31, and was even awarded for the best costume of the night. And now upset Hindus have asked Klum to make a public apology for posing as a sacred figure. "Goddess Kali is highly revered in Hinduism and she is meant to be worshipped in temples and not to be used in clubs for publicity stunts or thrown around loosely for dramatic effects," Contactmusic quoted Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed as saying. He added: "Hindus welcome Hollywood and other entertainment industries to immerse themselves in Hinduism, but they should take it seriously and respectfully, and not just use the religion for decoration or to advance their selfish agenda. "Casual flirting sometimes results in pillaging serious spiritual doctrines and revered symbols and hurting the devotees." Other than Zed, various Hindu leaders, including Jawahar L. Khurana of the Hindu Alliance of India, and Bhavna Shinde of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, have condemned Klum for posing as Goddess Kali. They went to the extent of calling Klum's act as "denigrating". Goddess Kali, who personifies Sakti or divine energy, is widely worshipped in Hinduism. She is considered the goddess of time and change. Some Bengali poets described her as supreme deity.
- Nov 4, 2008