We learned that the most commonly associated symbol of Judaism is also used frequently in Hinduism. I forgot what our driver told us the 3 points of each triangle stand for, but they are something like God, Brahma, and another Hindu god meaning.We got another lesson when we walked out the door and saw this on the building across the street:
In Hinduism, the swastika was actually originally a sacred symbol. Considered holy and auspicious, facing right it represents the evolution of the universe, facing left it represents the involution of the universe. It’s also used in Buddhism and Jainism. We have seen it in many other places in India – decorations on trucks and autorickshaws, drawings, all over the place. It was the Nazis who took the symbol and corrupted it to what it means today.On another topic, we learned that there were many Jews in residence in India in the past. Jews came to Kerala as early as 500-700 B.C. When we were there (Mattancherry, Kochi), we visited a Jewish synagogue. To enter the synagogue, we had to take our shoes off and could not be bare past the knees, which Grantland pointed out were typical for Indian sites – seems perhaps some of those Indian customs mixed in with the Jewish ones!
Most of the Kochi Jews left India in the 1950s to live in Israel, so not many are living in India still. But it is neat to still see their long history still influencing the town:
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