Hindus upset with goddess Lakshmi image on a Potion promoted as boosting sex

NEVADA - Hindus are upset with image of goddess Lakshmi being used on the bottle of ‘Potion 9′ ‘mood enhancement shots’, which some of the sellers are claiming to boost sex drive.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was very disturbing to see goddess Lakshmi, who was highly revered in Hinduism and worshipped by devotees daily, on the bottle of a potion which some of its retailers claimed to increase “intensity of orgasms”. Lakshmi was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not for pushing such potions for mercantile greed.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged the manufacturer, said to be Brand New Energy, to immediately remove the image of Lakshmi from the Potion bottles which was offensive to the devotees.

Rajan Zed also appealed to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ask the Potion company to withdraw all the bottles with Lakshmi image from the market and not to use the image anymore. Zed also asked online retailer amazon.com, where the one ounce bottle of this Potion was selling for 12.99 dollars, to remove the Potion photo with image of Lakshmi (shown as seated on a lotus flanked by elephants and having four arms and holding lotus in her two hands) from its website.

Lakshmi, or very commonly Sri, is the goddess of good fortune, prosperity, wealth, and beauty. Wife of Lord Vishnu, Lakshmi appears in Vedic texts and finds mention in Vishnu Puran, Ramayan, “Churning of the Ocean”, etc., and is closely associated with most popular Hindu festival Diwali. She is also known as “world-mother”, Zed adds.

Some online retailers of “Potion 9″, liquid mood enhancement shots, describe it as: “marketed towards men and women who are interested in increasing pleasure in their sexual and social lives”, “increase intensity of orgasms”, contains Yohibine HCL which may be used to “boost sex drive, increase penile blood flow and maintain longer and harder erections”, etc. Warnings include, “Do not drive, or operate any machinery after taking this product.”

“Love Potion No. 9″, a famous song written in 1959 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, describes a man seeking help finding love. It was originally performed by the Clovers, but later “The Searchers” (US number three hit in 1965) and other groups also sang it. It features in “American Graffiti” (1973) and finds reference in animated “Shrek 2″ (2004). “Love Potion No. 9″ (1992), about a geek biochemist with no luck with women, is a film directed by Dale Launer and starring Tate Donovan and Sandra Bullock.

FDA, headquartered in Silver Spring (Maryland), besides other things, is also responsible for assuring that foods and dietary supplements are properly labeled. Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg is the Commissioner of Food and Drugs.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. (ANI)