August 20, 2008 – The Chicago Tribune reported in late June, 2008 that Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) carries a series of good luck charms with him. One of those charms is a Hindu brass monkey king. The charm is an image of Hanuman, Hinduism’s monkey god.
Brij Mohan Bhama, a politician associated with the ruling party in India, is a follower of Hanuman and presented the Senator with a 2-foot-high gold-plated Hanuman idol, which had been blessed by a dozen Hindu priests in a special prayer service.According to Bhama, “Obama has deep faith in Lord Hanuman and that is why we are presenting an idol of Hanuman to him.” Bhama also told The Hindu news: “We will ensure that Mr. Obama receives the idol by August 24, a day before the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.” In addition to the idol, Obama will also receive a Hindu hymn book called the Hanuman Chalisa.
Hanuman is a Hindu god worshipped as a symbol of physical strength, perseverance and devotion. Hanuman’s exploits are recounted in a Hindu epic called Ramayana.
Sen. Obama also carries an American Eagle pin given to him by a Native American woman and a poker chip given to him by one of his supporters, a Madonna and child, and a bracelet belonging to a soldier deployed to Iraq.
“This seems to be an odd assortment of trinkets to carry around,” said TVC Executive Director Andrea Lafferty. “Perhaps this collection of lucky charms is symbolic of Obama’s buffet-style religious belief system, nurtured as a child in an Islamic school in Indonesia and for 20 years under the teachings of Black Liberation Theology racist Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
