BERN: A statue of Lord Shiva has been adorned at the CERN, Switzerland, home to Large Hadron Collider. Unveiled on June 18, 2004, the two-metre-tall statue was a gift from the Government of India. The statue is attached with a plaque explaining its significance. “Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our time, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance. The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art, and modern physics.”
The statue shows Shiva performing the Tandava, a dance believed to be the source of the cycle of creation, preservation, and destruction. Post-doc student working at CERN, Aidan Randle-Conde said, “In the light of day, when CERN is teeming with life, Shiva seems playful, reminding us that the universe is constantly shaking things up, remaking itself and is never static. But by night, when we have more time to contemplate the deeper questions Shiva literally casts a long shadow over our work, a bit like the shadows on Plato's cave.”
The CERN has even faced flak for putting up the statue, mainly because it has been accused of playing God to conservative Christians. CERN explained that they decided to put up a statue of 'The Destroyer' as since India was one of the institute's observer states, it represented CERN's multiculturalism with scientists from across the globe.
