Member-only story
What does the statue of dancing Nataraja symbolise in the premises of the CERN?
On 18th June 2004, CERN unveiled an unusual landmark, a two-meter tall bronze statue of the dancing Nataraja, a portrayal of the Hindu deity Lord Shiva as a divine dancer. The statue was a gift from the government of India to celebrate its association with CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) in Geneva, Switzerland. This deity was appropriately chosen by the Indian government because of the metaphor drawn between the modern scientific study on the ‘cosmic dance of subatomic particles’ and the ‘cosmic dance of Lord Shiva’ according to Hinduism. (Hinduism is a philosophy of life, contributed by several seers and philosophers, and it is not a religion).
Let us discuss how the revered gift to CERN, the statue of dancing Lord Shiva, is a significant metaphor in understanding the cosmos*.
CERN, an international scientific organization established for high-energy particle physics, is seeking to unlock the laws of nature leading to understanding the mysteries of our universe. Several dedicated scientists from more than 100 countries and 680 institutions are contributing to the research. The Shiva statue is one of the many statues and art pieces at CERN. It was appropriate for CERN to consider the dancing Shiva for its ongoing research on the universe.
Our universe: We are all made up of matter, you, me, stars, galaxy, inter galaxy, the entire universe and it has energy. According to our present knowledge based on the Quantum Field Theory, the matter is made of several particles like photons, gluons, gravitons and bosons and these particles are continuously created and destroyed. Quantum field theory underlines the rhythm of creation and destruction as the basis of matter in the universe implying every particle performs a galactic dance. A question arises, when and how will our universe end? No one can answer now. We can only say that when all the matter and space-time in the universe collapse into a dimensionless singularity back to the condition similar to the beginning of the universe with the Big Bang, our universe will cease to exist.
Cosmic force-Lord Shiva: According to ancient Hindu philosophy, three-cosmic forces are controlling the cosmos. These cosmic forces are named as the ‘creator of the…
