Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva’s mount bull Nandi are among the first 15 “highlights” of large-scale museum project Humboldt Forum in Germany’s Berlin Palace, costing €595 million and opening at the end of 2019.
Designed by Italian architect Franco Stella; there are plans to exhibit 20,000 works of art and nature, spiritual objects and everyday items from Asia, Africa, America and Oceania at the Forum; whose foundation stone was laid in 2013. Both Lord Vishnu and life-sized Nandi will be on the top floor of the four floors of exhibits.
Forum claims to represent “an approach that brings together diverse cultures and perspectives and seeks new insights into topical issues such as migration, religion, and globalization”. It “will serve as a center for art, culture, science, and education dedicated to the cultures of the world…will provide inspiration for a holistic answer to the global issues we face in the twenty-first century…is intended to be a place that brings people together and acts upon the stimulus provided by society”.
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, welcomed prestigious Humboldt Forum for highlighting Hindu religion and heritage.
Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major art museums of the world; including Musee du Louvre and Musee d'Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc.; to frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu heritage with the rest of the world.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about 1.1 billion adherents and moksha (liberation) is its ultimate goal. Lord Vishnu is “preserver” in the Hindu triad with Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva as the aspect of the Supreme. He has ten incarnations to establish dharma (divine law).