STATUE OF GARUDA WISNU KENCANA IN BALI

WORK ON STATUE OF GARUDA 
WISNU KENCANA RESUMES IN BALI

www.indonesia.travel - After a hiatus of 16 years, work on the colossal Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue on Bali will finally resume and will take three years to complete, said I Nyoman Nuarta, Indonesia's maestro sculptor and creator of Bali's iconic statue. Having been postponed since 1997, this magnificent monument is projected to become an exceptional landmark for Indonesia's tourism in this modern age. 
Upon completion, the Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) statue will be the largest and tallest statue in the world. Depicting Lord Vishnu mounting the mythical Garuda bird, the statue is planned to reach a total height of 413 feet, weighing no less than 3,000 tons. The majestic GWK statue will then stand taller than the 305 foot Statue of Liberty in New York, United States.

Placed in the Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) Cultural Park - a 593 acre tourism park sited on the Bukit Peninsula, the limestone plateau that faces Uluwatu due west and Nusa Dua due east - the 75 foot high head and torso of Lord Vishnu today already stands in place and is the focal point of the park. 
Conceptualized by sculptor, I Nyoman Nuarta, actual work on the statue is, nonetheless, not undertaken in Bali, but in the artist's workshop, NuArt Studio, in the mountain town of Bandung in West Java, involving many artists and experts from various fields to work in this mega project. The entire project will feature two gigantic statues: the head and half torso of Wisnu (Vishnu), and the full form of the Garuda bird.

The Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue or GWK is picturing Lord Vishnu riding on the back of the mythical bird Garuda.The statue and its pedestal building will stand 413 feet high (almost 126 meters) and it will be the second tallest statue in the world - the first is the Spring Temple Buddha statue in China (128 meters) high. This incredible monument will be visible from a 20 Km distance. Lord Vishnu is the one who lives in the hearts of all living beings. He is called Narayana, which means the shelter, resting place or ultimate goal of all living entities. He is also called Hari, or one who removes the darkness of the illusion that makes us believe that we are independent beings who are living apart from, or without connection to God. Garuda, the carrier of Lord Vishnu is a giant eagle. In the śāstras it is said that Garuḍa is a very powerful incarnation of the Brahman feature of the Lord. (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Generally the Vishnu form is manifested with four hands holding four objects - a conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower. However, here Lord Vishnu is described as possessing eight arms with eight kinds of weapons. ... Since the Lord is the supreme controller, whatever is in His hand can be considered a weapon. Four hands hold four kinds of weapons, and the extra four hands hold an arrow, bow, trident and snake. ... He is never alone. Consequently there is no question of the Lord’s being impersonal. He is always Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His associates are also persons. From the description given in this verse, Garuda appears to belong to the Kinnara planet. The inhabitants of the Kinnara planet have the same features as Garuda. Their bodily features are like those of a human being, but they have wings.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa)
Canto 4: “The Creation of the Fourth Order”
Chapter 30: “The Activities of the Pracetās”
Verse 6 - http://vedabase.com/en/sb/4/30/6

 

Published by dasavatara das - “Vedic Views on World News”
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/