Page 1 - tapova prasad sept-2024

Hindu Gods in the Grand Canyon!

ast month, I visited one of the seven natural wonders of the
Lworld – the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA – an awe-inspiring
mystery and marvel of Nature. This amazing National Park and
a UNESCO World Heritage Site is 446 km long, 29 km wide, and
1.8 km deep. However, my greatest surprise, as I stood on the
South Rim of the Canyon, was seeing a beautiful peak called
the Shiva Temple in the distance. Soon thereafter, I discovered
Vishnu and Brahma Temples and Schists as well as ‘shrines’ named
1
after Shri Rama and Lord Krishna!
Astonished and intrigued, I decided to investigate how
these peaks were given the names of our Gods. It was US Army
officer, cartographer, geologist, and philosopher Clarence Dutton
who started this naming convention with his intensive mapping
and analysis of the Canyon’s rock layer in the 1870s. Dutton
felt that the “splendor and grace of Nature’s architecture” were
2
never more at display than at the Grand Canyon and believed
that its majestic features should reflect all the world’s cultures.
Therefore, he named the largest and grandest of the buttes as the
Shiva Temple. Subsequent surveyors followed this tradition.
The Vishnu, Brahma, and Rama names were chosen to
highlight the ancient, foundational nature of the rocks (the
basement of the entire Grand Canyon area) dating back over two
billion years – perhaps as a tribute to Hinduism as one of the oldest
surviving religions in the world.
Like Dutton, we cannot but stand in reverence and wonder
at the power and grandeur of Nature. We cannot but marvel at the
magnificence of the Great Artist who pervades His creation.
May we see His divine play everywhere. May we ‘see’
the Artist behind all His alluring art.

1 A metamorphic rock type that is commonly formed by the Editorial
pressure of overlying sediments for millions of years.
2 Tertiary History of the Grand Canyon District, 1882.

Tapovan Prasad 7 September 2024