CERN Shiva
A symbol of the friendship between CERN and India became the focus of a viral video
The giant particle accelerator on the Swiss-French border is not without controversy. While very few people will worry about it now, the Large Hadron Collider of CERN was the center of many conspiracy theories and doomsday predictions. Most of which revolved around the idea of black holes forming in the collider and swallowing the world.
While all of these theories are obviously wrong, the site still has a certain attraction to it. This property is best displayed by a viral video from 2016 based around a statue on the property.
The alleged found footage video shows several individuals in dark hoods chanting around a statue, eventually stabbing a woman as a form of sacrifice. The person who records then screams and runs away, ending the video.
The video went viral and led to a quick denouncement by CERN officials, stating that this is could cause misunderstandings about the scientific nature of the facility. This led to an internal investigation. The statue is under surveillance since the incident, which should prevent future videos. However, that does not stop fans from wanting to visit the statue.
The statue itself is of the Hindu deity Lord Shiva and was donated by the Indian government to CERN in 2004 as a celebration of the long friendship between CERN and the country. It is believed that Lord Shiva danced the universe into existence, moves it and eventually will extinguish it.
The text on the statue reads:
“O Omnipresent, the embodiment of all virtues, the creator of this cosmic universe, the king of dancers, who dances the Anada Tandava in twilight, I salute thee.” (Source: Verse No. 56, Sivanandalahari by Sri Adi Sankara) Presented by: The Department of Atomic Energy, Fovernment of India
Know Before You Go
The statue is on CERN grounds and cannot be accessed without permission via a tour or similar.
Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders.
Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders.
Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook