Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate an ambitious, 108-foot-tall “Statue of Oneness” of Acharya Shankar on September 18 in Omkareshwar, Madhya Pradesh. The PM will also speak to a gathering of Hindu ascetics.CM Shivrajs plansShivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, had planned a museum and educational facility as part of Omkareshwar Project Ekatm Dham in 2021, emphasising the importance of Advaita Vedanta philosophy.In January 2022, the projects final design was completed.The International Advaita Vedanta Sansthan, a Shankaracharya museum, and the Statue of Oneness will be built at Omkareshwar with funding approved by the Madhya Pradesh cabinet totaling ₹2,141 crores.The project decodedThe project is scheduled to be finished by 2026, and the state administration, which is governed by the BJP, will inaugurate the statue before the state assembly election that is scheduled for this winter.Know more about Acharya ShankarAcharya Shankar was born in the Keralan town of Kaladi, and when he was just 8 years old, he traveled to Omkareshwar in the quest of a guru. The Indian Vedic scholar and instructor from the eighth century. He synthesised the Advaita Vedanta teachings of the day in his works, which give a harmonising reading of the sastras with liberating knowledge of the self at its center.An officer of the state tourism department, who didnt wish to be named, said, “The statue work was to be completed by October this year, but was sped up on instructions of the government, the work. More than 100 experts from two multinational companies and more than 50 state government officials are working 24×7 to complete the work of installation of the statue by September 10.”Once the statue is installed, the officials said the beautification work at the site will start. “The work of murals and paintings of Advaita philosophy, museum, and institute will be completed by 2026,” another official aware of the development said.Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, had planned a museum and educational facility as part of Omkareshwar Project Ekatm Dham in 2021, emphasising the importance of Advaita Vedanta philosophy.About the launchIn January 2022, the projects final design was completed.The International Advaita Vedanta Sansthan, a Shankaracharya museum, and the Statue of Oneness will be built at Omkareshwar with funding approved by the Madhya Pradesh cabinet totaling ₹2,141 crore.The project is scheduled to be finished by 2026, and the state administration, which is governed by the BJP, will inaugurate the statue before the state assembly election that is scheduled for this winter.More on the same“The statue is made up of bronze and the inner body is of high-quality stainless steel. The statue is being installed on 16 feet high lotus which would be on 75 feet high pedestal,” he said.He claimed that the painting of Acharya Shankar was created by renowned Mumbai artist Vasudev Kamat, and that 11 eminent Indian sculptors were then chosen to create the statue designs to ensure authenticity. They were chosen from those to create larger statues. Sculptor Bhagwan Rampure developed final statue design,” the architect said.
