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| Peace monument, largest pillar-less dome, Pune, MH. littleindia.com |
Often referred to as the Peace monument, it is the world's largest pillar-less dome built in October, 2018 in the city of Pune, Maharashtra. What is unique about this monumental work? It is the brain child of a teacher Dr. Vishwanath Karad, a man with a humble beginning, who took 13 long years to finish the project. The driving forces behind him were his dedication, commitment and, most importantly, inspiration he gained from the greatest leaders of humanity - the teachings of apostles, saints, philosophers and scientists down the ages. This is the reason why the dome houses 54 massive bronze statues of some of the greatest men who enriched the civilizations of various ages and who strode the earth like a Colossus. At a time when we are experiencing unpredictable global politics, misrule by some hot-headed politicians, bullying by certain nations in the Asian theater, utter disregard for the sovereignty of nations, erosion of democratic norms and religious freedom, etc., this monument, it is quite appropriate, is dedicated to "" WORLD PEACE'' As the Vice President Sri Naidu said that ''Indian ethos comprises mutual respect and peaceful coexistence. Unfortunately, it is missing in our country in the past one decade or so because of religious fanaticism, radicalism and caste intolerance.
The interesting aspect of this biggest done is it was built without any professional help from the architects. This structure is on the campus of the MIT Group of Institutes, and the initiate was taken by the MIT World Peace University. The structure covers an area of 62,500 sq ft with a diameter of 160 feet. The famous dome in Vatican, the seat of the Pope, has a diameter of just 139.6 feet. The height of the dome is 263 feet with a bell hanging from the center. But, it is not a pillar-less dome, rather it is supported by 24 massive columns, each of which is 63 feet tall. Atop the dome there is a small temple (first in the world) dedicated to the Hindu Goddess of knowledge Saraswati. Countless artisans from Rajasthan put in dedicated efforts to build this structure.
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| Biggest pillarless dome, Pune swarajyamag.com |
Also known as the Sant Dnyaneshwara World Peace Prayer Hall and Library, the World Peace Monument to mankind was dedicated on the 2nd of October, 2018. Among the statues are: Gautam Buddha, Jesus Christ, Mahavir, Moses, Guru Nanak and Mahatma Gandhi; intellectual giants like Confucius, Adi Shankaracharya, Aristotle, Aryabhatta, Socrates, Plato, Galileo and Copernicus; philosopher-saints like Dnyaneshwara, Tukaram, Abdullah Shah Qadri (famous as Baba Bulleh Shah), Francis D'Assissi, Peter, Mother Teresa and Kabir; and scientists like Albert Einstein, Thomas Alva Edison, C.V. Raman, Jagadish Chandra Bose and Marie S. Curie..
A four-day World Parliament with as many as 110 speakers and thousands of delegates from around the world took part in the meetings and they inspired the audience by their thought-provoking speeches, covering a wide spectrum of subjects. But, they mostly related to subjects in the realm of spirituality, philosophy and science. Such subjects would give a new impetus to the younger generation
It is imperative for the coming generations world over to enrich their knowledge in their respective fields and to understand their moral obligation to take their country forward with hard work, dedication and integrity.
The credit goes to Dr. Karad 77, who came from a poor peasant family and he is the Founder-President of the MIT World Peace University besides MAEER's MIT and Director General of World Peace Center, all in Pune. He got the inspiration from the great Indian philosopher, Narendranath Datta, the famous Swami Vivekananda, who has a fitting memorial on the Vivekananda rock off the coast of southern most peninsular India - Kanyakumari. Being humble, once he said, "The world is one family — 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' — which is an ancient Indian concept. My humble attempt is to create an edifice befitting the glory of Mother India," Karad said.
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