Hindus Commend Emory University For 'Avatars Of Vishnu' Exhibition Curated By Students

Hindus have commended Emory University in Atlanta (founded by Methodists and which maintains a formal affiliation with the United Methodist Church) for student-curated "The Avatars of Vishnu" exhibition in its Michael C. Carlos Museum, which continued until June 20.

Various exhibits displayed in it reportedly include Churning of the Ocean, Eighteen-armed Vishnu (11th century sandstone), scene from Ramayana, dancing Krishna, Vishnu Reclining on the Cosmic Ocean (11th century sandstone), etc.

Welcoming Emory University for exhibiting avatars (incarnations) of highly revered Hindu deity Lord Vishnu, distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d'Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about 1.2 billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA. In Hinduism, Lord Vishnu is "preserver" in the Hindu triad with Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva as the aspect of the Supreme. He has ten incarnations to establish dharma (divine law).

Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University, claimed to be "one of the premier museums in the Southeast" with "world-class permanent collections", was formally established on Emory's Atlanta campus in 1919 (although its history goes back to 1876). It states to foster "understanding of diverse religions and civilizations" and Dirk Brown and Ed Snow are its Board Co-chairs and Bonna D. Wescoat is its Interim Director.

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