The other day, while in the Economics class, we had been discussing nuclear reactors when I was reminded of an interesting article that I had read some years ago. Having grown up in the era when reading used to be seen as a normal hobby unlike these days when FB spells your state of mind (myself, being a non-user of FB, can be considered as an abnormal guy, for example), it was quite a fascinating experience to go through books on Bermuda Triangle and such like issues (The Chariots of Gods being an example). People, the world over, have been trying to find meanings of the things that beat scientific logic, for quite sometime now. While many discoveries have been made in the process, courtesy man's unlimited desire to probe and yet many issues remain unexplained. As the tradition goes, having given '0' to the world and having ridden high on the waves of knowledge (both material and spiritual), Indians have, for the reason not even known to us, taken a backseat for a while. So, left to themselves, many westerns have been trying to decipher such mysteries in their own ways.
As we sat down discussing nuclear issues the other day, remembrance of that article suddenly came back to me as if as a reflex. The article had mentioned about possibility of our revered 'Shivling' as being a precursor to the design of present day nuclear reactor. Yes, there are certain striking resemblances between a nuclear reactor design and that of a Shivling. Both have that typical dome-like top, for example. But I have a slightly different take on the whole issue.
I am of the firm belief that our ancestors were pretty scientific and developed before some unseen event (or an over-enthusiastic researcher of that time, over-stepped his/her brief and brought a sudden end to the world, as it must have existed during that epoch). After all, no one can perform a surgery that results in successful attachment of an elephant head with a human body; a goat's head with another human being, for that matter. There are numerous examples in our mythology that can make present day surgeons/chemists/ scientists and so many other such specialists sweat for their money.
But I am also a firm believer of the fact that history repeats itself, length of intervening periods notwithstanding. So, for me, looking forward or looking back into history are two sides of the same coin. Here, I would prefer to look ahead rather than look back in an attempt to decipher this nuclear reactor-Shivling relationships. At the face of it, both look so similar....
And then is the common need to keep both these entities cool through running water. While heavy water is pumped to keep the reactor cool, a constantly dripping water over the Shivling is an absolute necessity too. Also, water from both the entities is not used elsewhere. In our religion, sacred offerings of all kinds are consumed as prasad, be it rat-tasted sweets at Karni Mata (near Bikaner) or marijuana like content of Shardai (used during Holi as also one of the prasads from Shiva). So, isn't it surprising that milk/water flowing down from the dome of a Shivling is simply discarded and not take/consumed as a prasad!
Snakes on/around a ling may signify security ring that is generally thrown around any nuclear plant. Also, let us not ignore the fact that both the entities possess extraordinary destructive powers even though they do possess some of the hugely beneficial and constructive powers too.
Anyways, looking ahead, I would like to believe that one day, some centuries from now (of course, if mankind survives that long), every settlement, if not every household, will have a miniature nuclear plant amidst itself. The energy-efficient future settlements as also homes, will probably take such things as granted too! Talking about the cycle of the history, I would also like to believe that there was, timeline unknown, surely an era when our ancestors did have such households and settlements where miniature nuclear plants used to be operational. No wonder then that most of our devtas had personal airplanes, capable of flying to distant lands/planets and solar systems without any aviation fuel/rocket propellants and such like fuels. We already have nuclear submarines in this world, one day we will have nuclear fired aircraft too. And yes, someone, down the line, will actually possess a personal nuclear plant that would be so safe that just a simple trickle of water will meet its cooling needs. Man, by that time, would have certainly forgotten about Shivling and 'ancient beliefs' but unknown to that learned man, a Power, as ever, will be lurking around. Amused by the arrogance of such a self-made man, that Power would witness the unfortunate event of self-destruction by such a man before the beginning of another cycle where Shivlings will be worshipped again. As said a little while ago, the history does repeat itself!
or 
(dreamstime.com)
