I read your news item about a Hindu statesman objecting to the location of the Brahma shrine at Caesars Palace. I know Caesars is a huge sprawling property that I haven't seen the entirety of, but you say the shrine has been there for 40 years and I can't believe I've never seen it. Where is it and why is it there?
Lord Brahma is a Buddhist god associated with creation. He's believed to have traveled around atop a three-headed elephant named Erawan. The four faces of the Brahma statue represent the Four Divine States of Mind: lovingkindness, compassion, sympathy, and equanimity.
The four-faced statue, produced in Bangkok in 1983, is an authentic replica of one of Thailand's most popular Buddhist shrines.
The original statue was installed in the 1970s at the Erawan Hotel in Bangkok to ward off bad luck, after various disasters had struck the hotel during its construction. Apparently, the statue did the trick and it's been smooth sailing for the Erawan ever after. Thus, the Thai shrine has come to be associated with luck and prosperity.
The Caesars statue, the only one of its kind in the Western world, was a gift to the casino from a Thai newspaper tycoon, Kamphol Vacharaphol, and his wife Praneetslipa, as well as Yip Hon, a leading citizen of Hong Kong. Cast in bronze and plated in gold, it stands 14 feet high and weighs more than four tons.
For the past 40 years, visitors to Caesars have paused at the Brahma shrine to offer flowers, light joss sticks (incense and matches are kept fully stocked there), even make donations (in a lock box; Caesars supports charities in Thailand) -- and, of course, pray for luck at the tables and machines. A plaque on the shrine, in part, suggests that the statue can “bestow prosperity and good fortune on those who come to visit and make their hopes and wishes known.”
As far as we can tell, the statue has been moved only once, from its original location near the central Strip entrance, to its current location in the Roman Plaza near the south end of the property, just north of the pedestrian overpass over Flamingo Road and as the Hindu stateman's complaint indicates, just outside the bar and burger area at the entrance to Absinthe and near Hell's Kitchen.
We've always loved this shrine. It's a beautiful statue in a serene setting and it's fun to light a joss stick (incense with a colloquial connotation of joss, or luck) and take a few moments to breathe and reflect.
You can see photos of the shrine at Google Images.
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Bernard Berg
May-19-2024
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Raymond
May-20-2024
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