Gold Leafing Siva's Five Cosmic Forms

Today we received project update photos from the two teams in Honolulu who are working to gild the five Panchabrahma murtis. The transformation is awesome as you will see in the slideshow below. But the work has been arduous and far more complex and time-consuming than we thought. This is due to the unusual mix of metals in the original casting in India. But with days and days of light sand blasting, filling of pits, removal of corrosion, priming and sanding, the masterful sculptures, just 36" tall, are ready for the gilder's mastery. Thor Minnick is is Hawaii's foremost gilder, working with his equally competent wife, Diane. They are spending late night hours struggling with weather/humidity issues, but it is coming together marvelously. The gold they are applying is 23 karat, super pure.

Ready for some interesting facts about gold?

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79, it is the only metal that is yellow.
Gold is one of the most ductile and malleable elements, making it easy to shape and work with.
Gold is a good conductor of electricity and does not corrode, providing a sustainable store of value and a material for coinage and jewelry for thousands of years. India is the world's largest user of gold.
The total amount of gold ever mined is estimated to be around 165,000 tons, with the largest gold producing country being China. That is said to be the volume of a cube just over sixty feet on a side, not that much for millennia of human effort.

Here are the five murtis before they were shipped to Kauai.

Close up of Aghora

The red color is the primer\/filler coat.

Part way through

Almosdt finished with the first one, Sadyojata.

What Gurudeva called \"the golden body of light\"

Siva as the Creator of All. Aum Namasivaya!

}

];