Ram Sethu - Bridging Science with Faith

Adam's Bridge, also called Rama's Bridge (Ram Sethu) is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Mannar, near northwestern Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of India. The bridge is 30 miles (48 km) long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (southwest) from the Palk Strait (northeast).

The Ramayana describes the bridge as being built by Ram's (the protaganist of the epic) devotee "Hanuman" and his other loyal monkey devotees. Eventually Ram crosses over the bridge to save his abducted wife Sita. The Indian government's 560-million dollar Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project project would destroy this bridge while creating a shorter more navigable shipping route for the region.

The power of prayer and virtuous morals are probably where the parallels with Hinduism and the other world religions ends. It takes a strong belief in polytheism, mystical creatures and fantastic anecdotes with magical happenings such as the building of the Ram Sethu to truly ascribe to the faith. Most Hindus do not come close to questioning the validity or historical proof of all that they base their values, morals, teachings, celebrations and lifestyles upon. In a country where blasphemy and sacrilege are commonly alleged and prosecuted.............

Read the whole essay at "India Indeed: In-depth"