Mysteries of the World

[Leon]

Explaination by picture

1. Priest
2. ionised fumes
3. electric discharge (snake)
4. Lamp socket (Lotos)
5. Cable (Lotos stem)
6. Air god
7. Isolator (Djed-Pillar)
8. Light bringer Thot with knifes
9. Symbol for "current"
10.Inverse polarity (Haarpolarität +)
11.Energy storage (electrostatic Generator?)


On the basis of this picture engineer W. Garn constructed a working device which indeed gave some light. In the book of Krassa/Habeck we find he following sketch and description:

"If we evacuate a glass bulb with two metal parts reaching into it (B), (C), we can see a discharge at much lower levels, depending on the size of the glass balloon (D). At a pressure of about 40 t (tonnes) (40 mm of mercury) a snakelike light filament meanders from one metal part to the other (E). If we evacuate further, the light filament grows wider until it fills the whole glass balloon. This is exactly what we see in on the pictures in the subterranean chambers of the Hathor sanctuary."

The pictures of the objects can be seen three times in the subterranean crypts and three times in an associated "cult room" I will discuss later. The "working" lamp is once shown in the crypt. Three times pictures like this, with the air god Heh carrying the "lamp" are shown (one in the crypt, two in the cult room):

and two times this way with a djed pillar outside of the "lamp" (once in the crypt and once in the cult room):

These objects could never had been lamps. Neither a Garn-type nor a "normal" light bulb. But it gets even worse, because there are pictures of similar objects in the chapels around the temple. Without Djed, lotus or generator:

[Leon]

Phaistos Disk

History

The disc of Phaistos is the most important example of hieroglyphic inscription from Crete and was discovered in 1903 in a small room near the depositories of the "archive chamber", in the north - east apartments of the palace, together with a Linear A tablet and pottery dated to the beginning of the Neo-palatial period (1700- 1600 B.C.).

The exact location of Phaistos was first determined in the middle of the 19th century by the British admiral Spratt, while the archaeological investigation of the palace started in 1884 by the Italians F. Halbherr and A. Taramelli.

After the declaration of the independent Cretan State in 1898, excavations were carried out by F. Halbherr and L. Pernier in 1900-1904 and later, in 1950-1971, by Doro Levi, under the auspices of the Italian Archaeological School at Athens.

The Phaistos Disk, today on display at the Iraklion Archaeological Museum,
was discovered in Crete in 1908.

Although many inscriptions were found by the archaeologists, they are all in Linear A code which is still undecipherd, and all we know about the site, even its name are based to the ancient writers and findings from Knossos.

According to mythology, Phaistos was the seat of king Radamanthis, brother of king Minos. It was also the city that gave birth to the great wise man and soothsayer Epimenidis, one of the seven wise men of the ancient world.

Excavations by archaeologists have unearthed ruins of the Neolithic times (3.000 B.C.).
During the Minoan times, Phaistos was a very important city-state. Its dominion, at its peak, stretched from Lithinon to Psychion and included the Paximadia islands. The city participated to the Trojan war and later became one of the most important cities-states of the Dorian period.
Phaistos continued to flourish during Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic times. It was destroyed by the Gortynians during the 3rd century B.C. In spite of that, Phaistos continued to exist during the Roman period.
Phaistos had two ports, Matala and Kommos.

Since 1900, continuous archaeological excavations from the Italian Archaeological School, have brought to light the magnificent Minoan palace of Phaistos with its great royal courts, the great staircases, the theatre, the storerooms and the famous disk of Phaistos.

The first palace was built at 2.000 B.C. This palace was destroyed at 1.700 B.C. by an earthquake. It was built again, more luxurious and magnificent and it was destroyed again, probably by another earthquake, at 1.400 B.C.

The location of the palace was carefully chosen, so as not only to absolutely control the valley of Messara, but to also offer a panoramic view of the surrounding area with the scattered villages, just like today, at the foot of the mountains Psiloritis and Asterousia.

The palace dominated and controlled the Messara valley and it was the center of the city. It was the administrational and economical center of the area.

Goods not only for consumption but mainly for trade were kept in its huge storerooms. The palace was surrounded by luxurious mansions and crowded urban communities. Along with the surrounding settlements covered an area of 18.000 sq. meters.

A paved road leads to the ruins of the Royal Minoan villa of Agia Triada, 3 km west of Phaistos.

Decipherment

Both surfaces of this clay disc are covered with hieroglyphs arranged in a spiral zone, impressed on the clay when it was damp. The signs make up groups divided from each other by vertical lines, and each of these groups should represent a word.

Forty five different types of signs have been distinguished, of which a few can be identified with the hieroglyphs in use in the Proto- palatial period.

Some hieroglyphic sequences recur like refrains, suggesting a religious hymn, and Pernier regards the content of the text as ritual. Others have suggested that the text is a list of soldiers, and lately Davis has interpreted it as a document in the Hittic language in which a king discusses the erection of the Palace of Phaistos.

In a century which has seen the cracking of Linear B, Ugaritic, and other orthographic systems, the Phaistos Disk has eluded decipherment. The disk is thought to date from around 1700 BC. It is a roundish disk of clay, with symbols stamped into it. The text consists of 61 words, 16 of which are accompanied by a mysterious "slash" mark.

There are 45 different symbols occurring 241 times. The symbols portray recognizable objects like human figures and body parts, animals, weapons, and plants. Since the text of the disk is so short, decipherment by the statistical cryptographic techniques employed by Michael Ventris in cracking Linear B are impossible.

Late last year, however, Dr. Keith A.J. Massey and his twin brother Rev. Kevin Massey-Gillespie discovered the secret they believe provides the key to cracking the Phaistos Disk.

Another ancient writing system provides the key to reading the Phaistos Disk.

At Byblos in modern day Lebanon, an advanced culture flourished for centuries. There are many signs of contact between Ancient Crete and Byblos, including signs of orthographic borrowing as pointed out by Victor Kenna in "The Stamp Seal, Byblos 6593" Kadmos 9 (1970) pp 93-96.

Further, examples of the yet undeciphered Linear A script have recently been found in Turkey, providing evidence of orthographic relationships between Crete and Asia Minor.

The Proto-Byblic script was used in the early part of the 2nd millenium BC, a time contemporary with the supposed date of the Phaistos Disk. The underlying language of the Proto-Byblic script was Semitic. It is a linear script which displays many identifiable objects, like weapons, human figures, and body parts. The Proto-Byblic script, catalogued by Maurice Dunand in the 1940's bears striking resemblance to the symbols of the Phaistos Disk. The similarity of one Proto-Byblic character to a Phaistos symbol was noted by Dunand in his book Byblia Grammata, Beyrouth, 1945 on p 90, "Il est presque identique a celui du disque de Phaestos qu-Evans avait identifie avec une colombe." [ It is almost identical to something from the disk of Phaistos which (Sir Arthur) Evans has identified with a dove.] Dunand did not pursue his observation of the similarities, yet it is this Proto-Byblic script which is demonstrated by the Massey twins as being a closely related orthographic system to the Phaistos Disk. Eduard Dhorme, one of the decipherers of Hittite, published the first consonantal values for the Proto-Byblic script in SYRIA XXV 1946 in an article, "Dechiffrement des Inscriptions Pseudo-Hieroglyphicques de Byblos." A comparison of these values with the symbols of the Phaistos Disk yielded consonantal assignments for a surprising amount of the writing on the disk.

It should be noted here that all previous attempts to decipher the Phaistos Disk have been subjective attempts, assigning phonetic values to the characters with no true objective criteria. This is therefore the first effort at cracking the disk by OBJECTIVE determinations. When these consonantal values are examined, elements of an Hellenic language emerge in the text of the disk. Scholars had never known what the significence of a mysterious "slash" on 16 of the words of the Phaistos Disk.

[Leon]

The Baghdad Battery

History

In 1936, while excavating ruins of a 2000-year-old village near Baghdad, workers discovered mysterious small vase. A 6-inch-high pot of bright yellow clay dating back two millennia contained a cylinder of sheet-copper 5 inches by 1.5 inches. The edge of the copper cylinder was soldered with a 60-40 lead-tin alloy comparable to today's solder. The bottom of the cylinder was capped with a crimped-in copper disk and sealed with bitumen or asphalt. Another insulating layer of asphalt sealed the top and also held in place an iron rod suspended into the center of the copper cylinder. The rod showed evidence of having been corroded with an acidic agent.


An Ancient Battery

German archaeologist , Wilhelm Konig, examined the object and came to a surprising conclusion that the clay pot was nothing less than an ancient electric battery.

The ancient battery in the Baghdad Museum, as well as those others which were unearthed in Iraq, are all dated from the Parthian occupation between 248 BCE and 226 CE. However, Dr. Konig also found copper vases plated with silver in the Baghdad Museum, excavated from Sumerian sites in southern Iraq, dating back to at least 2500 BCE. When the vases were lightly tapped, a blue patina or film separated from the surface, which is characteristic of silver electroplated onto copper base. It would appear then that the Parthians inherited their batteries from one of the earliest known civilizations.

In 1940, Willard F.M. Gray, an engineer at the General Electric High Volatage Laboratory in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, read of Konig's theory. Using drawings and details supplied by German rocket scientist Willy Ley, Gray made a replica of the battery. Using copper sulfate solution, it generated about half a volt of electricity.

In 1970s, German Egyptologist, Arne Eggebrecht built a replica of the Baghdad battery and filled it with freshly pressed grape juice, as he speculated the
ancients might have done. The replica generated 0.87V. He used current from the battery to electroplate a silver statuette with gold.

This experiment proved that electric batteries were used some 1,800 years before their modern invention by Alessandro Volta in 1799.

It also seems that the use of similar batteries can be safely placed into ancient Egypt, where several objects with traces of electroplated precious metals have been found at different locations. There are several anomalous finds from other regions, which suggests use of electricity on a grander scale.


The Riddle of "Baghdad's batteries"

Arran Frood investigates what could have been the very first batteries and how these important archaeological and technological artefacts are now at risk from the impending war in Iraq.

I don't think anyone can say for sure what they were used for, but they may have been batteries because they do work   Dr Marjorie Senechal


War can destroy more than a people, an army or a leader. Culture, tradition and history also lie in the firing line.

Iraq has a rich national heritage. The Garden of Eden and the Tower of Babel are said to have been sited in this ancient land.

In any war, there is a chance that priceless treasures will be lost forever, articles such as the "ancient battery" that resides defenceless in the museum of Baghdad.

For this object suggests that the region, whose civilizations gave us writing and the wheel, may also have invented electric cells - two thousand years before such devices were well known.


Biblical clues

It was in 1938, while working in Khujut Rabu, just outside Baghdad in modern day Iraq, that German archaeologist Wilhelm Konig unearthed a five-inch-long (13 cm) clay jar containing a copper cylinder that encased an iron rod.

THE KEY COMPONENTS

Batteries dated to around 200 BC Could have been used in gilding


The vessel showed signs of corrosion, and early tests revealed that an acidic agent, such as vinegar or wine had been present.
In the early 1900s, many European archaeologists were excavating ancient Mesopotamian sites, looking for evidence of Biblical tales like the Tree of Knowledge and Noah's flood.

Konig did not waste his time finding alternative explanations for his discovery. To him, it had to have been a battery.

Though this was hard to explain, and did not sit comfortably with the religious ideology of the time, he published his conclusions. But soon the world was at war, and his discovery was forgotten.


Scientific awareness

More than 60 years after their discovery, the batteries of Baghdad - as there are perhaps a dozen of them - are shrouded in myth.

"The batteries have always attracted interest as curios," says Dr Paul Craddock, a metallurgy expert of the ancient Near East from the British Museum.

"They are a one-off. As far as we know, nobody else has found anything like these. They are odd things; they are one of life's enigmas."

No two accounts of them are the same. Some say the batteries were excavated, others that Konig found them in the basement of the Baghdad Museum when he took over as director. There is no definite figure on how many have been found, and their age is disputed.

Most sources date the batteries to around 200 BC - in the Parthian era, circa 250 BC to AD 225. Skilled warriors, the Parthians were not noted for their scientific achievements.

"Although this collection of objects is usually dated as Parthian, the grounds for this are unclear," says Dr St John Simpson, also from the department of the ancient Near East at the British Museum.

"The pot itself is Sassanian. This discrepancy presumably lies either in a misidentification of the age of the ceramic vessel, or the site at which they were found."


Underlying principles

In the history of the Middle East, the Sassanian period (circa AD 225 - 640) marks the end of the ancient and the beginning of the more scientific medieval era.

Though most archaeologists agree the devices were batteries, there is much conjecture as to how they could have been discovered, and what they were used for.

How could ancient Persian science have grasped the principles of electricity and arrived at this knowledge?

Perhaps they did not. Many inventions are conceived before the underlying principles are properly understood.

The Chinese invented gunpowder long before the principles of combustion were deduced, and the rediscovery of old herbal medicines is now a common occurrence.

You do not always have to understand why something works - just that it does.


Enough zap

It is certain the Baghdad batteries could conduct an electric current because many replicas have been made, including by students of ancient history under the direction of Dr Marjorie Senechal, professor of the history of science and technology, Smith College, US.

"I don't think anyone can say for sure what they were used for, but they may have been batteries because they do work," she says. Replicas can produce voltages from 0.8 to nearly two volts.

Making an electric current requires two metals with different electro potentials and an ion carrying solution, known as an electrolyte, to ferry the electrons between them.
Connected in series, a set of batteries could theoretically produce a much higher voltage, though no wires have ever been found that would prove this had been the case.

"It's a pity we have not found any wires," says Dr Craddock. "It means our interpretation of them could be completely wrong."

But he is sure the objects are batteries and that there could be more of them to discover. "Other examples may exist that lie in museums elsewhere unrecognised".

He says this is especially possible if any items are missing, as the objects only look like batteries when all the pieces are in place.

 

Possible uses

Some have suggested the batteries may have been used medicinally.

The ancient Greeks wrote of the pain killing effect of electric fish when applied to the soles of the feet.

The Chinese had developed acupuncture by this time, and still use acupuncture combined with an electric current. This may explain the presence of needle-like objects found with some of the batteries.

But this tiny voltage would surely have been ineffective against real pain, considering the well-recorded use of other painkillers in the ancient world like cannabis, opium and wine.

Other scientists believe the batteries were used for electroplating - transferring a thin layer of metal on to another metal surface - a technique still used today and a common classroom experiment.

This idea is appealing because at its core lies the mother of many inventions: money.

In the making of jewellery, for example, a layer of gold or silver is often applied to enhance its beauty in a process called gilding.

 

Grape electrolyte

Two main techniques of gilding were used at the time and are still in use today: hammering the precious metal into thin strips using brute force, or mixing it with a mercury base which is then pasted over the article.

These techniques are effective, but wasteful compared with the addition of a small but consistent layer of metal by electro-deposition. The ability to mysteriously electroplate gold or silver on to such objects would not only save precious resources and money, but could also win you important friends at court.


Let's hope the world manages to resolve its present problems so people can go and see them.      Dr Paul Craddock


A palace, kingdom, or even the sultan's daughter may have been the reward for such knowledge - and motivation to keep it secret.

Testing this idea in the late seventies, Dr Arne Eggebrecht, then director of Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim, connected many replica Baghdad batteries together using grape juice as an electrolyte, and claimed to have deposited a thin layer of silver on to another surface, just one ten thousandth of a millimetre thick.

Other researchers though, have disputed these results and have been unable to replicate them.

"There does not exist any written documentation of the experiments which took place here in 1978," says Dr Bettina Schmitz, currently a researcher based at the same Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum.

"The experiments weren't even documented by photos, which really is a pity," she says. "I have searched through the archives of this museum and I talked to everyone involved in 1978 with no results."
 

Tingling idols

Although a larger voltage can be obtained by connecting more than one battery together, it is the ampage which is the real limiting factor, and many doubt whether a high enough power could ever have been obtained, even from tens of Baghdad batteries.

One serious flaw with the electroplating hypothesis is the lack of items from this place and time that have been treated in this way.

"The examples we see from this region and era are conventional gild plating and mercury gilding," says Dr Craddock. "There's never been any untouchable evidence to support the electroplating theory."

He suggests a cluster of the batteries, connected in parallel, may have been hidden inside a metal statue or idol.

He thinks that anyone touching this statue may have received a tiny but noticeable electric shock, something akin to the static discharge that can infect offices, equipment and children's parties.

"I have always suspected you would get tricks done in the temple," says Dr Craddock. "The statue of a god could be wired up and then the priest would ask you questions.

"If you gave the wrong answer, you'd touch the statue and would get a minor shock along with perhaps a small mysterious blue flash of light. Get the answer right, and the trickster or priest could disconnect the batteries and no shock would arrive - the person would then be convinced of the power of the statue, priest and the religion."

 

Magical rituals

It is said that to the uninitiated, science cannot be distinguished from magic. "In Egypt we know this sort of thing happened with Hero's engine," Dr Craddock says.

Hero's engine was a primitive steam-driven machine, and like the battery of Baghdad, no one is quite sure what it was used for, but are convinced it could work.

If this idol could be found, it would be strong evidence to support the new theory. With the batteries inside, was this object once revered, like the Oracle of Delphi in Greece, and "charged" with godly powers?

Even if the current were insufficient to provide a genuine shock, it may have felt warm, a bizarre tingle to the touch of the unsuspecting finger.

At the very least, it could have just been the container of these articles, to keep their secret safe.

Perhaps it is too early to say the battery has been convincingly demonstrated to be part of a magical ritual. Further examination, including accurate dating, of the batteries' components are needed to really answer this mystery.

No one knows if such an idol or statue that could have hidden the batteries really exists, but perhaps the opportunity to look is not too far away - if the items survive the looming war in the Middle East.

"These objects belong to the successors of the people who made them," says Dr Craddock. "Let's hope the world manages to resolve its present problems so people can go and see them."

[Leon]

Crop Circles

Introduction

Crop Circles - formations, usually found in grain crops, where the crop has been mysteriously found laid flat, in patterns, that did not exist in daylight the previous day.


Although thought by many to be a phenomena of the 20th Century, crop circles and formations have been around for a very long time, and records even date back well before the invention of the camera.

The most well known positive depiction of a crop circle is found in a woodcut made in 1678 with the title 'Strange News out of Hartford-shire’.

It depicts a devil-like creature cutting out a pattern in a crop with a scythe.

The woodcut has text, which told of a greedy farmer, who, having refused to pay a mower a reasonable rate for reaping his oats, swore that he would rather have the Devil do the work. The very following morning, the farmer awoke to find his crop had been harvested, but done so in such an amazing manner, with rounded circles of incredible exactness that no human could have done the same within the period and darkness of one night. The farmer was so that he could not enter the field to collect his harvest.

It is suggested by some cryptologists and others that crop circles are depicted in prehistoric stone and wall carvings, such as in the spiral patterns carved in a stone at Newgrange in Ireland. For those that hold the view that crop circles are created by extra-terrestrials in spacecraft, some would say that reasonable recorded proof of this is depicted in some ancient Egyptian pictures.

The recorded incidence of crop circles in more modern times seems to have started in the early 20th century, with a gradual increase in numbers through to a marked incr4ease in the 1960’s, leading to a quite dramatic upturn in the 1990’s. At least 190 formations were discovered and documented in 1999, perhaps an omen for what is to come in the new millennium.

There are many who are under the impression that crop circles are only indigenous to the U.K. Sure, they are more prevalent here than elsewhere in the world, but there are countless examples of them appearing all over the world - in the USA from 1920, in Europe from the mid 20th century and in Africa, Canada, Australia, Central & Southern America, Russia in 1970, and Japan in the late 70’s.

Many visitors to the U.K. are amazed to discover that crop circles actually appear in their own country.

What odds, that formations in the 21st century will be found on the surface of the Moon and Mars, and beyond?

The Crop Circles Phenomenon
 

In the seventies mysterious circles appeared in various crops in England. They immediately caught the public's attention. As these circles appeared year after year, got more sophisticated and spread to ever more areas a broad range of people got interested in studying and explaining this phenomenon. They range from scientists of various disciplines to New Age and UFO enthusiasts.

Trying to explain the mystery of the crop circles several theories were presented. In the eighties Dr. Terrence Meaden attempted to explain the spiral patterns occurring in crop circles as the result of atmospheric phenomena present, for instance, in the vortex of a dust devil or tornado. Had Dr. Meaden ever seen a dust devil or a tornado he would have thought otherwise.

In Phoenix, Arizona, the evening news regularly brings pictures of dust devils dancing over the desert floor. I intentionally say dancing because they are not moving in a straight line. Dust devils are pockets of circular movements within the general wind direction. This wind has gusts impacting on the dust devil moving it forth and back sideways and changing its shape. - A dust devil does not produce perfectly round circles and it does not put things flat on the ground. It picks up sand, which becomes the body of the dust devil.

A tornado is the most destructive force of winds on the Earth. It picks up everything in its way: houses, people, cows, cars, trees, etc. A tornado doesn't put anything flat on the ground. It rips everything out of the ground and carries it away. The same holds true for another kind of whirlwind, hurricanes. If something cannot be carried away it is smashed or stripped; for instance, trees are stripped of their leaves.

If an atmospheric force were responsible for crop circle formation the stalks would be pulled out of the ground. If the stalks remained in the round they would be stripped of leaves and grains and broken in between the nodes. Such force would leave behind a mess, not nicely aligned intact stalks. Furthermore, all these atmospheric forces have a lateral movement, which is very forceful and will result in a path of destruction not in an orderly circle.

Another approach comes from the proponents of the so-called Gaia hypothesis. Crop circles frequently appear near ley-lines or places where ancient structures are found such as Stonehenge, Avebury, Salisbury etc. These cites are thought to have spiritual significance and, therefore, people believe these circles could be the expression of the collective Earth soul expressing its disgust with the present situation on the planet and indicating that all forms of consciousness should be realigned in a new direction.

I am at a loss to accept that the Earth has a collective consciousness that would and could express itself in crop circles. There is an explanation why such circles show up near ancient sites and at ley-lines but it has nothing to do with an earth collective consciousness and a re-alignment of whatever kind. I'll deal with this later in the article.


If science cannot explain something usually it is declared a hoax. This opinion got a boost when two retired men came forward in the early nineties and claimed they had made the crop circles. Remarkably, this claim appeared simultaneously on CNN and a number of top international newspapers like the Wallstreet Journal, The New York Times, and European papers like the eminent French publication "Le Figaro".

The above scenario seems quite suspicious. It is practically impossible to appear on CNN or on any other main stream publication with a topic as far out as crop circles. That this happened in a timely coordinated fashion indicates that someone with a lot of clout was behind this action. Probably the crop circles had stirred up enough interest and enough credibility that the public began to take them seriously, which translated into a world- wide security problem. Probably several governments got together and decided that anything in connection with them had to be discredited. - The plan worked. After this sensational "confession" interest in crop circles was non-existent in scientific circles and the topic was dead for all main stream media.

It is interesting to note that no group of any importance made a serious attempt to verify the old men's claims or to counter them. Sure, they could have made a number of circles but there were so many in so many locations that two old men with strings and a board could not have made all of them. Furthermore, this method leaves chafing and other mechanical marks on the stalks and the stalks would be bent in a characteristic way, which would show clearly a difference to other sites where a different method was used. It would have been easy to investigate and to find out how many of the sites really show the characteristics of manual creation of the crop circles.

Having dealt with the above theories it remains to assess the peculiar characteristics common to crop circles:
Crop circles have evolved over time. While initially they were just that, circles, straight lines were added as a next step. Intricate patterns with several circles and straight lines followed and as of lately complicated patterns with sometimes sophisticated formations integrating mathematical formulas within the circles have shown up. There are pictograms with signs sacred to various peoples the world over. It seems impossible to create such formations in a single night by hand. In fact, many of the recent crop images look like computer created art.

The bases of a crop image are bent stalks in various kinds of crops. They appear mostly in barley and wheat but can also be found in canola and grass, even on sand and snow. They have been reported from all over the world. Frequently they show up on ley-lines or near ancient sites.


The stalks can be bent in any direction in the same image. Sometimes they have several layers with the stalks bent in different directions. In the UK bent stalks have been noticed that look like woven in a pattern. The bending itself is done at the nodes. This is very peculiar as the nodes give plants their strength. They normally bend between the nodes.

Nodes keep a plant upright because they gather water and the water's pressure in the nodes makes the stalk rigid. In crop images plants bend because the nodes were dehydrated. There is a hole in the node, which looks like an outlet for water vapor that formed after intense heating. Most remarkably, the nodes are bent selectively. They can be bent at the lowest knuckle or at any other one higher up the stalk. Nodes in different parts of a crop image can be bent at different heights in different directions within the same formation. Also, as the crop continues to grow an image can take on a different appearance.

Often the crop images are set inside a field away from tramlines with no visible access. They also show up in fenced off restricted military areas. Plants in the affected areas look dehydrated and cells are enlarged. Soil samples tested by Colin Andrews yielded up to 100 % higher than normal EM measurements in the centers of the formations tested. There are reports that in the years following the appearance of the crop circle the affected areas had an increase in crop yield of up to 40%.

There is residual radiation in the circles, which can have adverse effects. Measurements have detected an emission of energy at the 5KHz frequency up to several days after the crop circles were formed. This frequency lies within the audible range and some hear a "trilling sound". Many people show physical reactions after visiting crop circles. The symptoms are nausea, headaches, dizziness, tingling sensations and various pains. These symptoms are consistent with health problems from radiation. Mobile phones, cameras, watches and especially electronic equipment brought in to check the circles have failed and compasses on airplanes flying overhead have been reported spinning out of control.


People watching crop circles being formed noticed a reddish glow at ground level. The bending of the vegetation was done in a few minutes. Nobody saw anyone doing the bending or any kind of device or craft hovering above the site. Jaques F. Vallee, a renowned researcher of UFO's and other phenomena many years ago gave a lecture at Oxford University where he met a young man whose hobby was to fly gliders over the English countryside. One afternoon this young man encountered something that looked like a metallic cylinder hanging motionless in the air and showing a reflection of his glider. The young man circled the object several times. As there was no action he left.

A reddish glow and the formation of a pictogram within a few minutes as well as the symptoms displayed by the nodes of the bent stalks are consistent with microwave or similar radiation. Such radiation raises the temperature in the nodes targeted. When the water in the nodes vaporizes steam is created, which expands and busts the node open. With the water pressure inside the node gone and a hole in the node the plant loses its support and bends over.


Even more amazing than this very sophisticated method for forming crop circles is the fact that nodes can be individually targeted. The direction of the bends as well as the height of the nodes affected can change within the same pictogram, which can yield very sophisticated formations. This is irrefutable evidence that the images in crop circles are formed by some kind of a controlling device like a computer, which issues commands for another device that emits radiation impacting on the plants. - Spheres of about 1 foot in diameter hovering over areas where crop circles were forming have been repeatedly observed. - Many designs look like computer created graphics. In fact, some designs are so complex and spiked with mathematical information that only a computer could have created them. Other designs depict sacred symbols from many different peoples all over the world.

There is evidence that the crop circle producers react to comments and attempts to dismiss the crop circle phenomenon by promptly producing circles, which invalidate objections. This raises the question: how do they get to know about that? The only way to really know what's going on without being there is to telepathically retrieve this information from people talking about this subject. This adds another dimension to the concern about these activities because it implies that the producers of crop circles know exactly what goes on in the minds of people dealing with this phenomenon. They will always be a step ahead of possible opponents.


Crop circles were found on fenced off military grounds and some believe that this proves that the military is conducting tests with secret radiation weapons aimed at destroying enemy crops. - Development of new weapons is always conducted in secrecy. There is nothing secret about the crop circles. Moreover, crop circles can be found all over the world. Why and how would the British military go to all these places and trespass on foreign private property to test a secret weapon? This is as absurd as assuming that two old men with a string and a board could penetrate fenced off tightly guarded military installations to make crop circles.

Crop circles on fenced off guarded military grounds must be done by someone the military neither detects nor can keep out of its protected area. Even if such an intruder only produces pictograms this must be reason of major concerns for the military. What if this intruder decides to do something a lot more sinister and unfriendly than producing crop circles? The military for sure is aware of the implications of crop circles popping up in restricted areas.

Another concern for governments all over the world where crop circles have shown up must be the fact that somebody has the technical means to produce very sophisticated pictograms all over the world and nobody knows who it is and what the purpose of these pictograms is. There are signs that the British government is conducting a Dis-information campaign and has taken measures to disrupt the work of the crop circle producers but it is not working. As these pictograms establish spiritual patterns the only way to invalidate their meaning would be to blow them apart with a helicopter hovering overhead or a wind machine. To make matters worse the film industry addressed this topic in a recent movie and the general public has become aware of the situation. Rightfully, safety concerns will be raised if this issue cannot be resolved.

Crop circles initially appeared in the English countryside in the seventies and gradually spread over most of the world. Having excluded hoaxters, Earth consciousness and secret military activities several conclusions can be drawn. Whoever produces crop circles puts a lot of time and effort in this activity. Whoever is doing this has responded to clumsy attempts of hoaxters and scientific investigators to produce crop circles with ever more sophisticated designs that cannot be duplicated within the time frame such circles appear, which is in a single night. Whoever is behind the crop circles phenomenon has a plan and is determined to implement this plan.

We must assume that the crop circle producers possess the means to document their presence all over the world and to do whatever they please without being detected or hampered in their activities. This presupposes unlimited mobility and a degree of technical sophistication that surpasses the capabilities of anybody even of the governments whose countries are leaders in scientific progress. Furthermore, neither does it make sense that a government engages in this type of activity nor could it be kept secret because the phenomenon is so wide spread. So, who is really producing the crop circles and why?

Crop circles are not the first to be spread very far over the planet. There is a precedent and it goes back thousands of years to the time when megaliths were erected on this planet's surface. The parallels between the two phenomena need to be explained in order to link them credibly.

[Leon]

Crop Circles Contd........


Approximately 5500 years ago aliens who called themselves the gods invaded this planet. Their temporary presence on this planet is well-documented in religions, temples and related structures the world over. Irrefutable proof that they existed is etched in the stones of Ica. These stones show human like people performing surgical operations we know of and are able to perform only lately like heart and other organ transplants. Some stones show brain surgery and brain transplants. At that time humans for sure were not able to perform such advanced medical surgeries and brain transplants humans still can't do. Therefore, the people shown on the stones are gods. These stones also show dinosaurs and humans interacting with them.

While the stones of Ica cannot be carbon dated clay figurines found at Acambaro in Mexico, which also show dinosaurs and humans interacting, can. The dates range from 4500 to 1100 BC. Greek legends tell of a devastating flood only one god and his wife survived. That's why they call it Deukalion's flood. This event occurred about 1500 BC and at that time several other major catastrophes wreaked havoc in the Mediterranean and many other places on the planet. After that date there were no gods and no dinosaurs. Even the vegetation changed dramatically. Paradise, the parallel world, was lost. The present world with all its shortcomings was firmly established.

Before the big change megaliths were the preferred building method. The gods were able to handle stone slabs up to a thousand tons as shown in the Trilithon at Baalbek in Lebanon, at various sites in Peru and in many other places. Therefore, it makes sense to assume that the gods were the ones who erected megalithic structures in many areas of this planet. Aside from pyramids and temples there are structures like Stonehenge and Carnac as well as more than 50,000 simple megalithic locations all over the world especially in England and France. It required a major effort over an extended period of time to establish a megalithic landscape. So, what was the motivation? Is there a relation between the megaliths, which were erected in a time span of about thousand years before the big change, and the ensuing dramatic change?

The answer to this important question can be found in the way gods conducted their business. Religion - spirituality - was most important to them. A major endeavor like placing megaliths over much of the planet for sure had spiritual purposes. The gods erected pyramids and spiritually connected them to the heavens to add more weight to their spiritual claims, for instance, the Pyramids of the Sun and of the Moon in Mexico.

The most remarkable structure serving a spiritual purpose was and still is the Great Pyramid at Giza. It is the centerpiece not only of the pyramids on the plateau but of all the pyramids found in Egypt. The Pyramids of Giza are aligned exactly like the stars in Orion's belt. Also, the position of the pyramids of Giza correlates to the meridian axis of the Nile like the stars of Orion's belt correlate to the meridian axis of the Milky Way thus integrating the Milky Way into the spiritual equation of the Egyptian gods. The sheer weight of these pyramids and the spiritual weight of the cosmic objects they represent gave greatest weight to the spiritual claims of the Egyptian gods and, thus, dominance over the claims of the other gods.

The structures at Stonehenge started out about 2900 BC, several hundred years earlier than the pyramids of the Giza plateau. When these pyramids were built around 2500 BC Stonehenge was transformed from a wooden structure to a megalithic structure. Stones from 4 to 50 tons were hauled over great distances in successive phases and by 1600 BC Stonehenge had reached its final appearance. There were no changes after this date.

During the time when Stonehenge was turned into a megalithic structure megaliths were erected all over England, France and over most of the planet. Remarkably, most of the megaliths were located on ley-lines or at the crossings of such lines where frequently religious structures or ancient ruins of temples can be found. This is a clear indication that the megaliths served spiritual purposes because the ley-lines are the expression of the energies of the quantum vacuum also called spiritual energies, which spread in a grid-like pattern all over the planet. This is the best way to establish spiritually valid patterns and mechanisms.

All megalithic sites correspond to stars or star systems. The Ordnance maps of ancient Scotland, Britain and Ireland show that the megaliths are map projections of the northern and southern hemispheres of the sky and their stars and star systems. The megaliths not only have markings telling which star or star system they represent, in sites representing a star cluster the stones vary in size and weight in proportion to the stars of the star system and are placed at distances reflecting the distances between the stars. Also, the color of the stones reflects the color of the stars they represent. Big red stones, for instance, represent Red giants. - Megaliths not only represent the heavens, they also were used for geodetic and surveying purposes all over the planet. To this day megaliths exist that mark county borders in England.

The megalithic scenery provides very interesting information:

The people who erected the megalithic sites were able to move stones that weighed dozens of tones and knew how to fashion them to their needs.

They were experts in astronomy.

They were experts in geodesics and surveying.

They could travel all over the planet because this was the only way to map the northern and southern sky and to erect more than 50,000 megaliths.

They were able to make a determined and sustained effort over many years.

They were able to coordinate this immense project on a planet wide basis.

Humans of early times definitely were not able to get this work done.

The only ones who qualify as producers of the megaliths are the gods of antiquity. Judging from the way they conducted themselves in those remote times it would be a terrible disaster for mankind if the gods succeeded to come back and to live on this planet.

Megaliths like the pyramids in Egypt were part of the effort to establish the spiritual basis for a change of worlds. When the big change came something went terribly wrong for the gods because they are not around any more. The ones on the surface of the planet died. Only the ones in space ships at the time of the change survived. After the change they went into a time dilation flight and, therefore, they are still alive. Lately, they appeared again - we know their space ships as UFOs.

There are several parallels between megaliths and crop circles:

they can be found over most of the planet. Stonehenge was the center of the megalithic scenery. That's where the first crop circles appeared. That's also the area where the most sophisticated patterns are found. The megaliths were part of a huge endeavor to program spiritual energies in preparation for the coming change of worlds. Obviously, the crop pictograms serve the same purpose.

Assuming that the crop circles serve the same purpose as the megaliths the connection between the ley-lines, megaliths, ancient sites and the crop circles becomes obvious. Much of the ancient network of megaliths is still around. The crop circles may be a brand new effort to program the spiritual energies of this planet or they mend megaliths based spiritual situations that weathering and human actions destroyed over time. They are part of a determined, coordinated and sustained effort all over the planet. Their appearance shows a degree of technical sophistication that clearly reflects the same plan and methods as used when the megaliths were erected. - The gods are back and they are programming a change of worlds again.

Weight is the one major difference between crop circles and megaliths and there is a simple explanation for this. In the world before there were several clans of gods hostile to one another. Each clan wanted to make sure that its own spiritual claims carried the most weight. In this world there are no gods at all. Only one clan of gods is around trying to establish the spiritual patterns that enable it to invade this planet again and its members live in space ships. Therefore, the tools for programming need not to be heavy. Crop circles are adequate.

When the previous change of worlds came a thousand years of preparation failed to ensure the survival of the gods who had prepared this change. Another kind of gods was at work and made sure that this is a world for humans only and we know who these gods were.

Despite recent claims by hoaxers and others, the phenomena of crop circles and formations remains an enigma yet to be explained with any universal degree of acceptance.

[Leon]

Secrets of the Brain: The Mystery of Memory

by Tonia E. Chrapko, B.Ed., creator of the BRAINBOOSTER™ DVD series.


Even though science continues to give us ever increasing insights into what memory is, much of it remains a mystery. Researchers consider memory a process, and when you remember you are actually reconstructing the event from bits of information stored in various parts of the brain. But the mystery is, what initiates the reconstruction? Is it, as some suggest, directed from outside the physical body, from the energy body? That remains to be seen. In the meantime, let’s look at what science can tell us about some of the chemical activity in the brain.


The Location of Memory

In the past, it was thought that all memory was in the brain. However, Gazzaniga (1988) reports that memory occurs throughout the nervous system. So every thought you have is “felt” throughout your entire body because the receptors for the chemicals in your brain are found on the surfaces of cells throughout your body. Thus when the chemicals are activated across synapses in the brain, the message is communicated to every part of your body by chemotaxis, a process that allows cells to communicate by “radar” or remote travel using blood and cerebrospinal fluid. In more extreme cases, the body sometimes buries intensely painful memories in muscle tissue so that the conscious mind is spared the depth of trauma. Then when that person receives deep tissue massage or bodywork such as Rolfing, and the muscles are stimulated, the memories can be reactivated, causing the person to experience the repressed emotions. Another example of muscle memory is evident with organ transplants. People who have received donor organs have reported experiencing cravings or emotional reactions to certain incidents that they never had before.


The Biology of Memory

What it comes down to is brain cells, or neurons, communicating with each other through electo-chemical pathways. An electrical impulse travels down the axon or “outgoing branch”. Then the “fingers” at the end are stimulated to release chemicals called neurotransmitters (tiny molecules that send specific messages). The dendrites or “incoming branches” of other neurons pick these up. The space between the axon and dendrites is called a synapse.



Solidifying the Synapse

For learning to “stick”, the synapses need time to “gel”. If the synapse doesn’t “gel” then recreating the event, i.e. recalling the memory is difficult, if not impossible. A research team comprised of scientists from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and the University of Houston reported the discovery of a new protein – transforming growth factor-B (TGF-B) that acts to solidify the new synapses (Science, March 1997). However, if there is too much protein it can build up and “clog” the synapse, thus reducing memory recall. Usually the neurotransmitter calpain, found in calcium, keeps the buildup of protein down. So, inadequate dietary calcium means that too much protein can build up because there is not enough calpain to keep the synapses clean. Unfortunately, an excess of calcium in the diet also creates a problem because the calpain starts to interfere with proper neural transmissions. A drastic way to remove excess protein from the synapse is by electric shock. Acetylcholine, one type of neurotransmitter, is important for three reasons: it is necessary for activating REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, it keeps neural membranes in tact so that they don’t become brittle and fall away, and it breaks down the excess build up of amyloid protein at the synapses found in Alzheimer’s patients (Robert Wurtham, director of the Clinical Research Center at Massachusetts Institute of Technology).


Stress Erodes Memory

Excessive stress and obesity produce an over-production of a complex set of stress hormones called glucocorticoids (cortisol being one example). Over exposure to glucocorticoids damages and destroys neurons in the brain’s hippocampus – a region critical to learning and memory. One really good way to burn off excess cortisol is through exercise. So for those experiencing particularly high stress levels exercise is not only beneficial, it is necessary.



What are the Characteristics of Memory?

Sensory – we remember things that involve our five senses. So, the more senses that get activate, the easier it will be to recall.

Intensity – when something is more intensely funny, sexual, absurd, etc. it tends to stand out in our memories.

Outstanding – things that are dull and unoriginal are more difficult to remember because there is nothing to distinguish them from all the other memories.

Emotional – the amygdala – a round, pea-sized part in the middle of the brain - acts as a gate keeper, so when something happens that has high emotional content – positive or negative – the amygdale says, “This is important!” and we tend to remember it more easily.

Survival – the brain is wired for survival. This means that anything we perceive as important to survival we will remember more easily. It’s not just physical survival. Survival can include, emotional survival, psychological survival and financial survival.

Personal importance – we naturally remember things that interest us and that have some personal importance.

Repetition – the more often we recall information, the better we get at recalling on demand.
First and last – the brain most easily recalls things from the beginning and the ending of any session or lecture.


What are the Keys to Memory?

Pay attention – often times the biggest problem is that people’s minds are not focused in the moment. Instead, they are thinking about something in the past of future.
Visualization – create a visual in your mind because the brain thinks in pictures and concepts, not paragraphs.
Association – find something to connect the information to…similar to word association. Ask, “What does this remind me of?”

Imagination – get creative when visualizing or making associations.



Why do we forget?

It could be that we never stored the information properly in the first place. It could be because there was not enough emotion or personal importance connected to the information to make it stick. It could be that it was so emotionally traumatic that the mind suppressed it in order to maintain normalcy.




Why do we remember negative events?

Whenever emotions are activated, especially strong emotions, the information or experience is entrenched into memory. Often times we tend to dwell on it, thereby rehearsing it and entrenching it even further. It is also easier to recall negative memories when we are in a bad mood. Why? Because we remember things in the state that we learned them so whenever you are feeling angry you will more easily recall other situations in which you were angry.


The subconscious remembers everything

If we were to compare the conscious mind with the subconscious, the conscious would measure about one foot long and the subconscious would be the length of a football field. The potential is enormous. So everything we experience can be stored. However, the conscious mind would get overloaded trying to process all the incoming bits of data on a daily basis. Instead, all the information goes into the subconscious for storage and we may never deal with it, except if the mind chooses to process it at night through dreams. Or, if we go for clinical hypnosis, through which a therapist assists in accessing information or memories the conscious mind has “forgotten” or repressed.

[Leon]

Learning Tips 

from the popular BRAINBOOSTER™ DVD program.


1. Your brain loves color. Use colored pens – good quality, not gel pens – or use colored paper. Color helps memory.


2. Your brain can effectively focus and concentrate for up to 25 minutes (adults). Take a 10-minute break after every 20-30 minutes of studying. Go do some chores: rake the lawn, iron a shirt, vacuum. Come back after 10 minutes and do another focused, intense session.


3. Your brain needs to be rested to learn fast and remember best. If you are tired take a 20-minute nap first otherwise you are wasting your study time.


4. Your brain is like a motor: it needs fuel. You wouldn’t put dirty fuel in your Lamborghini (if you had one) or you wouldn’t put low quality fuel in a rocket, would you? Well, your brain is a much more valuable, intricate machine than either of those so feed it properly. Junk food and imitation food and all the chemicals and preservatives weaken both your body and your mind. In fact, a recent study in England showed that your IQ is affected by your diet.


5. Your brain is like a sea of an electro-chemical activity. And both electricity and chemicals flow better in water. If you are dehydrated you just don’t focus as well. Drink enough water (colored liquids – pop, juice, coffee, etc. – are not the same). Often times headaches are connected to dehydration, too.


6. Your brain loves questions. When you come up with questions in class or when reading a book, your brain automatically searches for answers, making the learning faster. A good question has more than one answer.


7. Your brain and body have their own rhythm cycles: there are times during the day when you are more alert than others. You will save time learning if you study during your peak periods. If you have a part-time job that happens during your peak period you may wan to reconsider if it is wise to be giving your employer your best learning time.


8. Your brain and body communicate constantly. If your body is slouched down, the message the brain gets is that “this is not important” and so it doesn’t pay as close attention. In any learning situation, sit up and lean forward to help keep your mind alert.  Buy a good quality, adjustable office chair.


9. Your brain is affected by smells. Use aromatherapy to keep your brain alert. Peppermint, lemon and cinnamon are good ones to experiment with.


10. Your brain needs oxygen. Get out there and exercise.


11. Your brain needs space. Be sure that you are not trying to study in a small cramped area.


12. Your brain needs your space to be organized. One recent study showed that kids who grow up in tidy, organized homes do better academically. Why? Because by being trained to organize the outside environment, the brain learns to organize the internal knowledge…which makes recall faster. Buy a 4-drawer legal-sized filing cabinet.


13. Your brain cells in the hippocampus, a part of the brain that deals with putting information from short-term to long-term memory, are destroyed by cortisol, which is created when you are stressed. So, yes, stress affects memory. How do you get rid of cortisol? Exercise.


14. Your brain doesn’t know what you can’t do until you tell it.
What are you telling it? Listen to your self-talk. Stop the negativity. Replace it with more positive, encouraging talk.


15. Your brain is like a muscle: it can be trained and strengthened, at any age. No excuses. Stop being a mental couch potato. Professional athletes practice every day; you can practice homework everyday. If “you don’t have any”, make some up for yourself. Read ahead, review…do SOMETHING.


16. Your brain needs repetition. It is better to do short frequent reviews than one long review because what counts is how many times your brain sees something, not how long is sees it in one sitting.


17. Your brain can understand faster than you can read. Use a pencil or finger to “lead” your eyes. By doing so you help your eyes move more quickly.


18. Your brain needs movement, especially if you are mostly a kinesthetic (body movement) learner instead of a visual or auditory learner. You might find your productivity go up if you have a standing desk. Buy one or make one by raising your desk/table on blocks. This allows you to move more easily and stay more alert.


19. Your brain seeks patterns and connections. When you are learning something, ask yourself, “What does this remind me of?” This will also help your memory because it connects the new knowledge to something you already know.


20. Your brain loves fun. We learn in direct proportion to how much fun we are having. Learning is life. Live it up!

[Leon]

MAN ALWAYS TRIES TO UNDERSTAND MYSTERIES IN ANCIENT WRITINGS

Upanishads
SVETÂSVATARA-UPANISHAD
FIRST ADHYÂYA

1. The Brahma-students say: Is Brahman the cause? Whence are we born? Whereby do we live, and whither do we go? O ye who know Brahman, (tell us) at whose command we abide, whether in pain or in pleasure?


2. Should time, or nature, or necessity, or chance, or the elements be considered as the cause, or he who is called the person (purusha, vigñânâtmâ)? It cannot be their union either, because that is not self-dependent, and the self also is powerless, because there is (independent of him) a cause of good and evil.


3. The sages, devoted to meditation and concentration, have seen the power belonging to God himself, hidden in its own qualities (guna). He, being one, superintends all those causes, time, self, and the rest.


4. We meditate on him who (like a wheel) has one felly with three tires, sixteen ends, fifty spokes, with twenty counter-spokes, and six sets of eight; whose one rope is manifold, who proceeds on three different roads, and whose illusion arises from two causes.


5.  We meditate on the river whose water consists of the five streams, which is wild and winding with its five springs, whose waves are the five vital breaths, whose fountain head is the mind, the course of the five kinds of perceptions. It has five whirlpools, its rapids are the five pains; it has fifty kinds of suffering, and five branches.


6. In that vast Brahma-wheel, in which all things live and rest, the bird flutters about, so long as he thinks that the self (in him) is different from the mover (the god, the lord). When he has been blessed by him, then he gains immortality.


7. But what is praised (in the Upanishads) is the Highest Brahman, and in it there is the triad. The Highest Brahman is the safe support, it is imperishable. The Brahma-students, when they have known what is within this (world), are devoted and merged in the Brahman, free from birth.


8. The Lord (îsa) supports all this together, the perishable and the imperishable, the developed and the undeveloped. The (living) self, not being a lord, is bound, because he has to enjoy (the fruits of works); but when he has known the god (deva), he is freed from all fetters.


9. There are two, one knowing (îsvara), the other not-knowing (gîva), both unborn, one strong, the other weak; there is she, the unborn, through whom each man receives the recompense of his works; and there is the infinite Self (appearing) under all forms, but himself inactive. When a man finds out these three, that is Brahma.


10. That which is perishable is the Pradhâna (the first), the immortal and imperishable is Hara. The one god rules the perishable (the pradhâna) and the (living) self. From meditating on him, from joining him, from becoming one with him there is further cessation of all illusion in the end.


11. When that god is known, all fetters fall off, sufferings are destroyed, and birth and death cease. From meditating on him there arises, on the dissolution of the body, the third state, that of universal lordship; but he only who is alone, is satisfied.


12. This, which rests eternally within the self, should be known; and beyond this not anything has to be known. By knowing the enjoyer, the enjoyed, and the ruler, everything has been declared to be threefold, and this is Brahman.


13. As the form of fire, while it exists in the under-wood, is not seen, nor is its seed destroyed, but it has to be seized again and again by means of the stick and the under-wood, so it is in both cases, and the Self has to be seized in the body by means of the pranava (the syllable Om).


14. By making his body the under-wood, and the syllable Om the upper-wood, man, after repeating the drill of meditation, will perceive the bright god, like the spark hidden in the wood.


15. As oil in seeds, as butter in cream, as water in (dry) river-beds, as fire in wood, so is the Self seized within the self, if man looks for him by truthfulness and penance;

16. (If he looks) for the Self that pervades everything, as butter is contained in milk, and the roots whereof are self-knowledge and penance. That is the Brahman taught by the Upanishad.

[Leon]

MAN ALWAYS TRIES TO UNDERSTAND MYSTERIES IN ANCIENT WRITINGS

Upanishads
SVETÂSVATARA-UPANISHAD
FIRST ADHYÂYA

1. The Brahma-students say: Is Brahman the cause? Whence are we born? Whereby do we live, and whither do we go? O ye who know Brahman, (tell us) at whose command we abide, whether in pain or in pleasure?


2. Should time, or nature, or necessity, or chance, or the elements be considered as the cause, or he who is called the person (purusha, vigñânâtmâ)? It cannot be their union either, because that is not self-dependent, and the self also is powerless, because there is (independent of him) a cause of good and evil.


3. The sages, devoted to meditation and concentration, have seen the power belonging to God himself, hidden in its own qualities (guna). He, being one, superintends all those causes, time, self, and the rest.


4. We meditate on him who (like a wheel) has one felly with three tires, sixteen ends, fifty spokes, with twenty counter-spokes, and six sets of eight; whose one rope is manifold, who proceeds on three different roads, and whose illusion arises from two causes.


5.  We meditate on the river whose water consists of the five streams, which is wild and winding with its five springs, whose waves are the five vital breaths, whose fountain head is the mind, the course of the five kinds of perceptions. It has five whirlpools, its rapids are the five pains; it has fifty kinds of suffering, and five branches.


6. In that vast Brahma-wheel, in which all things live and rest, the bird flutters about, so long as he thinks that the self (in him) is different from the mover (the god, the lord). When he has been blessed by him, then he gains immortality.


7. But what is praised (in the Upanishads) is the Highest Brahman, and in it there is the triad. The Highest Brahman is the safe support, it is imperishable. The Brahma-students, when they have known what is within this (world), are devoted and merged in the Brahman, free from birth.


8. The Lord (îsa) supports all this together, the perishable and the imperishable, the developed and the undeveloped. The (living) self, not being a lord, is bound, because he has to enjoy (the fruits of works); but when he has known the god (deva), he is freed from all fetters.


9. There are two, one knowing (îsvara), the other not-knowing (gîva), both unborn, one strong, the other weak; there is she, the unborn, through whom each man receives the recompense of his works; and there is the infinite Self (appearing) under all forms, but himself inactive. When a man finds out these three, that is Brahma.


10. That which is perishable is the Pradhâna (the first), the immortal and imperishable is Hara. The one god rules the perishable (the pradhâna) and the (living) self. From meditating on him, from joining him, from becoming one with him there is further cessation of all illusion in the end.


11. When that god is known, all fetters fall off, sufferings are destroyed, and birth and death cease. From meditating on him there arises, on the dissolution of the body, the third state, that of universal lordship; but he only who is alone, is satisfied.


12. This, which rests eternally within the self, should be known; and beyond this not anything has to be known. By knowing the enjoyer, the enjoyed, and the ruler, everything has been declared to be threefold, and this is Brahman.


13. As the form of fire, while it exists in the under-wood, is not seen, nor is its seed destroyed, but it has to be seized again and again by means of the stick and the under-wood, so it is in both cases, and the Self has to be seized in the body by means of the pranava (the syllable Om).


14. By making his body the under-wood, and the syllable Om the upper-wood, man, after repeating the drill of meditation, will perceive the bright god, like the spark hidden in the wood.


15. As oil in seeds, as butter in cream, as water in (dry) river-beds, as fire in wood, so is the Self seized within the self, if man looks for him by truthfulness and penance;

16. (If he looks) for the Self that pervades everything, as butter is contained in milk, and the roots whereof are self-knowledge and penance. That is the Brahman taught by the Upanishad.

[Leon]

THIRD ADHYÂYA

1. The snarer who rules alone by his powers, who rules all the worlds by his powers, who is one and the same, while things arise and exist,--they who know this are immortal.


2. For there is one Rudra only, they do not allow a second, who rules all the worlds by his powers. He stands behind all persons, and after having created all worlds he, the protector, rolls it up at the end of time.


3. That one god, having his eyes, his face, his arms, and his feet in every place, when producing heaven and earth, forges them together with his arms and his wings.

4. He, the creator and supporter of the gods, Rudra, the great seer, the lord of all, he who formerly gave birth to Hiranyagarbha, may he endow us with good thoughts.


5. O Rudra, thou dweller in the mountains, look upon us with that most blessed form of thine which is auspicious, not terrible, and reveals no evil!


6. O lord of the mountains, make lucky that arrow which thou, a dweller in the mountains, holdest in thy hand to shoot. Do not hurt man or beast!

7. Those who know beyond this the High Brahman, the vast, hidden in the bodies of all creatures, and alone enveloping everything, as the Lord, they become immortal.


8. I know that great person (purusha) of sunlike lustre beyond the darkness 6. A man who knows him truly, passes over death; there is no other path to go.


9. This whole universe is filled by this person (purusha), to whom there is nothing superior, from whom there is nothing different, than whom there is nothing smaller or larger, who stands alone, fixed like a tree in the sky.


10. That which is beyond this world is without form and without suffering. They who know it, become immortal, but others suffer pain indeed.


11. That Bhagavat exists in the faces, the heads, the necks of all, he dwells in the cave (of the heart) of all beings, he is all-pervading, therefore he is the omnipresent Siva.

12. That person (purusha) is the great lord; he is the mover of existence, he possesses that purest power of reaching everything, he is light, he is undecaying.


13. The person (purusha), not larger than a thumb, dwelling within, always dwelling in the heart of man, is perceived by the heart, the thought 1, the mind; they who know it become immortal.


14. The person (purusha) with a thousand heads. a thousand eyes, a thousand feet, having compassed the earth on every side, extends beyond it by ten fingers' breadth.


15. That person alone (purusha) is all this, what has been and what will be; he is also the lord of immortality; he is whatever grows by food.


16. Its hands and feet are everywhere, its eyes and head are everywhere, its ears are everywhere, it stands encompassing all in the world.


17. Separate from all the senses, yet reflecting the qualities of all the senses, it is the lord and ruler of all, it is the great refuge of all.


18. The embodied spirit within the town with nine gates 6, the bird, flutters outwards, the ruler of the whole world, of all that rests and of all that moves.


19. Grasping without hands, hasting without feet, he sees without eyes, he hears without ears. He knows what can be known, but no one knows him; they call him the first, the great person (purusha).


20. The Self, smaller than small, greater than great, is hidden in the heart of the creature. A man who has left all grief behind, sees the majesty, the Lord, the passionless, by the grace of the creator (the Lord).


21. I know this undecaying, ancient one, the self of all things, being infinite and omnipresent. They declare that in him all birth is stopped, for the Brahma-students proclaim him to be eternal.