The Nine Unknown

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Secret societies have always been a topic of debate among scholars, the existence of those seemed too good to be true, and yet some names circulated among common men, raising the seed of doubt. 

While associations like the Freemasons are quite well known for their brotherhood, the existence of the Illuminati and Priory of Sion is still questioned. These societies included the most brilliant minds of the age, their motives were clear and secrets are hidden, and both organizations had to battle against the church to survive. The names of these organizations came to light mostly because of some leaked documents and Dan Brown. Illuminati is 400 years old, but what if I tell you about an older organization much older than the Illuminati and the Priory of Sion.

A 2000-year-old secret society, 

The secret society of Ancient India.

The alleged society was founded in India during the reign of Mauryan king Asoka.

Anyone familiar with Ancient Indian history is bound to know about King Asoka, his ties with Kalinga, and his preaching of Buddhism. Asoka is better known as 'Asoka the Great', he was the strongest Mauryan king even after his conversion to Buddhism, there were no weak holes in the kingdom. Could his strength be due to the secret society he created?

Secret society secret society and secret society? but what is this secret society about and what is its name?

drumroll, please

Conch sound, please!

THE NINE UNKNOWN

You must be thinking what type of name is it? but it may not be the real name, the real name may be washed away by the tide of time like many other valuable pieces of information. This is the name given to the secret organization by Talbot Mundy who published a storybook with the same title. He published the book according to his research but most people refused to believe in the existence of such a powerful group. 

So, what exactly are the Nine Unknown?

Well, according to the legend, Asoka chose nine men of knowledge and gave each one of them a book, so, nine books contained knowledge that would be lethal if got into the wrong hands. 

Do not roll your eyes at books.

These books were on subjects that shouldn't be known to mankind at that age. and no it isn't a pre-Illuminati.

The nine books were on subjects like, propaganda, physiology, microbiology, sociology, alchemy, light, communication, cosmology, and gravity.

Gravity, a concept that all thought Newton invented when the apple hit his head?

Nice story. Now let's continue!

It is also assumed the technique to kill with a touch was leaked from the second book, and some other leaked knowledge of these books has been used in judo.

The identity of the nine men was always kept hidden, and when one of the nine men left their position another brilliant mind took the place, who was elected by the former before his death. The nine men each had nine disciples, and each of their disciples had another nine disciples like this their organization had about 2100 men. These men spread throughout the world protecting their secrecy. The nine men were also assigned to collect information and research their respective subjects and increase the information in the books.

Of course, the books at that time were not printed but handwritten! so the knowledge in the books kept increasing and increasing.

Do you know that the first ever plastic surgery, Rhinoplasty, surgery of the nose was done by Shushruta in India in 600 BC and not in one of the highly developed advanced countries of Western medicine.

If you asked me why was Rhinoplasty needed?

Well, there was this cruel practice of cutting off the nose of criminals. So, every time they look at themselves or someone else looks at them, their cruel crimes will be remembered. Now, it is frequently used as a phase in India when someone is ashamed.

But why would Asoka need a secret society to keep Knowledge hidden? Shouldn't it be shared and spread?

Well to answer that question let us know a little back story.

Asoka was a man of extreme knowledge, he was the brightest among his brothers and also the strongest, but after the battle of Kalinga, he realized how destructive this knowledge could be and decided to collect this vast knowledge of ancient India and keep it hidden from common man to protect it from falling into wrong hands.

Asoka 

Kalinga was one of the kingdoms that Chandragupta Maurya was unable to capture. The kingdom was strong and posed a threat to the trade affairs of the Mauryan kingdom. The Mauryan kingdom ruled over most of India by that time, Asoka the grandson of Chandragupta decided to capture the kingdom by hook or crook and he succeeded. But at the cost of thousands of innocent lives. The battle of Kalinga is marked as the most gruesome war in Ancient India. After the battle, when King Asoka walked through the roads littered with dead bodies and splashed with blood, he was grief-stricken and so he decided to leave his ways of brutality and convert to Buddhism. He became a preacher of Buddhism and spread its words throughout the world. But the Mauryan Kingdom did not fall weak after embracing Buddhism as its core religion, it grew even stronger. 

Studying structure in India was a bit different, there were Gurukuls, where mostly higher class people were taught, and even so, they needed to prove their worth to their teachers. The teachers (rishis or munis) were highly respected as they were thought to be both knowledgeable and spiritual, anyone who wanted to study needed to pass tests from them, and these weren't written exams but rather some creative tests to check their practical skills and if they were trustworthy enough to gain knowledge. So, knowledge was seen as a powerful tool and Asoka, a brilliant student knew how to use this knowledge to win his battles. Maybe he even applied his knowledge during wars, so he knew how destructive it could be if fallen into the wrong hands. Maybe because of this reason, he created a secret society to protect this fascinating yet deadly power from the hands of destructive humans. Who will either not understand its significance or use it for their benefit?

The Nine Unknown worked in mysterious ways, 

It is said that during times of need, the Nine Unknowns secretly leaked the required pieces of knowledge to worthwhile men. Some sources say, Alexander Emilie Jean Yersin, visited Madras and met one of the descendants of nine unknown before he invented the immunotoxin vaccine for cholera. It is also known that Pope Sylvester II came to India and met the nine unknown, he was gifted with a talking bronze head that could answer yes or no, but the day he was going to present his advanced technology to the church, he succumbed mysteriously and the bronze head also vanished. Another piece of information is that the nine unknowns had an immense influence on the political and social workings of society. their influence was such that they could easily draw the strings without anyone suspecting it. They also had tons of treasure safely guarded against the world's prying eyes.

The huge amount of treasure may be stashed somewhere in India or spread in hidden stashes over the entire subcontinent or maybe somewhere in the world, cause nine unknowns had a wide network spread throughout the world but a stronger communication between their circles. 

To me, it is not very hard to believe that India may be the birthplace of such a powerful society, as the Vedas are proof of the advanced nature of science and technology of ancient India. There is an explained structure of the Atom described in one of the Vedas, eras before Dalton even existed. Ayurveda, yoga, and various other practices of modern science have been taken from old Indian scriptures.

 Nalanda was also the world-famous university of ancient India, it was known as the center of education. And this all was before the Renaissance, before Illuminati. not to mention gravity was already known by Indians before Newton. Then again Indians were the ones who gave 'zero' to the word, a digit without which mathematics would cease to exist. So, it is not impossible to believe in the existence of such a secret society.

Some people protested against the existence of such books but some Sanskrit texts discovered in Lhasa, and Indian scriptures in Afghanistan prove them wrong, there are descriptions of vimana (spacecraft) found there. So, Nine Unknown may have been real.

The majority of Secret societies have been washed from the face of the earth but nine unknown have always kept their secrecy better than most, could it be that they still exist?

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 blue rose belles

Archie

The ghost ship

If the story of the Titanic sends chills down your bones then Octavius will freeze you to death.

And that's what happened to the crew of the ship, they were frozen to death.

If a person feels cold then it is their natural tendency to curl up their bodies or use blankets but unexpectedly this is not the scene that happened in Octavius, the entire crew was frozen in their states of doing tasks. Even the captain was frozen at his desk with a pen in hand, writing into the logbook.

It was as if the crew was frozen in the blink of an eye without even realizing it.

(much like how suddenly everyone fell asleep in sleeping beauty).

Okay, so the crew died eerily, but that does not explain why Octavius is called The ghost ship? it should be called a cursed ship, that would be more appropriate, wouldn't it!

Well, then here is the reason

In 1761, the sailing ship Octavius left the port of London with a cargo destined for China. when returning from China with goods destined for Britain, the captain of the ship decided to take the northwest passage, that was the last time the ship was seen. The Northwest passage was a route that was still unventured by the icy waters there, but the British crew was very keen to claim the northwest passage and add another achievement to their list.  The ship never made it to London port and went missing on the way.

The story should have ended here as the lost ship but that was not the case.

 In 1775 a whaling ship, Herald was working in the frigid waters of Greenland when it observed another battered ship floating nearby, they send a team for inspection of the ship. The team identified the ship as Octavius and was frightened at the sight that prevailed there. The captain was frozen in his cabin with a pen in hand as if writing something, behind him they found a woman frozen holding her child wrapped in blankets. Downstairs all the 28 crew members were found frozen while performing some work. The bodies preserved by the frost, made the team run in fright, back to their own ship. They were in such a rush to leave the ghost ship that they didn't bother to pick up the fallen pages of the frostbitten logbook they collected as evidence. Luckily the first and last page survived and the last entry of the captain was of 75N 160W on 11th November 1762, i.e. 250 miles north of Barrow, Alaska. As the crew of Herald thought Octavius was cursed they left it adrift as it was. Octavius was never seen again.

Interestingly, as the ship was found off the coast of Greenland, it did complete its voyage of passing the northwest passage even if the crew was not alive to celebrate their victory.

what makes the ghost ship even more intriguing, 

1. the ship did not sink even after being weather-beaten for 14 years.

2. the creepy position in which the bodies were frozen

3. The ship floating on its own and completing the voyage it was destined for

4. the ship never being seen again.

5. the stories that revolve around the northwest passage.

The major spooky alarm comes from the way the bodies froze-

How can a person be okay one second and suddenly freeze the next second? there must be a quick and sudden temperature drop for that to happen. So, quick that the people didn't even realize it.

The mystery gets even more interesting when in 1848, two ships H.M.S Erebus and H.M.S Terror were set to search the northwest passage for an exploration known as Franklin Expedition. None of the crew survived the voyage and the ships also went missing. After 170 years of searching the wreck of HMS Erebus was found in September 2014 and two years later in 2016 wreck of the other ship was found.

You may ask what stories revolve around the northwest and why people are so eager to claim it?

The Northwest Passage is a sea route that joins the North Atlantic and the North Pacific, by way of the Canadian Arctic.

Let's begin with the first fact that the northwest passage is not a natural route but was invented by British explorers on the map while finding the fastest route to China. once they marked it up they were eager to discover it and claim it as it would give them an upper hand in trade. The northern islands had rough weather which posed the greatest obstacle in navigating those waters.

Some facts state that the inhabitants of those islands were different from mainland people with different cultures and technologies, some of their advanced technology included Inuit sunglasses and Inuit shoes. There is a huge gap in cultural differences between the northern people and the mainlanders. while the northern people were thought to be as harsh as the climate there the mainlanders were seen as greedy and deceitful by the northerners. This difference was like a dead end to the successful discovery of the route.

Another important point is that even after a ship sinks its remains can be found as was the case of HMS Terror and HMS Erebus but the remains of Octavius were never found. So, where is the ghost ship now?

The northwest passage was explored in 1903-1906 by Ronald Amundsen, his crew was able to survive the thick fog that surrounded these islands. But even after its successful navigation the Northwest passage still remains a place shrouded in mystery, with the unsolved case of Octavius and the disappearance of other ships, this place will always remain an area of attraction for the mystery seekers all around the world.

(What do you think happened to Octavius? write in the comments)

                                                                                   blue rose belles

Archie 

x

The Secret Behind Christmas

🔔🔔🔔

Jingle bells, jingle bells,

Jingle all the way.

Oh what fun it is to ride

In a one-horse open sleigh, hey!

The time has come for chilly winter mornings, fog-covered skies, red and white striped sweaters with a cup of hot chocolate and freshly baked goods along with our favourite Christmas carols on loop.

No matter how old are you Christmas is the time to be a child again and spend quality time with our loved ones.

Do you know why Christmas is celebrated?

to celebrate the birth of Christ

Well, you are technically right

except a teeny tiny detail is missing that most of us don't know

December 25th is not the day Jesus Christ was born!

Shocked!

Well, I was too when I came across this fact.

According to old scriptures, the actual birthday of Jesus Christ is assumed to be the 6th of January. Then why do we celebrate the wrong birthday of the son of god?

To answer this question we have to travel back to the 4th century.

it was the time when Christianity was gaining over Europe and pagan worship was struggling for existence. As most of the pagan worshippers were killed or tortured because the church saw it as a form of satanic worship. it wasn't a favourable time for both the teams. So, to avoid more bloodshed and to unite European countries, the church started including some pagan rituals into Christianity. the rituals were so intricately interwoven in Christianity that nobody doubted it. And at that time raising questions against the church was also punishable, so ...

So, Pope Julius I announced 25th December to be celebrated as the birthday of Christ.

Why 25th December? you may ask

 

because just 3 days before, the 22nd of December is the winter solstice, a day that was widely celebrated across Europe in various forms.

The date selected was so clever that by 5th century Christianity emerged as a major religion of Europe.

Why was winter solstice celebrated?

Because winter solstice marks the end of the harsher part of winter, as the day is supposed to be the coldest and has longest night. so in one sentence it is celebrated to say goodbye to woolens and waking up before sun.

What could be the similarities between Christmas and festivities performed during winter solstice?

well, since winter solstice was performed all over the world in different forms so there are various rituals we will come across

let's start with Rome.

In Rome the festival of saturnalia was celebrated during this time, slavery was banned and everyone was treated as equal. there was also grand feasts and gift-givings. In ancient Rome the pine trees were seen as sacred and an essential part of goddess' groves and were also brought home and decorated.

In Persia, the victory of light over darkness was celebrated in form of Yalda. in this festival people use to light candles and fires to ward off darkness along with feasts.

in China, Donghzi festival is celebrated, which is one of the most widely celebrated festival by Chinese people and the significance of the festival is to celebrate the seasons turning point towards warmer and lighter days of spring.

But the most significant, of all of this is the the old pagan celebration of  winter solstice - yule

According to pagan beliefs Yule is the birthday of sun rather than the birthday of Jesus. there is a story of two twin kings Oak king and Holy king , the Holly king is considered to be the king of waning period of sun and thus he use to rule from midsummer to Yule time (winter solstice) and during Yule he would surrender his throne to his younger brother the Oak king, the ruler of waxing period. both of them are considered to maintain the harmony of seasons and fight for the love of goddess. although many researchers consider them to be the same person.

A point to be noted in this context is the western world used to follow a sun calendar , where there seasons, months days and important times wee all based  on the position of sun. that's why the zodiac symbols are also called sun signs, So the sun held a huge influence and significance in rituals and beliefs of people.

Yule was also observed in old Germany, scholars have found some connections with the historic Germanic tradition and the wild hunt of Odin.

Now, you would be surprised to know that how much of the old traditions are still followed today in Christmas.

The first one is the concept of evergreen trees, yew, iris, ivy, were seen as sacred, though there is no historic proofs, if the trees were decorated or not, some scholars believed that that Christmas tradition of decking the halls was implemented from this old pagan tradition.

the concept of mistletoe came from this old tradition along with use of wreath to protect homes from evil and keeping them warm with love.

The famous Christmas tree or Yule tree was is thought to be introduced during Victorian times by  German prince albert. It was believed that bringing live pine trees into the house and decorating them with candles kept the houses safe and warm, as the wood spirits would be pleased. ( I don't think they would be very pleased if you empty the forest in the name of festival though).

Sometimes Christmas is also referred to as Yuletide or Yuletime, due to the similarities between the two. but now we know which one originated from which one. Though it is very plesant to see how Christmas  is celebrated throughout the world irrespective of the religion of person. It has truly become a widely accepted and loved festivals of time.

🎕🎕🎕🎕🎕🎕🎕🎕🎕🎕🎕🎕

Merry Christmas to everyone

blue rose belles        

   (Archie)   🎕        

Durga

Durga puja is the life and soul of Bengal, a ten-day-long festival for the ten-handed goddess. Goddess Durga is like a mother figure and so calling her Ma Durga feels much warmer. She is also called Dashabhuja and Mahisasuramardini.

She is a mother, 

a warrior,

 the epitome of power, 

the power that runs the universe, 

shakti,

She has ten forms, 

some that are motherly and gentle,

 some fierce and dangerous.

And so it is said 

the same woman, 

who is gentle and calm, 

can be fierce and perilous.

So beware!

Before you call them weak.

As the puja season has begun ...

So, it is the perfect time for sitting with a cup of chai or coffee along with some pakoras and delve into the very interesting Indian mythology.

Before we begin let us know about three major gods of Indian mythology

Bramha - the god of creation

Vishnu/ Narayan- the protector of the universe

Shiva- the destroyer

According to mythology, the universe revolves around three major concepts creation, propagation and destruction. Destruction leads the path to the creation of a new era. 

Pretty simple right!

Nah ! as I try to explain the concepts you will just get caught up in a cobweb of confusion.

Before I come to the legend of Durga, let me tell you about Sati and Parvati.

Goddess Sati was the first wife of  Lord Shiva, she was the daughter of  Daksha Raj. Now, Daksha Raj was not very fond of his son-in-law. It so happened that Daksha Raj wanted Lord Shiva to bow in front of him since he is the elder in a relationship. But as Lord Shiva is one of the three main gods he refused to bow as that would be a sign of immense disrespect to the gods.

Daksha Raj's hatred towards Lord Shiva was so immense that he refused to accept Sati as his daughter. One day he organized a yajna ( a kind of puja) and invited everyone except his daughter and son-in-law.

Now, for any yajna offering tributes to Lord Shiva is important but Daksha Raj said that he will complete the yajna successfully without including Lord Shiva.

After hearing the news Sati was enraged and wanted to confront her father but lord Shiva warned her not to interfere with her father's affair, as he may insult her badly. This is the time that Sati showed Shiva her true form that she is not weak but powerful, and showed the different forms she has taken to kill numerous asuras. Lord Shiva was shocked to find out that his human wife was actually the Shakti so in the end he hesitantly accepted her request and let her go.

Now, when she arrived at her father's palace, he was in the middle of the yajna but Sati stopped him by saying no yajna can be completed without Shiva that is when everything started going downhill. The argument between father and daughter turned heated and he started insulting Lord Shiva. Sati who couldn't tolerate the disrespect of her husband decided to release her soul from her body. So she decided it was better to die than to hear her father insult her husband.

Lord Shiva felt her soul leaving her body and went ballistic. Since he is the god of destruction, you can imagine how much chaos his rage could create. Let me make the picture clearer he killed Daksha Raj with his Trishul (trident). Then took the lifeless body of his wife and started a dance of destruction ( tandrav). His emotions were storming inside grief, rage, and loss ( can you imagine a God who is immortal losing his beloved so early). His dance was so intense that the creation was on the verge of destruction.

All the gods were terrified since no one was able to stop him. At this point, Vishnu figured out that as long as he saw the dead body of his wife he wouldn't stop. So Vishu used his chakra to cut Sati's body into  52 pieces. Those pieces fell in different parts of India where according to the legend shrines were built later.

After realizing his wife's body was no longer on his shoulders lord Shiva fell down in devastation and the tandrav stopped. So the world did not end that night.

Years later Parvati was born to Himalaya and his wife, she was the reincarnation of Goddess Sati. She was a loved and cherished princess whose heart was already given to Lord Shiva. Her parents were also worshippers of lord shiva and were immensely pleased to marry off their daughter to him. But it was not easy for Parvati to be noticed by Lord Shiva. Parvati took the task of worshipping Lord Shiva wholeheartedly while he was deep in Tapasya (meditation). Now, Lord Shiva wanted to test her loyalty, so he disguised himself as a Brahmin. The Brahmin approached Parvati and said that she should marry a rich king rather than a god who lived like a beggar but Parvati replied that if she married someone it would be none other than Shiva.

 Lord Shiva was pleased with her answer and agreed to marry her and they lived happily ever after!

Nops!

Happily ever after happens in fairytales, not in mythology, at least not when you always have a bunch of asuras wreaking havoc frequently and a God who always grants amazing wishes which leads to disaster.

One of these Asuras was Mahisasura, Mahish means buffalo and asura demon. Since Mahisasur could shapeshift into buffalo and is also known as the buffalo demon.

Now Mahisasura was an immensely ambitious person, he wanted to achieve all three realms, Swarga ( adobe of gods), Marta ( adobe of humans), and Patala ( adobe of demons) and so he began to worship Brahma. 

After doing Tapasya for years, Brahma was pleased with him and decided to relieve him of his duty. So Brahma visited him and offered to grant him a wish. But there were terms and conditions, he could not wish for immortality, so Mahisasura being his smartass self asked that no man, animal, or god could kill him. His wish was granted making him ecstatic, he thought that he was immortal as no god, man or animal could harm him now, no matter what he did.

And the show begins, Mahisasura concurred the whole of Patala and Marta without any difficulty, torturing innocent souls and rampaging life. The minor gods being terrified of his power decided to approach the council.

The council now is very funny they had no idea what was going on below until the Marta was completely conquered. 

So what were they doing all this time?

Watching Apsaras dance while munching on snacks. 

Now, let me make it clear the three major are not included in the council, maybe because they are actually busy.

Coincidently, while the council was having such relaxing entertainment, after a long discussion period, Mahisasur barged in with his army and trampled the whole area. Some of the gods tried to fight him but in vain. So they fled.

Yup, you heard me right!

The gods fled from Swarga and came running to Kailash - the adobe of Lord Shiva.

Lord Vishnu and Lord Bramha were also informed of the situation and they also arrived at Kailash. Lord Vishnu found the loophole in the wish and decided to send a woman to fight Mahisasuara.

So, the three major gods created a powerful form with the Jyoti released from their third eye, the form was taken up by Parvati and the goddess Durga was born.

Each god gifted her some weapon and so in the end she had nine weapons in her ten hands and a lion.

She went into the battle like a fierce warrior, yet keeping her motherly features intact.

When Mahisasura saw Goddess Durga he laughed out loud. he couldn't believe the gods sent a woman to fight him. Goddess Durga warned him not to consider women as weak and that his death was written in her hands. Mahisasura was enraged hearing her words, when the gods and bravest of men are afraid of him what will a pitiful woman do but if she wants to fight then be it.

And so the war continued...

On the eight days, Mahisasura understood that the lady standing in front of him was no ordinary woman to mess with and his death was imminent. So, before they began fighting Mahisasur bowed in front of goddess Durga and asked her permission to worship her before fighting. The goddess was startled but nevertheless, she agreed, after doing the puja Mahisasur asked her to bless him so that he could do his best in the fight since he would be dying soon. The goddess was flabbergasted, she said that she would let him live if he gave back the Swarga and Marta, but he refused. he replied that if he had to die he would go down on the battlefield like a gallant person and by her hands. The goddess was pleased with him and said that whenever she would be worshipped by people Mahisasuara would also be worshipped with her.

On the evening of that day, Goddess Durga plunged the Trishul straight through Mahisasur's heart, ending a reign of terror.

Thus, the good won over the evil. 

Once again.

                                                                                      

blue rose belles

(Archie)