judicial Administration in Ancient India

judicial Administration in Ancient India

http://ithihas.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/judicial-administration-in-ancient-india/

Administration of justice was not a part of the state’s duties in early times. We do not find references to any judicial organisations in Vedic literature. The aggrieved party in order to get its wrong redressed used to sit before the accused house and not allow him to move till his (aggrieved party) claims was satisfied or wrong righted. Later justice was administered by the tribe and clan assemblies and the judicial procedure was very simple. But with the extension of the functions of the state and the growth of the royal powers, the king came gradually to be regarded as the origin of justice and a more or less elaborate system of judicial administration came into existence. The Dharma Shastras, Niti Shastras and the Arthashastra provide us information about the well-developed judiciary. According to these literatures the king is the fountain head of all justice and he was required to spend every day about a couple of hours in adjudication. The paramount duty of the king is the protection of his subjects which involves the punishment of the wrongdoer. The law to be administered is the Dharma Shastras subject to local and other usages which are not inconsistent with the shastras.

 Types of Courts: Brihaspati speaks of four types of courts

• Movable courts
• Stationary courts
• Courts deriving authority from the king and
• Courts presided by the king himself.

He mentions three kinds of itinerant courts, one for the benefit of forest dwellers, one for the benefit of caravan serai merchants and one for the benefit of military men. According to Bhrighu there were fifteen kinds of courts. Some of the prominent courts where justice was delivered were-

1. The Kings Court: At the head of the judicial system stood the kings court at the capital and presided by the king himself. But more often a learned Brahmana was appointed for the purpose and he was known as Adhyaksha or Sabhapathi. Earlier the Adhyaksha was selected for each particular occasion and in course of time became a permanent officer of state and held the position of the Chief Justice (Pradvivaka). Apart from the king, this court consisted of the Pradvivaka and three or four jurors.
2. Court presided by the Chief Justice: The court presided by the chief justice appointed by the king called Pradvivaka was the second type of court.
3. Principal Courts: Another court of importance were the principal courts in large town where royal officers assisted by learned person administered justice. They were presided by Adhyakshas appointed by the central government.
4. Popular Courts: One special feature of ancient Indian judicial system is the existence of popular courts. Yajnavalkya for the first time refers to three types of popular courts.

• Kula- The Kula has been defined by the Mitakshara as consisting of a group of relations, near or distant. The Kula or joint families were often very extensive in ancient India. If there was a quarrel between two members the elders used to attempt to settle it. The Kula court was this informal body of family elders.
• Sreni- When the effort at family arbitration failed, the matter was taken to Sreni court. The term Sreni was used to denote the courts of guilds which became a prominent feature of the commercial life in ancient India from 500 B.C. Sreni had their own executive committees of four or five members and it is likely that they might have functioned as the Sreni court also for settling the disputes among their members. This was an assembly of persons following a particular profession like betel sellers, weavers, shoe makers and such like.
• Puga- This was an association of persons drawn from various castes    and following different professions but staying in the same village or town. The Sabha or the village assembly of the Vedic period and Gramavriddha court of the Arthasastra were the forerunner of the Puga court.

Though these courts were essentially non-official and popular, they had the royal authority behind them. The government refused to entrain any suits except in appeals against their decision. It also gave effect to their decrees.

In ancient India village panchayats and guild courts were appreciated and encouraged for several reasons like-

• They reduced the burden of the central administration.
• The members of a village panchayat or a guild had more or less reliable knowledge of the fact in dispute as the parties belonged to their guild or locality and
• It would be difficult for a witness to tell a lie in the presence of his own people and thereby lose his respect.

There was no limit to the jurisdiction of the popular courts in civil matters. They could not however try criminal cases of a serious nature. The popular courts played a prominent part in ancient India.

The regular courts met once or twice every day usually in the morning and evenings and were open to all. Trails were always held in public.

Different kinds of laws: Justice was administered in accordance with rules which fell under one or other of the following four heads, namely

• Sacred law (Dharma)
• Secular law (Vyavahara)
• Custom (Charitra) and
• Royal commands (Rajasasana)

Dharmashastra constituted the sacred law and secular law depended upon evidence. Custom was decided by the opinion of the people and royal edicts constituted the administrative law. Of the divisions of laws, Manu and almost all law-givers consider customs as the essential principle in the administration of justice and say that disputes should be decided according to the customs of countries and districts; of castes; of guilds and of families. 

Types of law-suits: The topics which give rise to law suits are grouped by the law-givers under 18 titles, namely

• Recovery of debt
• Deposit and pledge
• Sale without ownership
• Concerns among partners
• Resumption of gifts
• Non-payment of wages
• Non-performance of agreements
• Revoking of sale and purchase
• Dispute between owners of cattle and herdsmen
• Dispute regarding boundaries
• Assault
• Defamation
• Theft
• Robbery and violence
• Adultery
• Duties of man and wife
• Inheritance and partition and
• Gambling and betting

The list includes both civil and criminal cases.

Judicial Procedure: The judicial proceeding in a case consisted of four stages namely

1. The statement of the Arthi/Purvapaksha (plaintiff) who had filed a complaint (Prathigna) stating precisely his case and claim.
2. The Prathyarthi/ Uttarapaksha (defendant) was summoned with a notice and was required to submit his written statement in reply.
3. Then the actual trial would begin wherein the judge would call upon the parties to cite evidence/proof (Pramana) which were of two kinds namely human (manushik) and divine (daivik). The human proof consisted of documentary evidence, oral evidence and possessions. Divine proof was of five kinds, ordeal by balance, by fire, water, poison and by drinking water. Divine proof was restored to only in the absence of human proof.
4. When the evidence was over the judge would in consultation with Sabhyas or jurors give his decision/judgment (nirnaya). A copy of the judgment was given to the parties. The unsuccessful party could appeal to the higher courts.

Importance of Jury: Even the king and the chief justice could not begin the trail of a case if they are not assisted by a panel of three, five or seven jurors called sabhyas. They were expected to be impartial and fearless. A juror keeping silence has been condemned. They were to express their opinion even if it was in opposition to that of the king. They were to restrain a king going astray or giving a wrong decision. A number of famous jurists maintain that the king or judge is to be guided by the verdict of the jury and only when the jurors could not come to a definite decision, the king exercised his privilege to decide the case according to his own view. These sabhyas were usually Brahmins as they were well versed in Dharmashastras. However knowledge of sacred law was not necessary when the case (the party to the dispute) concerned the disputes among the cultivators, merchants and forest dwellers. Dharmashastra writers themselves recommended that the cases should be tried with the help of the jurors selected from the castes or the professions of the parties themselves.

Pleaders rarely figure in ancient Indian judicial system. Sukra refers to the practice of appointing recognized agents in the law courts to defend a case when a party was himself unable to do so owing to his preoccupation or ignorance of the law. Such agents were known as Niyogins and they were expected to guard the interests of their parties very carefully. Their fee varied from six to half percent, according to the value of the property. If they colluded with the other party they were punished by the state.

Fines, imprisonment, banishment, mutilation and death sentence were the punishment in vogue. Fines were most common and punishment often differed with the caste of the accused. The jail department was under the charge of an official called Sannidhata and the jailor was called Bandhanagaradhyaksha. Male and female prisoners were kept in separate wards.

Administration of Justice during Mauryan times: The king was the head of justice, but there were special tribunals of justice both in cities and country side presided over by Mahamatras and Rajukas. The chief-justice was known as Dharmadhikarin. Kautilya speaks of two types of courts,

• Dharmastheeya- Civil courts with jurisdiction over ordinary civil and criminal issues.
• Kantaka Sodhana- Courts consisting of three commissioners (Pradestaras) with jurisdiction over matters of commerce and industries and prevention of breach of peace.

According to the Greek accounts the criminal code of the Mauryas was rather severe and sternly administered. A large number of ordinary offences like giving false evidence, evasion of government taxes, causing serious hurt to artisans and workmen were punished by mutilation and death. Judicial torture was used to extort confessions. There were 18 codes of torture including seven varieties of whipping. Such a harsh criminal code had the good effect on maintain peace and order. According to Megasthenese there were very few crimes and thefts uncommon. As a result people left the door of their houses unlocked. Ashoka introduced reforms in the judicial administration and procedure. He ordered that a respite of three days was to be granted to person condemned to death so that his relatives might use the interval to petition for mercy to the local authorities or enable the convicts to prepare spiritually for death by giving alms or observing fasts.

Administration of Justice during Gupta times: The king was considered to be the incarnation of justice and so justice was often administered by the sovereign himself. There was also a high official called Mahadandanayaka who probably performed the combined duties of the Great Judge and General. Another official closely associated with him must have been the Mahaksapatalika or the Great Keeper of Records. In villages justice was administered by royal officials with the help of the members of the village council or assembly. In addition to official courts at the headquarters of districts and provinces there existed a number of popular special courts of self-governing corporations or guilds which decided disputes arising among their members. The criminal laws during the Gupta rule were not as severe as it was in the time of the Mauryas. They were mild and most of the crimes were punished only by fines varying in amounts according to the gravity of the offence. Capital punishment was unknown and the highest punishment for repeated rebellions was mutilation. Still law and order were well preserved and the Chinese traveller, Fa-Hien toured all over India without molestation.

Administration of Justice during Harsha times: The Chief Judge during Harsha’s time was known as Mahapramatara and the Record Keeper is styled as the Mahaksapataladhikaranadhikrita. Judicial officers were called Nyayakarnika. Compared to the Gupta period, the criminal code during Harsha’s time was very severe. For violation of the statute, law and conspiracy against the king, the offender was imprisoned for life and was socially ostracized. For breach of social mobility and filial duty, the penalty was mutilation of limbs or exile. For minor ordinary offences the penalty was payment of money. In spite of this severity in the administration of justice, highways were infested with robber gangs and the Chinese traveller Hiuen-Tsang himself fell a victim to them.

Administration of Justice in South India: In the regions ruled by the Chalukyas of Badami and Pallavas of Kanchi, the king was the fountainhead of justice and the final court of appeal. In villages and rural tracts the village courts decided the disputes. During the Rashtrakuta rule the king’s court did not entertain any cases at the first instance and only when the parties felt dissatisfied with the decision of the village courts, they could appeal to the king or his courts. There was a Chief Judge who was the final appellate authority for cases coming from the lower courts, except when the king decided them himself. The records of the Kalyani Chalukyas mention the office of Dharmadhikari or chief justice. During the times of the Cholas we have references to dharmasana in several inscriptions, probably signifying the king’s court of justice. Learned Brahmins known as dharmasana-bhattas assisted the court. The village assemblies exercised large powers in matters of local interest which they settled with the help of small committees called Nyayattar or Nyayavattar. All offences- civil or criminal were tried in the first instance in village courts and in cases of disaffection the matter was taken to the officer of the king’s government-in-charge of the administration of the nadu. The Chinese writer, Chou-Ju-Kua mentions about flogging or giving blows to the culprit with a stick after tying him to a wooden frame for minor offence. It is said that punishments during the Chola period was not all severe. Even for murder, the punishment meted out to the criminal was the payment of a fine to the temple. During the time of Rajendra II the assassin of a state official was asked to give 96 sheep towards the maintenance of a perpetual lamp in the temple. Hence it was remarked that the Chola administration of justice could not be charged with severity or vindictiveness, it may rather be regarded as swayed by over mercifulness.

vedic education system

Ancient Indian Education System (From the Beginning to 10th C. A.D.)

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In ancient India a child followed the occupation of his father, either religious or professional and his training in that particular field was provided by his father in his house. Over a period of time two system of education developed, the Vedic and the Buddhist. As the name indicates in the former system Vedas, Vedangas, Upanishads and other allied subjects were taught while in the latter system, thoughts of all the major school of Buddhism was taught. While Sanskrit was the medium of instruction in the Vedic system of education, Pali was the medium of instruction in the Buddhist system of education. But both system offered vocational education apart from religious education of their respective faiths. There was also a purely vocational system of education wherein master craftsmen and artisans taught their skills to students who worked as apprentice under them.

Uniqueness of Ancient Indian Education: From time immemorial, India has explicitly recognized that the supreme goal of life is self-realization and hence the aim of education has always been the attainment of such a fullness of being. But at the same time it was also recognized that different individuals have naturally different inclinations and capacities. Hence not only the highest philosophy but also ordinary subjects like literature and science as also vocational training find a place in ancient education system. The education system of ancient India may claim to be unique in the world in many respects like-

• The State and the society did not in any way interfered with the curriculum of studies or regulating the payment of fees or hours of instructions.
• Another special characteristic of ancient Indian educational system was it was fully and compulsorily residential. The student had to live in the house of his teacher for the whole duration of his studies and learn from him not only what was taught but also observe how his teacher responded to different situation arising in daily life and learn from it.
• Stress was laid on having a personal relation between the teacher and the taught. Each student used to meet the teacher separately and learn from him through separate instruction and guidance.
• Education was absolute free and the teacher looked after the primary needs of the students including food and clothing.
• The Indian system of education upheld the dignity of labour. Hence even a student aiming at the highest philosophical knowledge was duty bound to do some manual labour daily such as collecting fuel, tending cattle, etc.
• Education in ancient India was more of seminar type where students used to learn through discussions and debates.

Aims of Education: The aims of education were to provide good training to young men and women in the performance of their social, economic and religious duties. Also preservation and enrichment of culture, character and personality development and cultivation of noble ideals were the other aims of education in ancient India.

Commencement of Education: In the Vedic system, education of a child commenced at the age of five with the ceremony called Vidyarambha. It was marked by learning the alphabets for the first time and offering worship to Goddess Saraswathi. But it was only after the ceremony called Upanayana that a child used to leave his parent’s home and go to stay in the house of his teacher to commence his study. He was now called Brahmacharin. Upanayana ceremony was held to Brahmin boys at the age of eight, for the Kshatriya boys at the age of ten and for the Vaishya boys at the age of twelve. In the Buddhist system of education, a child commenced his education at the age of eight after an initiation ceremony called Prabrajya or Pabbajja. This ceremony was open to person of all castes unlike the Upanayana ceremony where only the Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya caste were eligible. After the initiation ceremony the child left his home to live in a monastery under the guidance and supervision of his preceptor (monk). He was now called Sramana and used to wear a yellow robe. In the Vedic system of education a Bramachari after finishing his education was eligible to become a Grihasta or householder, in the Buddhist system of education after finishing his education, a Sramana was given a full status of monkhood or Bhikshu.

Education of Women: A high standard of learning and culture was reached by Indian women during the Vedic age. In addition to training in the arts of housekeeping they learnt music and dancing. Like boys, girls had to undergo the upanayana ceremony. There were two classes of educated women, Sadyodwahas- who prosecuted studies till their marriages and Bramhavadinis who did not marry and pursued their studies though out their lives. Women were also taught the Vedas and Vedangas, but the extent of their study was restricted only to those hymns which were necessary for the Yajna (sacrifice) or other ritualistic operations. Women sages were called Rishikas. The Rigveda mentions the name of some of some of the famous women seers like Ghosha, Apala, Lopamudra, Visvavara, Indrani, etc. who composed hymns. During the Upanishad period we find scholarly women like Maitreyi and Gargi taking part in public debates and discussions with philosophers and sages.

Subject of Study: The main subjects of study in the Vedic system of education were the four Vedas, six Vedangas (phonetics, ritualistic knowledge, grammar, exegetics, metrics and astronomy), the Upanishads, the six darshanas (nyaya, vaiseshika, samkya, yoga, mimamsa and vedanta), puranas (history), tarka shastra (logic), etc.

The chief subjects of study in the Buddhist system of education were the three Pitakas (sutta, vinaya and abhidhamma), the works of all the eighteen schools of Buddhism, hetu-vidya, sabda-vidya, chikitsa-vidya, etc. The Vedas were also studied for acquiring comparative knowledge.

The art of writing was known in India for a long time. Those who wanted to become religious leaders had to learn several scripts. In Jaina works like Samavaya Sutraand Pragnapara Sutra reference to 18 different scripts are available. Buddhist literary works like Lalitavistara and Mahavastu mention different types of scripts in vogue. While the former refer to 64 types of scripts the latter to about a dozen types of scripts. Regarding the curricula of school students, the Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang says that children began by learning the alphabet and then began the study of five subjects like grammar, arts and crafts, medicine, logic and philosophy. This was the general scheme of studies for laymen of all sects. Other subjects of study were law (dharmashastras), arithmetic, ethics, art and architecture (silpasastra), military science (dhanurvidya), performing arts, etc.

Vocational Education: A majority of people earned their livelihood by following various professions. Ancient Indian literature refers to sixty-four arts which include weaving, dyeing, spinning, art of tanning leather, manufacture of boats, chariots, the art of training elephants and horses, art of making jewels, implements and equipment, art of dance, music, agriculture, building houses, sculpture, medical science, veterinary science, the profession of a chemist, manufacture of perfumes and a host of other professions. In the vocational system of education young men used to work as apprentices under a master for a number of years and gained expertise in their respective professions. The apprentices were taught free of cost and provided with boarding and lodging by the master.

Methods of Learning: In ancient India close relationship existed between the pupil and the teacher. The teacher used to pay individual attention on his students and used to teach them according to their aptitude and capability. Knowledge was imparted orally and the different methods of learning were-

• Memorization- The preliminary stage of learning was learning by heart the sacred text through indefinite repletion and rehearsal by both the teacher and the taught.
• Critical Analysis- This was another method in which knowledge was comprehended. It was through critical analysis that Sri Ramanuja and Sri Madhvacharya differed from their teachers on the interpretation of the Brahmasutra composed by Sri Shankara and later came out with their own interpretation of the Brahmasutra. Madhvacharya even made his teacher subscribe to his view which shows that gurus were open to new ideas and views articulated by their students.
• Introspection- Sravana (listening), Manana (contemplation) and Nididhyasana (concentrated contemplation) of the truth so as to realize it was another method to study Brahma Vidya (Vedanta).
• Story telling- The teacher used stories and parables to explain. This was the method Buddha used to explain his doctrines.
• Question and Answer method- In this method the pupils used to ask questions and the teacher used to discuss at length on the topics and clear their doubts.
• Hands-on method- For professional courses including medical science, students/apprentices used to learn by observation and through practical method.
• Seminars- The students also gained knowledge thought debates and discussions which were held at frequent intervals.

Period of Study: It took 12 years to master one Veda. Hence depending upon the wish of the student to learn as many subjects, the period of study varied. It was 12 years, 24 years, 36 years or 48 years. A graduate was called Snataka and the graduation ceremony was called Samavartana.

 Types of Teachers:

• Acharya was a type of teacher who taught his pupil Vedas without charging fee from the pupils.
• Upadhyaya was the one who adopted teaching as a profession to earn his livelihood and taught only a portion of the Veda or Vedangas.
• Charakas or wandering scholars toured the country in quest of higher knowledge. Thought not normally competent as teachers they were regarded as possible source of knowledge by Satapatha Brahmana. Hiuen Tsang was struck with the knowledge gained by some of the wandering teachers (calledBhikkhus and Sadhus during his times) and who had accumulated a treasure of knowledge by constant travel and who used to gladly impart it to others.
• Guru was the one who used to lead a gruhasta life and earn his livelihood after imparting education to his disciples and maintain his family.
• Yaujanasatika were teachers famous for their profound scholarship that students from distant places, as far as from a distance of hundreds of miles would come to seek their guidance.
• Sikshaka was a teacher who gave instruction in arts like dancing.

 Educational Institutions:

• The Gurukul was the house of the teacher who was a settled house-holder. After the initiation ceremony a child would leave his natural parents and reside in the house of his preceptor or Guru till the end of his studies.
• Then there were Parishads or Academies where the students of advanced learning gathered and enriched themselves through discussions and discourses. Being seat of learning they were originally conducted by three Brahmins. But the number gradually increased till it was settled that a Parishad ought to consist of 21 Brahmins well versed in philosophy, theology and law. During first century A.D. association of literati were convened at regular intervals in Tamilnadu which was known as Sangam. The purpose of these gathering of scholars was to adjudge the literary excellence of works submitted for criticism and to set the standard in Tamil style. These gathering were patronized by kings.
• Goshti or Conferences was a national gathering or Congress summoned by a great king in which representatives of various schools were invited to meet and exchange their views. In one such conference called by king Janaka of Videha, the great scholar Yajnavalkya won a special prize of 1000 cows with horns hung with gold.
• Ashramas or hermitages were another center where students from distant and different parts of the country flocked together for learning around famous sages and saints. For example the Ashrama of Bharadwaj at Prayag was a very big Ashrama where princes like Bharat used to study. Another Ashrama was that of Naimisha located in the forest of Naimisharanya headed by sage Saunaka. Here ten thousand pupils and numerous learned teachers and scholars held constant discussions and debates on religious, philosophical and scientific topics. Another famous Ashrama was that of sage Kanva on the banks of river Malini, a tributary of the river Saryu.
• Vidyapeeta was an institution for spiritual learning founded by the great acharya, Sri Shankara in places like Sringeri, Kanchi, Dwarka, Puri and Badri. The Vidyapeeta had a teacher whose influence extended to thousand villages round about and was presided by a Jagadguru.
• Ghathikas was an institution of highest learning where both the teachers and the taught met and discussed and where by the clash and contact of cultured scholars the highest knowledge could be obtained in religious literature.
• Agraharas were settlements of Brahmins in villages where they used to teach.
• Mathas was a place where pupils used to reside and received instructions both religious and secular. These mathas belonged to both Shaiva and Vaishnava sects and were normally attached to some temples or had some temples attached to them.
• Brahmapuri was a settlement of learned Brahmins in parts of towns and cities or in any selected area where education was imparted.
• Vihara was a Buddhist monastery where all subjects concerned with Buddhism and its philosophy was taught.

 Famous Educational Institutions:

• Takshasila: This was a chief center of learning in 6^th century B.C. Here sixteen branches of learning were taught in different schools; each presided by a special professor. There were schools of painting, sculpture, image making and handicrafts. But this university was reputed for its medical school. One famous student of this medical school was Jivaka who cured king Bimbisara of Magadha and the great Buddha. Jivaka had studied here for seven years under the Rishi Atreya.
• Nalanda: Renowned for its cosmopolitan and catholic character, the University of Nalanda was famous for its faculty of Logic.
• Vallabhi: While Nalanda was the famous seat of learning in eastern India, Vallabhi was the renowned seat of learning in the western India. If Nalanda was specializing in the higher studies of Mahayana Buddhism, Vallabhi was the center for the advanced learning in Hinayana Buddhism. Secular subjects like Arthasastra (economics), Niti Shastra (law) and Chikitsa Sastra (medicine) were also taught here and like Nalanda students from all parts of India used to come here to study. Students who graduated from this university used to be employed in the royal courts as administrators with huge responsibilities. Just like Nalanda University was destroyed by Muslim invaders, Vallabhi also met the same fate. 
• Vikramasila: The University of Vikramasila was renowned for Tantric Buddhism.
• Ujjain: It was famous for its secular learning including mathematics and astronomy.
• Benaras was well-known for teaching theology.
• Salotgi in Karnataka was an important Centre of learning. It had 27 hostels for its students who hailed from different provinces. This college was richly endowed in 945 A.D. by Narayana the minister of Krishna III with the revenues of houses, land and levies on marriages and other ceremonies.
• Ennayiram in Tamilnadu provided free boarding and tuition to 340 students. Other important centers of learning in South India were Sringeri and Kanchi.

High Standard of Education: The quality of education imparted in ancient India was unparalleled. Hence in spite of various hardship and hurdles students from different parts of the world flocked to Indian universities. Amir Khusrau (1252-1325 A.D.) mentions that scholars have come from different parts of the world to study in India but no Indian scholar have found it necessary to go abroad to acquire knowledge. Indian scholars were in great demand abroad. Caliphs like Al Mansur and Harun Al Rashid (754-809 A.D.) sent embassies to India to procure Indian scholars. Astronomical treatise like Brahmasiddhanta and the Khanda Khadyaka of Brahmagupta and the medical books of Charaka, Susruta and Vagbhatta were translated to Arabic. As a home of knowledge and wisdom ancient India produced scores of scholars on various subjects like Buddha and Shankara (philosophy), Kautilya (political science and administration), Sushruta (surgery), Charaka (medicine), Kanada (physicist; propounder of atomic theory), Nagarjuna (Chemistry), Aryabhatta and Varahamihira (Astronomy), Baudhayana and Brahmagupta (mathematics) and Patanjali (yoga) to name a few. The knowledge of ancient Indians in the field of metallurgy was extraordinary as it is evidenced by the Iron pillar at Delhi which till now has not rusted though exposed to elements since hundreds of years. How such a huge column was casted is still a mystery to scientists. The lofty temples found in Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Odisha and Khajuraho to name a few shows the expertise which ancient Indians had in Structural Engineering. As the whole world knows, the concept of zero was a contribution of ancient Indians.

The Decline: With the invasion of Muslim conquerors nearly all the centers of higher learning of the Hindus and Buddhists were destroyed. Nalanda was burnt to the ground in 1197 A.D. and all its monks were slaughtered. Kanauj and Kashi were looted and plundered. Temples and educational institutions and libraries were put to destruction and they were replaced by mosques. In spite of such merciless and extensive destruction, Hindu educational institutions remained a living reality. They sustained strength from its inherent vitality and vigour and maintained the Hindu education system. Even during the reigns of terror and turmoil, merciless persecution and wanton destruction, the Hindu culture and scholarship continued to survive, though it had to migrate to more congenial regions within the country. (B.N.Luniya – Life and Culture in Medieval India, Kamal Prakashan, Indore. 1978, p. 271).

While the Buddhist system of education was extinguished, the Vedic system of education found patronage in the southern peninsula in places like Hampi, Sringeri and Kanchi. It was under the patronage of Vijayanagara rulers that the Vedic savants Sayana and Madhava wrote commentaries on the Vedas. It was in the south that Ramanujacharya, Basaveshwara and Madhvacharya propounded the philosophy of Vishishtadwaita, Shakti Vishishtadwaita and Dwaita. With regards to the vocational system of education many new crafts and skills were introduced in India after the advent of Muslim into India and till the establishment of British rule in India, many industries like textile manufacturing, ship building, jewelry making and other allied industries flourished which shows the skill and expertise Indians had and in turn the knowledge they had received from their teachers. The products of Indian industries not only fulfilled the needs of Asian and African countries, but were also in great demand in the markets of Europe.

ayurveda surgery 2

Categories of Ayurveda  http://www.amartya.de/ayurv3a.htm Surgery in Ayurveda Surgery had advanced a great deal in ancient India. Many complicated procedures were used at that time. Plastic surgery was a specialty of Ayurvedic medicine, which did not come to use in the rest of the world until the late medieval period. They performed couching for cataract, amputation of limbs, removal of fistula and piles, curetting of uterus, removing tumors from vagina, plastic repair of earlobes and nose which were used to be cut as punishment for various crimes and even intra-cranial surgeries. Surgical instruments were made of good quality steel. There are mentions about anesthesia also. A drug named Sammohini was used as anesthetic and after operation the drug Sanjeevini was given to restore consciousness. Ancient Indians had a fairly good knowledge of anatomy of human body. Dissection was practiced at that time. Susruta has given very elaborate instruction for preparing the human body for dissection.

Material Medica

The material medica of Ayurveda is very extensive. Herbal, animal and mineral substances were used as medicine. Various methods and instruments were used to prepare drugs and to isolate active principle from organic material. Weighing balances and measuring jars were used to take exact quantity of materials for preparation of medicines. Apart from oral there were other methods of administration of drugs like external applications, vasti-injection through rectum or urethra, Dhumapana – inhalation, Nasya karma – snuffing and Dhupana – fumigation of wounds and ulcers.
 

Animal Medicine

Ayurveda not only dealt with diseases of human being but also that of animal kingdom and plants. Alleviating the sufferings of all living being was the goal of Ayurveda. Gouthama’s ‘Gavayurveda’ is a book, which deals only with medical aspects of cows. ‘Salihotra Samhita’ is a very old and famous text on horses. ‘Aswavaidyakam’ of Jaya Dutta Suri and ‘Aswasastram’ of Nakula were based this text. The former is a voluminous text with 68 chapters and deals with the classification of horses and their characters, salient features, diseases and treatment. In Nakula’s text (‘Aswasastram’) many information regarding various aspects of horses are compiled together. It contains on the anatomical structure of horses, which reveals the sound knowledge that was available at that time. Elephants were used for carrying loads and in war. ‘Hastyayurveda’ written by Palakapya is a text on treatment of elephants.

Vrikshayurveda

This gives us information about plants. We get information on this branch of Ayurveda scattered in many textbooks. A chapter in Sarangadhara’s medical text ‘Upavana Vinodam’ deals with this branch. Susrutha Samhita, Upasakaram of Sankara Misra, Brahat Samhita and Manu Samhita also contain knowledge regarding botanical sciences. In these books there are references of creating new species of plants with required characters. It is really surprising that our ancestors had thought two thousand years ago of the genetic techniques practiced by botanists today.
 

Siddha Medicine

The Siddha system of medicine is the system of medicine popular in South India especially in Tamil Nadu state. According to mythological sources sage Agasthya is considered as the originator of Siddha medicine. The science of chemistry was well developed in the Siddha system. They used many metallic compounds including mercury and arsenic effectively in practice. Mercury was used in the treatment of venereal diseases and arsenic in the treatment of leprosy. ‘Siddhanar Krithikal’ written by Siddhars in Tamil is a treasure house of knowledge of medicine, chemistry and related subjects. There are more than 500 medical works containing over 3000 valuable formulae. Composed of five lakh stanzas. These books written thousand of years before Christ, reveal the depth of knowledge Indians had in chemistry.

ayurveda surgery

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN ANCIENT INDIA- PART II

http://ithihas.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/science-and-technology-in-ancient-india-part-ii/

In the field of medicine, Indians made considerable progress in ancient times. The earliest reference to disease and medicine are found in the Atharvana Veda. The Vedas mention Ashvini brothers as the celestial physicians. Dhanvantri, a legendary figure was regarded as the god of medicine and giver of Ayurveda.

Way back in 6th century B.C., the study of medicine was systematically elaborately and scientifically developed. The story of the life of Jivaka who was the physician to emperor Bimbisara (6^th Century B.C) of Magadha and later the physician in attendance to Lord Buddha as narrated in the Buddhist canonical texts, provides details of the science of medicine. Numerous medicines were prepared from roots, leaves, fruits and salts, chunam for itches and boils, medicines for skin diseases, eye-ointments, medicated oils, etc. Science of surgery also progressed well. They performed successfully lancet operations and used bandages, ointments and oils for the treatment of wounds. During the Mauryan rule (3^rd Century B.C) the state built hospitals for both men and animals.

Arthasastra of Kautilya refers to ordinary physicians, surgeons with surgical instruments and appliances and materials for bandages, nurses, midwives and trained physicians, especially skilled in detecting poison. Adequate arrangement was also made for the post-mortem examination of a corpse which was smeared with certain oil to prevent its decomposition.

Ancient Indians used anesthesia hundreds of years before it was applied in Europe in 19th century A.D. A drug called sammohini desensitized the patient, leaving him practically asleep and another sanjivini served to accelerate his return to consciousness. Susruta suggests that those parts of the body which are to undergo surgery be shaved before hand and that a strict cleanliness be observed.

Charak, a contemporary of Kind Kanishka (78-102 A.D.) was a great authority on Ayurveda. His work Charaksamhita consisting of 120 chapters is a comprehensive manual on medicine. It covers various branches like diagnosis of diseases, physiology, embryology, treatment, preparation of medicine and therapies. Charak had identified 20 types of disease causing germs and their shapes and colours. Susruta (4^th century A/D) incorporated surgery into the general field of medicine. His work Susrutasamhita is a comprehensive treatment of the science of surgery and other branches of Ayurveda. I cover various aspects like anatomy, embryology, equipments for surgery, surgical procedures, cauterization, types of wounds, healing methods, anesthesia methods, bone fractures and dislocation, orthopaedic surgery, management of urinary stones including operations, surgery of intestines and abdomen. His work also throws light on plastic surgery for repairing noses, ears, etc. The instruments used in surgery are also elaborated. A systematic summary of the teachings of Charakasamhita and Susrutasamhita is presented in the Astanga-Samgraha by Vagbhatta I who seems to have lived in 6^th Century A.D. Another work on medicine composed during the Gupta age is Navanitakam. This work was discovered in 1890 by Lieutenant Bower at Kuchar in Eastern Turkistan. Navanitakam is not a systematic or comprehensive work on medicine but a mere manual or recipes, formulae and prescriptions intended for the use of the busy practitioner. Twelve of its formulas are taken from Bhelasamhita, 29 from Charakasamhita and six from Susrutasamhita. It is likely that some of its formulae, not attributed to the above three authorities may have been based upon the lost Samhitas of Harita, Jatukarna, Ksharapani and Parasara, who also were according to tradition, disciples of Punarvasu like Charaka and Susruta.

Veterinary Science were not neglected and a work Hastyayurveda by  Palakapya is an extensive work of 160 chapters and deals with the principal diseases of elephants, their diagnosis and treatment, both medical and surgical. A similar treatise on horses Svasastra was written by Sage Salihotra.

Chinese travelers like Hiuen Tsang and I-Tsing speak about the high standard of personal hygiene and sanitary practices of ancient Indians. According to them, floors of houses were purified with cow dung and strewn with season flowers. People bathed daily smeared bodies with sandal paste, washed hands and mouth with water before and after meals. The fragments and remains of meals were not served up again and utensils that were of pottery or wood were thrown away after use, while those made out of gold, silver, copper and iron were used after cleaning.

Ancient Indians were well-versed in the art of tool making and metallurgy. Large quantities of carnelian beads were exported from India during the Saraswathi-Sindhu civilization. Bead making required techniques of sawing, flaking, grinding and boring. Probably the Saraswathi-Sindhu people were the first to make tools like metal saws and fine tubular drills. Their metallurgist were fully acquainted with various casting and forging techniques like closed casting, lost wax process, sinking, running on, cold work, annealing, soldering, etc. as attested by the various objects discovered in the various sites of the Saraswathi-Sindhu valley.

The famous iron pillar near Qutb Minar in Delhi ascribed to the Gupta’s period stands as a silent witness to proclaim the striking metallurgical skills of ancient Indians. At a time when the process of making iron was but imperfectly known even in the west, Indian metallurgists manufactured this huge iron pillar so skillfully that although it stands exposed to the sun and rain for the last 1500 years, it shows not the least sign of rusting or corrosion. The pillar is 24 feet in height and six and a half tons in weight. Even the simple forging of so large an iron column was out of the reach of human thought elsewhere not only at that time but for many centuries afterwards as well. Similarly the colossal image of Buddha at Sultanganj in Bihar measuring 2.1 meters in height and weighing over a ton cast in pure copper reveal the high degree of proficiency in metal work achieved by ancient Indians.(Concluded)

http://panchayatdirectory.gov.in/adminreps/viewAdminLocations.asp?selstate=5&ptype=B

meatless day

http://www.sadhuvaswani.org/meatlessday.html

What is Meatless Day all about ???

In 1986, it was proposed that November 25, Sadhu Vaswani's Birthday be celebrated as an International Meatless Day. The campaign has met with considerable success in that, millions of individuals send their pledges to the Sadhu Vaswani Mission to go meatless on this day. Four state governments in India - Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh - have issued instructions for the closure of slaughter-houses as well as butchers' shops on 25th November every year, in their respective states.

In order to create an awareness in the minds of citizens about the Meatless Day campaign, Peace Marches are held in Pune and other cities in November, every year. Thousands of students from city schools and colleges march through the streets propagating the idea of Meatless Day and reverence for all life, as the first step to World Peace. Meatless day Newsletters are also issued between August and November every year to propagate vegetarianism and the Meatless Day.

WHY YOU DON'T NEED MEAT 
- DADA J.P. VASWANI

There was a time when vegetarianism was tolerated as a 'cult of the crazy'. It became the butt of many jokes. One of them concerned a man who suffered from insomnia, sleeplessness. The doctor advised him to induce sleep by counting sheep.

The man answered: 'I can't do that because I am a vegetarian.'

The doctor said: 'Then count carrots.' Today the tide has turned. An ever increasing number of people all over the world are turning to vegetarianism as a 'way of life' which leads to health and strength of the body, mind and soul.

Heart disease continues to be the number one killer of humanity. It is strongly linked with high blood levels of cholesterol. Cholesterol is found largely in animal products. And the people are beginning to realize, more and more, the health benefits of a low-fat, vegetarian, diet.

Heart disease is linked with high blood pressure. Research studies have shown that people, who eat vegetarian diet, tend to have not only lower levels of blood cholesterol but also lower blood pressure than those consuming food of violence (flesh, fish, fowl, etc.). Animal products, it has been proved, contain high saturated fat, which the body converts into cholesterol.

Recent researches have also indicated that a low fat vegetarian diet helps cure as well as prevent heart and other diseases, including cancers of the breast, colon and prostate.

A number of people are under the impression that they and their children cannot be strong unless they eat food of violence. Meat gives strength to the body, they say. Without meat, the body becomes weak and a prey to many diseases.

As an answer to this query, the example is given of the elephant which is one of the biggest and strongest animals in the world: and the elephant is a pure vegetarian. What of the lion? Someone will ask. The elephant cannot match his strength against that of the lion. True, but the lion has destructive strength – the strength that destroys and kills. The elephant has constructive strength – the strength that can be used in the service of humanity. The elephant carries huge logs of wood from one place to another. Can you make a lion do likewise? Perhaps yes, but at the risk of your own life. It was Shakespeare who said: 'O, it is excellent to have a giant's strength, but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.'

A question which has been put to me, time and again, is: 'If it is cruel to kill animals, how is it that some of the great world religions have sanctioned meat-eating? Even Jesus, on of the most compassionate of men, ate meat!'

There is growing evidence pointing to the fact that Jesus and his immediate followers abstained from food of violence and were vegetarians. The version that we have of Jesus is the one given in the New Testament. There are several other versions of Jesus not as popular but worth considering. The New Testament was written several years after the crucifixion of Jesus and by those who had not come into personal contact with him. The most ancient gospel in existence is the Gospel, according to the Ebionities. It tells us that both Jesus and John the Baptist were vegetarians. Also James the Just, who was either a cousin or brother of Jesus, and who was his successor in Jerusalem, was a staunch vegetarian. The early church historian, Hegesippus, writing about 160 A.D., says that James ' drank no wine or strong drink, nor ate animal food.'

The Essene Gospel of Peace tells us that one day the disciples asked Jesus:- 'What are the sins we must shun, that we may never more see disease?' And Jesus answered: 'It was said to them of old time, 'Honor thy Heavenly Father and thy earthly mother and do their commandments, that their days may be long upon the earth.' And next afterwards which God has given, let not man take away. For I tell you truly, he who kills, kills himself, and who eats the flesh of slain beasts, eats the body of death…'

Then another (disciple) said:- 'Moses, the greatest in Israel, suffered our forefathers to eat the flesh of clean beasts, and forbade the flesh of unclean beasts. Why, therefore, do you forbid us the flesh of all beasts? Which law comes from God? That of Moses or your law?'… And Jesus continued, 'God commanded your forefathers: 'Thou shalt not kill,' but their heart was hardened and they killed. Then Moses desired at least they should not kill men, and he suffered them to kill beasts. And then the heart of your forefathers was hardened yet more, and they killed men and beasts likewise. But I say to you: kill neither men nor beasts… so eat always from the table of God: the fruits of the trees, the grain and grasses of the field, the mile of beasts, and the honey of bees. For everything beyond these is Satan, and leads by the way of sins and of diseases unto death…'

It is for scholars to determine which version (of Jesus) is the correct one. I love to think of Jesus as a Master of Compassion and Mercy.

Centuries before the message of Jesus was accepted by Western nations, there appeared Pythagoras, the Sage who impressed on his Brotherhood the rule, 'Not to kill nor injure any creature'. Flesh diet he condemned as 'sinful food'. Listen to his words of wisdom:- 'Beware, O mortals, of defiling your bodies with sinful food! There are cereals, there are fruits, bending the branches down by their weight, and the luxurious grapes on the vines. There are sweet vegetables and mellow. Nor are you denied milk, nor honey, fragrant of the aroma of the thyme flower. The beautiful earth offers you an abundance of pure food and provides for meals obtainable without slaughter and bloodshed.'

In the very first chapter of the Bible, we read:- 'And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb-bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree-yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.'

Gautama Buddha said to his dear, devoted disciple, Ananda: 'Therefore, Ananda, next to teaching the people of the last Kalpa to put away all sexual lust, you must teach them to put an end to killing and brutal cruelty. If one is trying to practice dhyana and is still eating meat, he would be like a man closing his ears and shouting loudly and then asserting that he heard nothing…'

In the Qur'an, we have the words: 'Beasts and birds are a people like you and to their Lord shall they return.' And Prophet Muhammad said: 'Creation is a family.'

In the Laws of Manu are the following words: 'Meat cannot be obtained without injury to animals, and the slaughter of animals obstructs the way to Heaven; let him, therefore, shun the use of meat.'

Today, man stands on a planet of limitless promise. He has set foot on the moon. His rockets go flying past the distant planets. He has stationed to his real being and purpose. His mind is agitated: his heart is troubled and unsure: his anger flares easily. He is become a slave to his appetites, cravings, desires. And the civilization he has built, and of which he is so proud, is already crumbling beneath the burden of its own weight. What is the reason?

Man has alienated himself from God's creation. He has lost his sense of at-one-ment with Nature, with Life. All Nature is one, All Life is one! And if a new civilization is to be built, if man is to grow in the peace that passeth understanding and the joy that no ending knows, he must make friends with all birds and animals, trees, flowers, streams, and stars, with all that lives. Unless man becomes the guardian and protector of creatures that breathe the breath of life, the earth will fight back at the greatest destroyer of nature and life, viz. man. There will be droughts and floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. And the tilting of the earth and the melting of the ice caps will change the very face of the earth.

The ancient Rishi of the Ishopanishad sang: 'Ishavasyam idam sarvam.' 'All that is, is the vesture of the Lord!' God comes to us, putting on different vestures, different garments. Clad in different garbs, the Lord comes to us to test us, to find out if we truly love Him, as we say we do. Alas! We slay the Lord. We handle Him roughly, we treat Him harshly. We offer Him worship in temples and churches: we chant hymns to His glory. But out in the street we are cruel to Him. We slay Him and eat His flesh. For we forget that the animal, too, is an image of God!

Much on earth is masked. But there is a strange, a mystic sense of our fellowship with all that is. This is what makes every life sacred. The roots of our being are in the One Reality that breathes out benedictions on every man and bird and animal, river and rock, stream and star. For all, all is a part of God! From Him we come, unto Him we must return.

Vegetarianism is not an end in itself. It is only a means to an end. The end, the goal is the Vision of the One-in-all.

As the Bhagavad Gita says:- 
Who sees the separate lives Of all creatures of the earth
Of men and birds and beasts, And of the worms that creep,
And the fish that swim in the watery deep
Who sees them all united In the Spirit, the one Eternal God
Sees them brought forth from Him, His hidden depths
- He sees, indeed!

inter intelligence

Inter-Intelligence Communications

http://inter-intelligence-communications.com/?tag=pleiadean

Exploring Inter-Intelligence Communications and Consciousness Expansion

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Posts Tagged ‘Pleiadean’

Flat-Map Alignments: Bridging the Crop Circle Gap

Monday, December 16th, 2013

The following flat-map alignments communicate a connection between US and UK crop circles via the Pleiades, the Bermuda Triangle, and the St Michael ley which runs through crop circle country in southern England:

Explore an interactive version of this map - which stems directly from the original Triangle Alignments and associated maps linking Pleiades with the TIP line via the Wilbur 2012 circle and with the Hopewell Mounds 2012circle via Bear Butte.

Please remember that these maps are in no way intended to reflect the spherical nature of Earth. The flat map is simply the surface on which messages from the Other Intelligence can be written, using a language comprised of symbols and ideas that are anchored on the planet and graphically depicted through geometry.

The TIP line that started all of this back on 16 June 1995 was relatively short, which when depicted on a spherical map is a nearly identical line.  For the three points in that first contact (Topeka, Inman, Plevna) to fall with almost mathematical precision on one line was, to me, no accident.  Millions and millions of square miles, as seen on this map, make even flat maps less user-friendly - which is why there is no “exactness” to this map.  The angles change subtly and sometimes not so subtly as you zoom in closer or zoom out.  Like crop circle synchronicities, these flat-map alignments are a way for the Other Intelligence to tap on our shoulders and say “take notice here.“  I find the resonance between the size, shape, and position of the original triangle alignments map and the Bermuda triangle noteworthy in this regard.

My father’s first cousin Bobby disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle in 1954, so I have a personal connection to that mysterious place.  Despite the smear campaign against it, as with crop circles, the Triangle really is a mystery.  Could it be a portal between dimensions or worlds - and could the Other Intelligence associated with the crop circles therefore be sending a message with this map that they are associated with the Pleiades and that they utilise the Bermuda Triangle as a portal to visit Earth?

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are new to Flat-Map Alignments, please see FMAs: FAQs.

STACE TUSSEL COLLIGAN

Tags: Bermuda Triangle, crop circles, flat-map alignments, FMAs, inman, Langdon, Pleiadean, pleiades, Pleiadian, sacred geometry, St Michael ley line, Teton, US crop circles
Posted in Consciousness, Fringe Mysteries, crop circles, synchronicity | 4 Comments »

Pleiades Link to Hopewell Mounds Crop Circle

Tuesday, October 30th, 2012

Pleiades Cluster - The Tiny Dipper

Research with a geomantic bent reveals a combined Native American and Pleiadean theme running through various US crop circles, including the most recent near Chillicothe, Ohio. The Hopewell Mounds formation links directly to Bear Butte and the Pleiades in yet another predictive alignment, making me wonder if these alignments are in fact a built-in utility by which we may elucidate communication.

Photo by Jeffrey Wilson

In any case, over the past several months the alignments map has evolved from a basic triangle into a complex network of geometric connections between and among crop circles and Native sacred places. Bear Butte, Devils Tower, and Chaco Canyon are on the map, and each has a direct and specific link to the Pleiades star system. Additionally, the alignments map connects both of this year’s US formations to the Pleiades summit in northern Washington State, thereby circling back to the “Pleiadean Communication” that infused my first crop circle experience which, uncannily, itself occurred on a predictive alignment!
Click link to access interactive All-in-One Crop Circle Alignments Map
The crop formation at the Hopewell Mounds earthworks site has a clear Native American tie leading into the realm of prehistory.  Two millennia ago, the culturally advanced Hopewellian peoples living primarily in southern Ohio dispersed under unknown circumstances, and recent research indicates that the Lakota Sioux are one of a few remaining tribes sharing DNA with the Hopewell groups in a connection which can be traced back 15,000 years to ancestors on the Asian continent.

Diagram by Jeffrey Wilson

In an unambiguously symbolic alignment, the 2000 mile line extended from the Hopewell circle directly to the Pleiades summit passes within two miles of Bear Butte.  The shape of the formation itself even resonates with the “seven stars” of the Pleiades by virtue of both its sevenfold geometry and a numerological interpretation of the formation’s total number of components, i.e., 36 circles and 7 rings, for a total of 43, and 4 + 3 = 7.
Onsite research led by Jeffrey Wilson of ICCRA and laboratory analysis by WC Levengood indicate that the Hopewell circle is of unknown origin.  They found pronounced variability in the height at which the corn stalks bent over throughout the formation as well as extreme biological malformations in the affected corn, both of which would be difficult or impossible to duplicate with conventional circlemaking methods.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are new to Flat-Map Alignments, please see FMAs: FAQs.

STACE TUSSEL COLLIGAN
Note:  Similar height anomalies and biologic evidence uniquely appear in the 2012 Hopewell and 2006 Herington, Kansas formation. Herington’s connection to the Pleiadean theme is evident by its specific location on the all-in-one alignments map and its representative shape.

Selected References:  A Little History of Astro-Archaeology, by John Michell.  Hopewell Ancient DNA Research.  Astronomy in the Ancient Americas.  Hopewell Lakota Sioux.  Jeff Wilson and ICCRA.  WC Levengood’s laboratory analysis reported at Earthfiles.

Tags: archaeoastronomy, astroarchaelogy, bear butte, Chaco Canyon, chillicothe, crop circles, Devils Tower, flat-map alignments, FMAs, geomancy, hopewell mounds, other intelligence, Pleiadean, pleiades, predictive
Posted in Consciousness, Fringe Mysteries, crop circles | 4 Comments »

Look Who’s Talking in Wilbur: The Other Intelligence Chimes In on Crop Circle Alignments

Sunday, October 7th, 2012

Wilbur 2012 as seen from ultralight aircraft. Photo courtesy of Larry Doty

Two crop circles have appeared in the United States since my alignments map was posted in July, and each independently reveals a connection to the Other Intelligence.  Both the Wilbur and Chillicothe circles, in fact, can even be read as deliberate replies to that map explication.  Indeed, what other form would such a reply take?
Speculation aside about exactly how the circle came to appear in the field, consider the evidence pointing to the involvement of the Other Intelligence in Wilbur’s design and geographic placement.  Through the interpretive keys of shape, synchronicity and alignment, what understanding might we derive from these new circles?  Are map alignments a litmus test for communication with the Other Intelligence?
Shape and Synchronicity “Where the Lightning Strikes”
Wilbur 2012 appeared almost like a comment written in wheat a few days after I published The Sum of Its Parts:  Finding Emergent Meaning in Crop Circle Maps. The diagram was immediately and intensely hypnotic; something about it drew me in completely.  I found the formation’s threefold geometry graceful and balanced, echoing the triangular alignments map.
Looking past the relatively-simple outer borders of the formation we see a dynamic inner triangle in the wheat, created by the floor pattern.  The triangle’s luminous zigzag border is comprised of three lightning bolts joined to form a triangle shining up from the circle’s floor.  For clarity, I’ve outlined it in the photo here.  What could it mean?
One book used in my research for the alignments map explication was Where the Lightning Strikes:  The Lives of American Indian Sacred Places, by Peter Nabokov.   Weeks earlier, the book had been central to a smallish synchronicity when I had first opened the it randomly to the page dedicated to Bear Butte.  The zigzag feature of the Wilbur 2012 crop circle seems to be saying, “Look!  Here is where the lightning strikes.”
And then there was the time lightning from a clear blue sky struck very near me in Kansas, in the utter absence of any storm - an event without mundane explanation.  I associate the errant lightning with the UFO sightings and apparent ET encounters involving electricity that I was experiencing fairly frequently at the time, contact which reached a peak with the arrival of crop circles in my life in 1995.
Might electricity itself be a clue from the Other Intelligence?   I just now looked online and found a brief 1985 article in The New York Times titled “Electricity May Play Role in Plant Growth.”  The article reports that researchers had shown that, depending on the direction of the current, plant growth was either accelerated or stunted by the application of electricity.  The premise that electricity can be applied to affect plant growth is demonstrated in my own living room, where a 4-foot tall hibiscus tree stands near the television, and the branches directly over the back of the TV set have leaves twice or three times the size of the other leaves.  I wonder if the Herington, Kansas crop circle, which showed a full range of accelerated and decelerated growth while in the field, may have carried information about the potential applications of the circlemaking energy, which may be electric in nature.  I haven’t yet explored possible alignment map correspondences with the Herington formation, but with this new insight in mind, another article may be in the offing.
A Path to the Pleiades Via Crop Circle Alignments
When we actively seek to interpret the messages carried by crop circles, we find that shape alone barely scratches the surface.  Synchronicities help refine the unique meaning we derive from a given formation, which may in turn assist us in deciphering universal messages as well.  Map placement, especially with a predictive quality, has been offered as a possible indicator of the Other Intelligence, since many of the alignments I’ve found thus far suggest an omniscient presence working behind the scenes.  So naturally, the next step in deciphering Wilbur 2012 involves plugging it in to the existing alignments map.
As I anticipated, Wilbur created a new and especially pertinent alignment:  The 860-mile long direct line between myself and the Wilbur circle is lengthened by only two miles if we factor in a slight detour to the Teton circle.
Once this line was established, I noticed that if extended beyond Wilbur, the line continued on through the mountainous region of northern Washington.  Wouldn’t it take the cake if it led directly to the Pleiades Mountain summit in the North Cascades?  I was disappointed when I found the line didn’t match up, but I was compelled, nonentheless, to see if Pleiades summit showed up via any other alignments on the map.  The importance of the Pleiades star system to the creation stories of the Lakota and other cultures can’t be overstated, and I’ve shared in great detail how the Pleiades infused my crop circle initiation in 1995.  Because of these correspondences, I felt absolutely certain that Pleiades summit would play some role here, so I dug deeper.
Where to look next?  In 1995, when all the Pleiadean connections came flooding to me in the weeks just prior to the Inman crop circle, I was living in Emporia, Kansas.  That had to be it!  I placed my home near 15th and West Street in Emporia on the map, extended a line from there directly to the Pleiades summit 1458 miles away, and voila!  The line breezes past Wilbur 2012.  My understanding of this?  The crop circles, the Other Intelligence and the Pleiades are all interconnected - and by virtue of our participation we realise we are an integral part of the web of connection too.

With the addition of Wilbur and the Pleiades summit to the alignments map, it seems there is no end to the correspondences that continue to arise by intuitively exploring the encoded information.  The next installment of map additions and explications is coming soon, with additional power spots and several latitude/longitude synchronicities added.  Next we’ll see what happens when we factor in the location of the Hopewell Mounds crop circle near Chillicothe, Ohio.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are new to Flat-Map Alignments, please see FMAs: FAQs.

STACE TUSSEL COLLIGAN

Click to explore Interactive Maps!
View Crop Circle Alignments (Original Map) in an Interactive Map
View Boulder-Teton-Wilbur Line in an Interactive Map 
View Emporia to Pleiades Direct in an Interactive Map
View All-in-One Crop Circle Alignments Map in an Interactive Map (overview of the current established alignments I’m in the process of explicating)

Tags: chillicothe, crop circles, flat-map alignments, FMAs, hopewell mounds, inman, Langdon, map, other intelligence, Pleiadean, pleiades, predictive, Spanish Fork, synchronicity, Teton, thompson, watertown, Wilbur
Posted in Consciousness, Fringe Mysteries, UFOs, crop circles, synchronicity | 1 Comment »

The Sum of Its Parts: Finding Emergent Meaning in Crop Circle Maps

Monday, July 16th, 2012

Crop circle communication is a process replete with symbols, riddles, and metaphor.  Multiple possible meanings radiate from the shape and context of each circle, as well as through synchronicities of events, locations, and even unspoken thoughts.
By mapping seemingly-isolated formations and their associated synchronicities, the resultant geographies bring out meanings previously hidden in uncharted territory, affording us radical new insights into the language of the crop circles - and thereby the true nature of the phenomenon.
The map I’ll be explicating here is infused with evidence of what I call the Other Intelligence.


As Crop Circles Speak, the Map Speaks
We apply filters to just about everything we perceive.   A cacophony of many voices falls away, for instance, when we hear our name spoken in a crowd; similarly, the meaning we derive from a crop circle is ours uniquely.   But curiously, the alignments map instead met me with an agenda of its own - no external filter needed.
That a map like this would fall together in this way is unlikely, so acknowledging the alternative - that these elements have been shared with us this way, on purpose, by an intelligence we’ve yet to identify - is critical.  With that acknowledgement comes the responsibility to listen.  Listen.
The interpretation of the signal is, of course, a subjective task: I present it as I see it, and I encourage others to explore the territory by clicking on interactive map and reading the articles linked in the narrative. But again, at the most basic level, simply listen and the clues themselves will highlight messages encoded in the transmission.

The Origin of the Alignments Map
View Crop Circle Alignments (Original Map) in a larger map
The Topeka-Inman-Plevna line tipped me off about the Other Intelligence:  the Inman formation appeared when wished for, and on a line that would eventually connect to the location where I later learned about it.   In short, the place points on the TIP line are out of time-order, speaking to the relatively omniscient nature of the Other Intelligence.
Some measure of choice is necessary, both to provide a context and to help guide interpretation.   I select Inman KS, Langdon ND, and Teton ID to anchor this map specifically because of each formation’s relative importance to me personally.   The resulting triangle, along with the parallel TIP line, provides a visual hook - an element of design that resonates with the pleasing geometries of the crop circles themselves.  Surely this map similarly contains messages awaiting discovery; I’m drawn in and begin exploring.
The triangle’s center highlights a vast and beautiful landscape, the Badlands of South Dakota, sacred to the indigenous people of the region.  Specifically, the center is over Stronghold Table, or Onagazi - site of the the Lakota Ghost Dance in 1890 that eventually led to the Massacre at Wounded Knee.
As I look closer, a Native American theme continues to emerge.  I learn that Teton is another word for Lakota - as in Lakota Sioux, who have especially strong ties to the Badlands.

I find Bear Butte on the line from the Inman circle through the center of the triangle (the Inman-Center line). Bear Butte rises almost a quarter of a mile above the surrounding plains.  Here the Lakota and other tribes commune with Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, the central spiritual link connecting us with all of nature.
Black Elk said Wakan Tanka hears us even when we speak softly, which corresponds directly to crop circle phenomena, where private wishes and questions often elicit a response from the Other Intelligence.  Bear Butte thus echoes an important theme of this map: “Communication with an Other Intelligence.”
The Teton-Center line eventually arrives at Spirit Lake, Iowa, site of an 1857 massacre in which white settlers were killed by a band of Santee Sioux in a backlash against the theft of their native land and broken treaties.  In a double synchronicity, the Langdon-Center line also crosses the Spirit Lake Sioux reservation on the southern shores of Devils Lake.  I’m hearing, “Beware of the modern materialistic life that severs our link with the natural world.”

The Watertown SD crop circle of 1996, reached by extending a line from a point 1/4 of the way from Teton to Inman through the center of the triangle, virtually shouts intentional design embedded in the map.  Specific elements built into the complex visual form of this crop circle refer to Kokopelli, a trickster figure associated with fertility and agriculture.  The trickster is a shapeshifter who enchants and encourages us - just as crop circles themselves do.  Here the message reads, “Pay attention, and have fun.”

As the import of the Lakota theme was reinforced time and time again, I experienced an epiphany relating to the cloud circle of 1998, which presented my friend Ron and me with an immediate, direct, and lucid response to a private conversation. Grandfather Sky is Wakan Tanka, is the Great Spirit, and is indeed responsive to our very thoughts and wishes, as Black Elk reminded us. I have yet to explore any clues that may arise from the cloud circle’s place point on the map, but that experience is now quite clearly a resonant thread in the map’s theme. I am reminded of the co-creative nature of crop circles.
Other ties to the tribal theme are found in associated synchronicities that I’ve not detailed here yet, including one related to the discovery of the remains of a medicine wheel in central Kansas during a plane flight in search of crop circles. I’m also researching a Lakota connection to the star people of the Pleiades, and a possible tie with the numerous Pleiadean-themed synchronicities that accompanied my first crop circle experience.

More Alignments and Number Synchronicities

Aside from the Lakota theme, other clues and insights inform the map.  Synchronicities and alignments are deftly interwoven here, each one turning up the volume of this conversation with the Other Intelligence:

· In a close correspondence, the total area of Kansas (82,282 square miles), my home state and the place I was introduced to crop circles at the Inman crop circle in 1995, comprise almost precisely 1/3 of the total area of the triangle (246,815 square miles).  The 31 square mile discrepancy is negligible in the overall dimensions of the map.  I take note of “one-third” as a potential message here.

· In another very close correspondence, on the Topeka-Inman-Plevna line, the Inman crop circle appears 39.86 miles from Plevna - almost exactly 1/4 of the 159 miles from Plevna to Topeka.  Add “one-fourth” to the clues.

· Plevna, Montana, sharing a rare place name with Plevna, Kansas of the T-I-P line, appears in the vicinity of where the Inman-Center line connects with the Langdon-Teton line.  This synchronicity, though of a smaller magnitude than the others described here, undoubtedly adds resonance to the map.  Here I’m reading, “Home,” as Plevna is where I spent a good many years of my youth, and is still where I go home to when I visit Kansas.

· The Inman-Teton line passes fellow UFO and ET experiencer Mike Clelland’s residence at a distance of less than two miles - which is a doubly remarkable coincidence since Mike, like myself and many others, desired a crop circle encounter and directly received a formation in response.  The message here once again echoes Black Elk’s reminder that the Great Spirit hears and responds even to our whispers.

· And if all of that were not enough, the Langdon-Center line eventually skirts the western edge of Boulder, Colorado - where I currently reside.  I’m hearing two things here: “Culmination,” and “Be here now.”  With this correspondence, I sense that the alignments map and all within it have come full circle, so to speak, and reflects the tribal wisdom that all things are created in a circle.  While I’m grounded in Boulder, I’m being called to explore the Badlands, climb Bear Butte, and meet with the Lakota.

What Does All of This Mean?
The facts of the map speak for themselves, and it’s up to us to interpret what is being said.
Since the map’s order and meaning arise directly from the overlay of meaningful correspondences tied to relevant points widely separated in time and space, I can only conclude that this map’s designer possesses a relative omniscience.  The Other Intelligence wants to speak with us, and it’s no small talk - this is important stuff, and it’s ours to explore.  Ultimately, the communication is what we make of it.
To me, the importance of honouring tribal wisdom is integral to the meaning of the alignments map. The Lakota and other indigenous peoples have honoured Earth and all creation through a way of life that’s deeply reverent of nature and spirit.  The fragmentation of a people starts and ends with conformity to a way of life devoid of nature and short on respect, such as we see resulting from modern technologies that disconnect us from one another and from our life source. Wholeness can be regained by deliberately reconnecting with the natural and the spirit world through time-honoured ritual, respect, reverence, and gratitude - all of which are missing or minimised in the modern lifestyle.
The original Lakota way of life, now in jeopardy, is in alignment with the crop circle phenomenon, where meanings aren’t dictated by force or violence, but rather are communicated through patient guidance, a respect for individuality, and an emphasis on the natural world. Crop circles aren’t imposing anything; they aren’t out to hurt anyone or pollute the environment.
With gratitude to the Other Intelligence, I carry on this conversation.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are new to Flat-Map Alignments, please see FMAs: FAQs.

STACE TUSSEL COLLIGAN

Tags: bear butte, crop circles, flat-map alignments, FMAs, geometry, inman, interpretation, Kokopelli, lakota, Langdon, language, maps, Pleiadean, pleiades, predictive, synchronicity, trickster, wakan tanka, watertown
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