99 Palms: Horn OK Please (10 page)

“Well, should I care how transistors are created? Why on earth are you so difficult, Geri?” I asked, finally at my wit’s end.

Looking at me squarely she said, “My point is, why can you not master this science to create your own gold instead of trying to steal a miniscule quantity of gold? Why should you go after a few sacks of gold or should you look at stealing the ‘Philosopher’s Stone? If you must steal, why can’t you steal smart?”

“Philosopher’s stone? What’s that?” asked Goose, not wanting to disturb her flow. She was a difficult person when it came to talking straight.

“You have heard about this legend, right? Per the 99 Palms, a small piece of this stone can bring about this transmutation of certain metals to gold in substantial quantities. Of course, you just need a teeny-tiny piece of this stone to create gold enough to fill up a well. This is the secret of production of gold in Shambala. So all you must do is to go to Shambala, not have any plans for stealing their gold in backpacks, but…steal just a bit of the Philosopher’s stone that you can tuck into your pocket and walk away. That will work!” chuckled Geri.

She had made her point. She was right. She got us ‘thinking’ then.

“Phew! That was worth it. Finally, you seem to have had an emotional orgasm!”, said Derek smiling as he took Geri’s hand in his and tried to make her feel good.

“No gold but the ‘Philosopher’s stone’ then it is, right, Dudes?” said Hound, raising his mug of beer.

“Hell Yeah!” the chorus echoed in the verandah close to midnight.

“OK, what about the mystery of the Sanchi Stupa now? Monica sent us to you for Sanchi is the strongest Nexus Point in India. Can you help us find the ridge? What’s the deal?” said Goose, making sure that we squeeze out all information from Dr. Geri Traver for all that she was worth. Derek seemed to be interested in squeezing her in a very different way.

“As an Astronomer, I care about science. I don’t want your money. Stay in touch if you come back from Shambala alive with the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’. Just stay safe. That’s all. Now get a few of hours of sleep, we’re heading out to the main stupa here at Sanchi at 5:00 AM. It’s just a couple of hundred meters away”, said Geri, getting up, leaving us completely stumped with her answer. It seemed that we were the only greedy ones around.

“You got it! That’ll be so cool! Can we have some coffee, Geri? I can make very good black coffee. Steamed with love, laced with lust, stirred with passion and served with a smile. No sugar, no milk. Horn OK Please!” exclaimed Derek, as he held Geri’s hand that he refused to let go.

“Come, be nice to me. Just make it black!” said Geri letting out peals of laughter. She was won over. We had another man down.

“Hell, that was a good idea. What a whacko to have wasted so many words just to tell us plain and square!” exclaimed Hound once Geri and Derek left.

“Not really, bro. Give her time, some women need more time. Now I’m sure she will help us find the Stargate. Don’t forget, we’re still at the Nexus Point. The mystery of the Sanchi Stupas await us. Get some sleep now” Goose closed his eyes and tried to breathe.

“You folks carry on, I’d like to read up something about Sanchi first”, I said, as I’d made up my mind to take a midnight walk around the place after reading.

We were now to steal not gold, but pinch a tiny bit of the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’. Cool, it only made our lives easier.

***

CHAPTER NINE

***

Roses are red and violets are blue,

The ancient monuments have a story to tell you;

They’ve been built with a purpose, they were built to last,

Mutely observing the changes, they’ve witnessed the past;

The Great Stupa of Sanchi is one such, it enthralls one,

It’s aligned to the stars, to constellations and the rising sun;

It represents the Buddha, alternative theories don’t disappoint, 

It’s actually a scientific marking of the Nexus Point;

Symbolisms galore, the Grand Stupa holds a mystery,

Not for the untrained eye & the faithless, it’s not for all to see;

History was etched on rocks, clues left behind not to fade,

What we found was breathtaking, under a symbol’s shade;

The Stupa’s an enigma, archeologists have toiled in vain,

They’ve weathered storms, they’ve faced the merciless rain;

Every picture tells a story, every carving holds a secret key,

You can stare at it for long, without belief, you cannot see;

There is logic behind every ritual, a reason for everything,

Mind blowing geometry on rocks, glorious tales they sing;

If smiles and Imagination make you say ‘Cheese’

Drive on, for that’s the philosophy of Horn OK Please…

***

About the magnificent monuments of Sanchi:

As of 2013 India census, Sanchi had a population of 6,969. Males constitute 69% of the population and females 31%. Sanchi has an average literacy rate of 69%. Also, 31% of the population is between 6 to 9 years of age. It’s a small hick town just a stone’s throw away from Bhopal in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The most powerful Nexus point in India is at the Great Stupa. According to Monica’s conclusions, Sanchi is a place where the Stupas have a unique interpretation. The term ‘Sanchi’ means
‘Moulds of stones’
in Hindi. Monica’s grandfather, along with his son, had studied the strength of patterns over 200 years across all 69 Nexus Points to look for the strongest formation of breaks or rifts in our reality. He had concluded that the most powerful Stargates existed around 690 Kms from Sanchi, close to a holy water body. He never lived to figure out the exact location of the ridge points though.

Sanchi is a very special place because the Stupas here don’t represent Buddha directly, instead he is depicted symbolically here. My newfound knowledge from the night’s reading led me to believe that the answers would be found not so easily, for the symbolism would bomb us out. It is believed that Emperor Ashoka himself supervised the building of the Great Stupa with the relics of Lord Buddha in it.

There are three big Stupas, a broken Ashoka Pillar and an ancient temple in ruins, named as Temple 45 that grabbed my attention. Of the 3 stupas, the first one, known as the Great Sanchi Stupa or Stupa No. 1, held me mesmerized. The height and diameter of this Stupa
are 16.46 and 36.60 meters respectively.

The Stupas were originally planned as mounds of stones covering the relics of Buddha. Over time, Buddha’s presence was highlighted in symbols. For instance, the Bodhi Tree, the wheel of law, the sun wheel, the Swastika, or his footprints typified his presence at the Stupas. The Stupas soon became a symbol of the Buddha. We would definitely need help in deciphering the same.

The main Stupa or the Great Sanchi Stupa is a near-perfect hemispherical dome topped by a triple parasol known as the
‘harmika’.
They’re the square railings that form the enclosure of umbrellas on top of the Stupas. The dome itself resides on an elevated stone base that is enclosed by an encircling stone balustrade or a stone railing. This is the pathway for perambulation that is based on the
Swastika
symbol, following the path of the sun.

The Swastika symbolizes the course of the sun. If this is the Nexus Point, the umbrellas inside the
harmika
at the top of the Great Sanchi Stupa would be pointing directly to the epicenter of the Nexus point, where two very strong
Ley Lines
meet. The ends of the Swastika that point to the four cardinal points that the exquisitely craved gateways lead to, meant that this was a Stupa that was based on a Swastika.

The path for circumambulation within the balustrades in the clock-wise direction seems to represent the circular movement of the sun. So I presume that when one goes circumambulating the Great Stupa, it is symbolic of setting in motion the wheel of life.

To escape, one must reach a higher level of self-consciousness and that would lead you to one of the Gateways to Shambala. Monica had said that the ridge formation or the rifts in our reality would appear close to a Holy water body. There seemed to be none around. Maybe, in comparison to the size of the Universe, since we’re tiny specs, her father concluded that the water body could be anywhere from 690 Kms to 2000 Kms from the Nexus-Point, depending upon the strength of the Ley Lines.

I concluded that since the Nexus-Point in Sanchi is the strongest and most powerful based on historical recorded data, her dad would have inferred that the waterbody cannot be very far from here. We’d have to check out our maps to look for the closest holiest river from the Great Sanchi Stupa. I didn’t sleep that night. By the time I got back to the room, it was time to wake up.

“Where have you been? You look so lost, have some coffee” asked Goose, thrusting a mug of coffee in my hands.

“Don’t ask, bro, I’ve been reading and wondering. The mystery of these Stupas isn’t going to be easy to crack”, I said, greedily gulping down the coffee as I could hear a knock on the door.

“There, that must be lover boy Derek with Geri, lock and load! Let’s roll!” said Hound as I emptied the mug.

Dr. Geri’s astronomical analysis of the Sanchi Stupas:

Geri had spent so much time at the guesthouse near the Stupas, that it seemed that she had unlimited access to the monuments around the place. She could go there anytime. Soon, we were standing at the Great Stupa No. 1 at 5:00 AM as Geri said, “Welcome! Understand that these Stupas are astronomical monuments based on Buddhist geometry and the secrets that they hold are reflective of what’s mentioned in the ancient scriptures of 99 Palms. These Stupas date back in time to the period of Emperor Ashoka, around 269 BC. I believe that it is actually an image of Buddhist Cosmology, numerical symbolism and Astronomical knowledge”

Beaming with pride as though these monuments had been built by her father, Geri went on, “These Stupas are oriented as precisely as possible to the four cardinal points and the entire concept is based on scientific calculations and symbolism. I have interpreted these structures to be derived from the Solar symbolism which follows the path of the sun. The correlation between Stupas and the alignment of celestial bodies…err…stars and planets are written down in many ancient scriptures, including 99 Palms”

Derek’s hand was around her waist as she tried to keep a straight face and focus on the topic, “Goose, as you stand on the Great Stupa, the Number 1 Stupa as it is called, many researches have noted that the North-South axis of this Stupa is shifted by 15 degrees west of south. In the past few months of my research of the Sanchi Stupa, I have mainly focused on the alignment of the Stupas and the railing posts. Though there are 50 monuments around this place, it is this Stupa 1 that is of most significance, followed by Stupa 2 and Stupa 3. Everything seems to revolve around this.”

“You mean there is an aberration here?” said Hound, perking up, “you see something out of place? Is that the mystery?”

“Yes, Hound, not one, but two. I’ll come to that. Seen from afar, this may look like a Nuclear reactor to you. This hemispherical dome structure has a diameter of 60 feet at the base. The crowning pinnacle or the
‘harmika’
holds one or many umbrellas within that small enclosure. Also, in front of the South Gateway, you’ll see when the sun comes out, there are remains of a broken Ashoka Pillar” replied Geri, pointing to the Southern gateway of the Great Stupa.

“Though Emperor Ashoka worked on the foundation of the stupa, many years later, around 150 BC, the Sunga Kings not only doubled the size of this Great Stupa No. 1, but they also built many other Stupas. Of all the Stupas that they built, I find Stupa 2 and Stupa 3 of great importance to validate my findings from Stupa 1. The diameter of Stupa 1 is now 120 feet. The whole structure is now supported by a balustrade, the railings of which are separated from the Stupa by exactly 9 feet and 6 inches. Coincidence?” said Geri as she pointed to the two smaller stupas she referred to as Stupa 2 and Stupa 3.

“So, is that the mystery?” inquired Hound as he looked at faint illumination of the two stupas under starlight.

“No, Hound, wait! Check out this ground balustrade on which we are standing right now. It is something similar to a pedestal or a stage for the Stupa, is separated out for four entrances. These are the four entrances, from all four directions, which are also known as the gateways. These gateways point to the four directions and represent the edges of the Swastikas. Breathtaking, isn’t it?” exclaimed Geri.

“Is that a mystery?” said Hound, hoping that at least now he would get a positive answer.

“No, Hound, not yet! There’s not one, but two mysteries out here that I’ve not been able to solve. I’ve sent my analysis to my colleague in Bhopal, I hope you will have your answers when you get there. You need to feel this place if you are going to be standing in front of the Stargates…” said Geri, taking a deep breath, trying to hold back her irritation.

“Do you always believe in wasting words or are you ever going to come to the point straight, Geri? How do your friends back in France bear up with you?” Hound was irritated by now.

“Chill, Hound! Let the lady speak. She needs time!” said Derek, trying to pacify Hound.

“My ass, get your chick to come to the point instead of beating around the bush, will you?” snapped Hound.

Mysteries of the Sanchi Stupas:

1. Mystery of a deliberate misalignment of the Stupa:

“OK, chill! Now here’s the mystery of the Great Stupas of Sanchi. These monuments were designed and built by great astronomers, thinkers and architects. Though Emperor Ashoka personally supervised everything time and again, there is something completely out of whack here. The South entrance of the Great Stupa does not face south, but is actually placed exactly 15 degrees West of South! Is that a mistake or a deliberate aberration? That’s why I came here to conduct my research. Monica made me come to Sanchi after she read about it in the 99 palms”, said Geri, pointing in front of the Southern entrance of the great Stupa.

It was too dark to see the broken pillar, but that hardly mattered. What mattered was what Geri said. An aberration of 15 degrees West of South to the entrance. Why the aberration only at the Southern entrance?

“I mentioned to you that there is a broken Pillar of Ashoka in front of the southern pillar. Some archeologists said that it was blocking the south entrance as it came in the way and so they shifted it to accommodate a clear view of the pillar. Bullshit! Were they out of their minds? Emperor Ashoka’s men were brilliant!” said Geri, tapping her head.

“Are you telling me that the architects of that time who built this marvel couldn’t lift and shift a pillar to have the precise orientation? Are you kidding me? These aren’t the same engineers who build your houses and roads in India today, these are the ancient Indian mind bombs, dude!” quipped Goose, keeling on the railing.

“Is this just your theory and you’re trying to spot something just because you spent six months here, Geri?” I asked, wanting to tick her off. She seemed to come out with more pearls of wisdom when needled right.

“OK, for the moment, Chief, let’s consider your argument that size of the Great Stupa was doubled by the Sunga Dynasty when the Ashoka Pillar existed and the original architects were long gone and they decided to accommodate the Ashoka Pillar as mark of respect and hence shifted the axis of the southern entrance by 15 degrees. But I have studied the Stupa 2 and Stupa 3 as well. The Sangas built them. How do you explain the same aberration to the southern axis yet again to exactly 15 degrees west of south? In both Stupa 2 and Stupa 3? Chief, hear me out before hopping to conclusions. The aberration is deliberate and intentional!” said Geri, pleased with herself and her conclusions that were a result of her hard work.

I stared at the Southern entrance, the gateway looked magnificent. The moon was still there in the sky. Twilight looked beautiful as Geri pointed to the sky and said, “The Stupa is a symbolic representation of Buddha. The Great Sanchi Stupa is supposed to contain the relics of Buddha and was Emperor Ashoka’s personal interest. Everything around the place depicts the life of Buddha, therefore, the orientations of this stupa is oriented to his life. It is said that Buddha attained nirvana on a full moon night in the year 544 BC. This day is also known as the day when Buddha was born and is still celebrated all over the world. Imagine a full moon night here, I’ve seen it!”

“What’s so special about the full moon night in Sanchi?” asked Hound, scratching his chin.

“During Full moon, the sunset and moonrise are separated by exactly 180 degrees and can be viewed from the eastern and western horizons. The ancient scriptures of 99 Palms make a reference of Buddha Purnima quite often and point to the 84,000 stupas built by Emperor Ashoka. The Buddha Purnima that occurred at the time of building this Great Stupa would have decided the aberration be of 15 degrees. So you see, Hound, the Buddha Purnima night would most probably be a time when the Ley Lines are the strongest and the Nexus Point, that is this Stupa, would be most powerful. The night when you should travel to Shambala. You’re with me?” Geri looked around with expectation.

“Wow! Now that’s an interesting point. But tell me, how does the moon’s declination relate to the aberration of 15 degrees?” I said, wondering how she could be so sure.

“Good point, Chief! I’ve spoken to many astronomers at the Institute of Astrophysics in Bangalore. They have researched this phenomenon and have back-calculated the directions of moonrise and sunset of a Buddha Purnima that occurred between April 28
th
and March 29
th
in 150 BC. You know what they found? The moon’s declination was exactly 15 degrees then. It still is around that much!” said Geri, secretly hoping that we would believe her.

“You’re sure this is not a freak case, Geri?” said Derek, playing with her hair as she stood staring at the Southern entrance.

“No, Derek this is not a freak case. The orientation of 15 degrees east of north is also seen in other ancient astronomical sites such as Teotihuacan in Mexico or the Stonehenge in UK. I’ve studied that. It’s frustrating!” Geri rolled her eyes.