- Nine Unknown Men
According to occult lore, the Nine Unknown Men are a two millennia-old
secret society founded by theIndia n Emperor Asoka c. 270 BCE. According to the legend, upon his conversion toBuddhism after a massacre during one of his wars, the Emperor founded the society of the Nine to preserve and develop knowledge that would be dangerous to humanity if it fell into the wrong hands. Some versions of the story include an additional motivation for the Emperor to conceal scientific knowledge: remnants of the Rama Empire, an Indian version ofAtlantis , which according to Hindu scripture was destroyed by advanced weaponry 15,000 years ago.History
The secret society was first described in 19th century works by
Louis Jacolliot andTalbot Mundy . In 1960,Louis Pauwels andJacques Bergier wrote about the Nine Unknown Men in their "Morning of the Magicians". In their works, they claimed that the society occasionally revealed itself to wise outsiders such asPope Sylvester II who was said to have received, among other things, training in supernatural powers and a robotic talking head from the group. In more recent times, according to this circle, the Nine assisted humanity by revealing the secret of theCholera vaccine.Among conspiracy theorists the Nine Unknown is often cited as one of the oldest and most powerful secret societies in the world. Unusually for conspiracy theorists, the image of the group is largely though not entirely benign. Theosophists also believe the Nine to be a real organization that is working for the good of the world.
Some modern Indian scientists such as
Jagdish Chandra Bose were said to believe in or even to be members of the Nine although documentation on this issue is predictably scant. Believers in the Nine also point to the mysteriousIron pillar of Delhi , which they claim to have been constructed at a time before the technology to create it existed in common circulation. However, this is disputed by other scholars and researchers.The nine books
Each of the Nine is supposedly responsible for guarding and improving a single book. These books each deal with a different branch of potentially hazardous knowledge. Traditionally, the books are said to cover the following subjects:
#Propaganda andPsychological warfare .
#Physiology , including instructions on how to perform the "touch of death." One account hasJudo being a product of material leaked from this book.
#Microbiology , and, according to more recent speculation,Biotechnology . In some versions of the myth, the waters of the Ganges are purified with special microbes designed by the Nine and released into the river at a secret base in the Himalayas.
#Alchemy , including the transmutation of metals. In India, there is a persistent rumor that during times of drought or other natural disasters temples and religious organizations receive large quantities of gold from an unknown source. The mystery is further deepened with the fact that the sheer quantity of gold throughout the country in temples and with kings cannot be properly accounted for, seeing that India has few gold mines.
#Communication , including communication with extraterrestrials.
#Gravitation (the Vaiminaka sastra), instructions necessary to build aVimana , sometimes referred to as the "ancientUFO s of India."
#Cosmology , the capacity to travel at enormous speeds through spacetime fabric, and time-travel; including intra- and inter-universal trips.
#Light , the capacity to increase and decrease the speed of light, to use it as a weapon by concentrating it in a certain direction etc.
#Sociology , including rules concerning the evolution of societies and how to predict their downfall.The Nine in popular culture
Edward Bulwer-Lytton (of "
It was a dark and stormy night " fame) wrote aparody of the Nine Unknown Men that many, including perhaps Helena Blavatsky, took as fact.The society is mentioned several times in
The Illuminatus! Trilogy and is a resource card in the Illuminati card game.Mentioned as well in the Strugatsky Brothers' novel "a billion years before the end of the world" as one of the possible forces behind the mysterious intervention in scientists' work.
Writers and producers of the TV show Heroes have cited the Nine Unknown Men as one of their creative influences.
There is a slight reference to the Nine Unknown Men in the song "Putta Block" by The Fall.
ee also
*
Ascended master
*Iron pillar of Delhi
*Navnath
*Navaratna
*Talbot Mundy External links
* [http://www.heart7.net/ninemen.html Extract] from the relevant section of the "Morning of the Magicians"
* [http://www.zenzibar.com/news/article.asp?id=2085 Legend of the Nine Unknown Men]References
*Weiland, Jonah. [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=10084 "Behind the Eclipse: "Heroes" Week 20"] , "Comic Book Resources", April 30, 2007. Accessed May 7, 2007.
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