  UFOs and the Vedic Literatures of Ancient India (Sadaputa das)

  There is an intriguing relationship between modern UFO reports and the
  descriptions of the residents of other planets found in the Vedic
  literatures of ancient India. It turns out that there are many
  similarities between the modern and Vedic accounts. According to the Vedic
  literatures there are many inhabited planets throughout the universe and
  in many cases the residents of these planets possess various kinds of
  psychic powers and various degrees of mechanical technology. It is
  interesting to note that we also find these same kinds of descriptions in
  the modern UFO literature. I will begin by describing some mystical means
  of travel described in the Vedas and comparing these to modern UFO
  reports.

  In the Mahabharata it is described that a great warrior and mystic named
  Arjuna was travelling on a road in outer space called the Devayana (the
  roadway of the demigods). He was riding on a chariot pulled by horses, but
  as we shall soon discover, these are not ordinary horses nor is it an
  ordinary chariot. Later I shall describe them and it is clear that they
  have many similarities to the kinds of space craft described in the modern
  UFO reports. We have information about the road he was riding on from a
  Vedic literature called the Vishnu Purana. In the Vishnu Purana the
  Devayana and another road called the Pitriyana are described and the
  positions of these roads are given in terms of star positions. The
  Devayana corresponds to the Milky Way -- a bright band of stars which is
  visible on a clear night.

  In another Vedic literature called the Srimad Bhagavatam it is mentioned
  that mystics travel on the Milky Way in their progressive journey to
  higher planets or completely out of this material universe and into the
  transcendental realm. The Vedas describe the material realm as consisting
  of many roughly spherical universes. Within each universe there are many
  inhabited planets. In addition, the concentric shells which cover each
  universe are also inhabited. The residents within each universe are unable
  to leave that universe by ordinary material means such as space ships or
  rockets because material space as we know it ceases to exist after one
  crosses the shell corresponding to the space element. This idea is similar
  to one cosmographical conception in modern physics based on Einstein's
  general theory of relativity in which space is thought to curve back on
  itself in such a way that one can not escape from this universe. In other
  words, if you travel in a rocket in one direction away from the earth, then
  because the space time continuum is curved, you would, after a sufficiently
  long time of travel, return to the earth! According to this conception,
  there is no possibility for you to find out what might exist outside this
  universe. In the vedic conception, each universe is bounded by shells
  which consist of progressively finer elements. The first shell is very
  gross -- it corresponds to the solid state of matter. The next shell
  corresponds to the liquid state of matter. The next is composed of the
  element of effulgence or in the language of modern physics, electromagnetic
  radiation. The next is made of an element which corresponds to the gaseous
  state of matter. Then the 5th shell is composed of the element of space
  itself, and the layers outside of it are composed of elements even more
  subtle than space itself.


  Now getting back to our description of the celestial road called the
  Devayana, we find that the Vedas describe it also as the akash ganga or
  celestial Ganges River. It is interesting to note that there are traditions
  from various cultures throughout the world that identify the Milky Way as a
  path used by mystics, in other words a celetial path. The Cherokee Indians
  of America consider the Milky Way to be the pathway of the departing souls,
  and the Chinese have a description of a celestial river which corresponds
  to the Milky Way.


  In the Vedas (SB 2.2.24) it is described that the mystics are travelling
  overthe Milky Way by the "illuminating Susumna" which is a beam of radiant
  energy comming from the sun - but it is not a beam of ordinary light. It
  is exciting to compare this with modern UFO accounts of people travelling
  along beams of radiant energy. There are many reports of this type - here
  is a typical case. In a canyon called Tijunga Canyon which is near Los
  Angeles, California a woman reported that she walked out of her house in
  the usual way, but then she found herself being transported upwards on a
  beam of radiant energy! It was carrying her upwards at about the same angle
  as an escalator. The difference was that an escalator has steps and ridges
  whereas this woman reported that the only thing transporting her up was a
  beam of light! In addition to the motive power of the beam, she was also
  able to walk up along it using her feet. She was walking with her friends.
  There are many reports like this from various places - thebasic theme is
  a beam of radiant energy with a number of persons walking on it. Now, this
  also fits in with Arjuna's travel on the Devayana which corresponds to the
  Milky Way.


  It is also interesting to consider his chariot. Earlier we mentioned that
  it bears more resemblance to a UFO than the standard construction of a
  horse-drawn chariot. Here is a description of the chariot he used at the
  battle of Kuruksetra 5000 years ago in India: The chariot radiated light
  and reverberated with a deep rumbling sound. Although it is described as
  having a definite structure, one could not see exactly what its shape is.
  Its beauty was so great that it captivated the minds of all who saw it. In
  modern UFO reports people often use similar language to describe the
  strange craft they see. One can not quite see what the shape is and it is
  radiating light. But it has a definite structure nonetheless.


  In the UFO reports there are various descriptions of beings who walk
  through space, but let us also consider Arjuna's horses that were running
  through space. First of all, we note that Arjuna received them from a
  resident of another planet called Gandharvaloka where all the residents
  have superhuman powers. Not only this planet, but many other planets such
  as Siddhaloka are described as being inhabited by beings far superior to
  humans in either mechanical technology, psychic powers or even a
  combination of both. The horses are described as giving off a wonderfully
  beautiful fragrance, capable of travelling at the speed of the mind and
  capable of changing color and appearing and disappearing at will. Moreover,
  the horses come to their owner simply by his telepathic command and they
  always act according to his desire. Obviously they are not ordinary horses.


  By comparison we note that in the modern UFO reports people often
  describe beings who are able to appear and disappear abruptly at will right
  before their eyes. One such case involves a man named Maurice Maset who was
  a farmer around the 1950s in France near a town called Valensol. He was an
  ordinary man and not in the habit of making up strange stories. It is
  reported that one day an oval-shaped craft floated down and landed on his
  field. Several small man-like beings came out of the craft and floated
  through the air while travelling. Maurice Maset said that they slid along
  beams of radiant effulgence. Then they slid back into their craft. The
  craft flew up a short distance into the air and then vanished right before
  his eyes. All of a sudden it disappeared. It left marks on his field.


  Thus we see a strong similarity between modern UFO reports and reports
  found in the Vedas. In particular, we see a similarity of travel along
  radiant beams. In effect, Arjuna was travelling along a road of radiant
  energy in the stars. In the Vedas there are descriptions of yogis
  travelling along paths in the sky. Actually, this is just one of the
  various mystic or psychic powers possessed by the yogis and various other
  residents of the higher planets.


  In addition to these types of travel, the Vedas describe self propelled
  flying machines called vimanas. Some are in fact flying cities! According
  to the Ramayana, Ravana's capital was a floating city. In SB it is
  described that a great mystic named Kardama Muni created an entire floating
  city in which he and his wife toured around the universe. In the tenth
  canto of Srimad Bhagavatam it is stated that a king name Salva enlisted the
  aid of an expert technologist named Maya Danava who lives on a different
  planet called Bila Svarga. Maya Danava built an entire flying city for
  Salva. Among other wonderful qualities it possessed the following:
  A special navigation system for seeing at night, high speed capability to
  avoid detection from the ground, and the ability to become either
  completely invisible or to appear as if there were many copies of it flying
  in the sky. This is another case of being able to appear or disappear
  suddenly.


  Of course the Vedas describe various kinds of weapons and it is
  interesting to note that there is a description of a kind of weapon called
  the brahmastra that is ammazingly similar to the modern nuclear weapons. In
  fact, it is superior in the respect that it can be directed to kill only
  one person in contrast to the modern nuclear weapons which kill thousands
  of innocent perople indescriminately. The brahmastra is created and
  directed by sound vibration. Only highly qualified persons know the art of
  invoking the brahmastra.


  At this time I would also like to mention that the vedic literatures
  give evidence of a comparitively sophisticated knowledge of astronomical
  observation and measurement in ancient india at a very early date. Six
  traditional Indian astronomical texts such as the Surya siddhanta, the
  Paitamaha siddhanta of the Visnu-dharmottara Purana, and the Brahmagupta
  siddhanta provide polar longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates for a
  number of stars. If one compares these coordinates with the coordinates for
  these stars according to modern astronomy one can see that they differ by a
  significant amount. At first glance it would appear that the Indian
  astronomers were poor observers. But if one uses the equations of modern
  astronomy to calculate where the stars were in thedistant past one can
  make a remarkable discovery -- the traditional indian astronomical texts
  mentioned above seem to be giving the correct positions of the stars not as
  seen today but where the stars were thousands of years ago according to
  modern calculations. In particular, there appears to be a group of star
  coordinates in the Indian works which point to where these stars were
  50,000 years ago according to modern astronomical calculations.


  Another astonishing piece of evidence is the fact that the Surya
  siddhanta contains the correct diameters for a number of planets in our
  solar system. By correct we mean that they agree with those of modern
  astronomy. This is interesting if we take careful note of the fact that
  according to western historians the first telescope was invented only 400
  years ago by Galileo. Without a telescope one is unable to discern that the
  planets have a spherical cross-section, not to mention being able to
  correctly measure it! Some scholars would say that the Indian astronomers
  got this information from ancient Greek writings, but the diameters listed
  in an ancient Greek text entitled Planetary Hypotheses written by the
  astronomer Ptolemy have no relationship with either the modern values or
  those from the Surya siddhanta.


  Even using dating methods acceptable to standard western historians it can
  be demonstrated that the Surya siddhanta is older than a mere 400 years
  old, and according to the text of the Surya siddhanta itself, it is
  millions of years old!


  Thus it seems that (...)

