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your leaf has identified itself, it can tell you your future and the —_—_ writings on them could be, so we looked into it. India has always sins you're still carrying... You blench. Sins? What sins? You had a strong oral tradition. Since the very earliest times, sit there dumbfounded, stunned, your mind in a whirl. After all "knowledge" was handed down by word of mouth from guru to the truths that leaf's told you already, whatever else can there be? student, elder to elder, for generation upon generation. Which is Your sins—and your future as well? It's all too much... maybe why I can find no Indian equivalent to Euclid, Suffice it to say that the rest of my life was then told to me in Archimedes, Pythagoras or Herodotus, for such knowledge was two-yearly tranches up until my "early eighties", with each always jealously guarded by the Rishis—the highest Brahmin significant moment spelt out throughout. And while most of it priests—who disseminated it to up-and-coming initiates only, remains to be proved, the three critical events I was told would thereby keeping the power amongst themselves. take place in the time that's since elapsed have all happened This changed with the publication of the Vedas, the four books exactly when and how my leaf said they would. covering creation, the universe and the gods, followed by the And as for my "sins", I was surprised, shocked and saddened by Upanishads and then the Epics (the Mahabharata and the those it told me of—for although I'd imagined I had none, it Bhagavad Gita), all written between around 1000 BC and AD pinpointed issues and moments where I'd been less than honest 200. And it was through these great works that the printed word and honourable, and truly I knew the leaf to be right. But— and, more importantly, the concepts and information behind it, mirabile, mirabile—the Naadis can help you with that: they have —_ became known to a wider populace, even if it was still principally "remedies" that can purge ongoing sins once and for all by puja, the upper spheres of Indian society. which I heartily recommend. But once that oral tradition was broken, So while I still am a sceptic somehow, with monks and scribes started recording India's all that I was told that time how could I scientific, literary and cultural heritage on possibly doubt any of it? And all from three palm leaves in both Tamil and Sanskrit, thumbprints, my Christian name and my India's principal classical languages. The gender. It still beggars belief. treatises in Tamil alone cover an Oral and written traditions in indi walt'S nothing like extraordinarily impressive number of ral and written traditions in India subjects: acupuncture, agriculture, anatomy, For those of you who are interested, the the span between animal husbandry, architecture, astrology, philosophy behind the leaves comprises the now and the time of astronomy, Ayurvedic medicine, carpentry, Naadi Granthas, a set of very highly . . . drama, love songs, martial arts, mathematics, organised manuscripts, each of between 16 Sri Kausika or his metalworking, music, poetry, recipes, and 24 chapters or kKandams. The number of mentor, Lord Shiva, sculpture, shipbuilding, temple art and chapters depends upon which Naadi astrologer you go to, as each of the original Sapta Rishis—the Seven Sages (Agasthya, Kausika, Vyasa, Bohra, Bhrigu, Vasishtha and Valmiki) credited with being the very first to inscribe the leaves all those thousands of years ago—has his own following. (The names vary depending upon which source you read. There are other names as well, such as Athri, Parasara, Jaya- Muni, Bhujandar, Vidura and Narada.) Particular Granthas deal with particular issues; for example, the Satya Naadi deals with the lives of the great and the good, the truly outstanding and architecture, veterinary science, writing techniques and yoga—that is, all aspects of Tamil art, culture, language, literature and science of that time, which was indeed great. Yet while the period in which these works were written is impressive (some 1,200 years), it's nothing like the span between now and the time of Sri Kausika or his mentor, Lord Shiva, who it is said relayed the details of our lives to him between 2,000 and 4,000 years before that, or some 5,000 years ago overall. Not possible, I hear you say: no leaves could survive intact for that who it is said relayed the details of our lives to him between 2,000 and 4,000 years before that... world-renowned persons in whatever field, whilst the Kaka long. And you'd be right, of course. But there's a world of Bhujandar Naadi concentrates solely on future world events. difference between the age of the palm leaf and the age of the That said, there appear to be two main types of Naadi astrology: words etched upon it. the Tantra Naadi—which utilises horoscopes—and the Mantra Naadi—which relies on only a few simple questions and answers, Palm leaf preparation and protection from which the Naadi reader will make his pronouncements. Our Ancient writing came in many forms—on cave walls, stone readings were made up of both elements: extensive questioning slabs, animal skins, birch bark, copper scrolls, clay blocks, to find our relevant leaves, supplemented by horoscopes based on papyri—but I hadn't heard of the use of palm leaves until just the dates and times of our births. before we went to India. To my shame, I then found out that from Each kandam or chapter relates to a specific aspect of a person's antiquity until well into the 19th century palm leaves had been a material and spiritual life. We received guidance on all 16 of the —_ natural writing medium not only in India and Sri Lanka but in chapters that our Naadi astrologers practised—the Kausika Malaysia, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Nepal, Cambodia and Naadi—for which kandams 1-12 were covered by the "readings" Indonesia as well, where each developed the "leaves" to suit their and then expanded with the "predictions", while kandams 13-16 — own emerging cultural identities. dealt with the "remedies" for our ongoing sins in whatever And as a plant, the palm is indeed old enough: the date palm, appropriate form was necessary. for example, was cultivated by the Mesopotamians and other We were also curious as to how old the leaves and indeed the Middle Eastern races as long as 5,000 years ago, with good .»it's nothing like ‘the span between ents ees ee mentor, Lord Shiva, who it is said relayed the details of our lives and 4,000 years before that... Palm leaf preparation and protection Ancient writing came in many forms—on cave walls, stone slabs, animal skins, birch bark, copper scrolls, clay blocks, papyri—but I hadn't heard of the use of palm leaves until just before we went to India. To my shame, I then found out that from antiquity until well into the 19th century palm leaves had been a natural writing medium not only in India and Sri Lanka but in Malaysia, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Nepal, Cambodia and Indonesia as well, where each developed the "leaves" to suit their own emerging cultural identities. And as a plant, the palm is indeed old enough: the date palm, for example, was cultivated by the Mesopotamians and other Middle Eastern races as long as 5,000 years ago, with good APRIL — MAY 2008 NEXUS = 45 now and the time of Sri Kausika or his to him between 2,000 www.nexusmagazine.com