Crop Circles are a modern enigma. These intricate and gigantic formations, appearing almost overnight, have confused and fascinated us for the past couple of decades. An array of scientific anomalies has been noted in the plant and soil samples collected from crop circle sites, which do not appear to conform to any rational explanations. Recently, the Laurence Rockefeller funded study into crop circles, conducted by BLT Research, has concluded that ‘it is possible that we are observing the effects of a new or as yet undiscovered energy source.’ Clearly, some inexplicable phenomenon is transpiring in our immediate cosmic neighborhood. We do not know how these circles are being created or by whom. But, it appears as if some unknown force is leveraging scientific knowledge that is not yet known to us, and sending us some important messages through these complex formations, which depict various sacred symbols of the ancient wisdom traditions.
One of the earliest crop circle formations which had captured the imagination of the world was the Barbury Castle formation of 1991. Ever since this exquisite formation appeared near Barbury, England, a plethora of scientific, mathematical and mystical interpretations have been proposed by various researchers to explain its symbolic meaning. However, there is no doubt in my mind that this extraordinary formation is a composite, two-dimensional represention of the four attributes of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Lord of the Universe, who is synonymous with the Vedic Creator God Vishnu. These four attributes which have been depicted in this formation, and which are always associated with Vishnu and Krishna are the ‘Lotus Flower’, the six-spoked ‘Discus’ known as the Sudarshana Chakra, the ‘Mace’, and the ‘Conch-shell’.
At the center of the Barbury Castle formation there is central circle, enclosed by a pair of concentric circles. In ancient traditions, the ‘circle with a dot in the center’ always represented the ‘divine consciousness at the center of the cosmos’. In Hinduism and Buddhism, the concentric circles also denote the resplendent ‘Lotus Flower’ which bloomed in the midst of the Primeval Ocean at the beginning of time, containing within it the Great Spirit. This understanding is reflected in the Buddhist mantra ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ which translates to ‘Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus’. It is apparent, therefore, that the central part of this formation reflects the Supreme God Krishna, and his attribute, the Lotus Flower.
The concentric circles are enclosed within an ‘equilateral triangle’ which, once again, is an ancient symbol of the ‘Trinity’. At the bottom-left corner of the formation we can see ‘a racheted spiral form’, which has been identified as the famous ‘Fibonacci sequence’ (a sequence of numbers: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 etc. where each number is the sum of the preceding two numbers). It has been shown scientifically that the cross section of a Conch shell traces out an exact Fibonacci sequence (“Fibonacci Structure in Conch Shell”, Current Science, February 2005). In addition, since a Conch shell has ‘spiral bands’ along its body, a cross-section of the shell will result in the formation of distinct ‘ratchets’ on the Fibonacci spiral, exactly as observed in the crop circle formation. Therefore, this symbol is definitely a representation of the Conch-shell of Krishna.
At the bottom right corner of the formation, we find a ‘six-spoked circle’ which is undoubtedly the six-spoked Sudarshana Chakra, the famous discus wielded by Krishna; and at the top of the formation we find a ‘Circle with a stick attached to’ which can be recognized as the cross-section of the Mace, the other attribute associated with Krishna. Incredibly enough, each of these individual symbols are interconnected by straight lines, thereby forming an extraordinary two-dimensional representation of Krishna, along with his four attributes.
This is not the only instance, however, where the various attributes of Krishna have appeared in crop circle formations. There have been multiple instances where the Conch-shell or its cross section, the six-spoked Sudarshana Chakra or the six-petaled Lotus Flower, have appeared in the formations. The Barbury Castle formation is, however, the only instance where all the four attributes of Krishna have been depicted in a unified form.
One crop-circle figure depicts a cross section of a conch-shell (Pewsey, 2002), another a conch-shell (West Woods, 2007), a third one is a six-petaled flower (West Stowell, July 2000), and a fourth one is a six-pointed star (Alton Barnes, June 2003). What could be the meaning behind these formations?
Each of the four attributes of Krishna has a symbolic meaning associated with it. The irresistible ‘Sudarshana Chakra’ is the weapon wielded by Krishna and it signifies the destruction of one's ego, burning away of spiritual ignorance and illusion, and developing the vision to realize god. From the ‘Conch shell’ held by Krishna, emanates the primordial sound of creation ‘OM’, which pervades the entire cosmos. The vibration of ‘OM’ is a representation of the Supreme God, the original sound that contains all other sounds, all words and all languages. It is considered to be the supreme object of meditation and is uttered before all Vedic mantras. The ‘Mace’ held by Krishna denotes Krishna’s power to destroy the materialistic or demonic tendencies within us. And the ‘Lotus Flower’ is symbolic of divine creation, the formation of the universe from the eternal. The Lotus is also an emblem of divine perfection, purity and enlightenment. Vedic gods and sages always exhorted their devotees to be like the Lotus; just as Lotus blooms in a marshy watery body, and yet remains unaffected by dirt and mud, in the same fashion one should be of this world, and yet remain untouched by sin. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that ‘those who surrender to Brahman all selfish attachments are like the leaf of a lotus floating clean and dry in water. Sin cannot touch them.’
Clearly, these messages are significant for our times. It appears that the crop circle makers urging us to imbibe the wisdom encoded within these symbols, and attain to spiritual enlightenment and purity. I wondered if the symbolic meaning of the Barbury Castle formation is more than just the sum of its individual parts. Since such an elaborate, composite depiction of Krishna has been created, could it also contain a deeper meaning?
I reflected on the global consciousness changes that have been predicted by various spiritualists and Mayan religious leaders around the years 2012. Inspite of all the excitement around 2012, there exists only one piece of inscription which makes a prediction specific to December 21, 2012. It’s a hieroglyphic text found on Monument 6 at the site of Tortuguero in the Mexican state of Chiapas. It states, quite mysteriously, that on December 21, 2012, “an (unknown) event shall occur and Bolon Yokte K’u shall descend at an (unknown) place”. Bolon Yokte K’u has been identified by Mayanists as the ‘Nine Foot Tree God’, which indicates that he is a representation of the Tree of Life or the Cosmic Mountain, the central axis of our world. This seems to indicate that a very powerful deity has been prophesized to incarnate on the planet earth around the years 2012. Of course, the exact year and date relating to this prophesized event is under question, since it is very difficult to map the Mayan Calendar dates to the Gregorian calendar. However, there is a general agreement between Mayan scholars that this date refers to some point in the near future.
There is a prevalent belief which states that the light of wisdom will come from the east. Chapter 3 of the Zoroastran text Zand-i Vohuman Yasht contains very lengthy prophecies about the later days of this era, and it says that, “in the direction of Chinistan, it is said - some have said among the Hindus - is born a prince; it is his father, a prince of the Kayanian race, approaches the women, and a religious prince is born to him; he calls his name Warharan the Varjavand, some have said Shahpur. That a sign may come to the earth, the night when that prince is born, a star falls from the sky; when that prince is born the star shows a signal.' Other prophecies refer to the birth of the ‘Great Serpent’ in the east, who will bring the lamp of wisdom to the different nations. When and where this ‘messiah’ or ‘prophet’ shall be born is uncertain. The great American psychic, Edgar Cayce, sums it up rather nicely when he says in Reading 3976-15, that the day of arrival of the Lord will be made known to people through spiritual interception in the minds of people.
All these prognostications about the impending birth of a ‘messiah’ made me wonder if the Barbury Castle formation may be hinting at a similar possibility. It is said that before Buddha’s birth, the great court seer Asita had observed various auspicious symbols and astrological configurations and had concluded that the new prince will either be a ‘chakravartin’ or an enlightened spiritual leader. The word chakravartin originated from the Sanskrit ‘chakra’, meaning ‘wheel’, and ‘vartin’, meaning ‘one who turns’. Thus, a chakravartin may be understood as a ruler ‘whose chariot wheels roll everywhere’, or ‘whose movements are unobstructed’. He is an emperor of the world, a universal monarch, who rules by virtue of his wisdom, compassion and righteousness. It is believed that the birth of a chakravartin heralds the onset of seven wealth’s or abundances which arise in the realm; a wealth of faith, morality, honesty, modesty, learning, renunciation and wisdom. The term chakravartin refers particularly to the incarnations of Vishnu who appear to restore dharma and righteousness on earth. The most famous chakravartin in Hinduism is the incaranation of Vishnu as the universal monarch Rama in the Treta Yuga, sometime around 7000 B.C. Other religions have their own equivalents of the chakravartin.
As it turns out, Asita’s prognosis about Buddha was also correct for Buddha was both an enlightened spiritual leader as well as a chakravartin. By the power of his wisdom and teachings he had conquered the world and re-established righteousness at a time when humanity was struggling through the darkest period of the Kali Yuga. Is it possible, therefore, that the crop circles, which are essentially circular in form, and thereby resemble a chakra or a wheel, are heralding the birth of another chakravartin - the savior whose coming is widely anticipated by the people across the world? The symbol of the chakravartin has always been a chakra or a wheel; it is widely believed that the body of the chakravartin as well as his palms and soles bear the auspicious discus symbol, indicating his divinity. The Buddhist text Kalachakra-Tantra proclaims that, “The Chakravartin shall come out at the end of the age, from the city the gods fashioned on Mount Kailasa.
He shall smite the barbarians in battle with his own four-division army, on the entire surface of the earth.” Perhaps the Barbury Castle formation is telling us
that an aspect of Krishna shall soon descend on earth in order to steer humanity towards the path of dharma, and prepare us spiritually for our evolution towards an new age of enlightenment? That is an outcome that all spiritually minded people shall hope for.
About the author: Bibhu Dev Misra is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management and has been working as an IT consultant for more than 12 years. He has deep interests in ancient civilizations, myths, traditions, symbols, religion and spirituality and has travelled to many places of religious, architectural and historical importance.
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Reader Comments:
"The most famous
"The most famous chakravartin in Hinduism is the incarnation of Vishnu as the universal monarch Rama in the Treta Yuga, sometime around 7,000 B.C."
I just wonder on which basis this statement is based? As far as Srimad Bhagavatam, and other vedic sources explain treta yuga ended 1.2 million years ago.
The Vedic Seer, Swami
The Vedic Seer, Swami Yukteswar, explained in his book 'The Holy Science' (1894), that the Yuga Cycles have been artificially inflated in all the Puranic sources, by multiplying the duration of the yugas by '360', which has been represented as the number of divine years comprising a human year. In reality, a cycle of the Yugas lasts for 24,000 years,and is comprised of an ascending cycle of 12,000 years when virtue gradually increases (Kali, Dwapara, Treta, Krita) and a descending cycle (Krita, Treta, Dwapara, Kali) of another 12,000 years in which virtue gradually decreases.
There are many reasons why his explanation has found widespread acceptance. An ascending a descending cycle is found in the 24 hr cycle of day and night, and the 24 lunar cycles of the year. We find mention of the 12,000 year cycle in many other cultures, including the Iranians, Greeks etc. Also, a 24,000 year yuga cycle very closely approximates the 25,600 year cycle of the 'precession of the equinoxes'.
Going by this value, one would arrive at a date of approx. 7000 BC for the Treta Yuga.
Hare Krishna. We should
Hare Krishna.
We should stick to the authority of guru, sadhu and sastra here.
Srimad Bhagavatam is the the scriptural authority and Srila Prabhupada is our authority representing the guru parampara.
Unless you can show me that Swami Yukteswar is a bonafide guru coming in one of the four bonafide parampara's, I would rather stick to the authority of Srila Prabhupda, so as not to mislead innocent persons regarding this.
your servant,
Sudama das
I have read about crop
I have read about crop circles and it is said that crop circles can be created by humans using a plank and a rope. I also saw it in national geographic channel or discovery channel i guess(I forgot through which channel I watched the programme) .
Hi Shree, I suggest you
Hi Shree,
I suggest you check the website of BLT Research for the scientific facts and anomalies on crop circles. There are many other resources on the internet that will provide you additional information. Crop circles can be created using a plank and a rope, but then the Mona Lisa can also be created using a paper and some crayons, but it will be nothing like the original. Besides some crop circles are 900 feet in diameter and appear in the space of a few hours of darkness, and some others in a space of a few minutes, which is impossible for even a team of hundred human beings to achieve. Why doesn't someone predict what the shape and location of the next crop circle will be? It has not happened even once in the past 20 years. The disinformation about crop circles has been spread by the government for quite sometime, but no-one believes them anymore, thanks to the internet.