Mirai the Story of Nine Unknown Men of Ashoka

The Nine Unknown Men – Ashoka’s Hidden Brotherhood

Overview

Dr Sudheendra S G synthesizes information from the provided sources on "The Nine Unknown Men," a legendary secret society purportedly founded by Emperor Ashoka the Great. The sources present a compelling narrative that blurs the lines between history, mythology, and speculative science, highlighting the society's mission to safeguard humanity's most advanced and potentially destructive knowledge.

Main Themes

1. Ashoka's Transformation and the Genesis of the Society: The origins of the Nine Unknown Men are deeply rooted in Emperor Ashoka's profound change of heart after the devastating Kalinga War.
2. Guardians of Forbidden Knowledge: The core mission of the society is to collect, preserve, and advance highly dangerous scientific and sociological knowledge, keeping it from falling into the wrong hands.
3. The Nine Books of Secret Knowledge: The society’s wisdom is compartmentalized into nine distinct disciplines, each with its own "book," constantly updated and passed down through generations.
4. Enduring Mystery and Global Influence: The legend of the Nine Unknown Men has persisted for over two millennia, with rumored global impacts and modern-day echoes.
5. Fact, Legend, and Speculation: The sources consistently highlight the ongoing debate about the society's existence, acknowledging it as both a captivating legend and a potential historical reality.

Most Important Ideas/Facts

1. Ashoka's Pivotal Role and Transformation

• Ruthless Conqueror to Champion of Peace: Ashoka, initially a "ruthless conqueror," was "forever changed" by the "rivers of blood" and "one hundred thousand lives" lost in the Kalinga War. This experience led him to seek "not conquest of lands, but conquest of the human spirit." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf, nine_unknows.pdf)
• Fear of Misused Knowledge: Ashoka realized that "knowledge could be more dangerous than any weapon" and that "ancient India had amassed so much knowledge which if felt into the wrong hands could wreak havoc." This fear was the driving force behind forming the brotherhood. (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf, nine_unknows.pdf)
• Founding of the Society (c. 270 BCE): He "forged a brotherhood… a council of nine," "a covert group... tasked with preserving and advancing critical knowledge." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf, nine_unknows.pdf)

2. The Mission: Safeguarding Dangerous Truths

• Protecting Humanity from Itself: The Nine Unknown Men were "entrusted with humanity’s most perilous truths — wisdom that could heal, enlighten, or destroy." Their "mission was eternal: protect humanity from itself." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf)
• Secrecy and Succession: The society was "bound by secrecy. Ashoka ordered that their identities remain concealed." Each member was tasked with "creating, updating, and revising a book related to their disciplines." Upon a member's inability to continue, "a carefully chosen successor would take over. Thus, the society always had nine members." This ensured the society's continuity for "more than two thousand years." (nine_unknows.pdf)
• Discretionary Leaks: It is believed that these nine men "leak information from these nine books at their discretion whenever they felt the world was in a dire need of help." (nine_unknows.pdf)

3. The Nine Books of Advanced Knowledge

Each of the nine members was a guardian of a specific discipline, documented in a sacred book. These books contained "sciences so advanced, they blurred the line between divinity and technology." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf)

Here are the disciplines and some of their attributed contents:

1. Physiology: "The mysteries of the human body, including the terrifying ‘Touch of Death,’ a strike said to kill with a single movement," by reversing a nerve impulse. It is "rumor[ed] that a leak from this book led to the creation of the martial art of Judo." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf, nine_unknows.pdf)
2. Communication: "Secrets of language, code, even whispers of contact with beings beyond Earth." This suggests "a profound understanding of the cosmos and were aware of beings from beyond our world." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf, nine_unknows.pdf)
3. Gravity: "Blueprints of flying machines, the Vimanas, capable of defying the laws of physics," and methods for constructing "anti-gravity flying machine[s]." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf, nine_unknows.pdf)
4. Microbiology: "Formulas for vaccines long before modern science, some say even for cholera." It's "rumored that the Cholera vaccine recipe was disclosed from within the pages of this book." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf, nine_unknows.pdf)
5. Propaganda: "Psychological warfare, the art of shaping empires not with swords, but with words." This includes "strategies to manipulate and control minds on a massive scale." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf, nine_unknows.pdf)
6. Cosmology: "The map of the universe, from the dance of planets to the breath of creation itself." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf, nine_unknows.pdf)
7. Alchemy: "The forbidden transmutation of metals, whispers of turning lead into gold." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf, nine_unknows.pdf)
8. Light: "Harnessing the brilliance of the sun, and perhaps, the weaponization of light." This includes understanding its "speed and the potential to harness it as a devastating weapon." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf, nine_unknows.pdf)
9. Sociology: "The rise and fall of civilizations, a guide to steering the destiny of societies." It "provided guidelines for the progress of society and methods to predict its collapse." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf, nine_unknows.pdf)

4. Global Parallels and Enduring Mystery

• Pope Sylvester II (Year 1000): Returning from India, he "brought with him strange devices — a bronze head that could answer ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ eerily similar to a computer." This "computerized bronze head that could answer questions in binary format (yes or no)" was "light years ahead of its time," leading to whispers that "the Pope met the Nine." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf, nine_unknows.pdf)
• Modern Seekers: "Centuries later, explorers, Nazis, even scientists searched for traces of their wisdom — anti-gravity, secret cures, lost technologies." (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf) Hitler "dispatched numerous expeditions to Tibet and India to gather information." (nine_unknows.pdf)
• Modern Echoes and Unseen Hands: The sources prompt the question: "have the Nine returned? Or perhaps they never left." Modern scientific leaps in "artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and quantum physics" are questioned: "are these truly human triumphs, or gifts from the Unknown?" (nine_unknown_men_voiceover.pdf)
• Cultural References: The legend was first explicitly mentioned by Talbot Mundy in his 1923 book, The Nine Unknown Men, and further discussed by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier in The Morning of the Magicians (1960). Contemporary novels also touch upon this secret society. (nine_unknows.pdf)
• The Ganges Purity: Louis Jacolliot suggested that "The Nine Unknown Men may have invented the technology of sterilizing by radiation long before new science had even considered it," potentially explaining the Ganges river's unusual purity. (nine_unknows.pdf)
• Vimanas and Space Travel: The Vaimānika Shāstra, attributed to the Nine Unknown Men, "contains many secrets about aerodynamics, gravity, and space travel." Discoveries of Sanskrit texts and ancient Indian scripts resembling Vimana descriptions hint at "knowledge of gravity, aerodynamics, and space travel" preserved by the Nine. (nine_unknows.pdf)

5. Legends or Reality?

• The Unending Debate: The sources acknowledge the difficulty in accepting that "an ancient secret society has managed to live in secrecy for more than two thousand years," leading some researchers to believe it's "only a legend." However, others point to Ashoka's "finest" members who "swore to maintain this secrecy" as an explanation for its potential persistence. (nine_unknows.pdf)
• The Enduring Mystery: The legend "remains one of humanity’s greatest mysteries." The final thought presented is that "maybe, just maybe, the greatest secret is not whether they exist… but whether we are ready to know what they have always protected."