Saturday, January 06, 2007

Naga or Oarfish?

Last Saturday (30.12.2006) Malaysia's Mun Sang Poh paper did a report on a strange Naga like creature caught by fishermen at Pantai Remis on Dec 15th, about 70km from Ipoh. The 2.1m long fish has such a strong resemblance to the mythical creature that the fishermen who hauled it up was reluctant to identify themselves for fear of it bringing bad luck. However they were eventually identified, as shown in the photo below.They had originally intended to send its body to a taxidermist for preservation, but called off the idea under advice from a village medium. Instead they were instructed to return the "Naga" carcass to the sea, which they dutifully complied. Pantai Remis assemblyman Nga Kor Ming said that according to local superstition, the fish was one of the "family members" of a Sea Naga King. "If you kidnap the Sea Naga King's children, you are looking for trouble," he said. The fishermen so deeply believed in this theory that they even turned down a RM50,000 offer to part with the dead creature!
This type of "Naga", which has "dragon whiskers", red dorsal fins and a long, silvery body, is actualy an Oarfish (Regalecus russellii). The rare oarfish is reputed to be the longest of bony fishes in the world. It is not surprising that the fishermen know nothing about it, because oarfish seldom come to the surface of the sea. They only do so when they are sick or dying. Many other legends are woven up surrounding the capture of a Naga-like oarfish. People say that this kind of creature was seen beached before the Tsunami disaster happened 3 yrs ago. Incidentally, this oarfish was also caught before the recent earthquake in Sumatra. So there is definitely some link between seismic movements on the seabed & the sighting of oarfish. Some people also believe that the massive floods in Johor 2 weeks ago was due to the Sea Naga King's anger over the death of one of his children. Using his elemental powers, the Naga King caused a mighty storm in revenge, flooding the entire state of Johor. Could the floods be linked to the oarfish as well? Unlikely, as Johor is too far from Pantai Remis & it would be hard to build any relation between the 2 events.
This story also brings to mind this widely circulated photo in Thailand, supposedly of the "Queen of Nagas seized by American Army at Mekhong River, Laos Military Base on Jun 27 1973". The creature seen in the photo is also an oarfish, but it is much bigger than the one caught in Pantai Remis. This oarfish is 7.8m long! There is also a legend surrounding this picture saying that those soldiers shown in the photo had all died as a result of the bad karma caused by killing a Naga. But the myth has been debunked some time ago. This photo was identified by one of the guys in it - 30 yr old Andy Z. According to Andy this was taken on Sep 19 1996 at the Naval Special Warfare Center, Coronado, California. "We were on our morning physical fitness run," Andy recalls, "when we came across this huge fish lying on the sand." At 23 feet in length and 4 feet in circumference, it was quite a shocking sight for the Navy SEAL cadets. Not suprisingly, the photo has been modified in Thailand to make the oarfish more convincing as a real Naga.

The Buddhist point of view is that it is not possible for ordinary humans to see real Nagas or their children for that matter, for they are a race of serpent-like demi-gods with bodies much more subtle than any human or animal. Given their powers it is impossible for a man to catch them. They can shape-shift at will and often appear in a human form when speaking to the Buddha or his Noble Ones. Thus only those meditators with divine eye can perceive these beings. But if we think of oarfish as their closest looking servants, then we have an idea what their true form resembles. As for the earthquakes and floods in Malaysia and Indonesia, they are not caused by the Nagas or their servants, but by the collective karma of the sentient beings in the respective regions. Know that natural phenomena and the mental state of beings are deeply related. The more impure our minds are, the more disasters we will experience. But if we can return the mind to it original purity, peace & protection will always be by our side.

8 comments:

Nayan said...

Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Very nice article, thanks a lot for it and for your blog.
Only one thing i want to tell you : the picture of the GI's with the "Queen of Naga" is for sure MUCH older than 1996, i remember seing this picture in a book during the early 1980's!

Anonymous said...

I strongly believe in the Naga because I've seen the Naga. And Kunzang Namdjial, I agree with because the legends are being debunked, more like cover-ups. Other than that, thank you for the article.

Wayne Woo said...

What did the Naga you've seen look like?

Anonymous said...

It's hard to explain because people rely on the physical eye to see something so magnificent.

Open your third eye and you will see the Naga(s) if you ask kindly. As I read in a Buddhist book, you can't interpret wisdom, therefore, I'll keep it sweet.

So Wayne, "what does the naga look like?"

I can give you a general idea, serpentine body, sometimes black as coal with a golden crown. They have a very mystical energy but at the same time neutral. They are neither friendly or aggressive.

If you really want to find out, you will, and it'll come to you sooner or later.

-Cheers.

Wayne Woo said...

Well I certainly do want to find out. Hopefully I'll be able to see how all 8 classes of semi-divine beings really look like, haha..

Anonymous said...

Dear Wayne,

In a sense, it's a lot more simple than you think. Ask assistance from your Guardians by meditation. From there, they can lead you and on your journey you will discover many things, perhaps even encounter one.

:)

Blessed be.

Anonymous said...

hey the picture was taken in laos not in thialand nor in cali beach that true all the guy that held the naga were later on die one at the time that is the fact the picture was taken in laos luan prabang thai people alway claim from there country but not