The star in Bethlehem
The king was astonished by the news which the astrologers & astronomers at his court just revealed. In utter disbelief he repeatedly asked them and they confirmed, and also insisted that this was such an unusual celestial pattern they had ever observed, and also all the nine planets would shortly get aligned in a straight line on a particular day - a rarest of the rare phenomenon. The king nodded his head in surprise & disbelief, and wondered if this celestial phenomenon would occur above his kingdom in India. He commanded his wise men to research further and figure out the exact place on earth where this specific planetary position would be projected to.
India
is a country rich in culture & heritage, and in ancient days the kingdoms
of India had well advanced knowledge in science & weaponry, and was much
advanced than many other kingdoms of the world. The ancient Indian scholars had
indepth knowledge in medical science (ayurveda), vedic mathematics, metallurgy,
physics, science of aircrafts (vymanika sasthra), astronomy, astrology and so
on.
In
India, Astrology is a science which is based on the fact that positions of
stars and planets at each individual's birth, determines their character; and
the celestial pattern projected forward from birth, influences the events in an
individual's life. The events in each person's life are predestined and can be
deciphered from the stars & planetary positions. Also each person's
character, traits & behaviour, all their strengths & weaknesses as well
as their good traits & flaws can all be determined at the time of birth
from the celestial pattern by analyzing certain specific stars & planets.
The
wise men at his court informed the king of this rare celestial spectacle &
the unique alignment of planets which is the rarest of the rare event, and the
individual born at that time at the place on Earth to which this planetary
alignment is projected to, will be a divine being, a perfect individual in all
aspects, with no blemish or any shortcomings or flaws in his character; but on
the other hand is a fullness of what any complete or perfect individual can be.
The king was so amazed as this was something so unusual and hard to believe,
and this seemed to be something heavenly.
The
king was anxious to know the co-ordinate on earth where this pattern will be
projected to, so that he can get to know the exact place of this divine birth.
Hence he commanded his men to research further and figure out the exact place.
He longed that this will happen in his own palace or in his kingdom, and was
very much amused and elated by the news he heard. He sent his word across his
palace, to check on the women of the royal family who were pregnant, to know if
the anticipated event matched with the time of any child birth in his royal
family.
The
king had to wait anxiously for few days until he got the details that he
requested from his men, who were busy with their research and calculations,
trying to figure out the latitude and longitude on Earth to which the pattern
is projected to.
Finally
after three days his wise men showed themselves before the king in his
'durbar'. They came up to him with several charts, and started narrating the
results of their arduous work, and elaborated their calculations. It seemed to
them from their planetary charts that the place would be at the very centre of
all kingdoms on Earth, in the land where the great & oldest rivers of Earth
- the Euphrates and Tigris flows, from somewhere among the middle eastern
territories of Galilee, Jerusalem or Jordan, which were then under Roman
empire. Though they couldn't exactly locate the place, they told him that they
believed it to be somewhere around Jerusalem.
The
king immediately beckoned his ministers to send a messenger from his kingdom as
far as Jerusalem to the emperor there, to witness this magnificent event, and
to offer his gifts to the child born in the palace. He finally chose one man
from among his wise men who brought forth this news, and asked him to take up
this mission.
The
king's man set out on an arduous path. He travelled on horseback across moors
and mountains, fields and fountains to the land of the Israelites. He had
carried all the goods he needed, including food & clothing. During the
nights he used to spend in some wayside inn or other such lodgings, or at times
in the homes of poor people who were willing to extend their hospitality.
After
travelling several days and after traversing a large distance through deserts
and barren land he finally reached a small town, and checked into an inn, for
the night.
There
was lot of commotion in the inn that evening, and he saw many horses like his,
outside. There he met two men elegantly dressed like him, wearing rich
garments, and with plenty of ornaments. He came to know from others around that
they are also king's men from some other kingdoms of orient land, and are
traveling to meet the king in Jerusalem. He was startled to hear this news, and
out of curiosity he approached them to have a word. When they heard his story,
they too were amazed and realized that they have a common mission to accomplish.
Next
morning all the three wise men set out from the inn together on camels towards
their destination. They had left their horses in the inn, and instead paid for
camels to travel through the hot sandy desert lying ahead. After travelling few
more days they finally arrived in Jerusalem. It was a cold evening and they
went straight to the king's palace. The king Herod gave them a warm
welcome & a good reception, as he was elated to greet the visitors
from far off lands.
Then
they spoke of the purpose of their visit. The king was spellbound and quite
confused and repeatedly asked them the details, and they had to narrate it
several times. The king was convinced with their story, as three wise men from
three different kingdoms have approached him with this news, however all the
more disturbed & upset to realize that there was no child birth at that
time in his palace.
The
men were disappointed to hear this. They had hoped that a birth of this
kind will only happen in a palace. They inquired about any nearby kingdoms and
palaces around but there were none.
They
thanked the king, and left the palace in dismay. It was quite late in the
evening & the sun had already set. They travelled for a while and reached a
small town called Bethlehem, and stopped by and sat down beneath a huge tree,
and spread their charts on the ground, to scrutinize if they get any new clues.
It was way past nightfall, and quite cold, and they were wearied and tired and
also very disappointed.
Though
it was quite late in the evening and was past nightfall, this cold winter night
looked quite bright, and well-lit by the bright starry night sky.
They
were quite sure of the place and their calculations. One man insisted that the
place is definitely the land where they were standing and the time has also
fast approached, and within a short while the alignment of planets would change
and hence the child birth must be right then and there. He looked up into the
night sky in dismay and immediately a bright star up in the starry sky
caught his notice, and to his great surprise the star was gliding silently
through the night sky. This star in the sky seemed like a bright jewel gliding
over a thick black carpet sprinkled with tiny glittering dust. He gave a shout
of joy and immediately they all sprang upto their feet, gazing up at the star,
and to their utter amazement it was infact moving towards them.
Suddenly
they heard some noises around, and people walking briskly. They saw few
shepherds walking hurriedly towards them. On their enquiry they replied that
they had seen this star while they were out in their fields sitting around a
fire in this cold night, and out of curiosity and intrigue they were following
it. Some men among them claimed that they had some divine visitation of angels
who conversed with them, and spoke the good news of the birth of the Lord.
The
shepherds also were very excited and a bit perplexed on seeing these three men
in elegant clothing out there at night with camels, but in their haste they
inquired nothing. Soon the three men mounted their camels and started following
the shepherds and the star. The terrain and the surroundings were clearly
visible as it was a star lit night with no clouds in the sky, and this huge
bright star in Bethlehem was shining in full radiance, as it glided through the
sky and was guiding them. They walked up a slope, going past several
shabby houses, following the star. After a while the star came to a halt above
a secluded area. They reached there and looked around and at a far corner was a
manger and there was some light there, and few other shepherds were also
crowded around there, looking inside.
They
got down from their camels and walked ahead with great curiosity & utter
amazement. They reached the manger and looked inside. In the midst of the
shabby manager, surrounded by cows, goats and sheep, and on the hay sat a lady
with her husband beside her, and in her arms in swaddling clothes lay a sweet
new born baby whose face was radiant and gleaming.
They
were dumbstruck and spellbound and knelt down on the ground and bowed before
the child. They noted the time & it was the exact time they had calculated.
They had never anticipated to be visiting a cattle shed with goats & sheep
around when this child should have been born in a palace. They folded their
hands in reverence, knelt down and worshiped, praising the Almighty, and then
offered their gifts. After spending a while there, they walked back to their
camels.
They
mounted their camels feeling very much contented and happy, as they could
accomplish their mission successfully. They slowly rode down the slope on their
camels with cheer and laughter. The night was so bright and well-lit that they
could see as far as the horizon, and places around looked very distinct and
clear, as it was a clear starry full moon night with the new bright star of
Bethlehem, still shining brightly in the sky which guided them. Infact,
this particular night seemed much different than all the previous nights, with
the new star in Bethlehem which eradicates all darkness.
They
continued their journey back, riding on their camels towards the horizon, as
contended souls feeling worthy of their visit.
Written
by,
Suveen
Jacob Abraham.
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