Nadi Shastra: Ancient Leaves of Destiny
A fascinating and incredible mystery is linked to ancient India, a journey into the remote past of a land that still has to reveal to the whole of humanity many of its 'stories' and its wonders. The so-called Leaves of Destiny, or Nadi Shastra, constitute a millennial archive, a timeless mystery preserved in many libraries and centres scattered throughout the Indian territory, where the destinies (past, present and future) of men are recorded.
In his journey of research and rediscovery of Eastern knowledge, the present author encountered one of the most fascinating and obscure themes of the variegated Indian world. In an attempt to conduct research that was both anthropological and historical, investigative and documental, he searched for the ultimate meaning of the Leaves of Destiny. The Nadi Shastra is a cultural heritage and a mystery that delves into the very origins of India as well as human culture. The Leaves of Destiny constitute a knowledge preserved over millennia by wise and learned men whose sole purpose was to give mankind a system to help them in their personal and subjective journeys, to discover their own animic and spiritual paths.
This is one of the oldest surviving and dated palm-leaf manuscript in Sanskrit (828 AD). Discovered in Nepal, the bottom leaf shows all the vowels and consonants of Sanskrit (the first five consonants are highlighted in blue and yellow).( Ms Sarah Welch / CC BY-SA 4.0)
