May 23, 2010 - Age 66

A misleading theory about the Five Rites is now circulating on the Internet. According to this theory, the Five Rites are derived from, or are a form of, Tibetan Yantra Yoga, especially the yoga of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu. This argument is based on certain supposed similarities between the Five Rites and Yantra Yoga. The apparent goal of this theory is to "fold" the Five Rites into Tibetan Yantra Yoga, at least in peoples' minds, then redirect them to Yantra should they want to "learn" more about the Rites. Something similar has already happened concerning Hatha Yoga. Later Harbor Press editions of the Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth (a pseudonym for the Eye of Revelation) claimed that the Five Rites were derived from Hatha Yoga, and even went so far as making recommendations for finding Hatha Yoga instructors. [1] This was a disservice to the students of the Five Rites as the Rites almost certainly predate Hatha Yoga by hundreds of years . . . if not a thousand or more. This is not merely an academic issue; rather, it deals directly with the question of where do we go to learn more about the Five Rites -- which we must do. Consider how effective the Five Rites are compared with other systems of exercise. I know of no system of exercise that works as well as the Five Rites. No system of calisthenics. No system of yoga, Tibetan or otherwise. No system of weight training. No system of aerobics. Nothing. With just five simple exercises, the Five Rites do the seemingly impossible. They roll back the odometer of the years. With just five simple exercises, mind you. Name me one system of physical culture that does as much as the Five Rites, and as quickly and as easily, with just five simple exercises. Name it. Name one system of exercise that has spawned the incredible comments found about the Rites on Amazon. com. Name one system of exercise that, by word of mouth alone, came back from near extinction to what is now a world-wide phenomenon. Name it. [2] To be sure, Yantra and Hatha Yoga are very beneficial regimens; but they do not, by all accounts, work anywhere near as well as the Five Rites. They do not inspire the impassioned reviews on Amazon.com you find for the Five Rites. They do not have just five simple exercises which, practiced alone, produce such dramatic results. It is possible, if not downright likely, that the Five Rites are a remnant of a much greater medical technology from Tibet's forgotten past; perhaps from the Bon tradition which may predate Tibetan Yantra Yoga by thousands of years. If we incorrectly accept the claim that the Five Rites are derived from, or are a form of, Tibetan Yantra Yoga, we may never find the true origins of the Rites, origins which might lead us to, not only to a better understanding of the Rites, but also to additional medical technologies of value equal to or greater than the Five Rites. THE COMPARISON CHART On June 2, 2008, the following chart was first posted on the Internet. It shows images taken from the Eye

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of Revelation juxtaposed with images purportedly taken from the works of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu. (Actually, one of the images is of unknown provenance, and this is an important matter we discuss below.)

Taken at face value, the similarities do seem to be noteworthy; but a closer look reveals otherwise. Here is a closeup of the comparison for Rite 1:

In the original editions of the Eye of Revelation, Peter Kelder had two sets of circular arrows indicating that the figure was turning in a clockwise direction. Those arrows were erased to enhance the appearance of similitude with the image on the Yantra Yoga side. Here is what the original illustration for Rite 1 looks like:

It is clear that the illustration for Rite 1 in the Comparison Chart was deliberately altered to make it look more like the corresponding illustration on the Yantra side. At this point we need to ask ourselves a simple question: If the similarities between the Five Rites and Tibetan Yantra Yoga are so telling, why the need to alter the image for Rite 1? Here's the answer: there is no comparable spinning movement in Tibetan Yantra Yoga. On this alone we might conclude that the Comparison Chart is less than genuine. There is

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more, however. THE BOGUS PICTURE There is also a very curious matter about the image used on the Yantra side for Rite 1. It was drawn by a different artist than was used for the other Tibetan drawings which were taken from the works of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu (note the lack of facial features when compared to the Yantra illustration for Rite 4):

Just where this "faceless" drawing came from is unknown (the author of this chart declines to comment on it). It may not even be from a publication about Tibetan Yantra Yoga. So not only was the Eye of Revelation illustration altered, it was altered to more closely resemble an illustration from an unknown work to "prove" that Rite 1 came from Tibetan Yantra Yoga of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu. And here we must ask ourselves, if the similarities between the Five Rites and Tibetan Yantra Yoga are so compelling, why the need for deception? DATA MINING I think most people looking only at the Comparison Chart would conclude that there was an 80 - 90% correlation between the Rites and Yantra. Compelling, it would seem; but, very deceptive. By my count there are 826 separate line drawings in Nauru's Yantra Yoga. Only nine bear a resemblance to illustrations for the Five Rites. This means that in a full comparison of the Five Rites and Tibetan Yantra Yoga we can conclude with about 98.9% certainty that the Rites are NOT similar to Tibetan Yantra Yoga. And what few correspondences there are can probably be written off to chance. After all, with 826 drawings to choose from, you'd be bound to find a few that resemble something from the Five Rites. The Comparison Chart in question is a stunning example of data mining, the practice of presenting or using only information that supports one's preconceived notions or theories. Most of the images in the Comparison Chart were taken out of context. Only one or two positions were selected out of a series of six, seven or eight positions in Tibetan Yantra Yoga. Using this data mining technique, you could probably "prove" that Tibetan Yantra Yoga is the ancestor of modern gymnastics or even some martial arts, such as Tai Chi Chuan. And maybe a whole host of other things, as well. As Dorothy Sayers wrote, you can prove almost anything if only you sufficiently limit your point of view. Below we show the full extent of the data mining by placing the Yantra images in their full context. Please remember that while some similarities may seem to exist, they are probably due to chance. For every set of postures shown below on the Yantra side, there are dozens more showing no similarity at all. Rite 1:

Peter Kelder, The Eye of Revelation, 1939, p. 8.

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Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Yantra Yoga, Snow Lion, p 63. Bruno Irmici, illustrator.

Rite 2:

Peter Kelder, The Eye of Revelation, 1939, p. 10.

Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Yantra Yoga, Snow Lion, p 75. Bruno Irmici, illustrator.

Rite 3:

Peter Kelder, The Eye of Revelation, 1939, p. 12.

Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Yantra Yoga, Snow Lion, p 105. Bruno Irmici, illustrator.

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Rite 4:

Peter Kelder, The Eye of Revelation, 1939, p. 14.

Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Yantra Yoga, Snow Lion, p 71. Bruno Irmici, illustrator.

Rite 5:

Peter Kelder, The Eye of Revelation, 1939, p. 16.

Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Yantra Yoga, Snow Lion, p 175. Bruno Irmici, illustrator.

As you can see, the actual sequence of moves from which the comparison figures were taken do not resemble the Five Rites in a way which would lead a person of average intelligence to conclude that the Five Rites are directly related to Tibetan Yantra Yoga . . . especially when you consider that 98.9% of the 826 images are dissimilar! If there was really any solid evidence for the claim that the Five Rites descended from, or are a form of, Tibetan Yantra Yoga, there would be no need to doctor illustrations, or bring in an illustration from God knows where, just to make it appear that there is a spinning motion in Yantra when there is not. Nor would there be a need for data mining. Data mining can happen innocently enough when born of enthusiasm for a particular theory; but when it is done this blatantly and boldly it makes one wonder about the motives of the chart's creator.
Note: The Tibetan Yantra Yoga images are from Yantra Yoga by Chgyal Namkhai Norbu. It is considered the most thorough treatment of Tibetan Yantra ever published in English and w e w ould be remiss should we not use it. Norbu used the same artist in his earlier w orks as he did in Yantra Yoga, so the images are identical -- just more

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complete . The Comparison Chart w as published a few months before the publication of Yantra Yoga. Earlier w orks by Norbu apparently did not have the "spread eagle" pose, w hich w as a serious problem for the chart's creator w ho then had to "go fish" for a substitute. But Yantra Yoga does contain some figures that are much more similar to the illustration for Rite 1. Had the Comparison Chart been produced after the publication of Yantra Yoga, no doubt all the images w ould have been taken from it and the chart's creator w ould not have needed the bogus image. We use images from Nauru's Yantra Yoga because it is the most comprehensive w ork w ith w hich w e can compare the Five Rites. And w e use it to help confirm that a bogus image w as, in fact, used.

THE COVER-UP Shortly after questions began surfacing about the Comparison Chart, it was quietly removed from the Internet without explanation (or apology), but the argument did not go away. Today another Comparison Chart has been published by the same person or persons who gave us the first one. This time only the last three Rites are included (apparently conceding the point that the comparisons for Rites 1 & 2 don't hold up). There is just as much data mining for the remaining three Rites, however. The main thrust of this new chart is a carefully worded, totally undocumented set of statements crafted to create the illusion of similitude between the Rites and Yantra. It does with words what the Comparison Chart did with images, which is to say that it is filled with nonsense. Given the history of the first chart, I know of no rational way to accept anything in the second, unless it gets peer reviewed. And that I would love to see.
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[1] Peter Kelder, Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth: Book 2; Doubleday (New York), 1999, p. 285. [2] Kum Nye, an ancient system of exercise from the Bon tradition of Tibet, certainly comes close, however. In my articles about the origins of the Five Rites, I mention Kum Nye as a possible progenitor of the Five Rites.
This work is the inte llectual prope rty o f its a uthor a nd is fully cop yrighted . It m a y no t be co pied o r rep ub lishe d in any me dium (includ ing but no t lim ited to e lectronic a nd print m e dia) without the exp re ss pe rm issio n o f the autho r. All rights a re reserve d.

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