Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:01,474 --> 00:00:03,442
A young man's spiritual journey.
2
00:00:03,477 --> 00:00:05,778
I was a boy,
16 years old, when I said,
3
00:00:05,812 --> 00:00:08,614
"This is not God.
What are we talking about?"
4
00:00:08,899 --> 00:00:11,817
A controversial bestseller.
5
00:00:11,902 --> 00:00:14,453
I was mesmerized by it.
6
00:00:14,538 --> 00:00:15,221
I couldn't put it down.
7
00:00:15,789 --> 00:00:19,625
And a scientific theory
that threatened to change the world.
8
00:00:20,059 --> 00:00:21,911
Everything
was turned upside-down
9
00:00:21,995 --> 00:00:23,629
by Erich Von Daniken.
10
00:00:23,663 --> 00:00:25,464
Just what are the
11
00:00:25,531 --> 00:00:29,768
facts behind Erich Von Daniken
and ancient astronaut theory?
12
00:00:30,535 --> 00:00:33,005
What were the divine inspirations...
13
00:00:33,406 --> 00:00:35,174
The ancient Egyptians did build the
14
00:00:35,225 --> 00:00:39,645
pyramids with the assistance
of the Guardians of the Sky.
15
00:00:41,012 --> 00:00:43,349
The bizarre revelations...
16
00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:46,185
We're just
starting to rediscover ancient
17
00:00:46,219 --> 00:00:49,721
technology that did exist
thousands of years ago.
18
00:00:50,823 --> 00:00:52,891
And the shocking conclusions that were
19
00:00:52,993 --> 00:00:55,126
too incredible to be ignored?
20
00:00:55,361 --> 00:00:57,780
Even if there
is a chance in ten million that
21
00:00:57,864 --> 00:00:59,782
he is right, then everything changes.
22
00:01:00,166 --> 00:01:02,534
We have been
visited, and these visitors
23
00:01:02,586 --> 00:01:05,355
will return to Earth again.
24
00:01:06,039 --> 00:01:08,540
Millions of people
around the world believe
25
00:01:08,592 --> 00:01:12,044
we have been visited in the past
by extraterrestrial beings.
26
00:01:13,578 --> 00:01:15,498
What if it were true?
27
00:01:15,882 --> 00:01:20,603
Did ancient aliens really
help to shape our history,
28
00:01:20,687 --> 00:01:24,356
and if so, what does this say
29
00:01:24,424 --> 00:01:29,395
not only about mankind's
past but about its future?
30
00:01:59,659 --> 00:02:03,228
Minneapolis, Minnesota,
31
00:02:03,296 --> 00:02:05,230
October, 2012.
32
00:02:06,032 --> 00:02:08,600
I want to introduce Erich Von Daniken.
33
00:02:10,752 --> 00:02:12,938
Hundreds gather
to hear iconic author and
34
00:02:12,972 --> 00:02:16,775
researcher Erich Von Daniken
speak at the Paradigm Symposium,
35
00:02:16,810 --> 00:02:21,113
a four-day event focused on
exploring ancient cosmology,
36
00:02:21,147 --> 00:02:26,118
anthropology, archaeology,
and science fiction.
37
00:02:26,202 --> 00:02:28,787
Maybe we have
been visited from outer space.
38
00:02:28,855 --> 00:02:30,422
Where's the proof?
39
00:02:30,457 --> 00:02:31,757
What can we find?
40
00:02:31,791 --> 00:02:37,363
His books have sold
over 65 million copies worldwide.
41
00:02:37,847 --> 00:02:41,701
He is a hero to some and
a heretic to others,
42
00:02:42,135 --> 00:02:45,471
but Erich Von Daniken's
controversial theories have
43
00:02:45,555 --> 00:02:49,308
captured the attention of the
world and ignited a movement
44
00:02:49,342 --> 00:02:52,578
known as ancient astronaut theory.
45
00:02:52,645 --> 00:02:54,846
The scientific
community, they were always
46
00:02:54,948 --> 00:02:56,682
afraid to think in this way.
47
00:02:56,750 --> 00:02:58,384
We have to change our thinking.
48
00:02:58,485 --> 00:03:01,653
Von Daniken's
research has taken him all over
49
00:03:01,687 --> 00:03:06,558
the world to investigate the unexplained
mysteries of ancient cultures.
50
00:03:06,710 --> 00:03:09,745
He has spent his lifetime daring
to question what mainstream
51
00:03:09,829 --> 00:03:12,497
scholars hold to be true.
52
00:03:12,499 --> 00:03:14,166
We are the descendents, ladies and
53
00:03:14,218 --> 00:03:17,720
gentlemen, we are the offsprings
of these extraterrestrials,
54
00:03:17,754 --> 00:03:21,106
and it's not by coincidence.
55
00:03:23,543 --> 00:03:24,676
Erich Von Daniken's
56
00:03:24,728 --> 00:03:29,714
rise to notoriety began in
February, 1968, when the Swiss
57
00:03:29,782 --> 00:03:32,985
hotel manager-turned-author
published his groundbreaking
58
00:03:33,019 --> 00:03:36,822
book "Chariots of the Gods".
59
00:03:36,856 --> 00:03:39,992
In it, the young writer
theorized that intelligent
60
00:03:40,026 --> 00:03:44,579
extraterrestrial beings visited
Earth in the distant past
61
00:03:45,364 --> 00:03:48,651
and made contact with mankind.
62
00:03:49,002 --> 00:03:53,539
It caused a sensation, selling
an impressive 500,000
63
00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:57,543
copies in its first
year of publication.
64
00:03:58,644 --> 00:04:00,846
When the book first
appeared was the year where we
65
00:04:00,914 --> 00:04:04,716
landed a man on the moon, and
so there's a whole belief
66
00:04:04,818 --> 00:04:08,637
now that it was possible to travel
into space, that we would
67
00:04:08,721 --> 00:04:10,223
send people to space.
68
00:04:11,808 --> 00:04:14,893
Many people were
very excited about this whole
69
00:04:14,927 --> 00:04:18,629
new ancient astronaut theory.
70
00:04:18,731 --> 00:04:20,598
They thought it made sense.
71
00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:25,070
We were coming ourselves
into the modern space age.
72
00:04:27,991 --> 00:04:30,876
People were
really, really interested in
73
00:04:30,910 --> 00:04:34,163
these kinds of subjects and
wondering if maybe there had
74
00:04:34,247 --> 00:04:37,249
been something that we had
secretly discovered on the moon
75
00:04:37,283 --> 00:04:41,154
that may have pointed towards
extraterrestrial origins for man.
76
00:04:42,672 --> 00:04:46,525
Although the
phenomenon of ancient astronauts
77
00:04:46,593 --> 00:04:50,262
has been around since the '50s,
it was really Von Daniken who
78
00:04:50,330 --> 00:04:54,683
opened the doors to where it became
part of the popular culture.
79
00:04:54,734 --> 00:04:56,602
"Chariots of the Gods" was a very
80
00:04:56,703 --> 00:04:59,771
crucial book for me because
it opened my eyes up to the
81
00:04:59,856 --> 00:05:03,041
possibility that ancient
cultures may have been in
82
00:05:03,076 --> 00:05:04,776
connection with or interacting
83
00:05:04,861 --> 00:05:07,581
with some sort of
off-planet intelligence.
84
00:05:08,948 --> 00:05:11,783
I was mesmerized by it;
I couldn't put it down.
85
00:05:11,868 --> 00:05:15,721
It might've been the first book I
read cover to cover in one day.
86
00:05:16,456 --> 00:05:19,625
His theories were just
phenomenal where he talked about
87
00:05:19,659 --> 00:05:22,762
the possibility of
extraterrestrial visitations.
88
00:05:23,963 --> 00:05:27,599
By using rhetorical
questions, Von Daniken suggested
89
00:05:27,634 --> 00:05:32,137
that evidence of alien close
encounters could be found in
90
00:05:32,172 --> 00:05:34,973
everything from ancient
religious texts and mysterious
91
00:05:35,074 --> 00:05:39,144
stone carvings to monumental
structures and monoliths located
92
00:05:39,229 --> 00:05:41,664
all over the world.
93
00:05:42,148 --> 00:05:45,984
What he basically says
is, you can no longer look at
94
00:05:46,035 --> 00:05:50,622
the traditional interpretations
of historical events,
95
00:05:50,690 --> 00:05:52,958
historical monuments,
historical structures,
96
00:05:53,025 --> 00:05:56,363
historical cultures at face value.
97
00:05:57,147 --> 00:06:01,032
You have to look at this in a
much broader context of what
98
00:06:01,066 --> 00:06:04,070
could be perhaps
extraterrestrial intervention.
99
00:06:05,505 --> 00:06:09,408
One of the things
that Erich did was to take very
100
00:06:09,475 --> 00:06:15,597
familiar Bible stories
and reinterpret them...
101
00:06:15,682 --> 00:06:18,400
where people are
interacting with angels.
102
00:06:18,484 --> 00:06:22,487
They're even taken up into space
in fiery chariots and things
103
00:06:22,522 --> 00:06:28,595
like that, and what it was was a
re-examination of what we're taught.
104
00:06:29,762 --> 00:06:32,948
But despite being
well received by the public,
105
00:06:33,032 --> 00:06:38,288
scholars and scientists regarded Von
Daniken's claims as pseudoscience.
106
00:06:39,372 --> 00:06:42,507
I expected to
be ridiculed, but I did not
107
00:06:42,625 --> 00:06:47,797
expect the unfair way in which the
ridiculing happened in the media.
108
00:06:48,298 --> 00:06:50,182
I was at that time attacked.
109
00:06:50,216 --> 00:06:51,850
"Erich Von Daniken said..."
110
00:06:51,935 --> 00:06:58,473
In reality, in "Chariots of the
Gods", I had 238 question marks.
111
00:06:58,474 --> 00:07:01,810
Nobody read the question marks.
112
00:07:01,861 --> 00:07:05,864
Trailblazers tend
to become targets, and so
113
00:07:05,982 --> 00:07:10,402
academia for many years
has slagged Von Daniken,
114
00:07:10,436 --> 00:07:12,571
saying it's sloppy research,
it's sloppy thinking,
115
00:07:12,672 --> 00:07:14,473
it's sloppy analysis.
116
00:07:14,574 --> 00:07:17,542
However, as the years have gone
on, more and more of his...
117
00:07:17,577 --> 00:07:21,830
his early work has now kind of
been vindicated by other people,
118
00:07:21,914 --> 00:07:25,384
and I think we can all trace
back this interest in this
119
00:07:25,485 --> 00:07:29,004
subject to Von Daniken's
groundbreaking work.
120
00:07:29,005 --> 00:07:32,024
All the great
thinkers of our time and in
121
00:07:32,091 --> 00:07:34,695
the past have been people
who challenged the norm.
122
00:07:37,296 --> 00:07:40,265
So Erich Von Daniken really
challenged the norm of academia
123
00:07:40,299 --> 00:07:44,820
to show that these things that
we thought of as just religious
124
00:07:44,937 --> 00:07:48,523
myths actually have scientific
merit, and we need to look
125
00:07:48,574 --> 00:07:49,592
into them further.
126
00:07:50,276 --> 00:07:53,111
But what was the
source for Erich Von Daniken's
127
00:07:53,196 --> 00:07:54,713
groundbreaking theory?
128
00:07:55,164 --> 00:07:59,017
Where did the notion of alien
astronauts visiting the earth in
129
00:07:59,118 --> 00:08:01,522
the ancient past come from?
130
00:08:04,090 --> 00:08:07,541
I was educated
in a boarding school led by Jesuits.
131
00:08:07,711 --> 00:08:10,729
Three years, we had to translate
parts of the Bible from one
132
00:08:10,797 --> 00:08:12,247
language into the other.
133
00:08:12,632 --> 00:08:14,800
In the first Book of Moses...
134
00:08:16,502 --> 00:08:20,889
the Lord descends from the heavens
down to Earth on a holy mountain.
135
00:08:20,973 --> 00:08:24,526
With smoke and fire and loud
noise and trembling, and
136
00:08:24,644 --> 00:08:26,812
everyone was afraid.
137
00:08:26,896 --> 00:08:28,750
That was the moment when I said,
138
00:08:30,650 --> 00:08:31,650
"This is not God".
139
00:08:31,651 --> 00:08:33,401
What are we talking about?
140
00:08:33,485 --> 00:08:37,406
My God does not need a vehicle
in which to move around, which
141
00:08:37,457 --> 00:08:40,425
trembles and makes smoke
"and loud noise."
142
00:08:40,460 --> 00:08:42,244
And it was the Jesuit priest who
143
00:08:42,328 --> 00:08:45,714
said, "Erich, maybe you should
"read a Book of Enoch."
144
00:08:45,798 --> 00:08:48,500
The Book of Enoch was
excluded from the Bible and
145
00:08:48,601 --> 00:08:51,904
is still considered controversial
by many theologians.
146
00:08:53,005 --> 00:08:57,142
But for Von Daniken, it was proof
of something much greater.
147
00:08:57,510 --> 00:09:00,762
It says that
Enoch was taken away from our
148
00:09:00,813 --> 00:09:03,649
planet Earth by the Lord
in a fiery chariot.
149
00:09:04,450 --> 00:09:08,770
Now, we knew nothing in the
past about flying machines.
150
00:09:08,821 --> 00:09:13,792
So, in religious terms, they say now
he has his flight into the heaven.
151
00:09:14,077 --> 00:09:17,830
But in my eyes, Enoch, he sees
something which in reality
152
00:09:17,914 --> 00:09:20,232
it was a spaceship.
153
00:09:21,117 --> 00:09:23,702
This omitted
account of Enoch's journey
154
00:09:23,736 --> 00:09:26,705
only raised more questions
for Von Daniken.
155
00:09:26,806 --> 00:09:31,310
He turned his focus to the story
of the biblical prophet Ezekiel.
156
00:09:31,744 --> 00:09:36,749
Like Enoch, Ezekiel is also
taken away in a fiery vehicle,
157
00:09:37,351 --> 00:09:39,601
a vehicle he describes in great
158
00:09:39,685 --> 00:09:42,755
technical detail in the
pages of the Old Testament.
159
00:09:43,890 --> 00:09:48,393
Von Daniken brought the strange
texts to the attention of his priest.
160
00:09:48,427 --> 00:09:52,063
So the priest
said, "Ezekiel has a vision."
161
00:09:52,148 --> 00:09:55,766
I said, "No, that's not the vision
because he describes "the noise."
162
00:09:56,736 --> 00:09:59,271
He compares the noise with the
thundering of a waterfall.
163
00:09:59,305 --> 00:10:01,472
It's not a vision.
It's something different.
164
00:10:01,525 --> 00:10:03,695
Something like rocket engines.
165
00:10:06,379 --> 00:10:10,098
Now we are talking about contact
with extraterrestrials, space
166
00:10:10,216 --> 00:10:12,952
travel, so it all came together.
167
00:10:13,953 --> 00:10:17,389
Erich wasn't
completely rejecting religion
168
00:10:17,490 --> 00:10:18,657
or the idea of God.
169
00:10:18,942 --> 00:10:20,976
Or even angels for that matter.
170
00:10:20,977 --> 00:10:24,196
He was looking at things
differently but still keeping
171
00:10:24,230 --> 00:10:29,468
a certain spirituality and
knowledge of universal truths.
172
00:10:29,569 --> 00:10:33,405
I have grown up
as a Catholic, a Christian,
173
00:10:33,473 --> 00:10:38,260
and I clearly say I am still
one of these believers in God.
174
00:10:38,278 --> 00:10:40,345
I pray every evening.
175
00:10:40,580 --> 00:10:49,004
We will never lose God, never, when
we deal with ancient astronauts.
176
00:10:50,390 --> 00:10:53,925
Is it possible, as
Erich Von Daniken and other
177
00:10:54,010 --> 00:10:57,562
ancient astronaut researchers
suggest, that the evidence for
178
00:10:57,630 --> 00:11:01,566
real-life close encounters can
be found embedded in the pages
179
00:11:01,601 --> 00:11:03,185
of the Holy Bible?
180
00:11:03,269 --> 00:11:07,873
It was a question that the Swiss
teenager was determined to answer.
181
00:11:08,441 --> 00:11:12,911
And his search now took him to
the Egyptian desert and the
182
00:11:13,012 --> 00:11:14,882
mysterious structures known...
183
00:11:16,016 --> 00:11:18,250
as the Great Pyramids.
184
00:11:24,016 --> 00:11:28,820
Northeastern Egypt, 1954.
185
00:11:31,791 --> 00:11:37,362
At the age of 19, Erich Von
Daniken traveled to Giza,
186
00:11:37,463 --> 00:11:40,365
three miles from Cairo.
187
00:11:40,432 --> 00:11:44,705
There he could examine the
Egyptian pyramids firsthand.
188
00:11:46,739 --> 00:11:49,708
I visited Egypt
for the first time when I was,
189
00:11:49,809 --> 00:11:51,042
well, a youngster.
190
00:11:51,143 --> 00:11:53,746
That was long before
Chariots of the Gods.
191
00:11:54,547 --> 00:11:57,499
And it impressed me very, very much.
192
00:11:57,616 --> 00:12:01,886
I always had the feeling this
is not only done by humans.
193
00:12:01,887 --> 00:12:04,522
Somebody must have done the planning.
194
00:12:07,024 --> 00:12:10,913
Of course, I learned at that
time that archaeology says
195
00:12:10,930 --> 00:12:15,033
this building is made by a
pharaoh with the name of Cheops.
196
00:12:15,901 --> 00:12:19,504
I asked, "Where does the
name Cheops come from?"
197
00:12:19,855 --> 00:12:22,207
Because we don't have
a statue of Cheops.
198
00:12:22,341 --> 00:12:24,075
We don't have a mummy of Cheops.
199
00:12:24,143 --> 00:12:27,879
You would think if somebody
makes this gigantic building
200
00:12:27,980 --> 00:12:31,349
like the Great Pyramid, he would
be proud and he would say,
201
00:12:31,417 --> 00:12:34,419
"Hey, I did it.
I was the one who constructed this."
202
00:12:34,503 --> 00:12:37,924
But the Great Pyramid
is the total anonymity.
203
00:12:39,425 --> 00:12:41,327
The Great Pyramid has always
204
00:12:41,361 --> 00:12:44,879
intrigued the ancient alien
theory for a number of reasons.
205
00:12:44,964 --> 00:12:48,216
It's the last surviving wonder
of the ancient world, and nobody
206
00:12:48,333 --> 00:12:51,936
has been able to explain how
precisely it was built.
207
00:12:51,937 --> 00:12:56,057
Erich is not saying
that aliens built it.
208
00:12:56,192 --> 00:12:59,110
Erich is saying that the
pyramids, specifically the Great
209
00:12:59,211 --> 00:13:03,231
Pyramid, the way it is explained
by academics today does not fit
210
00:13:03,366 --> 00:13:07,952
with what his research is indicating.
211
00:13:08,054 --> 00:13:11,122
The puzzling way in
which the Great Pyramid was
212
00:13:11,223 --> 00:13:15,794
constructed and the mystery
surrounding its purpose, served
213
00:13:15,795 --> 00:13:20,432
to fuel both the Swiss teenager's
curiosity and his imagination.
214
00:13:21,300 --> 00:13:24,919
Could it be that everything his
teachers had told him about
215
00:13:24,970 --> 00:13:28,923
ancient civilizations was false?
216
00:13:29,008 --> 00:13:32,577
The pyramids in Egypt are
probably one of the greatest
217
00:13:32,645 --> 00:13:34,646
wonders of this planet.
218
00:13:34,747 --> 00:13:39,100
Some people say that they're,
you know, landing marks for
219
00:13:39,218 --> 00:13:45,073
extraterrestrials, power plants,
stabilizers for the planet
220
00:13:45,107 --> 00:13:48,226
creating energy waves.
221
00:13:48,227 --> 00:13:52,931
There's no doubt that somebody
had to provide the information
222
00:13:52,998 --> 00:13:56,267
to help get this thing built
because they're just too
223
00:13:56,302 --> 00:13:58,104
immense, they're too accurate.
224
00:14:00,106 --> 00:14:04,408
There is absolutely no question that
225
00:14:04,460 --> 00:14:08,579
the Great Pyramids of Giza
were built by human beings.
226
00:14:08,681 --> 00:14:10,449
The ancient Egyptians did it.
227
00:14:10,850 --> 00:14:15,270
However, what the ancient
Egyptian texts also tell us,
228
00:14:15,354 --> 00:14:19,190
that the ancient Egyptians did
build the pyramids, but with the
229
00:14:19,275 --> 00:14:22,595
assistance of the
Guardians of the Sky.
230
00:14:23,696 --> 00:14:27,198
Was it possible the
early Egyptians had received
231
00:14:27,299 --> 00:14:32,203
otherworldly knowledge in order to
construct the Great Pyramid of Giza?
232
00:14:32,288 --> 00:14:37,108
And if so, could proof be
found by examining other
233
00:14:37,209 --> 00:14:38,627
archaeological sites?
234
00:14:41,881 --> 00:14:43,916
1971...
235
00:14:45,117 --> 00:14:46,968
Eastern India.
236
00:14:47,286 --> 00:14:52,674
It was here, at the Sanskrit
College in Calcutta, that Erich
237
00:14:52,692 --> 00:14:56,978
Von Daniken met with Professor
Dileep Kanjilal to study the
238
00:14:57,012 --> 00:15:02,734
Vedic Sanskrit, an ancient language
used in religious Hindu texts.
239
00:15:03,635 --> 00:15:07,906
Professor Dileep
Kanjilal has gone through old
240
00:15:07,990 --> 00:15:10,910
Indian texts and made
modern versions of it.
241
00:15:11,911 --> 00:15:15,997
Now, it comes out in the old
books, the so-called gods, they
242
00:15:16,081 --> 00:15:20,351
used flying machines to
travel from heaven to Earth.
243
00:15:20,352 --> 00:15:23,671
According to the
ancient Vedic texts of India,
244
00:15:23,706 --> 00:15:28,510
the gods descended from the
sky in flying vehicles.
245
00:15:28,511 --> 00:15:31,765
They refer to those
vehicles as "vimanas."
246
00:15:34,366 --> 00:15:37,902
There are very detailed
descriptions: what these vimanas
247
00:15:38,003 --> 00:15:41,356
looked like, how they traveled
from place to place, what was
248
00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:44,609
necessary in order to pilot
them, all those things are
249
00:15:44,693 --> 00:15:48,814
described in ancient Hindu texts
that are thousands of years old.
250
00:15:50,115 --> 00:15:53,868
And for Erich, he
naturally felt that these
251
00:15:53,953 --> 00:15:57,903
vimanas were real
nuts-and-bolts aircraft.
252
00:15:58,123 --> 00:16:02,410
And of course, he's saying
these are the vehicles
253
00:16:02,461 --> 00:16:03,895
of the ancient astronauts.
254
00:16:03,963 --> 00:16:07,048
When Erich first
went to India, he explored
255
00:16:07,132 --> 00:16:10,134
a whole bunch of different
sites, and he quickly
256
00:16:10,236 --> 00:16:13,605
came to the realization that
India is a treasure trove for
257
00:16:13,705 --> 00:16:18,309
the ancient astronaut theory,
because all over India, we can
258
00:16:18,394 --> 00:16:23,982
find these magnificent temple
towers that are referred to as
259
00:16:24,066 --> 00:16:28,052
"stupas" and also "vimanas."
260
00:16:28,153 --> 00:16:33,107
And so we have to ask
ourselves, where did the form
261
00:16:33,158 --> 00:16:34,660
for a stupa come from?
262
00:16:35,961 --> 00:16:37,980
Another great
contribution of Erich is that
263
00:16:38,014 --> 00:16:39,948
he focused on India.
264
00:16:39,999 --> 00:16:42,917
Very few people had really
studied the ancient Indian
265
00:16:42,952 --> 00:16:45,470
civilization, even though it
is thousands of years old.
266
00:16:46,171 --> 00:16:50,775
And what he saw there were
structures which were alleged to
267
00:16:50,843 --> 00:16:53,612
have been replicas of vimanas.
268
00:16:54,413 --> 00:16:58,600
So many Hindu
temple in the Far East, they are
269
00:16:58,684 --> 00:17:03,288
representations in their architecture
what was going up in the sky.
270
00:17:03,789 --> 00:17:05,474
So the upper part of a Hindu
271
00:17:05,475 --> 00:17:10,596
temple often is seen as a
flying object, as a vimana.
272
00:17:11,763 --> 00:17:15,316
And basically what
we're being confronted with is
273
00:17:15,451 --> 00:17:19,654
the realization that these
people built in stone objects
274
00:17:19,705 --> 00:17:22,824
which they seem to
have seen in the sky.
275
00:17:23,125 --> 00:17:26,377
When we look at the
most ancient records we have,
276
00:17:26,462 --> 00:17:29,380
coming out of the Vedic texts
in India, there are clear
277
00:17:29,481 --> 00:17:33,718
descriptions of aerial battles
taking place with vimanas.
278
00:17:33,719 --> 00:17:35,841
So this really starts to
raise the question
279
00:17:35,874 --> 00:17:38,974
about our own cycle of history.
280
00:17:39,675 --> 00:17:41,476
Is it completely linear?
281
00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,395
Or is it possible that we're
just starting to rediscover
282
00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:48,483
ancient technology that did
exist thousands of years ago?
283
00:17:48,567 --> 00:17:52,737
Ancient texts all
over the world talk about flying
284
00:17:52,838 --> 00:18:01,212
vehicles, people who could fly
through the air, flying horses.
285
00:18:01,246 --> 00:18:05,183
But it was Erich who
really put it together.
286
00:18:05,217 --> 00:18:08,369
That the gods weren't just
flying around like Superman;
287
00:18:08,487 --> 00:18:14,392
They had to get into some kind
of nuts-and-bolts craft,
288
00:18:14,493 --> 00:18:17,779
just like we do, and go somewhere.
289
00:18:18,263 --> 00:18:21,401
And this was "The Chariots of the Gods".
290
00:18:23,202 --> 00:18:26,070
Enoch tells us
about the Guardians of the Sky
291
00:18:26,155 --> 00:18:27,773
who came down.
292
00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:34,078
He says they are called fallen
angels and they wanted to have
293
00:18:34,113 --> 00:18:39,052
sex with humans, and the
offspring of it were giants.
294
00:18:41,537 --> 00:18:47,059
So there were sexual contacts between
extraterrestrials and the humans.
295
00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:49,661
What does this mean?
296
00:18:50,029 --> 00:18:51,796
Well, it's very simple.
297
00:18:52,197 --> 00:18:55,717
Erich Von Daniken's
interpretation was, we are
298
00:18:55,801 --> 00:19:00,722
nothing else but hybrids of
an extraterrestrial race that
299
00:19:00,806 --> 00:19:05,646
jump-started our civilization
thousands and thousands of years ago.
300
00:19:08,814 --> 00:19:14,702
And that extraterrestrials, in
fact, gave us intelligence.
301
00:19:17,823 --> 00:19:24,245
Homo sapiens existed
for 250,000 years.
302
00:19:24,329 --> 00:19:30,785
But only in the last 50,000
years, this quantum leap all of
303
00:19:30,836 --> 00:19:35,957
a sudden happened where we went
from munching bananas in a cave
304
00:19:36,008 --> 00:19:39,663
to essentially building civilizations.
305
00:19:41,380 --> 00:19:44,333
Science is holding out
great hope and expectation
306
00:19:44,384 --> 00:19:47,518
that at one point they will
find this missing link between
307
00:19:47,603 --> 00:19:50,388
everything else on
Planet Earth and us.
308
00:19:51,023 --> 00:19:54,727
But despite looking for over 150
years, they haven't come any closer.
309
00:19:55,961 --> 00:19:59,147
The answer might be found in what
our ancestors have always said,
310
00:19:59,198 --> 00:20:02,700
which is that we have been
made by the gods, that we are
311
00:20:02,785 --> 00:20:04,936
not like anything else
here on Planet Earth.
312
00:20:04,937 --> 00:20:07,807
We stand out, because
we have been created.
313
00:20:11,008 --> 00:20:13,344
As we look at the whole history of
314
00:20:13,378 --> 00:20:18,200
this planet, there is
this huge question.
315
00:20:19,618 --> 00:20:24,472
How many advanced intelligences
have been on this planet maybe
316
00:20:24,506 --> 00:20:30,027
for millions of years,
terraforming, and manipulating
317
00:20:30,062 --> 00:20:35,483
genes in all kinds of life, and
that maybe even modern human
318
00:20:35,517 --> 00:20:39,805
is one of those manipulated
genetic creations.
319
00:20:40,873 --> 00:20:44,708
Imagine all the knowledge
human beings possessed.
320
00:20:45,094 --> 00:20:51,582
Astronomy, mathematics,
engineering and writing, were
321
00:20:51,683 --> 00:20:54,036
brought down from heaven by the gods.
322
00:20:54,070 --> 00:20:57,523
It does raise the question,
is Daniken right?
323
00:20:59,525 --> 00:21:03,594
Because even if there is the
faintest possibility, a chance
324
00:21:03,695 --> 00:21:07,849
in a million, a chance in ten
million that he is right, then
325
00:21:07,933 --> 00:21:08,634
everything changes.
326
00:21:09,935 --> 00:21:12,854
Do ancient religious
texts really provide
327
00:21:12,938 --> 00:21:17,425
evidence of alien contact with
cultures throughout history?
328
00:21:18,110 --> 00:21:21,746
Chariots of the Gods had
opened the door to much
329
00:21:21,780 --> 00:21:24,616
discussion, speculation,
and criticism.
330
00:21:25,584 --> 00:21:28,587
But its enormous success also
gave the Swiss writer
331
00:21:28,671 --> 00:21:32,541
the ability to travel the world
in search of more answers.
332
00:21:33,575 --> 00:21:37,779
It was a search that would take
him halfway across the globe,
333
00:21:37,830 --> 00:21:42,483
to see firsthand the ancient
ruins of South America.
334
00:21:46,779 --> 00:21:49,030
Bolivia, South America.
335
00:21:49,064 --> 00:21:53,568
Here lie the ruins of Puma
Punku, a mysterious temple
336
00:21:53,619 --> 00:21:57,756
complex located in the
ancient city of Tiahuanaco.
337
00:21:58,124 --> 00:22:02,629
It is believed to have been
built about 2,000 years ago.
338
00:22:04,463 --> 00:22:08,066
The year he published his
bestselling book Chariots of
339
00:22:08,134 --> 00:22:12,420
the Gods, author Erich Von
Daniken made a pilgrimage to
340
00:22:12,471 --> 00:22:16,474
this archaeological site for
more proof of his controversial
341
00:22:16,575 --> 00:22:20,962
theory that extraterrestrial
beings had visited Earth
342
00:22:21,013 --> 00:22:22,847
in the distant past.
343
00:22:24,083 --> 00:22:26,434
Puma Punku is
in the highland of Bolivia.
344
00:22:26,769 --> 00:22:29,854
You stand there and you
are absolutely shocked.
345
00:22:29,922 --> 00:22:33,908
There are gigantic
platforms laying around.
346
00:22:33,943 --> 00:22:38,999
At that time, in 1968, there was no
archaeological work done up there.
347
00:22:41,667 --> 00:22:44,602
When Erich Von Daniken
arrived at Puma Punku,
348
00:22:44,670 --> 00:22:49,474
here he found evidence, clearly,
of lost high technology.
349
00:22:49,908 --> 00:22:54,746
We see laser-perfection drilled
holes, stone that has been
350
00:22:54,797 --> 00:22:56,747
somehow liquefied, or almost
351
00:22:56,849 --> 00:23:00,101
kind of made vitrified,
and stuck together.
352
00:23:00,186 --> 00:23:03,823
This is not possible without
the use of high technology.
353
00:23:06,692 --> 00:23:10,111
Erich was able
to see these "H" blocks.
354
00:23:10,196 --> 00:23:16,284
They're big granite blocks all
articulated and cut as if they
355
00:23:16,368 --> 00:23:21,272
were pre-manufactured, and in
such a way that they would fit
356
00:23:21,290 --> 00:23:25,611
together and create these giant walls.
357
00:23:26,812 --> 00:23:33,835
It was such a high-tech kind of
construction that it boggled
358
00:23:33,886 --> 00:23:35,438
everyone's mind.
359
00:23:36,889 --> 00:23:39,340
So what we have in Puma
Punku is the traditional...
360
00:23:39,391 --> 00:23:42,760
what I would say Erich Von
Daniken tackling archaeology.
361
00:23:42,928 --> 00:23:45,813
There is, within the methodology
of how these stones were
362
00:23:45,898 --> 00:23:50,301
constructed, a certain degree of
difficulty which our ancestors
363
00:23:50,319 --> 00:23:55,256
simply never attained in the
surrounding landscape of Tiahuanaco.
364
00:23:55,690 --> 00:23:59,477
Stone carvers basically told him
that it was almost impossible
365
00:23:59,495 --> 00:24:02,830
or extremely difficult to create
these artifacts, and that
366
00:24:02,915 --> 00:24:06,367
specifically why they would be
doing it is something which
367
00:24:06,418 --> 00:24:08,419
really defies explanation.
368
00:24:10,356 --> 00:24:13,157
Another aspect of
Puma Punku that captivated
369
00:24:13,192 --> 00:24:18,162
Von Daniken was the legend of
its creation, as put forward by
370
00:24:18,197 --> 00:24:20,565
the indigenous people of the region.
371
00:24:21,183 --> 00:24:24,202
The population living
there are called the Aymara.
372
00:24:24,270 --> 00:24:28,890
And the Aymara themselves say
that they had no involvement
373
00:24:28,941 --> 00:24:31,509
in building Puma Punku.
374
00:24:31,543 --> 00:24:35,363
In fact, when you ask them who
built Puma Punku, they will
375
00:24:35,447 --> 00:24:39,216
point to the sky and they
will say, "Los Dioses."
376
00:24:39,268 --> 00:24:40,404
The gods.
377
00:24:42,788 --> 00:24:44,355
In Puma Punku
378
00:24:44,456 --> 00:24:50,695
they say, "The gods constructed
the place in one night."
379
00:24:50,729 --> 00:24:52,813
This makes sense.
380
00:24:52,864 --> 00:24:55,566
You have an extraterrestrial
crew, they come down to Earth.
381
00:24:56,601 --> 00:25:00,888
So they construct with their
tools just something which we
382
00:25:00,973 --> 00:25:03,174
would call today a basic camp.
383
00:25:03,725 --> 00:25:07,412
They behaved themselves like
archaeologists would do: they learn.
384
00:25:07,446 --> 00:25:10,448
They teach a little to humans,
they learn their language...
385
00:25:10,482 --> 00:25:13,935
One day they disappeared,
their job is over.
386
00:25:13,986 --> 00:25:18,790
They take all their instruments
back to the mother spaceship,
387
00:25:19,091 --> 00:25:23,396
and left are only a few
ruins of the basic camp.
388
00:25:25,063 --> 00:25:27,949
Was Puma Punku really a base camp for
389
00:25:28,066 --> 00:25:32,136
extraterrestrials that visited
Earth in the distant past?
390
00:25:32,254 --> 00:25:35,707
And were the magnificent stones
that make up the ruins made with
391
00:25:35,774 --> 00:25:39,777
the help of advanced building methods?
392
00:25:39,812 --> 00:25:44,766
For Erich Von Daniken the answer
was clearly "yes,"
393
00:25:44,850 --> 00:25:49,687
and it compelled him to continue
his search nearly 3,000 miles away
394
00:25:49,855 --> 00:25:53,193
at the ruins of another ancient city.
395
00:25:58,313 --> 00:26:01,284
Chich?n Itz?, Mexico.
396
00:26:02,868 --> 00:26:06,287
Located on the Yucat?n
Peninsula are the ruins
397
00:26:06,321 --> 00:26:12,243
of an ancient Mayan city that
thrived from 750 to 1200 A.D.
398
00:26:14,380 --> 00:26:18,583
It was here, in 1969, that
Erich Von Daniken had
399
00:26:18,650 --> 00:26:25,255
an amazing realization involving the
city's central pyramid of El Castillo.
400
00:26:27,326 --> 00:26:29,293
I was standing
before this great pyramid.
401
00:26:29,311 --> 00:26:30,294
I understood nothing.
402
00:26:30,312 --> 00:26:34,298
I took every possible literature
from Central American
403
00:26:34,316 --> 00:26:38,036
archaeologists to learn
what's this all about.
404
00:26:46,512 --> 00:26:54,317
And then I learned again, they are
talking of visitors from outside.
405
00:26:54,419 --> 00:26:56,370
Of course they call them gods.
406
00:26:57,389 --> 00:26:59,323
According to the
ancient Mayan myths, their main
407
00:26:59,374 --> 00:27:03,294
deity was Quetzalcoatl
or Kukulkan, Gukumatz.
408
00:27:03,345 --> 00:27:05,996
All those different names for
the exact same deity, which was
409
00:27:06,014 --> 00:27:12,169
described to be a winged or a
flying serpent, or a flying snake.
410
00:27:13,105 --> 00:27:16,524
Whatever it was that they saw
up in the sky could best be
411
00:27:16,558 --> 00:27:20,178
described as a flying snake.
412
00:27:20,546 --> 00:27:23,564
When we're looking across the world,
413
00:27:23,615 --> 00:27:25,733
Chich?n Itz?
is a very important location.
414
00:27:25,784 --> 00:27:29,019
It is one of those places where
it is said that the gods
415
00:27:29,121 --> 00:27:32,924
descended to and decreed
a fate of mankind.
416
00:27:33,125 --> 00:27:37,194
And there is one specific
pyramid, El Castillo,
417
00:27:37,246 --> 00:27:40,898
the castle, where you see an
intricate light show happening
418
00:27:40,933 --> 00:27:46,671
on specifically the equinoxes,
March 21 and September 21.
419
00:27:47,406 --> 00:27:50,374
In the early
morning you see the sun rising
420
00:27:50,409 --> 00:27:55,445
up, and while the sun goes up,
you see on the stairway,
421
00:27:55,513 --> 00:27:59,100
light and shadow, triangles
of light and shadow.
422
00:27:59,184 --> 00:28:01,385
They are produced because
of the nine platforms.
423
00:28:01,420 --> 00:28:06,624
The light and shadow triangles
slowly go down the step to the
424
00:28:06,658 --> 00:28:09,810
pyramid until the sun is up there.
425
00:28:09,844 --> 00:28:12,112
The message is absolutely clear.
426
00:28:12,163 --> 00:28:18,652
God Kukulkan visited the earth
and disappeared again
427
00:28:18,703 --> 00:28:23,441
with the promise to return
in a far away future.
428
00:28:23,775 --> 00:28:26,544
So they have given this
whole information
429
00:28:26,595 --> 00:28:29,647
of the return of the
gods into their temple.
430
00:28:30,881 --> 00:28:32,433
And I think this is
one of the great things which
431
00:28:32,467 --> 00:28:35,085
Erich has done, not just in
the story of Chich?n Itz?,
432
00:28:35,103 --> 00:28:39,824
but of so many other aspects on
other places in this world as well.
433
00:28:39,875 --> 00:28:41,459
Whereby he focuses on certain
434
00:28:41,527 --> 00:28:44,445
details and says, look,
this is important.
435
00:28:44,530 --> 00:28:48,232
This is a detail which is
extremely difficult to create.
436
00:28:48,299 --> 00:28:51,769
This is something which traditional
archaeology tends to overlook.
437
00:28:52,504 --> 00:28:55,272
By making a
connection between the ancient
438
00:28:55,306 --> 00:28:58,942
Mayas' knowledge of astronomy
and their precise architecture,
439
00:28:59,044 --> 00:29:02,946
Erich Von Daniken was convinced
that there was much more to his
440
00:29:02,964 --> 00:29:06,550
ancient alien hypothesis
than he had imagined.
441
00:29:06,968 --> 00:29:10,954
For further proof he looked
to another Mayan temple.
442
00:29:11,022 --> 00:29:12,639
One that housed what some say
443
00:29:12,724 --> 00:29:16,794
was the first ancient
astronaut Lord Pakal.
444
00:29:17,228 --> 00:29:21,298
At the ancient
Mayan city of Palenque was a
445
00:29:21,332 --> 00:29:26,820
tomb that was discovered in the 1950s.
446
00:29:26,905 --> 00:29:35,529
And inside this tomb was a lid on
the sarcophagus for Lord Pakal.
447
00:29:35,580 --> 00:29:43,003
And that lid is, is very highly
decorated with a picture of Lord Pakal.
448
00:29:43,037 --> 00:29:45,724
And in that picture he's doing
some really unusual things.
449
00:29:47,092 --> 00:29:48,025
You see a man
450
00:29:48,093 --> 00:29:52,830
bending forward, almost
like a racing motorcyclist.
451
00:29:52,864 --> 00:29:56,550
He has his nose on some
kind of oxygen mask.
452
00:29:56,601 --> 00:30:00,053
He uses his upper hand
to manipulate the knob.
453
00:30:00,105 --> 00:30:03,056
You see his lower hand, he
manipulates some controls.
454
00:30:03,108 --> 00:30:05,192
He's sitting on a kind of chair.
455
00:30:05,276 --> 00:30:07,311
In a sort of a capsule.
456
00:30:08,029 --> 00:30:10,180
When Erich looked
457
00:30:10,231 --> 00:30:15,018
at that lid, he saw a Mayan
king in a rocket ship.
458
00:30:15,053 --> 00:30:19,240
And that guy was returning to the
stars, going back into space.
459
00:30:19,624 --> 00:30:21,492
It was an exciting interpretation.
460
00:30:21,643 --> 00:30:24,995
And it was one of the main
things in Chariots of the Gods.
461
00:30:25,046 --> 00:30:27,998
And when other people looked
at that lid and saw his
462
00:30:28,049 --> 00:30:32,236
explanation, they had
to agree with him.
463
00:30:32,804 --> 00:30:37,241
Could Erich Von Daniken be correct?
464
00:30:37,275 --> 00:30:41,061
Was Lord Pakal really an
extraterrestrial who visited
465
00:30:41,146 --> 00:30:43,614
Earth in the distant past?
466
00:30:43,982 --> 00:30:48,435
One who perhaps shared highly
advanced knowledge with mankind?
467
00:30:48,486 --> 00:30:53,056
After publishing his second
book, Gods from Outer Space,
468
00:30:53,074 --> 00:30:57,611
in 1970, Erich Von Daniken now
found himself caught in the
469
00:30:57,662 --> 00:31:01,582
crosshairs of a bitter fight
between traditional science and
470
00:31:01,616 --> 00:31:05,435
conventional religion, which
denounced the notion
471
00:31:05,503 --> 00:31:08,071
that life existed on other planets.
472
00:31:08,106 --> 00:31:13,411
It was a battle the author seemed
ill-equipped to fight alone.
473
00:31:16,578 --> 00:31:18,546
In the more than
four decades since the
474
00:31:18,580 --> 00:31:22,616
publication of Chariots of the
Gods, writer and researcher
475
00:31:22,650 --> 00:31:26,453
Erich Von Daniken has continued
his search for the truth
476
00:31:26,487 --> 00:31:30,023
about mankind's otherworldly origins.
477
00:31:30,291 --> 00:31:32,509
I wish and I
hope that the society finally
478
00:31:32,593 --> 00:31:37,264
starts to take this proposition
we make here serious, that the
479
00:31:37,331 --> 00:31:41,035
scientific community starts
to think in this way.
480
00:31:41,502 --> 00:31:45,072
But I have to express one thing
very clear: what I do here has
481
00:31:45,139 --> 00:31:51,778
nothing to do with a new religion.
I would turn myself in my tomb
482
00:31:51,813 --> 00:31:56,216
if some idiots create a new
religion according to my thinking.
483
00:31:56,684 --> 00:31:58,251
This is the last thing I wish.
484
00:31:58,286 --> 00:31:59,823
Absolutely not.
485
00:32:03,157 --> 00:32:06,409
And joining Erich Von
Daniken has been a small but
486
00:32:06,527 --> 00:32:09,663
growing number of what have
become known as ancient
487
00:32:09,697 --> 00:32:13,533
astronaut theorists...
men and women who have expanded and
488
00:32:13,534 --> 00:32:17,204
at times refined
Von Daniken's findings.
489
00:32:17,505 --> 00:32:21,975
I'm curious... how many people
here have seen in their lifetime
490
00:32:22,009 --> 00:32:26,113
some unidentified aerial
object in the sky?
491
00:32:26,147 --> 00:32:27,597
How many?
Hands.
492
00:32:27,682 --> 00:32:31,852
You represent what I think is a
slice of humanity everywhere
493
00:32:31,886 --> 00:32:36,323
because I am convinced that
telling the human family of this
494
00:32:36,390 --> 00:32:41,731
planet the truth is probably what
most souls are hungering for.
495
00:32:44,866 --> 00:32:48,502
One of the
things that we know about human
496
00:32:48,569 --> 00:32:53,607
behavior is that it is shaped by
our world view, our paradigm,
497
00:32:53,674 --> 00:32:57,511
and I would suggest that this
is a very significant time to
498
00:32:57,578 --> 00:32:59,846
change this paradigm.
499
00:33:00,814 --> 00:33:05,101
We are not alone in the universe
and that we are a part of this
500
00:33:05,186 --> 00:33:07,154
bigger network of life.
501
00:33:07,588 --> 00:33:10,857
To me, personally
I think there is a paradigm
502
00:33:10,925 --> 00:33:15,562
shift going on, and it's an
incredibly positive movement
503
00:33:15,596 --> 00:33:19,467
because we're all in this together.
504
00:33:20,902 --> 00:33:25,822
We live in a society
which I call reasonable.
505
00:33:25,907 --> 00:33:31,661
To be reasonable means to believe
what the scientists say.
506
00:33:31,746 --> 00:33:38,752
So it's up to us; just don't accept
everything the reasonable ones say.
507
00:33:38,786 --> 00:33:41,021
Please be unreasonable.
508
00:33:41,055 --> 00:33:42,977
I am unreasonable.
509
00:33:47,228 --> 00:33:49,930
What I've really
liked about Erich is that he
510
00:33:49,964 --> 00:33:53,516
does bring up a lot of unusual ideas.
511
00:33:53,568 --> 00:33:59,356
Uh, he points out inconsistencies
in, uh, mainstream archaeology.
512
00:34:00,573 --> 00:34:04,361
I've never really bought into
all of Erich's conclusions,
513
00:34:04,445 --> 00:34:06,496
but I was always interested in it.
514
00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:11,701
So in many ways, he spurred me
to go around the world...
515
00:34:11,752 --> 00:34:15,738
to remote islands, to unusual
archaeological sites.
516
00:34:15,790 --> 00:34:18,091
I wanted to check them out for myself.
517
00:34:18,325 --> 00:34:21,294
Now, all of his explanations
weren't always the explanation
518
00:34:21,328 --> 00:34:24,547
I would have given, but it's
what's leading me and other
519
00:34:24,632 --> 00:34:26,716
people down a certain track:
520
00:34:26,767 --> 00:34:28,284
Investigate this.
521
00:34:28,869 --> 00:34:30,353
Go check it out for yourself.
522
00:34:30,438 --> 00:34:32,206
Don't just take my word for it.
523
00:34:33,274 --> 00:34:36,743
When I began to
explore ancient civilizations,
524
00:34:36,777 --> 00:34:40,614
in a library in Belgium, I
stumbled upon a book by Erich
525
00:34:40,648 --> 00:34:43,083
Von Daniken, and I was hooked.
526
00:34:43,784 --> 00:34:48,288
Because I think I was one of
thousands, if not millions, of
527
00:34:48,356 --> 00:34:53,110
people who began to realize that
ancient history wasn't clear-cut.
528
00:34:53,461 --> 00:34:58,632
And he really, in me, began
to open up this exploratory
529
00:34:58,699 --> 00:35:01,468
process, whereas I had always
been interested in recent
530
00:35:01,535 --> 00:35:05,588
history, that really this mystery
of the ancient world was
531
00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:09,426
more complex, more beautiful
and more interesting.
532
00:35:09,477 --> 00:35:13,613
And so in the last two decades,
Erich has informed me on my path
533
00:35:13,648 --> 00:35:17,600
of saying: we need to explore,
we need to open up our minds
534
00:35:17,652 --> 00:35:20,520
into trying to understand what
our ancient ancestors were
535
00:35:20,554 --> 00:35:23,606
doing, because there are still
gigantic question marks as to
536
00:35:23,724 --> 00:35:26,526
how our past has been created.
537
00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:29,630
We must be open to Erich Von Daniken.
538
00:35:30,031 --> 00:35:32,265
Daniken is the first man who...
539
00:35:32,333 --> 00:35:35,502
gutsily came out and faced the
world in saying: I think it's
540
00:35:35,536 --> 00:35:39,673
possible... that ancient
astronauts have come to visit
541
00:35:39,707 --> 00:35:44,811
our planet, and the pyramids,
the various temples, all this
542
00:35:44,879 --> 00:35:48,217
was perhaps remnants of their visits.
543
00:35:50,418 --> 00:35:54,354
Now, I must say that I was a
great skeptic on the ancient
544
00:35:54,421 --> 00:35:56,606
alien theory until recently.
545
00:35:56,657 --> 00:35:59,226
Because everything has
changed for us skeptics.
546
00:35:59,593 --> 00:36:02,896
For example, within the last 12
years we've looked at the little
547
00:36:02,930 --> 00:36:06,533
patch of our galactic system,
which is the Milky Way, and so
548
00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:08,635
far we've found 3,000 planets.
549
00:36:09,070 --> 00:36:11,321
When we extrapolate the
possibility over the whole
550
00:36:11,438 --> 00:36:14,324
galactic system, it's estimated
that there must be about a
551
00:36:14,408 --> 00:36:16,977
billion planets in our galaxy alone.
552
00:36:17,912 --> 00:36:21,682
So the odds are extremely high
of finding life out there.
553
00:36:24,752 --> 00:36:26,886
Now, having said this, if we can
554
00:36:26,921 --> 00:36:29,022
go out there, why
can't they come here?
555
00:36:29,457 --> 00:36:33,393
We must be open to possibility
that life on this planet has
556
00:36:33,427 --> 00:36:36,230
been touched by
extraterrestrial beings.
557
00:36:37,631 --> 00:36:41,034
Thanks to my
grandmother, growing up, ideas
558
00:36:41,135 --> 00:36:45,321
of ancient aliens and Atlantis
and all those alternative
559
00:36:45,406 --> 00:36:50,844
viewpoints on history, that was dinner
table conversation at my house.
560
00:36:51,445 --> 00:36:54,848
I grew up in Switzerland, and
Erich Von Daniken was Swiss as
561
00:36:54,882 --> 00:37:00,370
well, and so I started to attend
his lectures, I read and studied
562
00:37:00,421 --> 00:37:01,555
all of his books.
563
00:37:02,123 --> 00:37:07,127
I have been to places
that Erich has described.
564
00:37:07,495 --> 00:37:12,332
It has opened my mind to
possibilities, because the big
565
00:37:12,367 --> 00:37:16,936
point of Erich's books
are the questions.
566
00:37:17,004 --> 00:37:23,894
What if everything in our past is
not the way it's presented to be?
567
00:37:24,478 --> 00:37:30,468
What if our planet was visited by
extraterrestrials in the past?
568
00:37:31,652 --> 00:37:36,122
That means that creation is even
more magnificent than what we're
569
00:37:36,157 --> 00:37:41,127
being told, because the divine
is permeating throughout the
570
00:37:41,195 --> 00:37:45,883
entire universe, not
just on Planet Earth.
571
00:37:47,468 --> 00:37:52,822
In fact, Jesus himself said: My
father's home has many rooms.
572
00:37:53,007 --> 00:37:57,010
And so what if that was just a
metaphor to suggest that the
573
00:37:57,044 --> 00:38:02,732
universe houses a whole bunch
of different species, that the
574
00:38:02,817 --> 00:38:07,522
universe is teeming with life
and we all belong to it?
575
00:38:09,190 --> 00:38:12,125
Although mainstream
scholars have so far refused to
576
00:38:12,193 --> 00:38:16,029
acknowledge Erich Von Daniken's
controversial theories as little
577
00:38:16,063 --> 00:38:20,166
more than pseudoscience, his
exhaustive efforts on behalf of
578
00:38:20,201 --> 00:38:24,538
ancient astronaut theory have
started to gain acceptance...
579
00:38:24,905 --> 00:38:27,608
not in the hallowed
halls of academia...
580
00:38:28,742 --> 00:38:33,012
but with ordinary citizens...
men and women who, like the
581
00:38:33,047 --> 00:38:37,984
Swiss author himself, prefer
to ask their own questions...
582
00:38:38,018 --> 00:38:42,738
even if it means challenging
Erich Von Daniken himself.
583
00:38:42,823 --> 00:38:47,160
The ancient alien hypothesis,
what did you purport that was wrong?
584
00:38:49,525 --> 00:38:51,126
Five! Four! Three!
585
00:38:51,161 --> 00:38:52,328
Two! One!
586
00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,969
At a time when we
have just begun to explore Mars
587
00:39:00,003 --> 00:39:05,140
and look forward to an era when
space travel is commonplace,
588
00:39:05,175 --> 00:39:08,677
might we find the answers to
the questions mankind has been
589
00:39:08,728 --> 00:39:10,180
asking for centuries?
590
00:39:10,414 --> 00:39:11,732
Who are we?
591
00:39:11,816 --> 00:39:14,117
Why are we here?
592
00:39:14,718 --> 00:39:17,253
We're gonna go
back to the moon, and we're
593
00:39:17,321 --> 00:39:21,407
gonna go to Mars, and so
once we become, ourselves, a
594
00:39:21,492 --> 00:39:25,328
a space-faring people, the idea
of ancient astronauts coming
595
00:39:25,362 --> 00:39:28,265
here will be even more
accepted, I think.
596
00:39:28,999 --> 00:39:31,968
It takes decades,
sometimes centuries, before
597
00:39:32,035 --> 00:39:34,003
paradigm is changed.
598
00:39:34,037 --> 00:39:37,140
And I think what's going to be
shown in the next decade is that
599
00:39:37,174 --> 00:39:40,410
society as a whole is
going to explore this.
600
00:39:40,744 --> 00:39:43,980
And I think Erich is going to
be perceived as really the
601
00:39:44,047 --> 00:39:47,317
instigator of this all, the
man who was able to pose the
602
00:39:47,401 --> 00:39:51,321
question in such a way that it
became acceptable for the people
603
00:39:51,355 --> 00:39:54,490
of the world to really ponder it.
604
00:39:54,525 --> 00:39:57,694
We have to bear in
mind that he was talking about
605
00:39:57,761 --> 00:40:01,497
ancient astronaut stuff nearly
50 years ago and people are
606
00:40:01,532 --> 00:40:04,534
still talking about it to this day.
607
00:40:04,535 --> 00:40:07,938
The important thing is, if there
was nothing to his work...
608
00:40:08,405 --> 00:40:10,974
the whole phenomena
would have died a death.
609
00:40:11,942 --> 00:40:16,179
Did ancient astronauts
really come to Planet Earth?
610
00:40:16,930 --> 00:40:20,117
And if so, what was their purpose?
611
00:40:20,951 --> 00:40:25,355
And perhaps even more important,
will they come again?
612
00:40:25,956 --> 00:40:31,311
These highly
developed people, with high
613
00:40:31,395 --> 00:40:35,865
technology, high civilization,
would interact with these
614
00:40:35,933 --> 00:40:42,038
primitive humans and show them
certain things, including
615
00:40:42,106 --> 00:40:46,576
agriculture and building
techniques and how to live
616
00:40:46,610 --> 00:40:52,114
together in harmony in order to
try to develop civilization and
617
00:40:52,132 --> 00:40:58,385
bring us to a higher state, and the
state that we're living in today.
618
00:40:59,156 --> 00:41:00,757
The ancient alien hypothesis,
619
00:41:00,791 --> 00:41:04,393
what have you jettisoned
in the intervening time?
620
00:41:04,428 --> 00:41:07,063
What did you purport that was
wrong, and what have you revised?
621
00:41:07,130 --> 00:41:10,132
Of course, when I
was young I was enthusiastic,
622
00:41:10,150 --> 00:41:14,904
and I was not so proper in
researching, so there were a
623
00:41:14,938 --> 00:41:18,358
few things which I had
to learn I was wrong.
624
00:41:18,442 --> 00:41:21,577
And then you accept you were
wrong, but you try with every
625
00:41:21,645 --> 00:41:23,112
book to become better.
626
00:41:23,146 --> 00:41:27,450
Because, ladies and gentlemen,
I learned we must continue to
627
00:41:27,484 --> 00:41:28,918
ask the questions.
628
00:41:29,002 --> 00:41:32,455
Our scientists have a tunnel view.
629
00:41:32,489 --> 00:41:38,094
They don't want to see things which
go further than their thinking.
630
00:41:38,128 --> 00:41:43,266
And that's why we all here,
we change the thinking, the
631
00:41:43,300 --> 00:41:45,935
consciousness of all this society.
632
00:41:46,002 --> 00:41:47,103
Thank you.
633
00:41:49,339 --> 00:41:53,276
Inevitably, anyone
that reads Von Daniken's books
634
00:41:53,310 --> 00:41:57,113
and thinks carefully about his
work whether they accept his
635
00:41:57,181 --> 00:42:01,818
conclusions or not, they cannot
fail to wonder and ponder on the
636
00:42:01,869 --> 00:42:06,072
idea of: has religion actually
got it wrong, were we just
637
00:42:06,156 --> 00:42:11,461
really visited by ancient aliens
and nothing else... and we've
638
00:42:11,528 --> 00:42:14,530
incorporated that into our
belief systems and created these
639
00:42:14,548 --> 00:42:20,754
structured religions which are
based on ancient UFO visits?
640
00:42:22,055 --> 00:42:26,676
Looking at our planet,
we have two groups of human.
641
00:42:26,910 --> 00:42:29,011
One group is religious.
642
00:42:32,549 --> 00:42:35,718
The other group is a scientific group.
643
00:42:35,736 --> 00:42:40,189
The religious group believe that
God created everything,
644
00:42:40,240 --> 00:42:44,444
the whole universe...the suns,
the solar systems, the trees,
645
00:42:44,528 --> 00:42:50,333
the plants, the animal, but we
humans are the crown of creation.
646
00:42:53,403 --> 00:42:57,507
The other group, the scientific
group, they think we know
647
00:42:57,541 --> 00:43:02,779
everything about mutation, selection,
that we are on top of evolution.
648
00:43:02,913 --> 00:43:07,984
Now, in both cases we think
we humans are the greatest.
649
00:43:10,604 --> 00:43:13,523
There is nothing higher than we.
650
00:43:13,590 --> 00:43:19,046
We have to learn that we are just one
of the million species out there.
651
00:43:20,230 --> 00:43:22,465
We have been visited and it continues.
652
00:43:22,900 --> 00:43:26,302
These visitors will
return to Earth again.
653
00:43:29,106 --> 00:43:33,075
Will mankind's
origins remain a mystery?
654
00:43:33,126 --> 00:43:38,247
Perhaps the answers lie right in
front of us, in every corner of
655
00:43:38,282 --> 00:43:43,503
the globe, and all we need to do
is what Erich Von Daniken began
656
00:43:43,587 --> 00:43:50,659
doing more than half a century ago...
keep digging... keep exploring...
657
00:43:51,293 --> 00:43:53,893
and keep watching the skies.
658
00:43:53,943 --> 00:43:58,493
Repair and Synchronization by
Easy Subtitles Synchronizer 1.0.0.0
57637
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.