New Article on RSB: A life of cosmic proportions, written in the stars.

[Guest guest]

A life of cosmic proportions, written in the stars.

By Nick Davis

 

With an early introduction in life to fame and some fortune, Richard Shaw Brown

was for a

time the lead singer in The 1960s band `The Misunderstood,' a band that was

breaking

new ground and making musical history for its time. For a while, everything

seemed to be

going right for Richard and his other band members including Drummer Rick Moe,

Steel

Guitarist Glenn Ross Campbell, Guitarist Tony Hill from the UK, and Steve

Whiting on Bass.

Bizarre twists and turns in Richard's fate took him away from the band, to India

then

eventually to Thailand where he has established himself as an internationally

recognized

astral gemologist with Bangkok's Sri Navaratna museum at Suan Lum Night Bazaar.

Richard is soon to be back in the spotlight with the upcoming release of a

dramatization

the band's and Richard's life.

 

Back in 1963, originally called `The Blue Notes' a group of American teenage

musicians

underwent a few changes in their band member line up and eventually settled on

`The

Misunderstood' The chemistry between the band members was powerful enough to

propel their musical careers on to the fast track in a relatively short amount

of time. By

the mid 60's, The Misunderstood were thrilling audiences in America with their

psychedelic brand of progressive anti-war Rock. The band's next step in the

world of

music recognition, at the urging of British DJ Sir John Peel, was to be seen and

heard by

London audiences. The British music scene opened its arms to this new,

energetic band

with a style and stage presence that predates some of the imagery that later

gained

popularity with bands like Pink Floyd or Hendrix.

 

The band's romance with the British public was cut short though as the military

action in

Vietnam intensified and troops were being drafted by the US Government. Even

though

the band was in England at the time, Richard received his draft notice and had

to fly back

to the states, hoping he would be able to explain the situation with the band's

current

roller coaster ride to success and get back on a plane to the UK fairly soon.

Once back in

the states though, it soon became apparent that Richard's position as a lead

singer in a

famous band was not enough to keep him from contributing to the war effort and

despite

his pacifist ideals, Richard was subsequently packed off to boot camp. The band

was

devastated to be losing their front man. Coupled with fact that the other

American band

members were having visa problems in the UK and had gotten to the point where

they

were just going backwards and forwards on the ferry between Dover and Calais,

trying to

renew their visas. The misunderstood conceded defeat, split up and faded out

just as

their future was starting to shine brightly.

 

During the brief period between basic training and being sent into combat on the

other

side of the world, Richard was able to make arrangements to get himself smuggled

out of

America and eventually to India, where he sought refuge in an Ashram in the

North. It was

here, with no real possessions or money that Richard began a seven-year period

of

spiritual discovery in which he learned to read, write and speak Sanskrit,

becoming a

member of the Vaishnava sect of Hinduism. This period of self sacrifice and

enlightenment

was especially hard for Richard, being someone who had had a financially secure

childhood and then rocketing to stardom where money was not an issue made his

life of

poverty in India that much more traumatic. As Richard had happily spent his

life

munching on American food, including good old beef burgers, he was considered an

`untouchable' by the Indians who consider the killing and eating of a cow, a

sin. The

transition to a vegetarian diet, meditation and studying the ancient text

brought Richard to

a closer level of acceptance in the community. His efforts in devoting his

energies to

raising funds for constructing two schools also helped ensure good future karma.

During

our discussion, Richard picked up a drum, tapped out a rhythm and chanted some

verses

in the world's oldest language, proving his commitment to memory of the Sanskrit

texts.

In 1974, Richard moved to Southern India where joined a friend who had uncovered

a ruby

mine. Here, Richard's knowledge of Sanskrit, passion for the ancient Indian

astrology and

his deepening knowledge of gemmology led him to develop a range of gem stones

set in

rings and talismans, based on the writings of Vedic texts.

 

These ancient writings refer to the legend of Vala, a mythical demon who

overpowered the

king of heaven, Indra, becoming a tyrannical ruler. Eventually, oppressed

demigods were

able to slay Vala through trickery. His dismembered body scattered over the

world turning

into the seeds of precious gems, falling to earth in oceans, rivers, mountains

and forests.

Theses seeds are said to have created the gem mines that are still worked to

this day..

The foremost species of these gems stones include ruby, emerald, blue Sapphire,

cats eye,

yellow Sapphire, diamond, pearl, hessonite, coral, bloodstone, quartz, jade and

red garnet.

These different gems are said to be originally born from different parts of the

Vala's

shattered body: His teeth became pearls and his skin rained down as yellow

sapphire.

Diamonds were bone fragments and emerald was his bile. Each stone is said to

channel

the astral powers of 9 related planets and their universal influence over

people's lives. To

ensure positive effects of the energies, the stones must be flawless. If they

contain

impurities or are cracked, the effects can be negative; bringing bad luck and

misfortune to

the wearer. Contemplating the qualities of a radio crystal can make a good

analogy of

how this works. The crystal picks up the invisible radio waves that are all

around us and

transforms them into sound with its resonance. The same thing happens with

invisible

cosmic energy, which the gems receive as infrared or ultra violet light.

 

Although, at first glance, the Western horoscope and astrological teachings

seem similar

to the ancient Vedic system; indeed they use the same terminology like Cancer,

Leo and

Pisces, the two are quite dissimilar. Although the names of the zodiac signs

are the same,

the Vedic system follows a different pattern of dates to the western

astrological system. In

fact, many people who go to the second paragraph in the horoscope section of a

newspaper, looking for their Pisces prediction for the day, might well be better

off reading

what's in store for Aquarians' Also different is that the Vedic system's nine

planetary

influences include the sun, the moon and two `shadow planets' Ketu and Rahu.

Along with

mercury, venus, mars etc. Pluto and Uranus though, are not considered to have a

powerful

enough influence to be included. in the equation. Depending on the planetary

positions in

an individual's birth chart, their life will be influenced by the strength of

certain planet's

powers at their time of birth. Richard's astral gemstone talismans are designed

to

enhance good influences and counter the bad. To ensure the correct balance of

astral

energy in one's life is not as simple as going out and buying a gemstone that

represents

wealth and power or one that corresponds to one's birthstone but an analysis of

the

planetary alignment at the time and place of birth is essential in finding out

what the best

combination of stones is or which stones should be avoided. One piece though,

the Nava

Ratna (Nine planetary gems), is considered safe for most wearers as it creates a

perfect

balance of energies by incorporating all nine gems in one talisman

 

Mars and its associated properties, for example, are a represented by red coral.

The moon

is associated with natural pearl.: Ketu is located as the South Node of the Moon

and Rahu

is located as the North Node.. These two `Nodes' are opposites; Rahu being the

dragon's

head, while Ketu is its tail. Either of these aspects may be good or bad

influences in a

person's life depending on where the planets are positioned on their birth

chart.

Ironically Bangkok's full-length name includes the words `Nava-Ratna,' in part,

meaning

`city of the nine gems.' Demonstrating Thailand's strong connection with

ancient India

and Sanskrit. On a more profound note, many European languages contain

mutations of

Sanskrit; especially in the way numbers are spoken or written.

 

Since bringing his astral knowledge to Thailand, Richard has designed and

produced over

six exclusive collections of astral gemstones and talismans, which are all on

display in the

Nava Ratna Museum in the Lumpini Night Bazaar. The two storey, glass fronted

museum

shop literally sparkles with the rows of perfect gemstones set in gold and

silver. Visitors

are welcome to wander around the museum and learn something about their own

planetary influences with a free reading. Just tell them your birth date, time,

and place of

birth. One of the staff will explain the intricacies of your planetary

alignment and which

stones are good or bad.

 

There's no pressure to buy anything, in fact, the decision to buy a piece is one

that needs

a lot of thought. The pieces are intended to be worn permanently and designed

to last for

life, hopefully an extended one with the help of cosmic powers. Richard seems to

be doing

all right; just as he assimilated into the Indian culture while he was there,

here in Thailand,

Richard has had the honour of presenting a special Talisman to the Queen of

Thailand, Her

Majesty Queen Sirikit, in 1993, where Richard presented her with a gold talisman

containing the Navaratana gems.

 

Richard Shaw Brown is easy to find on the web; a search of his name will bring

up a

number of links to various web sites inviting you to visit the online Sri Nava

Ratna

boutique or read about The Misunderstood, perhaps buy one of their albums.

http://

www.themisunderstood.com Information is also available concerning Richard's

future

return to the public eye as the feature film, ` Hrisikesh,' prepares for

production. The

screenplay is available for viewing on line here:

http://www.hrisikesh.net/index.html

 

http://www.richardshawbrown.com will also provide more extensive information

about

Richard's other adventures.