Could Buddha be on Mars? (Photo : NASA/JPL-CALTECH/MSSS)
The idea that Buddha was actually sighted on Mars is fast gaining grounds among some enthusiasts, but space scientists say this is not the first time objects in space take on familiar shapes; and that previous sightings of similar objects invalidate the idea that Buddha could really have been sighted on the Red Planet.
The conspiracy started when a YouTube user, Paranormal Crucible, revealed than an unusual rock formation on Mars looked like Buddha, and he came to this conclusion after enlarging an image taken by NASA's Curiosity Rover a little over a year ago. Crucible said there was an "artifact" of a "stunning Martian god" by the top right-hand corner of the space photo.
Funny enough, some people said the photo was a hoax and there was nothing in the speculation of Buddha being in the image, others were more emphatic that the Buddha image shows there's more to Mars than is currently known, or maybe the government is trying to hide something about past life on Mars.
"This photo alone should be enough to convince the United Nations that intelligent life once existed on Mars, but NASA doesn't want anyone to know the truth, because they will be asked to share the info and technology that they have found," said Scott C. Waring.
There are "enhanced and processed" versions of the video, yet some people stuck to their guns that Buddha can be fully seen in the Mars video.
"This is incredible. What a conclusive find concerning past life," YouTube user Harvey Halloway wrote in a comment, posing a theory of his own, "What if life started on Mars as a planet cooling first. As it became less inhabitable and earth became more so we immigrated so to speak. Just a thought on why so many earth-like objects are found there."
It must however be pointed out that this is not the first time earth-like objects have been sighted on Mars or some spatial body. There was the levitating spoon, and the Mars rat, and then the tiny Bigfoot, suspended in movement atop an ordinary rock.
While space scientists dispel these sightings as mere fabrications, medical scientists say the people seein them are suffering from a psychological condition known as pareidolia - seeing faces in inanimate objects.
Two past studies published in the Applied Cognitive Psychology journal in August, established that some people see inanimate objects as real to be able to deal with real-life situations; but they lose this tendency when they are put in control of things related to what they see.
"We found that if you give people a feeling of control, then they are less inclined to believe those conspiracy theories," said Jan-Willem van Prooijen, a professor of social and organizational psychology at VU University Amsterdam. "Giving people a sense of control can make them less suspicious over governmental operations."
