All language subtitles for Ancient Aliens S13E02 Da Vincis Forbidden Codes

NARRATOR:
He was an artist

whose paintings have become
priceless masterpieces.

MATTHEW LANDRUS: Leonardo
produced some of the world's

most recognizable paintings--

the Mona Lisa, the Last Supper,

the Lady with an Ermine.

NARRATOR:
He was a genius

whose inventions were centuries
ahead of their time.

GIORGIO TSOUKALOS:
He drew construction plans

for tanks, for helicopters,

all sorts of wild things
that came into reality

during our lifetime, right now.

NARRATOR:
But there are those who believe

that Leonardo da Vinci
was inspired

by an extraterrestrial
intelligence,

that his paintings are embedded
with secret knowledge

and contain codes which,
when deciphered,

will provide the keys
to unlocking the universe.

WILLIAM HENRY: I think
da Vinci is trying to tell us

that there's
a higher intelligence

that operates in our world.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

AUCTIONEER:
And so, ladies and gentlemen,

we move to the Leonardo
da Vinci, the Salvator Mundi,

the masterpiece by Leonardo
of Christ the Savior,

previously in the collections
of three kings of England.

NARRATOR:
New York City.

November 15, 2017.

$370 million.
Back to Francoise's clients...

at $370 million dollars,
ladies and gentlemen.

MAN:
400.

-$400 million!
-(gasping)

NARRATOR:
At a Christie's auction

at Rockefeller Center,

Leonardo da Vinci's
newly authenticated painting

Salvator Mundi

sells for a record-breaking
$400 million.

-Sold.
-The buyer is a Saudi prince,

representing the new
Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi.

But why was a member
of the Saudi royal family--

or anyone-- so willing to pay
such an incredible price

for a work of art?

Leonardo da Vinci
has captured the fascination

of so many people.

I really believe he was
way ahead of his time.

But if Leonardo were alive today
and realized

how much his paintings
would go for, he'd go crazy.

(chuckles): It's a lot of money
for a painting.

You ask yourself
if there's another possibility.

NARRATOR:
There are those who believe

that the Salvator Mundi

is much more than a priceless
piece of Renaissance art.

They believe,
when considered in context

with other examples
of da Vinci's paintings,

that it contains a piece
of a giant puzzle,

one that, when put together,

could reveal
the secrets of the universe.

NARRATOR
April 15, 1452.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci,

the illegitimate child

of a nobleman and his maid,
is born in Vinci, Italy.

If you were not entitled
to take your father's name,

your last name just became
the town you came from.

This probably aided
his development.

The fact that he didn't belong

also meant
that he wasn't caught up

in the official version
of reality.

He was free enough
to have his own ideas.

NARRATOR:
When he was a teenager,

Leonardo settled
in nearby Florence.

At that time,
the city was a cultural mecca,

the beating heart
of a classical revival

known as the Renaissance.

LANDRUS:
The Renaissance is a resurgence

of new ideas and approaches
and interests

in not only antiquity

but in the reinterpretation
of the human condition.

It reinvents, really,
the culture of the time.

NARRATOR: Leonardo received
an informal education

in the studio of the renowned
Florentine painter

Andrea del Verrocchio,

but was also
largely self-taught.

Despite this--

or perhaps because of it--

he excelled at a staggering
range of disciplines.

Da Vinci was
way ahead of his time

during the period
in which he lived.

He drew construction plans
for tanks...

for helicopters,
all sorts of wild things

that came into reality

during our lifetime, right now.

NARRATOR:
In March 2018,

author and ancient astronaut
theorist William Henry

traveled to Florence
to learn more

about the Renaissance master.

He was also eager
to find out, firsthand,

if there was any truth
to the theory

that da Vinci hid secret
messages in his paintings.

At the Piazzale Michelangelo,
overlooking the city,

Henry met
with Dr. Michael Kwakkelstein,

who has made it
his life's work to discover

everything there is to know
about Leonardo da Vinci.

I'm so excited to be here
in Florence, home of Leonardo.

Yeah, you look around,
you start to see

that these are what you see
in Leonardo's paintings.

Absolutely.
He took his inspiration

just from those hills,
those trees.

500 years ago, Florence was,
of course, a much smaller city.

-Right.
-So just crossing the Arno

over there,
you see the Ponte Vecchio,

-Yes.
-Leonardo would find himself
amidst nature

to study the fall of water
or the movement of water,

-to study birds.
-Leonardo created

just a prodigious volume of...

an explosion, really,
of creativity.

What do we have left
of his legacy?

Do we have a lot? A little?

Well, we have a dozen paintings.

Some of these paintings
are unfinished.

Some of these paintings are
in a bad state.

Uh, but we have his notebooks,

his manuscripts--
it's like a map

-of his mind,
all these writings.
-Wow.

You've personally been able
to explore those notebooks

-and spent your life...
-I'm still working on it.

It's a life work.

NARRATOR:
But while Leonardo's genius

was highly regarded
in his lifetime,

he was also highly scrutinized
by the Roman Catholic Church,

which remained
a powerful political force

throughout Italy
and much of the world.

NOAH CHARNEY:
During the Renaissance,

there was a rediscovery

of ancient classical documents
that were stored in monasteries

after the dissolution
of the Roman Empire.

Because of these
new discoveries,

new ideas were circulating,

ideas from great minds
like Plato,

Aristotle and Galen
from the ancient world.

But these great ideas

often did not combine well
with Christianity,

and Leonardo is someone who
represents a point of conflict.

NARRATOR:
It is this ancient knowledge

that has led many scholars
and ancient astronaut theorists

to suggest that da Vinci,
while Christian,

was also open to a wide range
of spiritual philosophies.

Philosophies which, if revealed,

would have placed him
in opposition

to the strict teachings
of the Catholic Church,

and would have caused him to be
publicly shunned as a heretic.

It's almost certain

that Leonardo had access
to secret knowledge.

Leonardo was actually not,
as a lot of people think today,

some kind of atheist.

Leonardo was a heretic.

He passionately believed

in something that was outside
of the mainstream religion,

and therefore very dangerous.

NARRATOR:
Florence, Italy. 2002.

Using infrared
diagnostic techniques,

Dr. Maurizio Seracini uncovers
the underdrawing,

or preliminary sketch,

done by Leonardo da Vinci
for his unfinished painting

Adoration of the Magi.

Commissioned in 1481,

the work depicts
the biblical story

of the three wise men visiting
the infant Jesus in Bethlehem.

But by viewing the painting
with this new technology,

it becomes apparent
that Leonardo's original sketch

actually included
many more details

than those that could be seen
with just the naked eye.

The first time
I aimed the camera,

the infrared camera,
to the, uh, to the Adoration,

uh... I felt very privileged.

Because for the first time
in 500 years,

I managed to see probably
the best creativity effort

of Leonardo on a work of art.

And science can help you
to go back,

like if you were
in a time machine,

and I saw dozens of figures--

fighting horses, uh...

nature, architecture.

And now my eyes alone
could not see them,

because they were covered

by a brownish monochrome
layer of paint...

that later I understood

was not applied by Leonardo.

In the background
of the top left,

you could see a couple of people

sitting in despair
on stairs of a temple in ruins.

Well, aiming the camera
at the scene,

then suddenly a completely
different view came out.

The detail that was painted over

was a scene of a pagan temple

that was rising up through
the ruins of a Christian church.

And this
was considered problematic

during the Renaissance period
with Christianity

as the one and only
true religion.

NARRATOR:
Upon close examination

of da Vinci's original sketch,

instead of a temple in ruins,

the artist seemed
to be depicting a scenario

in which an Egyptian temple
is being rebuilt.

Most notable is the fact
that one of the temple columns

is capped by a lotus flower,
which in ancient Egypt

represented the so-called,
"Flower of Life."

CAROLINE CORY: The Flower
of Life is the information

behind how the universe
was created.

Everything in the universe
is geometric.

Sacred geometry implies that
there is intelligence behind it.

HENRY: It's believed by mystics
to be a symbol

of advanced super consciousness,

a way of plugging
into the knowledge

possessed
by extraterrestrial beings.

Da Vinci, we can fairly say, was
practically obsessed with it.

And one wonders if da Vinci
actually tapped into

the ultimate cosmic secrets

represented
by the Flower of Life.

NARRATOR:
Cosmic secrets?

Sacred geometry?

Was Leonardo da Vinci
encoding his paintings

with forbidden knowledge?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes.

And they believe that knowledge
may have been given to him

after direct contact
with extraterrestrial beings.

NARRATOR: Recognized as a genius
even in his lifetime,

Leonardo da Vinci has one of the
most thoroughly recorded lives

of all the Renaissance artists.

Da Vinci was such
a popular figure

that his life

was documented in great detail.

However,
what's interesting is

that there are two years missing
from his existence.

He basically disappeared off
of the face of the earth.

NARRATOR:
From 1476 to 1478,

Leonardo da Vinci's activities
completely disappear

from the historical record.

The gap occurs when the artist
was between 24 to 26 years old,

just at the point
when he was beginning

to come into prominence.

So what could account
for these missing years?

Ancient astronaut theorists
point to a strange experience

the artist had
while hiking near a cave.

It is one of the very few
autobiographical anecdotes

da Vinci ever made
in his personal journal.

He came across this cave.

And as he stood in front of it,

all of a sudden he felt drawn
to go inside

in order to find out
about the miracle

or the wonderment that's inside.

We don't know what happened
inside this cave,

but it's quite possible
that Leonardo da Vinci

actually encountered
extraterrestrial teachers

who then gave him
certain information.

And it's this knowledge,
perhaps,

that made Leonardo da Vinci

the incredible genius
that he was.

I'm not sure Leonardo da Vinci
went to another world,

but I have a feeling
that this guy, somehow,

through dreaming or going
through some kind of dimension,

was able to see the future,
our future.

CORY: Those we call geniuses,
such as Leonardo da Vinci,

are able to discern
and detect these codes

that are coming to them from
these higher levels of reality

and utilize them in their work,
in their art,

in their inventions

to improve this physical world
that we live in.

Unlike other artists,
Leonardo da Vinci

did not have to measure
the ratios and the proportion.

It just came
to him spontaneously.

He was tapping into something
that allowed him

to bring down knowledge
and information,

just like
the ancient cultures did.

NARRATOR:
Ancient astronaut theorists

suggest that further evidence

of Leonardo's contact with
extraterrestrial intelligence

can be found
by a close examination

of one of his most
intriguing paintings,

The Virgin of the Rocks.

CHARNEY: The Virgin of the Rocks
is really a showpiece

for some of Leonardo's
special techniques,

including sfumato,
which adds this hazy aura.

We see figures emerging
from shadows into spot lighting

in a way that other artists
of his time didn't do.

NARRATOR:
In March 2018,

author and researcher
William Henry

traveled to the outskirts
of London.

There he met with da Vinci
expert Lynn Picknett

in order to get her thoughts
on this unique work of art.

I've just come
from the National Gallery

and experienced
The Virgin of the Rocks.

When you look at it, you're...

you're drawn into it.

-The colors, the setting...
-PICKNETT: Mmm. Yeah.

-Yeah.
-It's almost like it's just
coming out of the wall

and you're stepping into it.

PICKNETT:
Yeah, and also, there's a sense

of there's something
lurking in it

that we don't really get,

that he's holding back a little.

NARRATOR:
The Virgin of the Rocks

depicts the apocryphal story
of an early meeting

between the infant Jesus
and the infant John the Baptist

during the time

of the Holy Family's flight
to Egypt.

PICKNETT:
In this painting,

apparently what we have
is the baby John the Baptist

kneeling to Jesus,

and the Virgin Mary's got
her arm around John the Baptist.

And there's an archangel,
who is Uriel.

And, you know,

so far, so good,
you might think.

Except that the children
are with their wrong protectors.

Oh.

PICKNETT:
I mean, you would expect Jesus

-to be with his mother.
-Mm-hmm.

And it so happens that Uriel

is traditionally
John the Baptist's protector.

HENRY:
Right.

Uriel is... has a big backstory

-with informing Noah
about the flood.
-Yes.

Archangel of wisdom.

Yeah, yeah. Wisdom is...

Yeah, that's important here.

-A celestial being
coming from the heavens.
-Yeah. Yeah.

NARRATOR: In one
of the so-called lost chapters

of the Hebrew Bible
known as the Book of Enoch,

the archangel Uriel
guides Enoch,

the great-grandfather of Noah,

through Heaven,
where he is taught

all the secrets and mysteries
of the universe.

Is it possible
that da Vinci knew

of this lost and some would say
forbidden chapter of the Bible

and for this reason

deliberately included Uriel

as a way of sending
a secret message

about what he believed to be
the extraterrestrial source

of his incredible genius?

And there is, as you say,

-something very portal-like
about this painting.
-Mm-hmm.

HENRY: We just dropped
a very important word,

as well: the word "portal."

-Oh, oh, yes.
-It suggests to me
that this painting

is a sort of portal
that he's taking us into,

-where something very special
is happening here.
-Yes. Yes.

Maybe that explains
why it's such an otherworldly,

-almost dreamlike scene.
-Yeah.

The veil between this world
and the other world.

NARRATOR: In his painting
The Virgin of the Rocks,

did Leonardo da Vinci
deliberately plant clues

that were intended
for future generations to find?

Clues that gave insight
into his belief

that much of mankind's knowledge

had profoundly
extraterrestrial origins?

Leonardo was equally fascinated
with backgrounds

as he was with figures
in the foreground,

and one of the things
that's so striking

about Virgin of the Rocks

is this very craggy,
spooky, dramatic cavern

that provides the backdrop
for the figures.

There are almost
no other precedents

for this group of figures
in this sort of location.

NARRATOR:
Could it be

that Leonardo
deliberately staged this scene

at the mouth of a cavern

in order to draw a link
between the painting

and his earlier experience
in the cave?

And by placing Jesus
with the archangel Uriel,

was he indicating a belief
that the archangel

was actually
an extraterrestrial entity?

Da Vinci's inclusion
of the archangel Uriel,

it makes you wonder if Leonardo
may have had an experience

with the archangel Uriel,

who told him
about humanity's future.

NARRATOR:
Of the only 15 known paintings

attributed to Leonardo da Vinci,

is it possible
that they all contain evidence

of the artist's belief

in so-called secret
or forbidden knowledge?

And if so,
might they also contain clues

that are intended to reveal

not only da Vinci's
personal beliefs,

but a message
that he was entrusted to convey

to future generations?

NARRATOR:
Milan, Italy.

Housed in the monastery
of Santa Maria delle Grazie

is one of Leonardo da Vinci's
most iconic paintings:

The Last Supper.

This imposing mural--

more than 15 feet tall
and nearly 29 feet wide--

depicts the biblical moment
when Jesus tells his disciples

that one of them
will betray him.

It's a very poignant moment.

And the disciples are reacting
to this statement,

many in horror.

To the left
is Saint Bartholomew,

who seems to have leapt
to his feet and hit the table

and is leaning towards Jesus
in shock.

And third from right of Jesus
in the middle is Saint Philip,

who seems to cave in with shock.

CHARNEY: What's interesting
about this Last Supper

is it looks like a frozen moment
of action.

If you imagine
you have a remote control

and the scene is on pause
and you were to unpause it,

all this movement would happen.

But at this frozen moment,
you can really study

the actions and reactions
of the people depicted.

NARRATOR:
As with Leonardo's other works,

many researchers
and ancient astronaut theorists

believe that this painting

contains hidden messages.

When we were writing
Templar Revelation,

I looked at The Last Supper,

and I thought,
"But wait a minute,

that's a woman,
sitting next to Jesus."

NARRATOR: Sitting at the right
hand of Jesus is a figure

that has long been assumed
to represent the apostle John.

But unlike the other figures
in the painting,

this one appears to have
strikingly feminine features.

In his own
Treatise on Painting,

Leonardo writes that women
should always be depicted in art

with "their heads
looking downwards,

and leaning
a little on one side."

If you look at Jesus sitting
at the center of the table,

leaning like that,

to one side, is the woman
who, with Jesus,

forms a giant "M" shape,

presumably, a clue to her name:
Mary, Mary Magdalene.

NARRATOR:
In the Bible's New Testament,

Mary Magdalene is identified
as a follower of Jesus

who witnesses
both his crucifixion

and his resurrection,

but she was not reported
to have been a participant

in what is called
the Last Supper.

If that is true,

then why would Leonardo
place her in his painting?

Did the artist have access
to secret knowledge

about the true nature
of the relationship

between Jesus
and Mary Magdalene?

It seems that Leonardo
was trying to point

to Mary Magdalene having
been extremely close to Jesus.

We have them joined at the hip,

we have them wearing
mirror image clothes.

GODFREY HARRIS:
Jesus, as

a 30-year-old Jewish man
of the time,

would've been very hard-pressed
to be without a wife.

So, the theory is

that Mary Magdalene
was, in fact, his wife.

But the Catholic church
didn't want Jesus,

as the son of God,
to have a wife.

They wanted him to be celibate,
to be godlike,

and so cast Mary Magdalene
as a prostitute,

rather than as a woman
of importance.

NARRATOR: If Leonardo did indeed
intend to depict Mary Magdalene

as the person sitting next to
Jesus, what makes her inclusion

even more curious is an element
of the story that seems

to have been deliberately
omitted: Jesus's chalice,

otherwise known
as the Holy Grail.

In the Bible, it says one of
the reasons for the Last Supper

was for Jesus to instigate
the communion.

His blood, represented
by the wine on the table,

and his body, which was
to be broken on the cross,

by the broken bread.

Now, there is no great glass,

or indeed, any particular glass
of wine in front of Jesus,

which, in itself,
is an enormous thing.

NARRATOR: According to legend,
the Holy Grail

had magical,
life-giving properties.

But there are some who insist

that an actual Grail
never really existed.

Instead, they believe
it was a symbol,

intended to represent
Jesus's divine bloodline.

PICKNETT: Many people suggest
that the Holy Grail

was the body of Mary Magdalene,

when she was pregnant with
the child of herself and Jesus.

JONATHAN YOUNG:
So this is goddess lore.

The Grail is a womb,
and the true mystery,

the true, sacred story,
is birth.

Human birth is the miracle.

CHILDRESS:
Mary Magdalene,

according to
a number of traditions,

actually was the wife of Jesus.

And she was pregnant
with his children.

And in fact, these children
will be special,

and carrying a special
new type of DNA

for a new type of person
on Earth.

And this is, literally,
the Holy Grail.

NARRATOR:
Did Leonardo da Vinci

have special,
extraterrestrial knowledge?

Knowledge about mankind's
origins that he encoded

in the form of secret messages
within his paintings?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes, and also suggest

that within his painting
of The Last Supper

is yet another,
even more profound code.

One that,
when translated, will allow

direct communication
with our alien ancestors.

NARRATOR:
Lecce, Italy. 2003.

Based on a close examination of
Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks,

musician and scholar Giovanni
Maria Pala begins to examine

one of the artist's most famous
works, The Last Supper,

for evidence that da Vinci
may have hidden

a musical composition
in the now-iconic painting.

One of the intriguing theories
about Last Supper,

that I actually think
has some merit,

is that a scholar found
musical notes.

One of the things
to keep in mind is that

there's no such thing
as an accidental,

or "just for the sake of it"
insertion

in old master paintings.

Each aspect
was carefully decided upon.

Leonardo definitely
was a musician,

and he served the de' Medicis
as a lyre player,

and as a singer
for a number of years.

He played what we would
call the organ.

Well, there was an organ
in the church

where he was painting
The Last Supper.

NARRATOR:
In March 2018,

William Henry met up with
Giovanni Maria Pala in Florence,

to find out more about
his incredible theory.

Hi. I'm William,
the translator.

HENRY:
Pleasure to meet you, William.

-William Henry. Nice to see you.
-Absolutely.

-William Henry.
-I'm Giovanni.

-Nice to meet you.
-Thank you.

HENRY: How did you come to find
this evidence

that in his-- one of his famous
frescos is a hidden melody?

(speaking Italian)

ROBERTS (translating):
So the first thing

that really caught my attention
was that this is

the, uh, tablecloth
of the Holy Mass.

Right.

ROBERTS: And there are some
vertical lines along here,

and also some horizontal lines,

which prove to be
very important.

And as a musician, the first
thing that came to mind

seeing these horizontal lines,
was a musical pentagram.

Is the musical pentagram
what we today would call

-a sheet of music?
-Yes, that's exactly right.

So how did you
bring this melody to life?

(speaking Italian)

ROBERTS: He says you can
see here, the highlighted

-is these little pieces
of bread,
-HENRY: Right.

of which there are many
all across the table here.

So he pinpointed the loaves
of bread as being the notes.

(Pala speaking Italian)

ROBERTS: And another extremely
important element that he noted

was the lines of the sheet
were exactly aligned

with the hands of the apostles
all across the table.

So the elements that really
gave life to this music

are the loaves of bread

and the hands of the apostles.

-Okay.
-(Pala speaking Italian)

We have to remember an important
fact that Leonardo

had this peculiarity of writing
from right to left.

So now let's, uh,
let's give it a listen.

♪ ♪

People have suggested
that through meditation,

chanting, and through vibration,
essentially,

that you can access
this realm of knowledge.

And this realm of knowledge
is timeless.

-(horn blows)
-LAYNE LITTLE: Not only does
the sound have the power

to manifest all forms
of phenomena,

it also has the power
to manifest

how one perceives
that very phenomena.

In both Hinduism and Buddhism,
as well Jainism,

even religions such as Sikhism,
you have specific mantras

that are tuned to these deities.

So these mantras are used

both to create
a rapport, connection

with these deities,
to summon them,

to help you manifest them.

NARRATOR:
The idea that harmonic sounds

or music might be the ideal
means of communication

with extraterrestrial beings
was a key component

of NASA's Voyager program
in 1977.

Originally designed
as a pair of robotic probes

which could collect and send
back important information

about the Earth's
sister planets,

Voyagers 1 and 2

each carried a large golden disc

onto which various images
and sounds were recorded.

The disc and its contents
were the brainchild

of famed astronomer Carl Sagan,
who worked closely

with space artist and science
journalist John Lomberg.

I felt that art,
visual arts and music

might be as legitimate a content
of interstellar communication

as math and physics,
which he thought interesting.

If they were to ask me

what to send
to establish communication,

I'd send them music.

The mathematical relationships

that underlie most aesthetics,

and whether you're talking
about intervals in music,

like harmony,

or whether you're talking
about proportion in architecture

or painting,

these things are not things
that we just conjure up

out of our own minds.

They're a reflection
of the beautiful fractal nature

of the universe.

Did you ever see the movie Close
Encounters of the Third Kind?

Uh, si.

HENRY:
The spaceship lands

at the Devils Tower,
and it starts playing tones,

the language of the universe,

and it loops infinitely.

(speaks Italian)

The melody begins with an E.

(Pala speaks Italian)

And it ends with an E as well.

(Pala speaks Italian)

And it can be repeated,

um, pretty much infinitely.

NARRATOR:
If Leonardo da Vinci

really did encode musical notes

within his painting
of the Last Supper,

what was his purpose?

Was he trying to convey
an important message to humanity

from another world?

Or... was he trying
to teach humanity

the means by which it
can communicate

with its extraterrestrial
ancestors?

It is here, in what some
would call an unlikely setting,

that the world's
most expensive work of art,

Leonardo da Vinci's
Salvator Mundi, will reside.

Established in November 2017,

this architectural marvel
consists of a floating dome

created from a complex
geometric design

of 7,800 interlocking stars

that cast beams of light
into the space below.

Its appearance has been likened

to that of a giant
flying saucer,

and the museum's architect,
Jean Nouvel,

says his goal was
to emphasize the fascination

generated by rare encounters.

TSOUKALOS: The museum
looks like this giant disc

with thousands of stars.

Are they trying
to signal something,

or is it purely
an architectural choice?

NARRATOR: But why is
this futuristic museum

considered by many
ancient astronaut enthusiasts

to be the most
appropriate setting

for what others would consider
a traditional depiction

of Jesus Christ?

And what is it

about this 518-year-old
Renaissance painting

that compelled its owner
to pay such a record price?

$400 million is the bid.

And the piece is... sold!

(cheering)

I'm looking forward to seeing
what we've got inside.

NARRATOR: During his meeting
with art historian

Dr. Michael Kwakkelstein

at the Dutch University
Institute for Art History

in March 2017,

ancient astronaut theorist
and author William Henry

-Ah, there we go.
-decided to share his thoughts

concerning da Vinci's
recently discovered masterpiece.

He's got that lion-like gaze,

-just very powerful,
staring directly at us.
-Mesmerizing.

Mona Lisa smile, slightly.

But it's this crystal sphere
that draws people in.

This, in fact,
is the Cintamani Stone,

the wish-fulfilling gem
of Tibetan Buddhism.

NARRATOR:
The Cintamani Stone?

A legendary relic that appears

in many examples
of Buddhist art?

But why would Leonardo da Vinci
depict Jesus Christ

holding an orb that features
a Buddhist symbol?

Gemani means "jewel,"

and chinta, in this case,
is referring to "wishes."

It's the jewel
that grants wishes.

If you look at deities
like Ksitigarbha,

he actually is holding it
in his hand,

and it looks like a little orb.

And he can travel
through all the six realms

where various beings dwell.

NARRATOR: In Buddhist scripture,
the Cintamani Stone

is often described as
a wish-fulfilling crystal sphere

and is most often seen in
the possession of a Bodhisattva,

or enlightened teacher.

Much like Jesus holding the orb
in the Salvator Mundi painting,

the Bodhisattva
is usually depicted

holding the Cintamani Stone
in the palm of his hand.

But how would a 15th century
Renaissance artist--

a Roman Catholic--

have known about
a 10th-century Buddhist symbol?

And why would he
have included it

in an otherwise traditional
religious painting?

For William Henry,
a key to the answer

may be found
by noting the presence

of three simple white dots,
or stars,

floating inside
the transparent orb.

We have those triple dots
on that sphere

that symbolize
the three stars of Orion,

indicating that there's
this cosmic connection

that they're trying to make.

NARRATOR:
Orion?

The constellation that
the ancient Egyptians believed

was the place of origin
for the gods?

And whose three
most prominent stars,

which form what is referred to
as Orion's Belt,

are oriented
in precise alignment

with not only
the great pyramids of Egypt,

but also Teotihuacan in Mexico?

HENRY:
The ancient Egyptians believed

that their gods,
Osiris in particular,

came from Orion.

And that upon his resurrection
from the Earth,

Osiris returned to Orion.

Is it possible that
what this painting is showing

is that Jesus himself

is somehow
from the constellation Orion,

and that that
is ultimately where we,

as a human species, are from?

We have this
very powerful connection

between the resurrection
of Osiris, going to Orion,

and Christ ultimately
returning from Orion.

When we look at Christ holding
this crystalline orb,

it's trying to tell us
that there's a...

a higher intelligence
that operates in our world.

He tapped into it.

But ultimately he's saying,

there's a cosmic intelligence
interwoven within human history.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that Leonardo da Vinci

was in possession
of extraterrestrial knowledge?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe the answers can be found

by examining
the artist's final

and perhaps most prophetic
work of art,

one which many believe
hides a startling portrait.

NARRATOR:
Amboise, France. 1513.

At Château du Clos Lucé,

a 61-year-old Leonardo da Vinci

begins work on what will be
his final painting.

Three years later,
he completes his portrait

of an androgynous figure

emerging
from a shadowy background--

Saint John the Baptist.

Picture this painting
in a dimly lit chapel.

Before lighting the candle,
you don't see anything.

-Right.
-You light the candle,

and the light of the flame
illuminates the painting,

and there emerges,
against a dark background,

Saint John the Baptist.

And the pointing upward
to heaven,

saying: I'm from the light,

I'm witnessing to the light.

He's pointing to another realm.

KWAKKELSTEIN:
Oh, yes.

This is where divine wisdom
comes from.

This is the source
of everything.

The first words of Saint John
are, "I saw the light.

-I will come to this Earth."
-Wow.

PICKNETT:
Leonardo was encoding

extraordinary secrets
in his paintings.

He wanted to imbue his work

for the future generations
with his own private message.

His paintings are like
portals to another world,

where the real Leonardo
inhabits.

But whether we're big enough

to accept what he has to say
is quite another matter.

I think he had some very subtle
messages he wanted to convey

to not the people of that time,
but to the people of our time.

And we have to look for it.

Is he talking
about extraterrestrials?

Is he talking about the future?

Investigators
have recently found

some pretty astonishing things

about Leonardo da Vinci's
painting John the Baptist.

And they mirror the image
to create a double image,

and then through
an enhancement process,

they are able to bring out
what seems to be

the face of an extraterrestrial.

It's a pretty unusual thing,

and we know that da Vinci

did use this
mirroring technique.

And so this isn't something
that is so farfetched

that he would do.

Da Vinci is one
of a long line of artists

who have told us, beginning
with the ancient Egyptians

and running through the early
Christians and Tibetans,

that art is a medium,
it's a conduit

through which ordinary people
can connect

with higher-dimensional beings,
even extraterrestrials.

And I think this is
the ultimate message

that Leonardo placed
in the codes

and the symbols
within his paintings.

NARRATOR:
Did Leonardo da Vinci experience

an extraterrestrial encounter,
one that opened his mind

to what was once considered
forbidden knowledge?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and believe that da Vinci
encoded his works in such a way

that future generations
could learn the truth

about mankind's origins.

And that, when fully understood,

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