A. It is because of the respective Karmas of children and parents; each may have deserved that such unusual relationships should be formed in the present birth. 334. Q. _Is anything said about the body of the Buddha giving out a bright light?_ A. Yes, there was a divine radiance sent forth from within by the power of his holiness. 335. Q. _What is it called in Pālī?_ A. Buddharansi, the Buddha rays. 336. Q. _How many colours could be seen in it?_ A. Six, linked in pairs. 337. Q. _Their names?_ A. Nīla, Pita, Lohita, Avadata, Mangastā, Prabhasvra. 338. Q. _Did other persons emit such shining light?_ A. Yes, all Arhats did and, in fact, the light shines stronger and brighter in proportion to the spiritual development of the person. 339. Q. _Where do we see these colours represented?_ A. In all vihāras where there are painted images of the Buddha. They are also seen in the stripes of the Buddhist Flag, first made in Ceylon but now widely adopted throughout Buddhist countries. 340. Q. _In which discourse does the Buddha himself speak of this shining about him?_ A. In the _Mahā-Parinibbana Suttā_, Ānanda his favourite disciple, noticing the great splendour which came from his Master's body, the Buddha said that on two occasions this extraordinary shining occurs, (_a_) just after a Tathāgatā gains the supreme insight, and (_b_) on the night when he passes finally away. 341. Q. _Where do we read of this great brightness being emitted from the body of another Buddha?_ A. In the story of Sumedha and Dipānkāra Buddha, found in the _Nidānakathā_ of the _Jātaka_ book, or story of the reincarnations of the Bodhisattva Siddhārtha Gautama. 342. Q. _How is it described?_ A. As a halo of a fathom's depth. 343. Q. _What do the Hindus call it?_ A. _Tejas_; its extended radiance they call Prākāsha. 344. Q. _What do Europeans call it now?_ A. The human aura. 345. Q. _What great scientist has proved the existence of this aura by carefully conducted experiments?_ A. The Baron Von Reichenbach. His experiments are fully described in his _Researches_, published in 1844-5. Dr. Baraduc, of Paris, has, quite recently, photographed this light. 346. Q. _Is this bright aura a miracle or a natural phenomenon?_ A. Natural. It has been proved that not only all human beings but animals, trees, plants and even stones have it. 347. Q. _What peculiarity has it in the case of a Buddha or an Arhat?_ A. It is immensely brighter and more extended than in cases of other beings and objects. It is the evidence of their superior development in the power of _Iddhī_. The light has been seen coming from dāgobas in Ceylon where relics of the Buddha are said to be enshrined. 348. Q. _Do people of other religions besides Buddhism and Hindūism also believe in this light?_