Nechung - Only Surviving Oracle

The Oracle at delphi was considered by the Greeks as a place where they could find answers to their problems and also from where the divination messages of future are spoken through priestess Pythia who would provide the answers in return for gold. It was considered the most important shrine and powerful, and unlike medieval ages where priests and religious heads dominated kingdoms it was different in the sense that it was open to delacre the wisest man of Greece was Socrates. Also if the predcitions were wrong, it would have not earned the reputation as it did,but was destroyed by th christian emperor Aracadius in 398 CE.

However truth cannot be destroyed and the eastern practices had successfully preserved through ages teachings through esotericism and knowledge was strictly passed only through qualifying disciples amidst Muslim \ British \ Chinese invasions in the indo and tibetian regions.

Tibetians have preserved the institution of Oracle for the past thirteen hundred years, Nechung is prehaps the only remaining Oracle of our times. The Oracle unlike the one at Delphi is referred as "him" by Dalai lama and is usually comrpising of number of deities under whose advice he fled Tibet due to the invasion of chinese in 1959.

The prophecies are communicated through 'kuten', literally meaning Phyical basis who acts as a medium of communication and sometimes believed to be a physical medium of Dorje Drakden the spirit which protects Dala Lama and acts as advisor. Tibetians had to wait for three years after the passing of the previous medium in 1984. Like any other spirit possession the kuten seems to undergo transformation in facial features and usually falls in a state of trance through which the Oracle speaks and has no memory of the happenings when kuten comes out of trance.

Dalai lama's most important and difficult decision was advised and guided by Nechung Oracle that tibet would face a great danger, and advised Dalai Lama to meet Nehru, first Prime Minister of India in 1956 in pursuit of exile from tibet to India and also detailed the escape route mentioned in his autobiography Freedom in Exile. The movie Kundun gives some details on kuten, the Oracle.

Dalai lama did escape after a thirteen day trek through Himalayas into India.