Between Heaven and Earth
Stories of long lost civilizations, paradisiacal lands and hidden centres of esoteric knowledge are part of most ancient cultures. Is there any truth in these legends?
What if our ancestors were not the great apes scientific evolutionists would have us believe? And what if civilizations far advanced than ours peopled by superhuman beings flourished on earth long before the dawn of history? That hidden communities of realized adepts shape our planet’s destiny from earthly paradises built upon power spots is a view long held in spiritual traditions, which is now gaining currency among New Agers and alternative thinkers. Even though these myths might seem like speculative scenarios from sci-fi films, they are being taken seriously by those who believe that the truth is out there.
Shambhala
In his 1933 novel The Lost Horizon: Shangri La, author James Hilton told the tale of a hidden paradise in the Himalayas—Shangri La, the valley where no one grows old. The Tibetan myth of Shambhala was thus etched in the western imagination.
Shambhala is believed to exist even now, hidden from the world by a psychic barrier. Nicholas Roerich, the eminent Russian artist and poet who travelled extensively in the Himalayas, believed Shambhala to be the hidden principle uniting all religious traditions.
In Tibetan Buddhism, Shambhala is the source of an esoteric branch of mysticism called the Kalachakra, and great gurus are believed to visit Shambhala to receive these teachings. The myth also finds mention in the indigenous Bon tradition of Tibet, where it is known as Olmolungring.
Shambhala is described as being made of eight regions arranged in a mandala of an eight-petalled lotus, each region being surrounded by a ring of snow-clad mountains. In the innermost ring lives the king, who represents the Kalachakra’s deity. The cosmic mountain Meru and the tree of life are located in that centre of Shambhala. The latter is held to be the cosmic axis that unites heaven, earth and the underworld. Says religious historian Mircea Eliade: “The summit of the cosmic mountain is not only the highest point of the earth, it is also the earth’s navel, the point at which the creation began.”
According to French Sufi scholar Rene Guenon, Shambhala is a centre of high evolutionary energies located in central Asia. Guenon believes that Shambhala exists both below and above the ground, and that there is a vast underground network of tunnels beneath it where Agarttha, a centre of secret initiations, is located. Guenon likens Shambhala-Agarttha to a major earth chakra where immense power is concentrated. He accords it the status of the world’s secret government, the source of all wisdom, yoga and tantra.
Shambhala is said to exist simultaneously in the material, psychic and spiritual dimensions. Only realised beings can enter it, since certain features of the kingdom are accessible only to an advanced clairvoyant vision. It is said that the inner circle of adepts in Shambhala keeps a record of earth’s geological history. Inhabitants of Shambhala are fabled to have developed advanced technology and paranormal abilities by focusing planetary energies.
According to the Kalachakra prophecy, the last Shambhala king Rudra Chakrin, an incarnation of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, and a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, will defeat the forces of evil at the end of Kaliyuga and establish a Golden Age through planetary initiation. Some legends equate him with Kalki, the doomsday avatar of Vishnu.
New Agers connect this prophecy to Nostradamus’ prediction of the emergence of a young Indian leader who will restore sacred order in the world. The Shambhala prophecy is also believed to be the source of legends of a future messiah in all religions. Many lamas believe this may happen around 2012, which is also the end of the Mayan calendar.
