Subject: The Inner Earth. Part 3. Feb. 18, 2008.
Here they talk about underground tunnels.
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According to tradition, it was the 'land of
bliss' of the earliest Vedic times. O-cult
teachings 'place it in the very center of the North
Pole, pointing it out as the site of the first
continent on our earth, after the solidification
of the globe' [4].
In the ancient astronomical text Surya-Siddhanta
(12:34), Meru is described as 'passing through the
middle of the earth-globe, and protruding on either
side' [5].
H.P. B-avatsky says that 'Meru is not "the
fabulous mountain in the navel or center of the
earth," but its roots and foundations are in that
navel, though it is in the far north itself. This
connects it with the "central" land "that never
perishes". [6].
Just as the human body contains a series of
chakras, or subtle energy centres, linked by the
sushumna, a central channel in the spinal cord,
so there may be corresponding energy centers on
and in the body of the earth. Shambhala is
sometimes described as the main power center,
with auxiliary centers scattered about the globe
[7].
In theosophy, the heart of mother earth is said
to beat 'under the foot of sacred Shambhala',
and we are told:
O-cult teaching corroborates the popular
tradition which asserts the existence of a
fountain of life in the bowels of the earth
and in the North Pole. It is the b-ood of the
earth, the electro-magnetic current, which
circulates through all the arteries; and which
is said to be found stored in the 'navel' of
the earth. [8]
This inner reservoir of physical and
psychospiritual life-forces may correspond in
one sense to the root-chakra (muladhara chakra)
in the human body, situated at the base of the
spine. From this viewpoint, Meru represents the
central duct or path of terrestrial kundalini
or shakti running through the earth [9].
Some Hebrew legends speak of a place called
Luz -- an underground city near a sacred mountain
called the 'abode of immortality'. An almond
tree, named luz in Hebrew, grew near it, a
hollow in its roots leading down to the
underground center.
Reno Guonon saw this as another version of the
archetypal mountain/tree/cave complex symbolizing
Shambhala. He stated that the real significance
of Luz is that it corresponds in planetary
terms to the muladhara chakra, whose kabalistic
name in Hebrew is luz. The name derives from a
root word denoting that which is concealed,
s-cret, and silent; it also connotes a kernel
-- the innermost part of the almond. The most
common iconographic depiction of Shambhala is
similar to the four-spoked muladhara chakra,
the subtle 'earth-center' in the human body [10].
In his book "Paradise Found", William Warren
writes: The earliest inhabitants of the
Tigro-Euphrates basin located 'the Center of
the Earth,' "not in their own midst", but in
a far-off land, of sacred associations, where
'the holy house of g-d' is situated, -- a land
'into the heart whereof man hath not penetrated;'
a place underneath the 'overshadowing
world-tree,' and beside the 'full waters.' No
description could more perfectly identify the
spot with the Arctic Pole of ancient Asiatic
mythology. [11]
In The Chaldean Account of G-nesis, we read:
'Human beings . The great go-s created, and
in the earth the -ods created for them a
dwelling. . In the midst of the earth they
grew up and became great, and increased in number,
Seven kings, brothers of the same family .
Iranian, Indian, Chinese, Scandinavian, and
Aztec literature also refer to this ambiguous
location at 'the center of the earth' [12].
The Japanese paradise was situated 'on the
top of the globe' and at the same time 'at
the center of the earth'. It was called the
'island of the congealed drop'.
Its first roof-pillar was the earth's axis,
and over it was the pivot of the vault of
h-aven. Similarly, the Chinese terrestrial
paradise, round in form, is described not
only as at the center of the earth, but
also as directly under Shang-te's heavenly
palace, which is declared to be in the
polestar, and is sometimes called the
'palace of the center'.
The Egyptians located their Ta Neter, or
land of the g-ds, in the extreme north [13].
Today there is an echo of these ancient
traditions in the fact that children send
notes to Santa Claus, or Father Christmas,
in his 'wonderland' at the north pole, asking
for gifts.
The Eskimos have legends that they came
from a fertile land of perpetual sun****ne
in the north. They believe that after
d-ath the s-ul descends beneath the earth,
first to an abode rather like purgatory,
but good so-ls then descend further to a
place of perfect bliss where the sun never
sets [14].
In P-alm 48:2 of the B-ble, Mount Zion is
said to be 'in the far north', and in E-ekiel
(28:13-14) Eden, 'the garden of Go-', is
placed on the 'holy mountain of Go-'. In
Hebrew tradition, the primeval Eden is
sometimes said to be at the 'center of the
earth' [15].
According to the Hindu Kurma Purana, an
island called Shveta-Dvipa, or W-ite
Island, lay in the northern sea, the
paradisiacal homeland of great yogis
possessing supreme wisdom and learning [16].
B-avatsky writes: 'According to Tibetan
tradition the Wh-te Island is the only
locality which escapes the general fate
of other dwipas and can be destroyed by
neither fire nor water, for -- it is the
"eternal land" ' [17].
North of the Himalayas, possibly in the
Tarim Basin, lay Uttarakuru or northern
Kuru, a version of Shambhala which the
Mahabharata describes as the blissful
land of the sages towards which Arjuna,
the warrior prince of the Bhagavad-Gita,
travelled in search of enlightenment.
It is described as a place of marvels
where magic fruit trees yield the
nectar of immortality. It is said to
be one of four regions surrounding Mount
Meru like the four petals of a lotus
and to be the homeland of the siddhas,
enlightened yogis famed for their
miraculous powers [18].
Greek mythology speaks of a mysterious
northern yet ever-springlike land called
Hyperborea ('beyond the north wind'),
situated beyond the mountains -- in
some accounts situated under the north
pole -- to which Apollo journeyed in
his chariot of swans [19].
There the true 'omphalos' or navel of
the earth was located. For the Orphics,
the island of Electris, the seat of the
go-s, lies under the polestar in the
furthest waters of Tethys [20].
The Mandean Gnostics believed that an ideal
earth, an earth of light peopled by a d-vine
r-ce of superhumans, was situated in the
north, separated from our world by a high
mountain of ice. It is said to exist
'between heaven and earth', and Henry
Corbin concludes that it does not refer
to the north of our globe but to the
'cosmic north', i.e. superphysical realms
[21].
But, like Shambhala, it might also have
an earthly counterpart.
The Avestan term 'Airyanem Vaejah'
(Pahlavi: Eran-Vej) designates the
cradleland of the Aryan-Iranians, located
not in any of the earth's seven
climates, but at the center of the central
zone, the eighth climate [22].
It was there that Yima, the 'first man',
received the command to construct a vara,
or enclosure, where the most highly
developed humans, animals, and plants
would be gathered in order to save them
from the deadly winter unleashed by
the demonic powers so that they might
one day refurbish a transfigured world.
This "vara" or paradise had a gate and
luminescent windows which se-reted an
inner light within, for it was illuminated
by both uncreated and created lights. Its
various meanings include a subterranean
sanctuary, an ark, and the human body [23].
Airyanem Vaejah, the 'primeval land of
bliss', appears to be identical to
Shveta-Dvipa, Mount Meru, the Sac-ed
Imperishable Land, and Shambhala (in
its several meanings) [24].
Bla-atsky quotes Fargard 1:2 of the
Vendidad, where 'we find Ahura-Mazda saying
to Spitama "the most benevolent" -- that he
made every land dear to its dwellers, since
otherwise the "whole living world would
have invaded the Airyana-Vaego" ' [25].
According to Fargard 2:40, 'The one thing
missed there is the sight of the stars, the
moon, and the sun, and a year seems only as a
day' [26].
4. Inner kingdoms
As with the idea of a paradisiacal
cradleland of humanity at the north pole,
references to networks of caverns and
tunnels and/or an inner world within the
earth are commonplace in the world's
r-ligions, myths, legends, and folklore.
The attributes assigned to the underworld
range from h-avenly to h-llish, and its
inhabitants likewise range from superhuman
to subhuman. Myths and legends generally
embody multiple levels of meaning, and
the underworld can also refer to
nonphysical planes of reality.
During his travels in Asia, Nicholas
Roerich spent a lot of time studyingm local
folklore, which included tales of lost
tribes or subterranean dwellers.
In many places of Central Asia, they
speak of the Agharti ['concealed', 'se-ret'],
the subterranean people. In numerous
beautiful legends they outline the same
story of how the best people abandoned the
treacherous earth and sought salvation in
hidden countries where they acquired new
forces and conquered powerful energies. [1]
While crossing the Karakorum pass, his
Ladakhi guide said to him: 'Do you know
that in the subterranean caves here many
treasures are hidden and that in them
lives a wonderful tribe which abhors the
s-ns of the earth?'
And again when we approached Khotan the
hoofs of our horses sounded hollow as
though we rode above caves or hollows.
Our caravan people called our attention
to this, saying, 'Do you hear what hollow
subterranean passages we are crossing?
Through these passages, people who are
familiar with them can reach far-off
countries.' When we saw entrances of
caves, our caravaneers told us, 'Long ago
people lived there; now they have gone
inside; they have found a subterranean
passage to the subterranean kingdom. Only
rarely do some of them appear again on
earth.
Part 3.
John Winston. johfw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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