Subject: The Inner Earth. Feb. 16, 2008.
Here is some information about the inner Earth.
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Part 4: Mythology, Paradise, and the Inner World
(JW I don't know where parts 1, 2 and three are
of this material.)
1.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dp5/inner4.htm
The Imperishable Sacred Land
2.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dp5/inner4.htm
Shambhala
3.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dp5/inner4.htm
northern paradise
4.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dp5/inner4.htm
Inner kingdoms
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dp5/inner4.htm
1. The Imperishable Sacred Land
Theosophy teaches that a series of seven
root-r-ces or humanities will develop during
the present fourth round of the earth's e-olution.
The first humanity is said to have appeared
in the mid-Paleozoic, about 150 million years
ago (according to the theosophical timescale),
and we are currently in the fifth. Each lives
on its own 'continent', a word referring not
only to the main continental area where the
ev-lution of a root-ra-e takes place but also
to all the dry land that exists during the
life-period a particular root-r-ce. Just as
the root-ra-es overlap, so parts of the
continents of one root-rac- become
incor****ated into the continental system
of the next [1].
The first continent is known as the
Imperishable Sacred Land and is the most
mysterious of the seven continents. It
is said to be located in the region of
the north pole.
This 'S-cred Land' . . . is stated never
to have shared the fate of the other
continents; because it is the only one whose
destiny it is to last from the beginning
to the end of the Manvantara throughout
each Round. It is the cradle of the first
man and the dwelling of the last d-vine
mortal, chosen as a ****shta for the future
seed of humanity. Of this mysterious and
sa-red land very little can be said,
except, perhaps, according to a poetical
expression in one of the Commentaries,
that the 'polestar has its watchful eye
upon it, from the dawn to the close of
the twilight of "a day" of the GREAT
BREATH' [In India called 'The Day of
Brahma.']. [2]
The statement that the first continent
never sinks or perishes is repeated
many times, and this characteristic
distinguishes it from the other continents
[3].
The first continent surrounded and
included the north pole and extended
somewhat southwards from the pole in
seven different zones, like the leaves
of a lotus. These zones included Greenland,
Spitzbergen, Sweden, Norway, and Siberia,
together with other former land areas
in the far north that have since been
submerged.
The central locality of the first
continent was right at the north pole.
H.P. B-avatsky writes:
If, then, the teaching is understood
correctly, the first continent which
came into existence capped over the
whole North Pole like one unbroken
crust, and remains so to this day,
beyond that inland sea which seemed
like an unreachable mirage to the few
arctic travellers who perceived it. [4]
G. de Purucker drew attention to the
phrase 'If, then, the teaching is
understood correctly', and pointed out that
Blavatsky was not permitted to give out
all she had been taught [5].
If the earth is hollow, as Bl-vatsky's
review of The Hollow Globe by Lyon and
Sherman implies, then the first continent
could refer to two different things: the
polar land on the outer surface of the
earth, and the sa-red central land or
'inner circle' in the earth's interior,
which will continue to exist until the
earth reaches the end of its life-period.
Likewise, terms such as 'the blessed
land of eternal light and summer' and
'the land of the eternal sun'[6] could
refer either to the polar land at a
time when the earth's axis was more or less
upright and the polar regions were in
sunlight, or to the inner central land if
the earth's interior is self-luminous or
contains a central sun.
2. Shambhala
Tibetan sacred texts speak of a mystical
kingdom called Shambhala, hidden behind
snow peaks somewhere north of Tibet, where
the most sacred Buddhist teachings -- the
Kalachakra or Wheel of Time -- are preserved.
It is prophesied that a future king of
Shambhala will come with a great army to
free the world from barbarism and tyranny,
and will usher in a golden age.
Similarly, the Hindu Puranas say that a
future world redeemer -- the kalki-avatara,
the tenth and final manifestation of Vishnu
-- will come from Shambhala. Both the Hindu
and Buddhist traditions say it contains a
magnificent central palace radiating a
powerful, diamondlike light.
The mythical paradise of Shambhala is
known under many different names:
It has been called the Forbidden Land,
the Land of White Waters . .;, the Land
of Radiant Spirits, the Land of Living
Fire, the Land of the Living Gods and
the Land of Wonders. Hindus have known
it as Aryavarsha, the land from which
the Vedas come; the Chinese as Hsi Tien,
the Western Paradise of Hsi Wang Mu,
the Royal Mother of the West; the
Russian Old Believers, a nineteenth-century
Christian sect, knew it as Belovodye and
the Kirghiz people as Janaidar. But
throughout Asia it is best known by its
Sanskrit name, Shambhala, meaning 'the
place of peace, of tranquillity,' or as
Chang Shambhala, northern Shambhala,
the name Hindus use to distinguish it
from an Indian town of the same name. .
At the end of his life the Chinese Taoist
teacher Lao-Tzu, returned to Shambhala,
although he called it Tebu Land. .It is
regarded by most esoteric traditions as
the true center of the planet, as the
world's spiritual powerhouse and the
heartland of a brotherhood of adepts from
every race and country who have been
influential in every major religion,
every scientific advance and every social
movement in history. [1]
Buddhist texts say that Shambhala can
be reached only by a long and difficult
journey across a wilderness of deserts
and mountains, and warn that only those
who are called and have the necessary
spiritual preparation will be able to
find it; others will find only blinding
storms, empty mountains, or even death.
One text says that the kingdom of Shambhala
is round, but it is usually depicted as an
eight-petalled lotus blossom -- a symbol
of the heart chakra. Indeed, an old
Tibetan story states that 'The kingdom of
Shambhala is in your own heart.' As Edwin
Bernbaum points out, the guidebooks to
Shambhala, whose puzzling directions are a
mixture of realism and fantasy, can be
read, on one level, as 'instructions for
taking an inner journey from the familiar
world of the surface consciousness
through the wilds of the subconscious to
the hidden sanctuary of the superconscious'
[2].
The Land of Shambhala.
In the center are Mount Meru and the
King's palace, surrounded by 8 petal-shaped
regions with their 96 principalities.
Nevertheless, the idea that Shambhala is
also located in the material world is firmly
rooted in Tibetan tradition. Opinions on
where the kingdom might lie, however, differ
markedly.
Some Tibetans think it might be in Tibet,
perhaps in the Kunlun mountains; more point
toward the region around Mongolia and
Sinkiang province of China; but most believe
that Shambhala is in Siberia or some other
part of Russia.
Some lamas believe it is hidden in the
desolate, uninhabited wastes of the Arctic.
According to Lama Kunga Rimpoche, 'Shambhala
is probably at the North Pole, since the
North Pole is surrounded by ice, and
Shambhala is surrounded by ice mountains.'
Finally, a few lamas believe that
Shambhala exists outside the earth on
another planet or in another 'dimension'
[3].
Bernbaum once had a dream of going with
a guide to the north pole. As they
approached the pole, the air became warmer
and the snow cover thinner until there
was only grassy tundra, flowers, and a
balmy breeze. Finally they came to a round
pond with a small island that had a pole
right at the center. He turned to his guide
and protested, 'But this is impossible!
This can't be the north pole; there's
supposed to be ice and snow up here.' The
guide merely pointed at the island and
said with a smile, 'There's the pole.'
Bernbaum related his dream to Lama
Chopgye Trichen Rimpoche, who remarked:
'That may have been the entrance to
Shambhala' [4].
The Russian artist, philosopher, and
explorer Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947)
travelled through China and Mongolia
to the borders of Tibet in 1925-1928.
During a conversation with a lama, he
was told: 'Great Shambhala is far beyond
the ocean. It is the mighty heavenly
domain. It has nothing to do with our
Earth. .
Only in some places, in the Far North, can you
discern the resplendent rays of Shambhala.'
When pressed by Roerich, the lama conceded that
the heavenly Shambhala had an earthly counterpart.
Indeed, the expression 'the resplendent rays of
Shambhala' seems to be a reference to the aurora
that manifests in the polar region. But the
lama also described Shambhala as a 'far-off
valley', hidden in the midst of high mountains,
with hot springs and rich vegetation.
The lama stated that the ruler of Shambhala
is 'ever vigilant in the cause of mankind':
he sees all the events of earth in his 'magic
mirror' and 'the might of his thought penetrates
into far-off lands'. He continued: 'Uncountable
are the inhabitants of Shambhala. Numerous
are the splendid new forces and achievements
which are being prepared there for humanity.'
The lama confirmed that messengers from
Shambhala are at work in the world, and that
even the ruler himself sometimes appears in
human form. He stressed that the secrets of
Shambhala are well guarded, and that it is
impossible for anybody to reach Shambhala
unless their karma is ready and they are
called [5].
The modern theosophical tradition, too,
recognizes that Shambhala is a real place:
Part 1.
John Winston. johnfw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Inner Earth. Part 2. Feb. 17, 2008.
This talks about where the place is.
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Shambhala . . although no erudite Orientalist has yet
succeeded in locating it geographically, is an actual
land or district, the seat of the greatest brotherhood
of s-iritual adepts and their chiefs on earth today.
From Shambhala at certain times in the history of the
world, or more accurately of our own fifth root-r-ce,
come forth the messengers or envoys for sp-ritual
and intellectual work among men.
This Great Brotherhood has branches in various
parts of the world, but Shambhala is the center or
chief lodge. We may tentatively locate it in a
little-known and remote district of the high
tablelands of central Asia, more particularly in
Tibet. [6]
It is surrounded by an aka****c veil of invisibility;
and an a-my of airplanes might fly over it and
see it not. All the ar-ies of all the nations on
earth might pass it by and not know that it existed.
It is quite an extensive tract of country. .
In it are gathered some of the most valuable
records of the human r-ce.
There, surrounded by the greatest and most
evolved human beings, the Silent Watcher of the
Earth has his invisible abode. [7]
Shambhala, our 'spi-itual home', is said in
theosophy to comprise two localities on earth.
One of them is 'situated in the highlands of
Asia, somewhere to the westward of the meridian
line passing through Lhassa' [8].
Long ago, this locality was a s-cred island
in a vast Central Asian inland sea, known as
the 'abyss of learning' or 'sea of knowledge',
and was accessible via subterranean passages.
According to tradition, this place exists
to this day as an oasis surrounded by the Gobi
desert [9].
But there is also another h-ly locality,
alluded to in all the great exoteric r-ligions:
This spot is the summit of what in the Hindu
Puranas is called Shveta-dvipa, Mount Meru or
Sumeru. It is the north pole of the earth,
so chosen not for its geographical qualities,
if such there be, but on account of its
astronomical position. .;. It is the mystical
north pole, geographically identical with the
north pole of the earth, but mystically quite
different . [10]
In other words, Shambhala, in one of its
meanings, is the Sa-red Imperishable Land.
Theosophical literature also states that there
is an even higher Shambhala located in the sun,
and that all these different localities are
inhabited by classes of entities with which
the human rac- is spirit-ally and intellectually
connected.
Bearing in mind that the Central Asian
Shambhala is said to be protected by an
'aka****c veil' which renders it invisible and
impenetrable, it is interesting to note that
in the review of The Hollow Earth, B-avatsky
suggests that explorers may have been prevented
from penetrating further north into what was
then suspected to be an open polar sea by
'the exercise of some o-cult power'. This
could be interpreted to mean that there is
something in the northern polar region that is
being concealed -- not by a m-litary/g-vernment
c-nspiracy, but by oc-ult forces.
3. A northern paradise
Traditions of a paradisiacal, primeval land
in the far north are universal. Sometimes this
sacred land is said to be located in the `center'
or 'navel' of the earth. In one sense, this
refers to the north pole, which appears to
be in the 'center' of the earth if the planet
is viewed from above the pole. But clearly
such expressions could also refer to the earth's
interior. The northern paradise is often
associated with a world tree, a world mountain
or pillar from which four rivers emerge, and
a world-engirdling serpent. The pillar,
mountain, or tree links our own 'middle earth'
with the upper and lower worlds [1].
All these symbolic features can be interpreted
on different levels -- terrestrial, astronomical,
and spi-itual.
The Scandinavian tree of life (Yggdrasil), growing
on the cosmic mountain [2].
In Hindu mythology Meru* is the mystical mountain
at the center of the world, where Indra, king of
the g-ds, has his jewelled palace. Victoria LePage points out that 'Mount
Meru is conceived of as the earth's navel as well as its central staff,
its
source of life and power spreading out from the
central region to the eight outer zones, and from thence to the world'
[3].
The symbolism here is derived from embryology: just
as the embryo grows from the navel outwards, so does the earth. 'Meru'
actually has several different meanings, including a mountain in Asia, the
north geographical pole, the north celestial pole, the earth's spin axis,
the world axis connecting earth to higher realms, and the cerebrospinal
axis
of the
human body.
*Like the Egyptians and the Akkadians, the Indians
conceived of two opposed polar mounts: the arctic
Meru, known as Sumeru (su = good, beautiful), was
the dwelling of the go-s, and the antarctic Meru, or
Kumeru (ku = bad, miserable), was the dwelling of the d-mons.
Meru, the Olympus of the Indians, is said to be situated in the centre
or
navel of the earth. It was
guarded by serpents, which 'watched the entrance to
the realm of Se-ret Knowledge'.
Part 2.
John Winston. johnfw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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