The mysterious land of Shambhala, which only “those whose thoughts are impeccably pure” had the opportunity to get to, still excites the imagination of man and attracts researchers. The sages of antiquity argued that the search for Shambhala has a beneficial effect on the karma of any living person, and for a conscious and constant striving for the heights of Shambhala, a person is rewarded during his lifetime. The teachings of Shambhala are so sacred and high that even an insignificant grain of knowledge from Shambhala is in itself blessed and can radically change human life.
Mysterious Asian Shambhala (Tib. SHAM-BHA-LA, Shambhala, translated from Skt. "Source of happiness"), like Atlantis of the Greek sage Plato, has generated many conflicting opinions and controversies both in scholars and among readers. They tried to find the legendary Shambhala in the Himalayan mountains, in Afghanistan and in the Gobi desert. The first news about Shambhala in Europe appeared in 1627 - it was written about it in the letters of the Jesuit missionaries Stephen Casell and John Cabral. During their visit to Bhutan, they learned about the existence of the country of Shambhala, located on the territory "which is designated on European maps as Great Tartary." This served as the basis for the hypothesis that this northern Shambhala could be located in the center of the southern part of Central Asia.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Hungarian Tibetan scholar C. de Keres came to the conclusion that the legend of Shambhala reflects the existence of Buddhist centers in Central Asia in the first centuries of our era, which were destroyed by the Arab conquerors in the 7th century. He even determined their coordinates - between 45 and 50 degrees north latitude beyond the Yaksart River (Syrdarya).
At the end of the 19th century, the founder of the Theosophical Society, Helena Blavatskaya, mentions Shambhala in her writings, who gave the following definition: “Shambhala is an extremely mysterious place due to its connection with the future. The city or village from which, as the prophecy proclaims, the coming Messiah will appear. Some orientalists identify modern Muradabad in Rohilkand (northwestern provinces of India) with Shambhala, while occultism places it in the Himalayas. However, in the book "The Secret Doctrine" Blavatsky defines the location of Shambhala elsewhere - in the Gobi.
The orientalist historian B. Kuznetsov, after deciphering the ancient Tibetan map, substantiated the hypothesis of the identification of Shambhala with Iran. His teacher, historian L. Gumilev, linked the birth of the legend of Shambhala with stories about their homeland of Syrian merchants who came to Tibet.
And the Third Reich was looking for Shambhala at the state level. The idea of a dominant race endowed with mystical powers and supernatural powers was quite attractive to Adolf Hitler. He organized the Third Reich expeditions to Tibet, which followed one after another almost continuously until 1943. The German scientists Escard and Karl Haushoffer, who became the ideological inspirers of the spiritual society "Thule", were based on an ancient legend testifying that a highly developed civilization existed in the Gobi 30 or 40 centuries ago. It was the surviving representatives of the Gobi civilization who migrated to the kingdom of Shambhala and were the main race of humanity, the ancestors of the Aryans.
Attempts were made to penetrate into Tibet and the leadership of the Soviet OGPU in 1921-1922, 1923-1925. The main goal of the expeditions was to establish contact with the spiritual ruler of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, to resist the British invasion and consolidate influence in the region.
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The real Himalayan kingdom of Shambhala in the north of India (near the Sita River, surrounded by 8 snowy mountains resembling lotus petals) existed, according to historical chronicles, up to the 15th – 16th centuries. In Tibetan historical writings and in the extensive literature on the Buddhist Kalachakra system, mention of Shambhala is constantly found. There she appears as a Himalayan principality or kingdom. In the kingdom of Shambhala, which was ruled by the kings-priests, Kalachakra was proclaimed the state religion and then from there it spread to India and Tibet. "To help the inhabitants of 96 regions of his country, the king of Shambhala Suchandra went to India and asked for the Kalachakra teachings from Buddha." In the folk legends of Tibet and the Himalayas, Shambhala is a kind of paradise on earth; it is a country of powerful Mahatmas, or Great Masters, who control the destinies of humanity.
With the passage of time, Shambhala began to be identified in Buddhism with the "pure land", in which all true Buddhists strive to be reborn. They began to speak of Shambhala as a place located in another reality or in another dimension, accessible only to spiritually developed individuals. The teaching on the spiritual sphere of Shambhala is central to Kalachakra. The search for the spiritual sphere of Shambhala (a special quality of spirit) is the ultimate goal of all followers of Kalachakra, the essence of which can be grasped only through complex meditative practices, having reached an enlightened state of mind. In the modern retelling of the ancient legends of Asia, it is said that sages live in Shambhala who keep the knowledge that gives man power over the world. Only a select few can get to Shambhala.
Numerous searches for Shambhala did not lead to anything, therefore it is generally accepted that it has now become invisible and moved to another world, but the sages of Shambhala still maintain contact with their chosen representatives of humanity. There is also an ancient Tibetan prophecy according to which the warriors of Shambhala in the future will come to the aid of humanity and become victors in the last battle between the forces of Light and Darkness on Earth.
The spiritual Shambhala of Buddhists at the beginning of the 20th century became widely known in Europe, where this topic was further developed. At the beginning of the last century, scientific ideas about the universe were very different from modern ones: people believed in Atlantis, the hollow Earth, theosophical and occult ideas existed on a par with scientific ones (Theosophy is a religious and mystical doctrine about the unity of the human soul with deity and about the possibility of direct communication with the other world).
The dissemination of information about Shambhala was facilitated by the publication in 1914 of The Roads of Shambhala, written in the 18th century by Tashi Lama the Third, one of the most revered leaders of the spiritual and political life of Tibet, as well as the publication of reports from the Central Asian expedition of 1925-1932 led by N. Roerich and his essays "Heart of Asia", "Shining Shambhala". In his expedition diaries N. Roerich writes about the importance of the concept of Shambhala for the peoples of Asia. “This is the place where the earthly world comes into contact with the highest state of consciousness. Shambhala is the most sacred word in Asia. " N. K. Roerich, based on the information received from Tibetan lamas, speaks of the reality of Shambhala, lost somewhere in the Himalayan mountains, north of Kailash. But in N. Roerich's works there was nothing concrete, except for poetic words and vague legends without references to their source.
The totality of historical evidence makes it possible to conclude that initially the principality or kingdom of Shambhala did not possess any mystical properties, did not stand out in any way among the adjacent territories and was preserved in history as the keeper of the Kalachakra comments and the guarantor of the preservation of this Buddhist teaching.
In various written sources, Shambhala is “the land of the immortals”, “the kingdom of magicians”, “the country of the Great Masters”, “the secret center of the world”, “the oasis of cosmic culture”, “the legacy of a vanished civilization”, “the hinge of time”, “the country of the Great White Brotherhoods”,“the abode of light - a lost paradise on earth”,“a world of harmony and perfection, where all human dreams come true”,“forbidden territory in the center of the Gobi”,“a well-organized community of wise men in the heart of Asia”.
The Russian scientist-Tibetan A. I. Klizovsky gave such a universal synthetic definition: “Shambhala is the most sacred word in Asia, in which all the best human expectations and aspirations are embodied. This is the era, the doctrine, and the area."
In ancient legends and tales, Shambhala is the Holy Land of the Immortals, where the physical world connects with the abode of the gods, the world of matter - with the spiritual world, the Eternal Earth, which cannot be destroyed by fire or water. It is located on a nectar lake surrounded by eight lotus-like mountains. There people live in happiness and prosperity, there are no poor, disease and hunger, bread will be born of extraordinary size, a lot of gold, there is no oppression and justice reigns. Plots of this kind are typical of all fairy-tale legends about life in paradise in remote promised lands (legends about the promised lands, the city of Kitezh, Belovodye, White Island, the Grail sanctuary).
The original concept of real Shambhala over time was increasingly mixed with the mystical. In the publications of the authors of the 20th century, superhuman beings appear, directed by an extraterrestrial civilization from the constellation Orion to Earth to Shambhala - to control and accelerate the development of mankind. The “new legend” about Shambhala contains such subjects as: the abode of the Mahatmas (beings “pure in heart” and visible only to the prophets), the Himalayan Brothers (White Brotherhood); the hidden center of the world from where humanity is ruled. Shambhala is associated with the "Treasure of the World" - the Chintamani stone - a meteorite with unusually powerful radiation; a center of the highest scientific and technical potential, with devices integrated with the human psyche.
The repetition of the same plots in the myths of peoples significantly distant from each other suggests a conclusion about a single source of this information. The mythical features of the "pure land" are repeated in the traditions of different cultures and have the same characteristics. At present, the hypothesis about the possible existence in warmer ancient times of the island, which became the prototype of the "abode of the gods" - "the Land of the Living", whose inhabitants did not know any diseases or death, has gained popularity.
In modern times, Tibet has become accessible, and the legends, born of its closeness in the recent past, are gradually becoming clearer and are revealing the very real roots of their origin. The legends about Shambhala were in demand among modern mankind. The understatement and mystery of these myths still awaken interest in reading books on this topic and traveling in search of the legendary country. Perhaps new translations of Tibetan texts or research expeditions in the near future will reveal the secret of earthly Shambhala.
Authors: Valentina Sklyarenko, Vladimir Syadro