- Part two -
Shambhala is a mystical country in Tibet. Of all the mythological kingdoms, which may contain the keys to world domination, the mysterious country of Shambhala gained particular popularity in the mass perception in the past.
For the first time, Shambhala is mentioned in a classical Buddhist text of the 10th century. Moreover, the legends of those distant times are replete with options for the location of the country of universal wisdom. The followers of Gautama agree that the total victory of the forces of good will be expressed in the appearance of the Fifth Buddha - Maitreya after the battle, which will be won by Rigden Djyepo, the 25th king of Shambhala.
The first information about Shambhala penetrated into Europe at the end of the Middle Ages thanks to the stories of travelers in the Asian East.
The first to tell about the mysterious country were the Portuguese Jesuit missionaries Esteban Cachella and João Cabral. In 1628, trying to pass from Bhutan to Cathay, that is, to China, about which at that time there was rather scant information, they learned about the existence of a country unknown to them - "Xembala".
The Bhutanese ruler told them that it is a very famous country and that it borders on another state called Sogpo.
From this answer, Kachella concluded that Ksembala was Katay, since the information he received - the enormous size of Ksembala and its proximity to the Mongol possessions - corresponded to how Kate-China was depicted on geographical maps.
After that, Kachella took a trip to Xembala, and he managed to reach the city of Shigatse in the domain of the Panchen Lama (that is, in Tibet). Here at the beginning of 1629 his companion Cabral arrived from Bhutan.
Promotional video:
The travelers, however, quickly realized that they were not in Katay, but in a country that was called Big Tataria on European maps of that time.
Another European traveler, the Hungarian Chema de Keresy, who visited Bhutan and Tibet at the beginning of the 19th century, supplemented the information of the Portuguese monks. In a small article published by him in 1833 in the journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Kereshi, in particular, reports that Shambhala is “a mythical country located in the north” and that its capital is Kalapa - “a beautiful city, the residence of many famous kings of Shambhala.
Calling Shambhala a "mythical country", de Keresy nevertheless indicates its relatively precise geographical coordinates - "between 45 and 50 degrees north latitude, beyond the Sita or Yaxart river."
All these scanty information about Shambhala for a long time remained the property of a narrow circle of geographers and orientalists. And only in the second half of the 19th century, thanks to the theosophical teaching of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, the legend of Shambhala became known to the general public.
Composing a single esoteric doctrine - "the initial revelation given to humanity" - Blavatsky turned to the most ancient mystery cults and teachings, which, in her opinion, preserved the remnants of an ancient tradition. In her major work The Secret Doctrine, Helena Blavatskaya (with reference to the publications of Chema de Kereshi and the reports of the Schlagintveit brothers, German travelers in Tibet) mentions Shambhala and the sacred book Dus-Kyi-Horlo (Cycle of Time).
The system of Tibetan mysticism contained in this book, according to Blavatsky, is as ancient as man, was practiced in India and Tibet long before Europe became a continent (!), Although the first information about it appeared only about a millennium ago.
"In the wilderness of the Trans-Himalayas," writes Blavatsky, "too commonly called Tibet, in the most inaccessible places of deserts and mountains, to this day lives the esoteric" Good Law "-" Seal of the Heart "- in all its original purity."
For Blavatsky and her followers, Shambhala is no longer the "mythical country" of Dejung (the Source of happiness), but a kind of real-life brotherhood or community of dedicated mahatma yogis.
There are many such mystical brotherhoods that preserve the remains of the ancient Universal Science on Earth, but they have nothing to do with the so-called civilized countries. Moreover, their whereabouts should remain a mystery to the rest of the world - until "mankind en masse wakes up from spiritual lethargy and opens its blind eyes to meet the blinding light of Truth."
Leafing through the "Secret Doctrine", we come across other references to Shambhala. Within the rather complex chronology of the history of the Earth, described by Blavatsky, this country, hidden in underground caves, also found a place.
Here are just a few quotes from Helena Blavatsky: "… Only a handful of these Chosen, whose Divine mentors retired to the" Sacred Island ", from where the last" savior "will come, - now kept half of humanity from exterminating its other …"
“… Numerous caves and ruins found in both the Americas, as well as the West Indies, are all associated with the sunken Atlantis. While the hierophants of the Old World at the time of Atlantis were connected with the New World by land routes, the magicians of the now non-existent country had a whole network of underground corridors diverging in all directions …"
“… We are not hinting at the caves known to every European, whether in reality or by hearsay, despite their immense antiquity, although even this is disputed by modern archeology; but to the fact, known to all initiates of the Brahmins of India, and especially to the yogis, namely, that there is not a single cave temple in this country that does not have its underground passages diverging in all directions, and that these underground caves and endless corridors, in their turn, have their own caves and corridors …"
In Blavatsky's views, Shambhala is the last refuge of the Atlantean race who survived the global catastrophe.
Modern Theosophists share this view, telling about Shambhala as follows (we quote from the collection of works of modern Theosophists, prepared by Nadezhda Urikova):
“Thousands of legends of all peoples for centuries have been passed from mouth to mouth about the legendary Abode of the Great White Brotherhood - Shambhala. Shambhala is not a rumor, it really exists. “Do not think that Our Brotherhood is hidden from humanity by impassable walls. The snows of the Himalayas, hiding Us, do not hinder those who walk in truth, but not researchers. This is what the Lord of Shambhala says on the pages of Living Ethics.
Science has established that there are no false legends. About the small, the insignificant, the pitiful mankind does not make up legends. Legends are not abstractions, but reality itself. They say that the White Brotherhood, the Great Souls came to Earth at the dawn of human existence from the higher planets - Jupiter and Venus, where the spiritual development of mankind went faster. They completed their evolution, but made a conscious sacrifice in order to keep the planet from destruction, in order to facilitate the spiritual progress of mankind.
Great knowledge, true values are stored in the giant book depositories of the Brotherhood, located in inaccessible caves under the Earth to protect the treasury of cultures not only from robbers, but also from geological disasters.
It contains the legacy of the sunken Atlantis, the stunning achievements of extinct civilizations that existed millennia ago. … Teachers of Shambhala are constantly sending thoughts, ideas aimed at the growth of the spirit of people, great discoveries. Mankind receives everything in mental, moral and cultural development from a Single Source, it always draws power from the Great White Brotherhood. The work of the Brothers of Shambhala is enormous.
A struggle is being waged against ignorant egoism, negative thinking in the inert mass of mankind in order to change it into the highest forms of the laws of evolution. They partially neutralize the dark aura of the Earth, containing harmful thoughts from the first days of human existence."
But here the blissful picture is suddenly replaced by overt threats:
“… The Masters of Shambhala, who received knowledge before us and know much more, warn that the current crisis will be stronger than previous cataclysms, for the planet's population is growing, and its spirituality is falling.
The only thing that can save is the Teaching of the Heart - Living Ethics, spiritual improvement. Humanity must choose. If people continue to follow the same "material" path, then the radiant head of Shambhala will destroy all evil on the planet.
The leaders of Shambhala will speak with lightning. The Era of Shambhala has come”.
Ideas like this are familiar to us. Very much theosophists do not like science and the materialistic view of the world - hence the noble fury,”and the promise to show“Kuzka's mother”to opponents.
But let them, theosophists - in the end they have a very distant relationship to Shambhala. And they do not give any satisfactory answer to questions about the mysterious country in which the carriers of ancient knowledge live. Let's talk better about those who tried to do this without waiting for the arrival of Rigden Djyepo.
The legend about Shambhala in its European version was further developed after the publication in the fall of 1933 of the utopia novel by the English writer James Hilton "The Lost Horizon".
In this work, Hilton in an unusually fascinating and believable manner depicted a Buddhist monastery-"Lamaseria" Shangri-la, located in one of the inaccessible mountain valleys in western Tibet, inhabited by representatives of various peoples, including Europeans.
Thanks to secret knowledge and occult techniques, the inhabitants of the monastery were able to subjugate the course of time, slowing down its course.
They live in a closed community - peacefully and happily, immersed in science and art, unaware of the worries and concerns that torment the rest of humanity.
Hilton's novel quickly gained great popularity in the West, was reprinted many times, and in 1937 was filmed.
With the light hand of Hilton, the word "Shangri-la" firmly entered the English language in the meaning of "an imaginary earthly paradise, a refuge from the worries of modern civilization." This name is usually given to luxury hotels, restaurants, mountain resorts and other "paradises" on Earth, and President Roosevelt even named his summer residence in the mountains of Maryland (later renamed Camp David).
Is it possible in our time, somewhere in the inaccessible mountain valley of Tibet, of such an esoteric brotherhood, keeping knowledge unknown to the rest of mankind?
Hardly…
In any case, one can strongly doubt that such a brotherhood exists in the territory of the Tibet Autonomous Region, which is carefully controlled by China. And that is why today's esotericists and researchers of anomalous phenomena are increasingly talking about Shambhala "invisible" - hidden in underground caves or in a "parallel world" …
At the same time, scientists continue to search for the country that served as the prototype of the mythical Shambhala. Today, there are several hypotheses regarding the possible location of the Buddhist "paradise" on the maps of the ancient world.
For example, some researchers associate Shambhala with the Buddhist city-states of the Tarim Basin in Eastern (Chinese) Turkestan, where the Great Silk Road once ran, which flourished in the 7th-10th centuries of our era.
Another search region is the vast territory between Iran and western India. According to the hypothesis of the Russian Tibetologist B. I. Kuznetsova, Shambhala is ancient Iran of the Achaemenid era (VI-IV centuries, BC).
The scientist came to such an unexpected conclusion after deciphering an ancient geographical map from the Tibetan-Shanshun dictionary of 1842. The term Shambhala, according to Kuznetsov, was used by the Indians to name Iran and can be translated as “holders of the world (good)”.
From Iran, the Indians also borrowed the doctrine of Infinite Time (Zervan Akarana), which was then taken as the basis of the Buddhist Kalachakra system. It is assumed that such a teaching was created by Western Iranian magicians under the influence of the ancient Babylonian tradition, according to which history is divided into large time cycles, and within each of them all events are periodically repeated.
The modern English explorer Charles Allen places Shambhala in the western corner of Tibet, near the sacred Mount Kailash, where the first Tibetan civilization arose and with it the mysterious religion of the left-sided swastika "Bon".
It was in these places that the Bon legend about the paradise land of Olmo-lunrin developed, which the Indians later christened Shambhala.
As for the Kalachakra doctrine, Allen believes it comes from ancient Gandhara (the area covering northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan).
One of the regions of Gandhara - Oddiyana, which is usually identified with the picturesque Swat Valley, located among the southern spurs of the Hindu Kush in northern Pakistan, is considered the cradle of Tantric Buddhism.
The Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang, who visited this valley in 629, was surprised to find there the remains of almost one and a half thousand (!) Various Buddhist monuments (monasteries, stupas) and settlements, which testified to the fabulous flourishing of Buddhism in Uddiyana in the previous era (II-V centuries).
"One can imagine," Allen writes, "what a paradise this valley must have seemed to the Buddhist monks who lived there."
After the conquest of Gandhara by the White Huns, the Kalachakra Tantra moved to the region of the western Himalayas. The version of an English scientist who skillfully links ancient Buddhist and Bon legends with real historical facts and paints a very reliable picture of the "wanderings" of the Kala Chakra Tantra in the countries of Central Asia and its gradual transformation, is very interesting, while it is worth paying attention to the fact that Allen localizes Shambhala exactly where various esoterics usually place it - in the western part of Tibet.
As for the Tibetan lamas themselves, they adhere to very different points of view: some believe that Shambhala is (to this day!) In Tibet or in the Kunlun mountain system, towering over the Tibetan plateau, others - in neighboring Xinjiang (Western China), but the majority of them believes that Shambhala is located in much more northern latitudes - in Siberia, or in some other place in Russia, or even in the Arctic (?!).
However, most of today's researchers prefer to argue that Shambhala has nothing to do with history or geography. Shambhala is a belief in a better future. And as a symbol of this faith can be used to combat the present.
According to the ancient Tibetan map in the Tibetan - Zang Zung Dictionary. Delhi, Tibetan Bon Foundation”, which the Soviet Tibetologist B. I. Kuznetsov and the orientalist L. N. Gumilyov were able to interpret, such a country existed. The map dates back to the Iranian-Tibetan cartographic tradition.
According to this interpretation, the author was a contemporary of the Seleucids and reflected on the map the era of Syrian domination, led by the Macedonian conquerors. Syria in Persian is called Sham, and the word "bolo" means "top", "surface". Consequently, Shambhala is translated as "domination of Syria", which corresponded to reality during the III-II century. BC e.
In the theosophical tradition, Shambhala is the seat of the Great Teachers who advance the evolution of mankind. It is located in higher vibrations, and therefore is invisible and inaccessible to an unenlightened person.
It is described in detail in the works of Nicholas and Helena Roerich - "Teaching Living Ethics (Agni Yoga)".
According to one of the legends, the Great World Federation of Nations dominated the Earth for 144 thousand years. Thanks to the knowledge accumulated in it, the Golden Age reigned on our planet. But, having mastered the universal knowledge, having learned how to work miracles, people began to consider themselves above God. They created giant idols and forced them to serve themselves, and then allowed the idols to marry their daughters.
“And the Lord saw that the corruption of people on Earth was great, and that all the thoughts and thoughts of their hearts were evil at all times. And the Lord repented that he had created man on Earth, and grieved in his heart (Genesis, ch. B, verse 5, 6).
And he made it so that the dark fast waters cleansed the Earth of filth and human pride. The only place that was not affected by the Flood was a small area of mountain peaks.
And nine thousand years ago, those who survived tried to revive the Federation. This is how the land of sorcerers Shambhala, the land of mahatmas ("great soul"), appeared in the depths of Asia, on the border of Afghanistan, Tibet and India. Eight snow peaks, like lotus petals, surround it.
The great leaders of the sorcerers hid the country from the all-seeing eye of the Lord with a ring of thick mists, and to the new earthlings who inhabited the planet, they said: “Let the geographer calm down - we are taking our place on Earth. You can search all the gorges, but the intruder will not find the way."
Many times, but unsuccessfully, people tried to find a mysterious country, to take possession of secret knowledge. The governments of many countries - England, France, Germany, China - equipped expeditions deep into Asia. But the scout of Soviet Russia got closest to Shambhala.
In the late November evening of 1924, four dressed in black entered the apartment of Alexander Barchenko, an employee of the Institute of the Brain and Higher Nervous Activity. One of the visitors, introducing himself as Konstantin Vladimirov (working pseudonym of Yakov Blumkin), told the owner that his experiments on telepathy were of interest to the organs of the OGPU, and, with a significant smile, asked him to write a report on his work addressed to Dzerzhinsky.
Barchenko, taken aback, tried to object to something, but the soft, flattering voice of a smiling man made him not only agree with the proposal, but also proudly talk about his new experiences. The men in black were especially impressed by the fixation of thoughts at a distance and the flying table - the very table at which the visitors were sitting came off the floor and hung in the air!
Yakov Blumkin personally handed over the report on Barchenko's experiments to Dzerzhinsky. The high chief, intrigued by the oral story of an eyewitness, handed the report to an employee of the secret department, Yakov Agranov. He began to consider the document immediately.
A few days later, Agranov and Barchenko met. The scientist told the Chekist not only about his experiments, but also about the unique knowledge of the country of Shambhala.
The protocol of the interrogation of A. V. Barchenko dated December 23, 1937 captures this historical moment: “In a conversation with Agranov, I explained to him in detail the theory of the existence of a closed scientific team in Central Asia and the project of establishing contacts with the owners of its secrets.
Agranov reacted positively to my messages."
Moreover, Agranov was shocked …
Meanwhile, Blumkin, who closely followed the events, hatched far-reaching plans. The fact is that Yakov Grigorievich himself wanted to become the first owner of this secret knowledge and for this he developed an action plan.
By the way, with regard to Blumkin's personality: in 1921, Yakov blocked the channel of jewelry leakage from Gokhran through Estonia to the West. The Revel episode almost completely formed the basis of Yulian Semyonov's novel "Diamonds for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat."
Considering that Blumkin had agent pseudonyms Isaev and Vladimirov, and his year of birth and zodiac sign coincided with the corresponding data of the protagonist of the spy epic Semyonov, then there is no doubt that Blumkin served as one of the main prototypes of the legendary Soviet intelligence agent Stirlitz.
As further history shows, events developed according to Jacob's scenario. To begin with, it seemed to Blumkin that only Dzerzhinsky and Agranov knew about Shambhala, and he convinced Barchenko to write a letter to the OGPU collegium.
Then he organizes a meeting of Barchenko with all the leadership of the OGPU, including the heads of departments, where the scientist sets out his project.
Having a good understanding of practical psychology, Yakov asks Barchenko's report to be included on the agenda of the board meeting as the last item - people tired of endless meetings will be ready to positively resolve any proposal.
This is how Barchenko recalls his meeting with the board: “The meeting of the board took place late at night. Everyone was very tired, they listened to me inattentively. We were in a hurry to finish with the questions as soon as possible.
As a result, with the support of Bokiy and Agranov, we managed to achieve a generally favorable decision to instruct Bokiy to familiarize himself in detail with the content of my project, and if it is really possible to derive any benefit from it, do it."
So, with the light hand of Blumkin, the secret laboratory of neuroenergetics began to operate.
The neuroenergy laboratory was housed in the building of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute and was engaged in everything: from the study of UFOs, hypnosis and "Bigfoot" to inventions related to radio spying. To begin with, the laboratory had a specific goal - to learn to telepathically read the enemy's thoughts at a distance, to be able to remove information from the brain through a glance.
The existence of the neuroenergetic laboratory was one of the main state secrets of Soviet Russia. It was financed by the Special Department of the OGPU - until May 1937.
At the very end of 1924, members of the secret society "United Labor Brotherhood" gathered in the strictest confidence in the safe apartment of Gleb Bokiy, head of the GPU's Special Department.
It should be noted that Gleb Bokiy was well acquainted with Barchenko. Back in 1909, Alexander Barchenko, a biologist and author of mystical novels, recommended Bokii to members of the Rosicrucian Order.
So they both had experience working in secret organizations. "United labor brotherhood", which included Barchenko, Bokiy, Kostrikin, Moskvin and several other scientists and security officers, becoming the goal - to reach Shambhala and establish contact with it. But our hero - Yakov Blumkin - did not enter the secret society. It was not included in his plans …
The "United Labor Brotherhood" has started preparing a scientific expedition to Shambhala. The proposals of the OGPU collegium were carefully developed and various methods of pressure were used on the members of this collegium in order to achieve a positive decision on financing the expedition.
And Yakov Grigorievich at the same time moved in parallel in the same direction, but several steps forward.
A brunette of average height stopped at a beautiful mansion in Sheremetevsky lane. Having finished his cigarette, he decisively entered the entrance and, after a moment hesitating, pressed the bell button, next to which was a brass plate with an engraving: "Professor of the RKKA Academy AE Snesarev." This professor was the most competent Russian expert in the Northwest region of British India. Documents have been preserved that eloquently testify that he was engaged in the study of the area and as an intelligence officer.
Snesarev met Blumkin with suspicion. But the tone and courteous manners of the visitor won over the mistrustful host. Yakov got down to business without further ado.
He was interested in the map of the region where, according to rough data, the mysterious Shambhala was located. Snesarev invited the guest into his office and, carefully closing the door behind him, laid out a map of the Pamirs on a massive table.
“Before you is the white wall of the Eastern Hindu Kush. From its snowy peaks, you will have to descend into the slums of North India. If you get to know all the horrors of this road, you will get an amazing experience.
These are wild cliffs and rocks, on which people will walk with a load on their backs. The horse will not pass these paths. I once walked these paths. My friend's translator has turned from a fresh and cheerful person into an old man. People turn gray from anxiety, begin to be afraid of space.
In one place I had to lag behind, and when I again caught up with the satellites, I found two translators crying. They said: “It's scary to go there, we will die there””(B. Lapin“The Story of the Pamir Country”).
A secret expedition of Chekists and scientists disguised and disguised as pilgrims was to leave the Rushan region in the Soviet Pamirs. Through the mountain ranges of the Afghan Hindu Kush, it was supposed to get into one of the canyons of the Himalayas - to reach the mysterious Shambhala.
Barchenko and Bokiy managed to get the route approved by the highest authorities. The expedition, in addition to Afghanistan, was supposed to visit India, Tibet, Xinjiang.
We received 600 thousand dollars for expenses (the amount was colossal at that time). The money was allocated through the Supreme Council of the National Economy by personal order of F. E. Dzerzhinsky.
The expedition included several members of the United Labor Brotherhood. The base for the preparation was one of the dachas of the Special Department in the village of Vereya near Moscow. Here the participants of the event learned English, Urdu and mastered horse riding. Everything was kept in the strictest confidence, as it could be in jeopardy.
It became known that the intelligence services of England, France and China were conducting external surveillance of Jacob, without whom the expedition lost a lot. All his movements were carefully recorded in the intelligence reports: so great was the desire of the intelligence services to recruit the Soviet super agent. Our hero, with the assistance of the OGPU, came up with an original move.
The Chekist was disguised as him, who began to ply along the usual route of Yakov Grigorievich - from the house in Denezhny Lane to the People's Commissariat of Trade. According to the OGPU, the substitution was not noticed …
As expected, Barchenko was appointed the head of the expedition. And the commissar is the polyglot and master of eastern hand-to-hand combat Yakov Blumkin. In addition to basic research, the Central Committee instructed Blumkin to conduct a number of intelligence operations.
Yakov Grigorievich knew: everything is going according to his plan, he will get to Shambhala alone, without any guiding and prying eyes. Having contacted the head of foreign intelligence M. Trilisser, he convinces him to hinder the expedition: since the Central Committee gave the go-ahead for the research work, all information about the "mysterious knowledge of Shambhala" will bypass the foreign intelligence department. Trilisser thought …
The preparations for the expedition were completed. It only remained to conduct a series of documents on bureaucratic institutions.
On July 31, 1925, Bokiy and Barchenko visited Chicherin's reception room. They told about the project and asked to speed up the visa issuance procedure. Chicherin gave a positive opinion, but at the very last moment asked if Trilisser, the head of foreign intelligence, knew about this project.
Gleb Ivanovich Bokiy replied that the project had been approved by the OGPU collegium and the Central Committee. For some reason, the answer alerted Chicherin. Immediately after the guests left, the People's Commissar contacted Trilisser by phone. The foreign intelligence chief was expecting this call.
He hysterically shouted into the telephone receiver: "What does this scoundrel Bokiy allow himself ?!" - and demanded to withdraw the conclusion. Chicherin hesitated. Then Blumkin and Trilisser connected Heinrich Yagoda. And on August 1, Chicherin gave a negative review. The expedition was canceled.
Bokiy did not remain in debt. A secret laboratory that began to create technical devices - locators, direction finders and mobile trackers
stations, - managed to catch a message sent by an unknown cipher. In a matter of seconds the code was solved: "Please send me a box of vodka."
Sender - Genrikh Yagoda, who was having fun on the ship with the wife of his son Alexei Maksimovich. Bokiy, concealing the name of the sender, urgently transferred the information to the Special Department, the head of which was Yagoda himself. Lubyanka sent a direction finder and a car with a capture group. The case almost ended in a gunfight between the Special Department employees.
A war of groups began in the OGPU. Each of them wanted to lead the expedition. Compromising materials, known among the KGB as "Bokii's Black Book", began to be collected. Dzerzhinsky was dragged into the war.
"Iron Felix" personally led the fight against the conspiracy of deputy chairmen. But he could not bring the matter to victory: in July 1926, after the plenum of the Central Committee, he died of a heart attack.
The Foreign Intelligence Department, in the strictest confidence, instructed Blumkin to find Shambhala and establish contact with her. After all, nobody suspected Blumkin's intrigues. And the "United Labor Brotherhood" was confident that Yakov was playing on their side, so when Blumkin told Bokiy that he was going to Shambhala alone, he gave him all the cards and secret information.
So Yakov Grigorievich received the same task from two warring groups …
In early September, a lame dervish appeared on the border of British India. He was walking with a caravan of Muslims from the Ismaili sect to the place of pilgrimage. But the police of the city of Baltit decided to detain the dervish: the beggar visited the local post office.
The detainee was sent by a British convoy to military intelligence. Dervish was expected to be interrogated and shot, but the British did not know who they were dealing with: the lame Ismaili fled, taking with him the most important diplomatic post addressed to Colonel Stuart and English uniforms.
A platoon of soldiers pursued him. And among them our Blumkin in the form of colonial troops - pursued himself. As soon as it got dark, there was one less soldier in the disposition of the British colonial troops. But one more Mongolian monk …
On September 17, 1925, the Mongolian lama joined the expedition of Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich, which was moving to the area where Shambhala was supposed to be. Here is an entry from the artist's diary: “A Mongolian lama arrives and with him a new wave of news. Our arrival is awaiting in Lhasa. In monasteries they talk about prophecy.
Excellent lama, already visited from Urga to Ceylon. How deeply penetrating is this organization of lamas! We are talking with the lama about the former case near Darjeeling."
And a little lower enthusiastically: “There is not a bit of hypocrisy in the lama, and he is ready to take up arms to protect the foundations of the faith. He will whisper: "Don't tell this person - he'll blab everything," or: "And now I'd better leave." And nothing superfluous is felt behind his motives. And how easy it is to move!"
At night, the mysterious monk disappeared. I could not appear. in the location of the expedition for several days, but always catching up with travelers.
The mysterious disappearances of the lama can be explained by his “worldly work”. Lama Blumkin mapped roadblocks, border obstacles, heights, the state of communications and the footage of road sections. Yakov did not forget about Shambhala either, making his way to it closer and closer.
Needing Roerich's support, Blumkin opens up a little to the artist. This is evidenced by the following entry in the diary: “It turns out that our lama speaks Russian. He even knows many of our friends. The lama communicates various significant things. We are already familiar with many of these news, but it is instructive to hear how the same circumstance is refracted in different countries. Different countries seem to be under glass of different colors.
Once again, one is amazed at the power and elusiveness of the organization of the lamas. The whole of Asia, as by its roots, is permeated with this itinerant organization."
- Part two -