Shambhala, the Secret Life of the Soul

Shambhala, resplendent and hidden, invisible to predators

shining through the eyes of mystics, a kingdom coveted by conquerors and dictators.

Legends tell the story of immense treasures, of a land ruled by immortal kings with unlimited power.

Echoes of stories dot the narrations of fugitives and merchants

explorers and travelers of all manner along the Silk Road.

Shambhala

the Himalayan summits

where supreme wisdom and universal love have created pureness and harmony.

It is believed by some to be the source of all life on our planet.

Fear? No, I was never afraid

to come here o into any other cave.

I remember playing here with

my friends and other children.

There were no steps

so getting up here was a lot of fun.

Some say this hole is the opening to

a secret tunnel leading far away.

Someone blocked the entrance with this boulder.

I don’t think anyone entered.

I don’t know if Tibet is Shambhala

Many scholars say that Ladakh

may have some characteristics of Shambhala

Many people believe there is in Ladakh

a cave with a door

to the kingdom of Shambhala.

These facts, or perhaps legends

offer no tangible proof.

The great teachers don’t say

What Shambhala is or even where it is.

Personally, having done some research

I consider it beyond the reach of humans.

I have been to Tibet, in Tibet sometimes there are rocks with signs and people say...

this is a door to Shambhala, but also here in Ladak they sometimes say Choglamsa

the North gate, or the access to Shambhala, rumors of this like, but they are legends.

Leh, Ladakh - India

We knew nothing about Shambhala.

We hadn’t read anything about it

but felt strongly attracted to Ladakh.

Something significant marked

the beginning of this story.

We were at a friend’s on a barge in Paris.

He introduced us to a lama he knew well.

This lama said he would

give us a reference letter.

This was strange

because we hadn’t told him anything.

So we left with a small piece of

Thinn paper bearing the lama’s seal.

We imagined it might be important

but we didn’t know the lama sufficiently well

to understand just how important and

we didn’t know what had been written.

We left for Ladakh.

At first, we traveled from one monastery to the next

without knowing where

we would use this reference letter.

Some monks turned the piece of papera round

without being able to read it.

They didn’t understand it, and gave it back to us.

We knew we were not in the right place.

Shambhala?

Isn’t it a lama?

What is it?

I don’t know

At the village of Pokar

the lama told us it was a sacred place.

This so-called Shambhala everybody is seeking.

What can it be?

Shargola: a purification rite

This village is considered to be the Eastern Gate.

This place was called Tingdho where the three valley meet.

It is the entrance to the three valleys, hence the name

Shambhala is the north.

When the future Buddha of the Shambhala kingdom comes

there will be amazing changes.

Before his descent, he will bring complete destruction to the world.

It is written in the scriptures that the force of the four elements

will cause the total destruction of all living and non-living beings.

The teachers say the Buddha of the Shambhala kingdom will be the last.

If this place is the gate to Shambhala, there must be a door, an entrance.

But I can’t find it. A characteristic of this area

as written in history books, is that “an earth and sky triangle”

is to contain the energy.

This is true, because Saint Autrumpa

was here and reported it.

Only divine beings live at Shambhala.

We can define these being as gods.

Even on the earthly level there are “dri-sa”, the “scent-eaters”.

They are entities we do not perceive, like the spirits of the water and wind.

Similarly, in Shambhala, there are powerful beings, particular entities

such as the goddess of eternal life

dominated by Brahma and Vishnu

and the powerful kings of the Deva.

We can’t say for sure who lives there.

I think it may be like on earth: there are many different types of sentient beings.

At last, we arrived at the Hemis monastery.

As soon as they saw the paper, our reference letter

they greeted us and told us to wait.

They would take care of us.

The medicine lama came to us.

Although we didn’t speak his tongue and

he didn’t speak English

he managed to show us some documents

which indicated the passage of

Jesus through that monastery.

This was important us

because of what we had experienced

in a former life 2000 years earlier

and reported in the book: “The Other Face of Jesus”.

Jesus made a trip to Ladakh

during his co-called “lost years”.

Next the lama showed us where to sleep.

There were two mats

on the floor behind a curtain.

That night it all happened.

I left my body in the small cell

of the Hemis monastery

together with our guide

Master Djwal Kool

who had also disembodied.

In an astral voyage we crossed green valleys

surrounded by snow-capped mountains.

I was absorbed by a spiral of light

that led us to other locations

among snowfields and high summits.

In these valley I saw

geometric shapes and buildings.

There were Aztec-like shapes

Others in Hellenic style

But they were sublimated shapes.

One could say sacred architecture.

With the lama we went into one builing

with cupolas and colonnades.

We found ourselves

in a large hall with three doors.

We went through the middle one.

Each door intriqued me.

There were signs all around

them in a script unknown to me.

I couldn’t read them, but I had the distinct feeling

they referred to humanity’s past and present.

It is known that there is a text that shows the way to Shambhala

which we Tibetans call ‘Shambala Lamyuk’.

I was lucky enough to see this book kept by a family in the Zanskar

there is the story of a person who has been to Shambhala.

How it got there isn't said. But remember that heading north, you come across a series of large glaciers

beyond the glaciers there is a lake or an ocean and to reach Shambhala you have to cross it.

In the book it is clearly written that the monks of Shambhala

wear the same tunic as the Indian monks of Jambudweep.

Men dress in blue while women in red.

The description says that there are countless huge cities and that each city

is governed by a governor who wears a golden crown on his head.

Then in the book there is also written that when a messenger is sent from one place

to another with a letter he receives a small stick

he holds it in his hand and thanks to this object he can instantly reach any place he wishes.

We found ourselves in a small hall.

A kind of welcoming committee was expecting us.

They wore the same simple blue tunics

nothing seemed to differentiate them.

Only a thin rope was used to tighten

their dress around their waist.

We were welcomed by these beings

Who put us to the test

and then told us about the place we were in.

This rod has a story.

It was given to us by the beings at Shambhala

when we first met.

It was strange because

they put it in our hand saying

“We give you this rod as a sign of connection

not of power, but as a link between you and us.”

Then they waited.

After a few minutes, since nothing was happening

and we remained silent not knowing what to say

they smiled and said: “This rod was a test.

As we saw no desire for power in your eyes

you may continue on your journey.

Had we seen even the slightest desire

for power we wouldn’t have tolerated it

neither regarding your trip

nor for what we have to tell you.

We found this rod four years later

in the concrete, physical realm, among bushes.

We knew it was that same rod

because at that moment we heard the voice

of a being form Shambhala saying

it was indeed the rod used in the test.

Srinagar, Kashmir - India

They were asked about the one with two horns.

I will recite to you an account of him.

Verily, we gave him the ways

and the means to all ends.

And he followed a road.

He traveled to the farthermost West

until he reached the setting place of the sun.

He found it setting in a bubbly spring.

Near it he found a people.

We said: “Oh, Two-Horns, you can either punish

them or treat them with kindness.”

About Islamic mythology?