Shambhala : Oasis of light

by Andrew Tomas

Shipped from UK, please allow 10 to 21 business days for arrival. Contents clean & sound, including photographs. Covers firm, with a few creases. Dusty fore-edges.

Genres: Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Andrew Thomas (1906-2001) was born in St. Petersburg in Russia, but after stopovers in Finland, Machuria, China and the USA, he later became an Australian citizen. He has written a number of books on the theme of ancient technology and wisdom.
His book on Atlantis is fairly pedestrian fare that purports to link Plato's city with an age of long lost high-technology.

Reviews

[Jason]

It took me over 6 years of off and on searching to locate this book for under a few hundred dollars. This was the longest book quest I have had and am waiting for the absolute perfect opportunity to read it. There was only one printing that I am aware of. My copy came from a used bookstore in London for $30. From reviews I have read over the years it is going to be a life altering book. I am thinking of ways to transcribe it so that others may read it was well but am unsure of the legalities of this...

[João Lopx · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5* nao dou 5 pq a parte da opinião do autor n tá tão boa

[Mark David Vinzens · Rating 5 out of 5]

True story...

Shambhala: Oasis of Light

Quotes

“In Buddhist books of Tibet the name Shambhala is mentioned on many pages. Even before the introduction of Buddhism into Tibet in the seventh century of our era, the Land of Shambhala was shown on a geographical map in a Bön book of Tibet which is estimated to be about two thousand years old. The voluminous Kanjour and Tanjour, the White Vaidurya, the Blue Annals (Deb-ther Snon-po), the Route to Shambhala (Lam-yig) works, the Sphere of Shambhala (Shambhala Sin-bkod-pa) and other Tibetan writings furnish enough basic material for a brief outline of Shambhala. In the Mahayana system Shambhala is regarded as a wonderland similar to Thomas More's Utopia, New Atlantis of Francis Bacon or City of the Sun of Campanella, where virtue and wisdom create an ideal community.“ (p. 9)

“Hardly anything had been known about Shambhala in the West before H.P. Blavatsky who presented the Ancient Wisdom of the East to an unprepared European and American public in the Victorian era. However, it was not Blavatsky but the Catholic missionaries Stephen Cacella and John Cabral who were the first Europeans in modern history to give an account of Shambhala about three hundred and fifty years ago. On the other hand, Shambhala may have been known in Europe much earlier but under another garb, as strong arguments are available to link the tradition with the mediaeval legends of the Holy Grail and Prester John.” (p. 10)

“In an atmosphere of narrow-mindedness and persecution during Cromwell's reign, progressive scholars of England founded the Invisible College which has eventually become the highest scientific institution of the kingdom, the Royal Society. Hardly anything is known of the activities of another 'invisible' scientific and philosophic society which pursues its studies in the majestic isolation of the Himalayas. These savants possess the answers to the most abstruse questions of science. The traces of this philanthropic and philosophic fraternity are found in historical records from the most ancient times to our contemporary period. The evidence demonstrating the actual existence of these sublime men in the past, as well as in the present, is sufficient, yet the information as to their way of life and the location of their abodes is far from being adequate.” (p. 11)

“This work propounds that there is an oasis of cosmic culture on earth, the representatives of which have, like a guiding star, led humanity through the centuries towards a greater stage of understanding, higher morals and a keener realisation of the brotherhood of man.“ (p. 12)

“In the Far East there is an ancient and widely spread belief in a galaxy of illumined minds living in seclusion in inaccessible parts of Asia. The historians and philosophers of antique Greece and Rome also mention this tradition in their writings. The great Pythagoras was reputed to have travelled to Hindustan. Philostratus described the journey of Apollonius of Tyana to a Trans-Himalayan region which could be nothing but Tibet. It is a notable fact that both Pythagoras and Apollonius were connected with a very old system of initiatic instruction known as the Greater Mysteries. While the Lesser Mysteries were mere popular cults, the Greater Mysteries were reserved for an exclusive circle of mature minds capable of rising above the average level of the masses.“ (p. 15)

“In Egypt, Greece, Babylon or India the aspirant contemplated the Infinite on star-crowded nights, awaiting revelations. Thus Pythagoras discovered the seven notes of music and the 'music of the spheres', the philosophic meaning of numbers and the round shape of the earth. In like manner Plato found that abstract ideas formed an invisible world of their own. The eternal nature of the universe was revealed to Heraclitus of Pontus. Most Greek philosophy takes its source from the Mysteries of Egypt. Both Pythagoras and Plato were taught by the high priests of the Land of the Nile.“ (p. 16)

“It is obvious from the foregoing historical records that the Mystery schools not only opened the eyes of the subliminal Self and raised man to a cosmic plane of consciousness, but they also gave him instruction in science as well as in the unknown history of mankind. This point we can glean from Plato's Timaeus in which Solon was told by the Egyptian priests of a chronology going back for nine thousand years before his time. This presupposes the existence of historical archives in ancient Egypt covering vast periods of time. The so-called Magi, or the 'Wise Men from the East', were undoubtedly members of a world Mystery school. St Jerome (fourth century) defined the Magi as 'Masters who philosophise about the universe', and credited them with proficiency in astrology.

The question of the Magi has been a delicate subject in theology causing a lot of controversy. After all, the only beings who were supposed to have been aware of the coming of Christ were the angelic messengers who had appeared to Joseph and the Virgin Mary. And yet somehow three or more Wise Men had likewise known about the coming birth of Jesus or otherwise they would not have left their faraway land months before the expected event.

Even the most capable astrologers of those times could not have predicted exactly where or when the Messiah would be born. Only a gift of seership could have led the Magi to Palestine. Theologians consider all speculation as to the nature of the Star of Bethlehem unprofitable. Accepting the veracity of St Matthew's story, the star could not have been a planet, star or comet because of its swift movement in the sky. On the other hand, its motion was too slow for a meteor. Was it a device of ancient science from the Magian abode? An old legend, presumably emanating from the Magi themselves, may clarify the mystery:

What star was it that guided the Magi? Of course, it was the command of the Brotherhood: to hail Jesus, to safeguard and bring some means to the poor family. We walked over the face of the earth not knowing the exact spot. The commands of the Teraphim directed us or led us from day to day. When we heard, 'It is near!', we had just lost all signs of habitation. Could one expect a miracle of so unprecedented an Annunciation in the midst of camel dung or the braying of donkeys?

The Wise Men must have had foreknowledge of the birth of Jesus if they set out on their long journey during Mary's pregnancy. Where did the Magi come from? Who sent them on their mission? Where did they go? This may seem an exercise in fruitless theorising, yet the fact remains that they were aware of the approaching event.

[...]

Mystics in the West have also been familiar with the existence of these Magi. One such mystic, Karl von Eckartshausen (17 52-1813), wrote this about them in his Disclosures of Magic: 'They live in various parts of the earth. Some live in Europe, others in Africa, but they are bound together by the harmony of their souls and they are therefore as one. They understand each other, although they speak in different tongues because the language of the sages is spiritual perception.' In another book he says that this 'School of Wisdom' is secretly hidden from the world and it is submissive solely to Divine Government.“ (p. 19 - 22)

“The fabled Mahatmas of the Himalayas are not isolated initiates but members of a brotherhood dedicated to the spiritual resurrection of mankind. This has been common knowledge to the people of India and Tibet“ (p. 23)

“There exists a beautiful valley in this mountain ridge completely protected from the cold winds. For him who reaches the valley of the goddess, the wheel of rebirth stops and he enters Nirvana, say the Northern Buddhists. Hsi Wang Mu is also called Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy, and is often depicted in China and Japan with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes to symbolise her desire to help humanity. Kuan Yin is also designated as the 'One who is heeding the cry of the world', 'the goddess who looks upon the world', 'the merciful guardian'. To the Buddhists she is the companion of Avalokitesvara who gave mankind the prayer of the heart, Om Mani padme hum (Oh, thou Jewel in the Lotus). In Tibet and Nepal she is sometimes addressed as the White Tara, or Dolma. The Chinese say that the attendants of Hsi Wang Mu possess perfected bodies which can no longer age or die. These beings are very wise and powerful and assist the Golden Mother in her humanitarian activities.

The Immortals are supposed to command the ability to travel at will throughout the universe, from one world to another and even live on faraway stars. That in itself is an amazing concept to find in antiquity as it practically suggests modern space travel. On the other hand, if this is a projection of the mind to a distant cosmic system, then it is equally astonishing that the ancient Chinese entertained such a possibility at all. After all, there was nothing in that epoch to indicate the vastness of the universe. Antique books of the Celestial Empire describe the legendary epoch of the Sons of Heaven who came as benevolent culture bearers in the third millennium before our era. Strange astronomical phenomena occurred at the time, for instance, the fall of an enormous star on the Island of Blossoms which the Soviet philologist Lisevich places in the Gobi Desert. The Russian scholar interprets the myth as the actual descent of a spaceship with cosmic civilisers in Central Asia at the dawn of history. This tale from an old Chinese text will become more meaningful as we hear of the White Island, the abode of Immortal Yogis, which is mentioned in the writings of India.

The legend of the Land of the Immortals is strange. Yet the great Lao Tzu (born c. 604 BC), whose brush wrote the classical work Tao-Te-Ching, the basis of Taoist philosophy, is professed to have left central China at the close of his very long life and journeyed to the land of Hsi Wang Mu. Numerous statuettes of the great sage, depicting him on the back of a buffalo on his way to the legendary land in the west, are still extant. Perhaps this explains why no Chinese historian knows where and when the wise man died.

[...]

The legend of the Land of the Goddess-Mother of the West, where spiritual giants reside, has been repeatedly mentioned by Chinese scholars for many centuries. Does it allegorise an isolated abode of perfect men in Central Asia? A study of Chinese history and literature does corroborate this possibility.“ (p. 26 - 27)

“Professor Nicholas Roerich, whom I have always considered to be my Master ever since I first met him in Shanghai in 1935, wrote the following lines in his Heart of Asia: 'If you wish to understand Asia and to approach her as a welcome guest, you must meet your host with the most sacred word - Shambhala.' Alexandra David-Neel, who spent many years in Tibet, also wrote of Shambhala in her work The Superhuman Life of Gessar of Ling [...] the law for ever remains in force that 'the unwanted shall not reach'. Only he who has heard Kalagiya, the call to Shambhala sent 'on the wind' or telepathically by the Great Masters, can ever hope to arrive safely in the Valley of the Wisest Men on earth.“ (p. 35 - 37)

“From the fundamental teaching of the unity of cosmic life springs forth the Doctrine· of the Heart with its commandment of an all-embracing love for all nature. Needless to say, this attitude is very far from the anthropocentric and egocentric behaviour of man on this planet.“ (p. 49)

“The planetary guardians have a definite programme which is in accord with the goals to be achieved in this particular evolutionary cycle.“ (p. 50)

“All social or religious movements having the ideal of the common good and peace on earth are always supported by the Hierarchy of Light. It may seem strange how totally different ideologies can come from one and the same source but that is true. Each doctrine is intended for a certain epoch. When the teaching is distorted, it disappears to be replaced by a more dynamic and timely ideology.“ (p. 82)

“Krishna was born of the virgin Devaki in the hut of a shepherd located in a beautiful valley in the Himalayas, at the foot of Mount Meru, which is another name for Kalapa or Shambhala. He loved all, including the wild beasts, and he often hugged young tigers. As he grew older, the sages began to teach him, so that the wisdom inherent in him could be expressed. One day Krishna received an initiation at the feet of a great teacher of the Himalayas and a command to destroy evil in the world. Then he went to the shores of the Ganga and Jumna to instruct mankind, playing his flute to awaken all men from their slumber in the physical world of 'maya' or delusion. What he taught is recorded in his dialogues with Prince Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita:

Never the spirit was born,
Never the spirit shall cease to be.

Man progresses by means of rebirth, said Krishna:

Manifold the renewals of my birth Have been, Arjuna! and of thy births too! But mine I know, and thine thou knowest not.

Thousands of years ago these words were uttered by Krishna in the valley of the Ganga to enlighten the masses of India. But, like trees, religions wither and decay as superstition creeps in, which Krishna had anticipated: 'Mankind errs by folly, darkening knowledge.' However, the law of the Avatars was well formulated by Krishna:

Whenever the Law fails and lawlessness uprises,
Then do I bring myself to bodied birth;
To guard the righteous, to destroy the evildoers,
To establish the Law I come into birth, age after age.“ (p. 83)

“Like the birth of Krishna, the nativity of Gautama the Buddha was also connected with the ashrams of Arhats in the Himalayas. When a son was born to King Sudhodanna and Queen Maya of Kapilavista at the foot of the snowcovered mountains, seven Wise Men came to the palace to greet the child Siddharta. The scriptures of India say that it was from a land in the Himalayas that they arrived. At the early age of sixteen Siddharta Gautama married and had a son. Thirteen years later he left his family and palace to become a wandering monk since he could not continue living his contented life after having realised that a sea of unhappiness surrounded him . . Siddharta Gautama's great mission was to challenge the unjust caste system of India and at the same time give a cosmic philosophy to the world, the first in history.

Like all Avatars, he was a revolutionary because he defied the ruling establishment and questioned its outworn beliefs. 'From good must come good, and from evil must come evil,' said the prince who had renounced his throne in order to seek enlightenment and then pour spiritual light upon mankind. When Siddharta Gautama had received cosmic illumination under a wild fig-tree and become a Buddha, the Enlightened One, he identified himself completely with the infinite and eternal universe. So that his disciples in future ages would imitate his example, he gave his eight-fold path, the eight rules of life: right belief, right resolve, right speech, right behaviour, right occupation, right effort, right contemplation and right concentration. Once a man frees himself of desire, he can attain liberation from the wheel of reincarnation and be absorbed in Nirvana, the abode of peace, taught the Buddha.“ (p. 84)

“Buddhist writings state that from time to time a Buddha is born, abounding in wisdom and goodness, a teacher of gods and men. The Buddha himself predicted the coming of a future Buddha who would be named Maitreya.“ (p. 85)

“The principal mission of the prophet Moses was to create a faith in one universal deity who was not to be portrayed in human, animal or astronomical form as were most of the stone gods of the ancient world. This trend towards abstraction in religion was a definite step forward in an epoch of idolatry. In the course of history the Mosaic concept of one God was borrowed by other nations contributing to civilisation as a whole. The Ten Commandments represent a fine ethical code for a civilised society. This was another contribution of Moses, not only to Israel but to all mankind. It should be added that the belief in a coming Messiah is part of the Jewish faith.“ (p. 90)

“When a travelling merchant, Mohammed by name, saw the angel Gabriel in a cavern on Mount Hira and then again on a cliff as he was standing there in despair, history was made. This man of wealth lived simply, almost as a Spartan. Endowed with a brilliant concrete mind, he was capable of meditating on abstract truths. He received a revelation that one Divine Will permeated the whole Creation and therefore all men had to submit themselves to it. Like Moses he cast out idols and proclaimed one God - Allah, and himself as His prophet. He gave freedom to his slaves, mixed with the poor and unfortunates and by this appeal to the masses united the whole of Arabia. The vanquished were offered a choice - the Koran and with it brotherhood, equality and mercy, or else the sword of the Prophet. In this way the Mussulmans, the 'subjects of Divine Will'; spread from Arabia to Spain. The legacy of the classic age was partly salvaged by the Arabs who translated it into Arabic and then passed it on to Western Europe. At one time the Moorish Empire was the only civilised state in the world with excellent universities to which students flocked to learn medicine, astronomy, mathematics and other sciences. The only light that shone in the Dark Ages was the one that glowed in the lands of Islam.

Like Judaism, Islam teaches that Muntazar or Mahdi, the future Messiah, will come to open an era of Divine Justice. The list of the prophets is really much longer and the names of Zoroaster, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Mahavira, Guru Nanak and others should be mentioned. Suffice it is to say that all doctrines based on the Brotherhood of Man emanate directly or indirectly from the Abode of the Great Magi.“ (p. 90 - 91)

“...the existence of an oasis of a superior culture of cosmic origin on this planet which for ever urges mankind towards a higher plane of thought...“ (p. 137)

“The people of earth must understand that the time of crucifixions and of gentle prophets preaching to raving crowds is ended. This time the Arhats will speak with lightning, thunder and star showers! The Epoch of Shambhala is here!“ (p. 148)

[Ricardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colecção "Enigmas de todos os tempos" Bertrand.
Excelente compilação de apontamentos históricos sobre o mito de Shambhala, lugar além dos Himalaias onde residem os Grande Magos (mestres de alma), fundadores da Doutrina do Coração. Excelente reflexão sobre a humanitarismo.

[Zey 16 · Rating 3 out of 5]

gayet güzel bilgilendirici bir kitap olmuş .

[Max Nemtsov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Еще один прекрасный компендиум занимательной ебанины — только уже на заданную тему Шамбалы. Поэтому неизбежны повторы из вводного курса Томаса в парадоксографию — «Мы не первые», где он упомянул, судя по всему, обо всем, о чем смог. Зато тут присутствует кусок его личных (судя по всему не слишком приукрашенных) воспоминаний о том, как его самого подтолкнули к пропаганде «планетарного пакта». Про Шамбалу он перечисляет все, что можно было знать к 1973 году, но книжка от этого не стала более «научной». Это по-прежнему сенсационная журналистика очень увлеченного человека. И тут опять к Рериху и Оссендовскому он подходит крайне некритически, хотя они были известными фантазерами (хоть и с разными мотивациями и умениями).
К буквальном (и очень таком детском) прочтении мифов и систем верований все же есть своя прелесть. Какое-никакое, а это мозговое усилие, хоть и минимальное, но дающее иллюзию глубокого размышления, эдакий своеобразный shortcut к подлинному (по)знанию. А с другой стороны, как мы уже не раз задавали себе этот вопрос, почему бы и нет?
И, наконец, сомнению не подлежит искренность и честность самого автора, верящего в необходимость для человечества поистине планетарного сознания. Спасти установлением планетарного правительства это самое человечество, вероятно, и не получится, но попытка, несомненно, того стоит. Да и в самом деле, говорят же, что жизнь не Земле еще не накрылась медным тазом лишь потому, что в Гималаях девять монахов мантры читают до сих пор. Вот это истинное мировое правительство и есть. Эндрю Томас тоже помогал — как мог, пусть и пересказывая сказки.
Самое же обидное — то, что на русском, судя по всему, существует только одна книжка Томаса, вот эта, и переводил ее какой-то полуграмотный ушлепок. Такую песню испортил…