Agartha

Agartha (sometimes Agartta, Agharti or Agarttha) is a legendary city that is said to reside in the Earth's core. It is related to the Hollow Earth theory and is a popular subject in Esotericism.

Agartha is one of the most common names cited for the society of underground dwellers. Shamballa (also known as Shambalah or Shangri-La) is sometimes said to be its capital city [http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t36343.html] . The mythical paradise of Shamballa 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 by the Sanskrit term, Aryavarsha ( literally :The Land or Realm of The Aryans ; the Land of the Noble/Worthy Ones " ) - 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.'

While once a popular concept, in the last century little serious attention has been paid to these conjectures (with the exception of Adolf Hitler), and the theory is not supported by modern science. The idea of subterranean worlds may have been inspired by ancient religious beliefs in Hades, Sheol, etc. Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski's 1920 book "Beasts, Men, and Gods" also discusses Agartha. The myth of "Agartha" is also known as "Shambhala", as it was known in India, the underworld realm peopled by initiates and lead by 'the Masters", Masters who are the Spiritual leaders of humanity.

Agartha is the great Asian University of the Initiates of the Greater Mysteries. Their 'Mahatma' ('Great Soul'), Who is also known as " The Lord of The World " , plays the part of the supreme spiritual leader of humanity. According to Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre (1842-1909) of France, the secret world of "Agartha" and all of its wisdom and wealth "will be accessible for all mankind, when Christianity lives up to the commandments which were once drafted by Moses and Jesus, meaning ' When the Anarchy which exists in our world is replaced by the Synarchy". Saint-Yves gives a 'lively' description of "Agartha" in this book as if it were a place which really exists, situated in the Himalayas in Tibet. Saint-Yves' version of the history of "Agartha" is based upon ' revealed' information, meaning received by Saint-Yves himself through 'attunement'. [http://www.crystalinks.com/archeometre.html]

Shambhala concept figures prominently in Vajrayana Buddhism and Tibetan Kalachakra teachings and revived in the West by Blavatsky and Theosophical Society. As with many concepts in Vajrayana Buddhism, the idea of Shambhala is said to have an 'outer,' 'inner,' and 'secret' meaning. The outer meaning understands Shambhala to exist as a physical place, although only individuals with the appropriate karma can reach it and experience it as such. There are various ideas about where this society is located, but it is often placed in central Asia, north of Tibet. The inner and secret meanings refer to more subtle understandings of what Shambhala represents, and are generally passed on orally [http://www.crystalinks.com/shambhala.html] .Alice Bailey transformed it into a kind of extradimensional or spiritual reality. The Roerichs see its existence as both spiritual and physical.

Entrances

Among the purported entrances to Agartha are:
* Cueva de los Tayos (Cave of the oil birds), Ecuador
* Gobi Desert, Mongolia. [http://www.darkstar1.co.uk/gregjenner14.html]
* Great Pyramid of Giza [http://www.crystalinks.com/hollowearth.html]
* Iguazu Falls, Argentina and Brazil
* Kunlun Mountains, China. [http://www.darkstar1.co.uk/gregjenner14.html]
* Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, USA
* Manaus, Brazil
* Mato Grosso, Brazil
* Mount Epomeo, Italy
* Mount Shasta, California (the Agharthean city of Telos)
* North Pole
* Rama, near Jaipur, India [http://www.iamuniversity.ch/Agartha-In-The-Hollow-Earth]
* South Pole
* The Well of Sheshna in Benares, India (the Agharthean city of Patala) [http://www.crystalinks.com/hollowearth.html]

Theory

An early source for the belief in underground civilizations is "The Smoky God" (1908) by Willis George Emerson (1856 - 1918), which claims to be the biography of a Norwegian sailor named Olaf Jansen. The book explains how Jansen's sloop sailed through an entrance to the Earth's interior at the North Pole. For two years he lived with the inhabitants of an underground network of colonies who, Emerson writes, were a full 12 feet tall and whose world was lit by a "smoky" central sun. Their capital city was said to be the original Garden of Eden. While Emerson does not use the name Agartha, later works such as "Agartha - Secrets of the Subterranean Cities" have identified the civilization Jansen encountered with Agartha, and its citizens as Agarthan.

According to "Secrets", Shamballa the Lesser, one of the colonies, was also the seat of government for the network. While Shamballa the Lesser is an inner continent, its satellite colonies are smaller enclosed ecosystems located just beneath the Earth's crust or discreetly within mountains. Cataclysms and wars taking place on the surface drove these people underground. These were said to include a lengthy Atlantean-Lemurian war and the use of thermonuclear weaponry that eventually sank and destroyed these two highly advanced civilizations. The Sahara, Gobi, the Australian Outback and the deserts of the southwestern U.S.A. are said to be but a few examples of the devastation that resulted. The sub-cities were created as refuges for the people and as safe havens for sacred records, teachings and technologies that were cherished by these ancient cultures.

It is believed that the great kingdom of Lemuria which was located in the Gobi desert in Mongolia was destroyed by Atlantis in a great war that led to a cataclysmic destruction of Atlantis and Mu. Mu was a great city on the surface of what is now the Gobi desert. It had 2 satellite cities by the name of Agartha Alpha and Beta that survived the destruction.

The inhabitants of Agartha are said to have scientific knowledge and expertise far beyond that of the people who live on the surface of the planet, lost technology from the days of Atlantis.

The descendants of ancient Lemuria now live in peace in subterranean caverns. The leaders of these states (variously called Ascended Masters, Guardians of the Tradition, psychoteleios – "the perfected ones" –, Ancient Ones, the Watchers, the Immortals, the Monitors, the Hidden Directorate, the Children of Seth, etc.) all follow what is known as the Ancient Path and do not interfere in the lives of humans that live above the surface. Nor is there any interaction between them.

There are no entrances to Agartha Alpha and Beta from any other part of the planet. The only entrances are in the Gobi desert itself and are secured by illusory technology that is beyond the comprehension of modern science.

The Tibetans refer to the cities of Agartha as Shamballa and have believed for centuries in their existence as reservoirs of ancient knowledge and advanced technology.

Tibet

According to other sources the Potala palace is said by the people there to sit atop an ancient cavern and tunnel system, which reaches throughout the Asian continent and possibly beyond. The Nagas also traditionally have an affinity with water, and the entrances to their underground palaces are often said to be hidden at the bottom of wells, deep lakes and rivers.

Inhabitants

The Old Ones - In an article entitled "The Hollow Earth: Myth or Reality" for "Atlantis Rising", Brad Steiger writes of the legends of "the Old Ones," an ancient race that populated the surface world millions of years ago and then moved underground. "The Old Ones, an immensely intelligent and scientifically advanced race," Steiger writes, "have chosen to structure their own environment under the surface of the planet and manufacture all their necessities."

"The Old Ones are hominid, extremely long-lived, and pre-date Homo sapiens by more than a million years. The Old Ones generally remain aloof from the surface peoples, but from time to time, they have been known to offer constructive criticism; and it has been said, they often kidnap human children to tutor and rear as their own."

The Elder Race

One of the most controversial tales of inner-Earth-dwellers is the so-called "Shaver Mystery." In 1945, "Amazing Stories" magazine under the editorship of Ray Palmer ran a story told by Richard Shaver, who claimed he had recently been the guest of what remained of an underground civilization. Although few really believed the story, and many suspect that Shaver may actually have been psychotic, Shaver always averred that his story was true.

He contended that the Elder Race, or Titans, came to this planet from another solar system in our prehistoric past. After a time of living on the surface, they realized our sun was causing them to age prematurely, so they escaped underground, building huge subterranean complexes in which to live. Eventually, they decided to seek a new home on a new planet, evacuating the Earth and leaving behind their underground cities populated by artificial beings: the evil Dero - detrimental robots - and the good Tero - integrated robots. It was these beings that Shaver claimed to have met.

Despite the enormous popularity of the Shaver Mystery in "Amazing Stories" - Palmer milked it for all it was worth, and more - the location of the entrance to this underground world was never divulged.

Appearances in pop culture

Works inspired by or named for Agharta include:
* "Agharta", a manga.
* , a computer game.
* A Miles Davis album.
* The "Diabolical Tales" film series (2005) features evil villains who rise from the ancient underground civilization of Agartha.
* This mythical city is also mentioned in "Foucault's Pendulum", a book by Umberto Eco. Agartha is also the main study in Abel Posse's famous novel "El viajero de Agartha"
* The roleplaying game "Nephilim", in which participants roleplay as spiritual beings who must resort to incarnating physically in order to survive, characterises Agartha as a somehow transcendental end-state these beings strive to achieve, and refers to those who have done so as 'Agarthan'.
* An "avant-garde" jazz club in Prague.
* The anime OVA "Voices of a Distant Star" features a fictional planet in the Sirius star system called Agharta; its human-like civilization is notable for its semi-underground cities and structures.
* The video game Final Fantasy IV contains a city named Agart connected to an underground "world" populated by dwarves and full of lava flows--a clear reference to Agartha.
* Another video game, simply named "Agartha", was being developed for the Sega Dreamcast game console in 2001. The project was however cancelled.
* A song by Afrika Bambaataa & Westbam is titled "Agharta (The City of Shamballa)"
* "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" (2004) Central characters wake up in the mythical Shangri-la after experiencing an explosion in Nepal.
* In the Japanese horror movie "Marebito" (稀人) (2004), Agharta is discussed along with other Hollow Earth theory.
* A song by Three Dog Night: "Shambala (song)".
* The computer fantasy strategy game "Dominions 3" by Illwinter Game Design has a nation inspired by Agartha. It is depicted as a dying race of ageless, one-eyed giants living in underground caves, led by a council of oracles.

"Desperately seeking Agharti". A documentary shot by Perry Omodei Zorini, Federico Brini and Marco Florio in the year 2000, produced by Chameleon TV and broadcasted twice by Channel 4. The three guys try to follow Ferdinand Ossendowsky's route in search of the

External links

* [http://www.foundationwebsite.org/OnBulwerLytton.htm On Edward Bulwer-Lytton: Agharta, Shambhala, Vril and the Occult Roots of Nazi Power] , by Joseph George Caldwell.
* [http://www.ufoarea.com/hollow_smoky_god1.html The Smoky God] , by Willis Emerson
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2067 Beasts, Men and Gods] , by Ferdinand Ossendowski
* [http://geografiasacra.blogspot.com Geografia Sacra] . (Blog about Agharta, Ciudad de los Césares, Eldorado, and others sacred sites) (in spanish)