Agartha

Agartha (sometimes Agartta, Agharti, Agarath,[1] Agarta or Agarttha) is a legendary kingdom that is said to be located in the Earth's core.[2] It is related to the belief in a hollow Earth and is a popular subject in esotericism.[3]

For the Miles Davis album, see Agharta (album). For the manga, see Agharta (manga). For the Turkish coup trial referred as "Ergenekon/Agartha", see Ergenekon (allegation).

History

Nineteenth-century French occultist Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre published the first "reliable" account of Agartha in Europe.[4] According to him, 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 God", 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".

In his 1922 book Beasts, Men and Gods, explorer Ferdynand Ossendowski relates a story which was imparted to him concerning a subterranean kingdom which exists inside the Earth. This kingdom was known to the fictional Buddhists society as Agharti.[5]

Connections to mythology

Agartha is frequently associated or confused with Shambhala[6] which figures prominently in Vajrayana Buddhism, Hinduism and Tibetan Kalachakra teachings and revived in the West by Madame Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society. Theosophists in particular regard Agarthi as a vast complex of caves underneath Tibet inhabited by evil demons, called asuras. Helena and Nicholas Roerich, whose teachings closely parallel theosophy, see Shambhala's existence as both spiritual and physical.[7]

See also

References
  1. Ossendowski, Ferdinand; Palen, Lewis Stanton (2003), Beasts, Men and Gods, Kessinger Publishing, p. 118, ISBN 978-0-7661-5765-1
  2. Eco, Umberto (5 August 2006). "Commentary: Spheres of influence". The Observer.
  3. Tamas, Mircea Alexandru (2003), Agarttha, the invisible center, Rose-Cross Books, ISBN 978-0-9731191-1-4
  4. Guenon, Rene (1958), Le Roi du Monde, Gallimard, ISBN 9780900588587
  5. Ferdynand Ossendowski (1922). Beasts, Men and Gods. New York: E. P. Dutton & Company.
  6. Greer, John Michael (2003), The New Encyclopedia of the Occult, Llewellyn Publications, ISBN 1-56718-336-0
  7. File:"About Shambala" N.Roerich.ogg
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