The Lost World of Agharti- the Mystery of Vril Power
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For a moment Ossendowski is puzzled as to what his companion means. He presses him to explain.
‘Only one man knows his holy name,’ the Lama replies slowly and enigmatically. ‘Only one man now living was ever in Agharti. That is I. This is the reason why the Most Holy Dalai Lama has honoured me and why the Living Buddha in Urga fears me. But in vain, for I shall never sit on the Holy Throne of the highest priest in Lhasa nor reach that which has come down from Jenghis Khan to the Head of our Yellow Faith. I am no monk. I am a warrior and avenger!’
Ossendowski, his alert mind fascinated by this speech, is just about to pour out a whole stream of questions, when Tushegoun Lama jumps smartly into the saddle of his horse and whirls off into the distance calling behind him the Mongolian phrase of parting: ‘Sayn! Sayn-bayna!’
The poor Russian is left standing in the settling dust with his still whirling thoughts. King of the World? Agharti? What did the Lama mean? And where could this mysterious place be?
In fact, Ossendowski had to wait several months before he began to get any answers to the questions which haunted his thoughts by both day and night as he continued his journey across Mongolia.
It happened while he was crossing the great plain of Tzagan Luck with a small party of Mongol guides that the Tushegoun Lama had left behind to see him safely along his way. Suddenly, one of the guides called for the party to halt. The man jumped from his camel, which immediately lay down without being told. The other Mongols immediately did exactly the same, and all raised their hands in prayer, chanting, ‘Om! Mani padme Hung!’
Bewildered by the sudden events, and seeing no immediate cause for the men’s actions, Ossendowski waited until they had finished praying, and then demanded of his guide what was happening.
‘Did you not see how our camels moved their ears in fear?’ the man replied after a moment’s hesitation. ‘How the herd of horses on the plain stood fixed in attention and how the herds of sheep and cattle lay crouched close to the ground? Did you notice that the birds did not fly, the marmots did not run and the dogs did not bark? The air trembled softly and bore from afar the music of a song which penetrated to the hearts of men, animals and birds alike. Earth and sky ceased breathing. The wind did not blow and the sun did not move. At such a moment the wolf that is stealing up on the sheep arrests his stealthy crawl; the frightened herd of antelopes suddenly checks its wild course; the knife of the shepherd cutting the sheep’s throat falls from his hand; the rapacious ermine ceases to stalk the unsuspecting salga. All living beings in fear are involuntarily thrown into prayer and waiting for their fate. So it was just now. Thus it has always been whenever the “King of the World” in his subterranean palace prays and searches out the destiny of all peoples on the earth.’
Ossendowski felt a puzzled frown creasing his face. He had seen nothing of what the old Mongol had described. But his interest had been aroused once again by the mention of the mysterious ‘King of the World’. And, as he records in Beasts, Men and Gods, he thereafter began to earnestly search for more information on the ‘Mystery of Mysteries’ as the legend of Agharti had become known in Central Asia. He analysed and annotated many sporadic, hazy and often controversial bits of evidence in an attempt to form a cohesive picture.
For example, on the shore of the River Amyl some old people told him of an ancient legend which described how a Mongolian tribe had actually fled from the demands of the warlord Genghis Khan by hiding themselves in a subterranean country. And at the Lake of Nogan Kul he was told of a man who had actually found the gate to Agharti, gone below, but on his return had had his tongue cut out by the lamas so that he would be unable to pass on the information to anyone else.
However, Ossendowski’s first really substantial account of the subterranean kingdom was given to him by an old Tibetan, Prince Chultun Beyli, who was living in exile in Mongolia accompanied by his favourite priest, Gelong Lama. The two men spoke freely on the matter once they realized Ossendowski’s interest was genuine and sincere. The lama spoke first.
‘Everything in the world,’ said the Gelong, ‘is constantly in a state of change and transition – peoples, science, religions, laws and customs. How many great empires and brilliant cultures have perished! And that alone which remains unchanged is Evil, the tool of Bad Spirits. More than sixty thousand years ago a Holyman disappeared with a whole tribe of people under the ground and never appeared again on the surface of the earth. Many people, however, have since visited this kingdom, Sakkia Mouni, Undur Gheghen, Paspa, Khan Baber and others. No one knows where this place is. One says Afghanistan, others India. All the people there are protected against Evil and crimes do not exist within its bournes. Science has there developed calmly and nothing is threatened with destruction. The subterranean people have reached the highest knowledge. Now it is a large kingdom, millions of men, with the “King of the World” as their ruler. He knows all the forces of the world and reads all the souls of humankind and the great book of their destiny. Invisibly he rules eight hundred million men on the surface of the earth and they will accomplish his every order.’
To this astonishing report by his lama, the old Prince added further details:
‘The kingdom,’ he said, ‘is called Agharti. It extends throughout all the subterranean passages of the whole world. I heard a learned Lama of China relating to Bogdo Khan that all the subterranean caves of America are inhabited by the ancient people who have disappeared underground. Traces of them are still found on the surface of the land. These subterranean peoples and spaces are governed by rulers owing allegiance to the “King of the World”. In it there is not [sic] much of the wonderful. You know that in the two greatest oceans of the east and the west there were formerly two continents. They disappeared under the water but their people went into the subterranean kingdom. In underground caves there exists a peculiar light which affords growth to the grains and vegetables and long life without disease to the people. There are many different peoples and many different tribes. An old Buddhist Brahmin in Nepal was carrying out the will of the Gods in making a visit to the ancient kingdom of Jenghiz (Siam), where he met a fisherman who ordered him to take a place in his boat and sail with him upon the sea. On the third day they reached an island where he met a people having two tongues which could speak separately in different languages. They showed to him peculiar, unfamiliar animals, tortoises with sixteen feet and one eye, huge snakes with a very tasty flesh and birds with teeth which caught fish for their masters in the sea. These people told him that they had come up out of the subterranean kingdom and described to him certain parts of the underground country.’
Ossendowski, understandably, found much that was puzzling as well as confusing in these two accounts. Nonetheless he was convinced that he had come across something more than just a legend – or even an example of hypnosis or mass vision – but more likely a powerful ‘force’ of some kind, evidently capable of influencing the course of life in this part of the world. Maybe even far beyond it, if he could accept all that Prince Chultun Beyli had said.
By now, as the fugitive’s path across Mongolia neared the Chinese border, he began to make plans for crossing the frontier and then travelling by train to Peking. From there he hoped it might be possible to reach the West, where he could make a new life if, as he sadly suspected, the Bolshevik revolution succeeded.
But before setting out on the final leg of his flight to freedom, Ossendowski had perhaps his biggest surprise. For in the town of Urga he encountered an old lama who almost unwittingly completed his file on the mystery of Agharti. It was not, however, a meeting that began very auspiciously, as Ossendowski relates in Beasts, Men and Gods:
During my stay in Urga I tried to find an explanation of this legend about the ‘King of the World’. Of course, the Living Buddha could tell me most of all and so I endeavoured to get the story from him. In a conversation with him I mentioned the name of the ‘King of the World’. The old Pontiff sharply turned his head toward me and fixed upon
me his immobile, blind eyes. Unwillingly I became silent. Our silence was a long one and after it the Pontiff continued the conversation in such a way that I understood he did not wish to accept the suggestion of my reference. On the faces of the others present I noticed expressions of astonishment and fear produced by my words, and especially was this true of the custodian of the library of the Bogdo Khan. One can readily understand that all this only made me the more anxious to press the pursuit.
Ossendowski was feeling rather crestfallen as he left the room in which he had been received by the Chief Lama. At his side was the librarian who had looked so fearfully at him when the name of the ‘King of the World’ was mentioned. Ossendowski decided to have one more try at getting further information about Agharti and its ruler. He turned to the old librarian and asked if he might be allowed to see the lamasery’s book collection. He also employed what he called ‘a very simple, sly trick’ on the man.
‘Do you know, my dear Lama,’ Ossendowski said. ‘Once I rode in the plain at the hour when the “King of the World” spoke with God and I felt the impressive majesty of this moment.’
Much to his astonishment, the old lama responded instantly:
‘It is not right that the Buddhist and our Yellow Faith should conceal it,’ he said, almost in a whisper. ‘The acknowledgement of the existence of the most holy and powerful man, of the blissful kingdom, of the great temple of sacred science is such a consolation to our sinful hearts and our corrupt lives that to conceal it from humankind is a sin.’
Seizing his opportunity, Ossendowski quickly asked the librarian about the powers of the ‘King of the World’.
‘He is in contact with the thoughts of all the men who influence the lot and life of all humankind,’ he replied. ‘With Kings, Czars, Khans, warlike leaders, High Priests, scientists and other strong men. He realizes all their thoughts and plans. If these be pleasing before God, the “King of the World” will invisibly help them; if they are unpleasant in the sight of God, the King will bring them to destruction. This power is given to Agharti by the mysterious science of “Om”, with which we begin all our prayers. “Om” is the name of an ancient Holyman, the first Goro, who lived three hundred and thirty thousand years ago. He was the first man to know God and who taught humankind to believe, hope and struggle with Evil. Then God gave him power over all forces ruling the visible world.’
Ossendowski pressed on quickly with his interrogation of the old lama as the two men walked into the book-lined room which housed the library.
‘Has anybody seen the “King of the World”?’ he asked.
‘Oh, yes!’ answered the Lama. ‘During the solemn holidays of the ancient Buddhism in Siam and India the “King of the World” appeared five times. He rode in a splendid car drawn by white elephants and ornamented with gold, precious stones and finest fabrics; he was robed in a white mantle and red tiara with strings of diamonds masking his face. He blessed the people with a golden apple with the figure of a Lamb above it. The blind received their sight, the dumb spoke, the deaf heard, the crippled freely moved and the dead arose, wherever the eyes of the “King of the World” rested. He also appeared five hundred and forty years ago in Erdeni Dzu, he was in the ancient Sakkai Monastery and in the Narabanchi Kure.
‘One of our Living Buddhas and one of the Tashi Lamas received a message from him, written with unknown signs on golden tablets. No one could read these signs. The Tashi Lama entered the temple, placed the golden tablet on his head and began to pray. With this the thoughts of the “King of the World” penetrated his brain and, without having read the enigmatical signs, he understood and accomplished the message of the King.’
Ossendowski could feel his heart pounding with excitement as he asked his next question.
‘How many persons have ever been to Agharti?’
‘Very many,’ answered the Lama, ‘but all these people have kept secret that which they saw there. When the Olets destroyed Lhasa, one of their detachments in the southwestern mountains penetrated to the outskirts of Agharti. Here they learned some of the lesser mysterious sciences and brought them to the surface of our earth. This is why the Olets and Kalmucks are artful sorcerers and prophets. Also from the eastern country some tribes of black people penetrated to Agharti and lived there many centuries. Afterwards they were thrust out from the kingdom and returned to the earth, bringing with them the mystery of predictions according to cards, grasses and the lines of the palm. They are the Gypsies … Somewhere in the north of Asia a tribe exists which is now dying and which came from the cave of Agharti, skilled in calling back the spirits of the dead as they float through the air.’
For several moments Ossendowski said nothing. A profound silence settled over the high-ceilinged room. The old man had told him much already, and if he was to say any more, Ossendowski sensed it would be of his own volition. His instinct proved correct.
‘Several times the Pontiffs of Lhasa and Urga have sent envoys to the “King of the World”,’ said the Lama librarian after another moment. ‘But they could not find him. Only a certain Tibetan leader after a battle with the Olets found the cave with the inscription: “This is the gate to Agharti.” From the cave a man of fine appearance came forth, presented him with a gold tablet bearing the mysterious signs, and said: “The King of the World will appear before all people when the time shall have arrived for him to lead all the good people of the world against all the bad; but this time has not yet come. The most evil among mankind have not yet been born.” ’
Barely had the old man finished speaking than two other lamas came into the library. Before Ossendowski could ask another question, or even thank the librarian, the man had moved silently and swiftly away. The traveller never again saw or spoke to that lama who had shed so much light for him on the mystery of Agharti.
There are only two more points relevant to our story which need to be mentioned in connection with Ferdinand Ossendowski and his book, Beasts, Men and Gods, which he completed and saw published a year later from his exile haven in Paris. The first was that the book appeared at the same time as another work which was to have a crucial importance in quite a different area – though both books were later found to be linked by a strange, intangible thread. This was Mein Kampf, by a young German named Adolf Hitler, who had dreams of being a ‘King’ of the world himself. We shall be returning to study this strange association in a later chapter.
The second point concerns another statement by Ossendowski about the enormous powers the people of Agharti were believed to control. Powers which he said they could use to destroy whole areas of our planet, but which could equally be harnessed as the means of propulsion of the most amazing vehicles of transport. It has been suggested that this could be a prediction of nuclear energy and Flying Saucers! (Beasts, Men and Gods was, of course, published in 1923, long before such topics were even being discussed.) The other possibility is that it might be a reference to the mysterious force known as Vril Power. Similarly we shall be taking up this fascinating and intriguing possibility later.
But what concerns us most immediately is the discoveries of the second man who went in search of Agharti. He was the world-renowned traveller and artist, Nicholas Roerich, who also tramped the wild and desolate regions of Asia like his fellow-countryman, Ossendowski – and by so doing penetrated still closer to the heart of the mystery …
THE SEARCH FOR SHAMBALLAH
Constantine Nicholas Roerich was an extraordinary character whose name features notably in the history of mysticism. Yet equally, as a result of the profoundness of his philosophy, his remarkable abilities as a seer and prophet, and his undeniable skill as an artist, he also has an important place in the biographies of world figures of the twentieth century. Although he died over thirty years ago, many of his works remain in print, his paintings are displayed in galleries around the world, and his philosophy has inspired several generations of thinkers. In New York, an entire museum named after him pays tribute to his undoubted genius.
The influences of this remarkable man who was born in St Petersburg, Russia, in 1874 are many and varied, but here we must simply concentrate on those that relate to the legend of Agharti: a subject, as we shall see, that absorbed and fascinated him.
Roerich came from a distinguished Russian family who could trace their ancestry back to the Nordic Vikings of the tenth century. They were a brave and adventurous clan, men of intelligence and action, and the desire for exploration clearly ran in the blood of young Nicholas from an early age. Perhaps because of this background, he became fascinated with archaeology, in particular that of the Vikings. According to a monograph Nicholas Roerich (1935) by K. P. Tampy: ‘When he was but ten, Roerich excavated some ancient mounds dating from the Vikings. The discovered objects were presented by him to the Archaeological Society in a blaze of self-achieved glory.’ Tampy also tells us that he was ‘possessed of a burning desire to get at the beautiful and make use of it for his brethren’. This led to the development of what proved to be a remarkable artistic talent, and by the age of fifteen his work was already being publicly exhibited, as well as being reproduced in a number of art magazines.
Despite his artistic tendencies, Roerich was first sent to study law at the University of St Petersburg, but when it became evident that his natural skills lay elsewhere his parents allowed him to transfer to the Academy of Fine Art. After graduation, he furthered his training in Paris, returning to Russia to become a lecturer and writer on the arts. In 1906 he won a much coveted prize offered by the Tsar for the design of a new church, and was also appointed Director of the Academy for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Russia. Indeed his life continued to be one of achievement and acclaim until the dark clouds of the Russian Revolution spread themselves across the land. Roerich, who at the time was on an invited visit to America, felt the doors of his country being irrevocably closed to him. In fact, he never set foot in the land of his birth again.