By Victor M Fontane
About Shambhala
“The messianic prophecy”.
This last theme refers to the presence of a prophecy describing a future conflict in which an enlightened society must rise up and defeat barbarian forces of ignorance and degenerate views. Following this battle, a golden age of peace and harmony with spread throughout the earth.
In one of the first direct references to Shambhala, the “Kalki Purana” from the Vedic tradition speaks of a time when the populace has become dominated by different forms of materialistic and atheistic beliefs. The god Vishnu (second quality of the Divinity) will emanate an Avatar who is born in the village of Shambhala and will be named Kalki. This Kalki will be responsible for cleansing all of this negative forces and re-introducing the world to authentic spiritually practices. After completing his task, Kalki will return to Shambhala, where he will reign as the king of the world.
Similarly, in the Buddhist tradition, there is a prophecy of the coming of the Buddha Maitreya. Again, after a period of degeneration, the world will be overcome by delusion an extreme ignorance. At this time, the Buddha Maitreya will descend from Tushita Heaven, and through an overwhelming display of limitless love. the confuse beings will follow him on a pure path toward virtue. Thus his coming will usher in a golden age of love and compassion. While many of the legends focus on one or two of these themes, only the tradition of Kalachakra tantra describes all of them in direct relation to Shambhala. Unlike much of the oral folklore that is available today, there is a significant textual basis for the descriptions of Shambhala as supported by three main texts: the Abriged Kalachakra Tantra, its commentary, Stainless Light, and a guidebook for traveling to Shambhala known as the Entrance to Kalapa. These three texts are believed to have arisen in India sometime around the tenth century and are considered the primary sources of information for much of the present understanding of Shambhala.
Even though the Kalachakra was one of the last systems of Buddhist tantra to be practiced in India, the root text and its commentary state that the teachings had existed in the realm of Shambhala since the time of the historical Buddha. From this perspective, the texts were first preserved by the Shambhala kings and then given to Indian sages many centuries later. In addition to the detailed history of Shambhala, they also describe its spiritual views, social structure, and many of its advance sciences such as astrology, medicine, and various forms of technology. These texts offer a rare glimpse into an ancient culture that may have provided the original inspiration for the diversity of myths and legends throughout the region of Central Asia.- Shar Khentrul Jamphel Lodrö.
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