Yaks, Nagas, Giants, Gods And Wars....

[galvheim]

After having lived in Thailand for some years now, I have come to conclude that allthough this country is represented as being Buddhist, there seems to be a much stronger story being told behind the scenes that are told to be only mythological. But then why is this put so much higher in rank than the buddhist religion? I know this may seem like a strong thing to say, but take a look at the money in your pocket, look at all papers you get from the government, even roadsigns, landpapers and your driver licenses; they are all full of symbolism that do not refer to Buddhism but to some other story about god-like humans, intelligent serpents, giants, flying beings, great wars between them etc. etc.

As I was going to a temple here in Srisaket the other day, I saw again that all the walls depicted stories, not about Buddha, but about these creatures that have great similarities to allmost all mythical stories in the world, ranging from greek mythology, hindu mythology, irish mythology, (american) indians, norse mythology and so on.

Again here is talk about a great war between the to races of gods ending in a cataclysmic event involving a great deluge.

I am very interested in this story, and I would very much like to read it in English, but have still not found anything.

My girlfriends english is far from enough to translate this in a good enough manner, so I am looking for a more accurate translation, since I do not yet read Thai.

So, do anyone know of a book, preferably with pictures like the one shown above, that will take me through this story from beginning to end in English? A short recap would be fine, but the wole detailed thing would be even better.

I just think it is strange since it seems to hold so many similarities to other mythologies, that apparently should not be connected in any way, and also because it seems to be of higher esteem than Buddhism when all is considered. I mean: why is there not a buddha-figure being used as a seal for the government, but a winged, green, giant, half human and half reptile?

[Xangsamhua]

It is interesting. It appears that Theravada Buddhist teachings and mythology are dear to the hearts of the common people, including the monks of course, but the high aristocracy, though defending Buddhism, relates to Brahmanism and the ruling deities of the Hindu pantheon.

This has been especially noted during the Ayutthaya period, when Brahmin clergy were imported from Cambodia to guide the Siamese ruling elites in the arts of government and jurisprudence. Hence we have "rajasap", the Khmer and Sanskrit-based language used for the court, and the fact that Chakri monarchs are all called "Rama" (an avatar of Vishnu). Rama 1 wrote a new version of the Ramakien (Ramayana) that was regarded as the high point in literary production of his reign. Murals depicting the Ramakien/Ramayana are a feature of Wat Phra Kaew, the royal temple, located within the Grand Palace precinct.

Since Ayutthaya, then, the arts and symbolism of the Siamese people have taken on a Hindu form as well as Theravada Buddhist ones, and have probably fused in some cases.

This is my simple, top of the head, explanation, for what it's worth. I'm sure the story is more complex than that, and others in this forum can explain a lot better.

[galvheim]

It is interesting. It appears that Theravada Buddhist teachings and mythology are dear to the hearts of the common people, including the monks of course, but the high aristocracy, though defending Buddhism, relates to Brahmanism and the ruling deities of the Hindu pantheon.

This has been especially noted during the Ayutthaya period, when Brahmin clergy were imported from Cambodia to guide the Siamese ruling elites in the arts of government and jurisprudence. Hence we have "rajasap", the Khmer and Sanskrit-based language used for the court, and the fact that Chakri monarchs are all called "Rama" (an avatar of Vishnu). Rama 1 wrote a new version of the Ramakien (Ramayana) that was regarded as the high point in literary production of his reign. Murals depicting the Ramakien/Ramayana are a feature of Wat Phra Kaew, the royal temple, located within the Grand Palace precinct.

Since Ayutthaya, then, the arts and symbolism of the Siamese people have taken on a Hindu form as well as Theravada Buddhist ones, and have probably fused in some cases.

This is my simple, top of the head, explanation, for what it's worth. I'm sure the story is more complex than that, and others in this forum can explain a lot better.

Very interesting post. This fits perfectly into what I have already suspected. Because this story is so true other places too (Sumeria, Egypt, Scandinavia (Odin), China, India, South-America, Mexico etc.) , nameley that it was the priesthood coming from these god-like creatures (or at least saying so) that very often though the art of civilization, government and control of the masses. These are said to be the survivors of Atlantis and their first progeny of humans who where more godlike than we are. This first version of humans "made in the gods image" was not so keen on serving these gods, since they where also highly intelligent, and therefore took off to another continent of Lemuria, which is where the Khmer think that they originate from. Later they made a new Adam and Eve that was able to reproduce and who where less intelligent than the first race, and therefor made good and fearful servants. Since they are all so similar in their teaching I'm very interested in the esoteric meaning of these and not the exoteric, that is the superficial story projected to the masses. I would expect that story to be slightly supressed since it seems to hold a lot information about the Nagas (serpent race), the original "Gods", the creation of human as we know it today, the wars that where faught between these gods and their first progeny, and the catastrophe and cataclysm that ended this war. But unfortunately I have only found small pieces of information, while the information is right out there in temples but hidden from me by the language barrier.

I also expect that there is a much more lenghty written text about this than what we see accomanying these pictures in temples.

I am very interested in the Khmer roots of this, as they seem to have a even more specific and less stylised story regarding this. But all I have found about this is just some wikipedia stuff that is very superficial. I am very interested in this, baceuase if one takes this a bit serious and are able to interpret the right words with the correct esoteric meaning, a lot interesting information regarding the creation of humanity can be gathered from there. Also for the sake of comparing this with all the worlds other mythologies, would be very interesting with regards to the universal nature of these, once you start to see the very clear similarities between the archetypes, the symbolism, the story oultine. Thus there can be made argument for the older pre-deluvian civilizations being far more advanced and older than the picture science tend to project to us. There are a lot of advocats of these theories that takes these mythologies more literal, and think that there are a universal story being told to us about the origins of mankind that can be a lot better understood in the light of the last hundred years advancement in technology by the human beings. Before that it might as well have been seen as redicilous and only myth-based, but reading it with regards to what we know about physics, aeronautics, astronomy, geology, DNA and so on, we might find a far more interesting story than if one just look at the exoteric meaning of the words and senteced presented therein.

Again, what I really need is a good transaltion of this material, and even more interestingly now, would be the khmer version. Please help!

[galvheim]

I want to add that these Atlateans, or the very first gods that arrived to earth, where highly advanced and that these where the "angry" or "evil" gods that sought out to have a servant race of humans to do their dirty work. Possibly an alian race that came to earth after their home-planet was destroyed. This might seem oulandish at first, but careful reading of many mythologies tell this story too. When asked where they came from , they where always pointing to the sky, but also there is mention of a 10th planet called Tiamat, which comes by many names in other mythologies, that was blown up for some reason not known. This was supposedly a huge watery planet, and the very words Catastrophe, DisAster, might refer to this incident. This was also called the second sun, and thus the Sun was, after that, called the sun - derived from "the lonely one" or "the sole one" / solo.

The Nagas or the serpent race that we hear so much of in almost all mythologies was, as mentioned, their first DNA hybrid between the gods and the early humans, around 50-30'000 years ago. Since they was crossed humans they also had much more sympathy for our race than the original gods. As they had opposed the gods and sought out their own land, they where therby despised and this a very strong theme in so many mythologies in cluding christian, sumerian, the Vishnu books. This where the nephlims or the cainanites, the serpents of the garden Eden and so on. When the gods furious with anger saw this, they set out to make a new race, again mentioned in so many myths. This time they would try their best in their genetic manipulation to make us "naked" og dumbed down enough to love serving them and to fear them, giving offerings and do our duties. This worked well for some time. But then the serpent race (though this might just be their brand of choise) found this to be very troublesome, and they had sympathy for the humans that where now dumbed down to serve them. What they then did is not clear. Maybe it was simply to inform them, or maybe they somhow counter modificated our DNA, to wake up from this serivtude, and smell the real world. This seems to have worked best on the Eves or the females of this race. At least there seems to be strong evidence of this in all the myths, since the gods show a very strong anger against the female and depict her many times in very bad words. This is mentioned in the mythologies by these gods seeking out women that they then had sexual relations thus making offspirng that was more "awake" than the previous generations of the adamic race. This then led to the humans being less suitable as sole servants for these atlanteans and therefore made the "gods" extremely angry. This then led to the extreme wars that we hear so much about in the mythologies, whether its khmer, norse, celtic, druidic, sumerian, indian, native indian. The description of these wars, especially the ones in the indian lore is very vivid and detailed, and one might conclude that this was a thermonuclear war. Just look at passages like this:

This one is from the Norse-Edda Poems, but is still not too direct:

The "Great Winters" of Winds, Sword and Wolf

The second winter is called the winter of the sword.

Those of mankind left alive rob and slay one another

for what is left to feed on. Brother slay brother ,

mighty battles occur in the world.

This passage is from the myths of the Tahoe Indians and seems to depict some kind of battle between two fractions, in which neither side came out from this war due to some huge catastrophe (possibly a physical polar shift). This might also explaing why neither side seems to have triumphed in that great battle, since we see some of the big religions have strong obedience to the atlantean gods like the jews, the muslims and the crisitians (and possibly buddhism) among others.

There was a time when their tribe possessed the whole earth

and were strong & numerous, and rich; but a day came when a people rose up

stronger than they and defeated & enslaved them.

Afterwards the Great Spirit sent an immense wave across the continent from the sea,

and this wave engulfed both the oppressors & the oppressed,

all but a very small remnant.

This one is from persian legends - just to show the universal tone of this:

And ninety days and nights the heavenly angels were contending in the world with the confederate demons of the evil spirit.

(The Bandahis)

Even in Siberia we find these stories, allthough very condesed:

In the beginning was the earth,

but then a great fire arose and raged for seven years

and the earth was burned up. Everything became sea.

All the Tungus were consumed

except a boy and a girl who rose up with an eagle in the sky...

In some Bolivian legends, going back more than 5000 years, we hear about great great extermination of races due to wars between gods, "whose blood is not red like ours"....

Again from the Norse Edda, they seem to contemplating eradicating everything for the sake of ridding themselves of some evil, a theme we also see in the bible in the legend of the Ark and Noah:

The head of Mimir (fountain of all wisdom) counsels Odin to meet on the field of Vigrid, and to wage there such a war that the power of evil would be destroyed forever, even though his own world would be destroyed with him.

Again from the Edda-poems, we find some reason to think there could be a thermonuclear war going on between the two fractions, but still it is very stylized:

Now death is the portion of doomed men,

Red with blood the buildings of gods,

The sun turns black in the summer after

Winds whine...

...Earth sinks in the sea, the sun turns black,

Cast down from Heaven are the hot stars,

Fumes reek, into flames burst,

The sky itself is scorched with fire.

This one is from Celtic-legends; and think about a modern missile when you read this:

He also had a spear, which...he had no need to wield himself,

for it was alive and thirsted for blood...

When battle was near it was drawn out;

then it roared and struggled against its thongs:

fire flashed from it...it tore through and through the ranks of the enemy,

never tiered of slaying

But now, over to the real interesting and colorful writing of these calamities, derived in this example from the Mahabharata sanskirt texts:

His Saubha clung to the sky at a league's length...

He threw at me rockets, missiles, spears, spikes,

battle-axes, three-bladed javelins, flame-throwers, without pausing...

he sky...seemed to hold a hundred suns, a hundred moons...and a hundred myriad stars.

Neither day nor night could be made out, or the points of compass

I the Ramayanas we hear about a very powerful weapon, like a iron thunderbolt, with capacity to kill hundreds of thousands of people in an instant and that ultimately has the capacity to destroy the whole earth. It is also mentioned that this weapon could only be used by royal decree and that it was used in retaliation of thwe other side using it first.... Sounds familiar? This makes very interesting reading.

Still some argue that the translations of these texts have missed out on some of the more fancy descruiptions, but they are still very interesting. This one is from the Mahabharata again and it really seems like a thermonuclear war.

It was as if the elements had been unleashed. The sun spun round.

Scorched by the incandescent heat of the weapon, the world reeled in fever.

Elephants were set on fire by the heat and ran to and fro in a frenzy... water boiled, animals died,

the enemy was mown down and the raging of the blaze made the trees collapse...

Horses and war chariots were burnt up... Thousands of chariots were destroyed,

then deep silence descended on the sea.

The corpses of the fallen were mutilated by the terrible heat so that they no linger looked like human beings.

Never before have we seen such a ghastly weapon and never before have we heard of such a weapon.

And further:

A single projectile, charged with all the power of the universe,

and incandescent column of smoke and fire as bright as 10'000 suns from a shaft fatal as the rod of death.

Endowed with the force of thousand-eyed Indra's thunder. It was as destructive to all living creatures...

Hostile warriors fell to the earth like trees burned down in a raging fire...

a substance like fire has sprung into existence...blistering hills, rivers and trees.

All...are being reduced to ashes...

You cruel and evil ones, drunk with pride, through that iron bolt you shall become exterminators of your race.

More about the effects of this weapon. Also note that thunderbolt is very often the symbol of this weapon, as used both in greek mythology by Zeus and by Thor and also by the gods fighting the Nagas in the picture in my first post above.:

Gurkha flying in his swift and powerful Vimana hurled against the three cities of the Vrishis and Andhakas a single projectile charged with all the power of the Universe.

It was the unknown weapon, the Iron Thunderbold, a gigantic messenger of death which reduces to ashes the entire race of the Vrishnis and Andhakas...

The corpses were so burned as to be unrecognizable. Their hair and nails fell out; pottery broke without apparent cause, and the birds turned white.

After a few hours all foodstuffs were infected... To escape from this fire the soldiers threw themselves in streams to wash themselves and their equipmment.

As recap of a more lengthy text we read that ... This weapon was so feared that "in great distress of mind" the king had the bolt reduced to fine powder and thrown in the sea. Even with these precautions, people hair and fingernails fell out overnight, birds turned white and their legs became scarlet and blistered, and food went bad...

Oppenheimer who was a well known theoritical physicist and supervising scientist during the manhattan project, and who had good knowledge of old sanskrit litterature gave a somewhat mysterious (but maybe qualified) answer to a somewhat mysterious question during a lecture at the Rochester University.

Student: Was the bomb exploded at Alamogordo during the Manhattan Project the first one to be detonated?

Dr. Oppenheimer: Well, yes, in modern times, of course.

He also wrote about himself in a kind of sanskrit style these words:

If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky,

that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...

I am become Death,

the Shatterer of Worlds.

In his late years, in the book "The Nazi Rocketers, Dreams of space and crimes of war", Prof. Herman Oberth (Father of German Rocket Science, and space-travel-theoretics) writes the folllowing:

We cannot take credit for our record advancement in certain scientific fields alone...We have been helped...by peoples of other worlds.

So as you might very well understand by now, I am intersted in any sources that can shed som e light on these matters, as I find it very intersting. So again I would very much appreciate if someone could point my way in the right dirction to the litterature of these legends, as they still seems to play a strong role here in Thailand. Why is there so very few paying attention to all this when it is really everywhere in temples, and in the society of the Thais? The serpent-symbol and other very old symbols are around us in everyday life even in the west, and one you become literate into what they are, you will see them everywhere around you, and can not stop to ponder about their origins and why they are given such importance above the supposed religions that rule in those countries.

A picture from the tenple of Abydos in Egypt depicting som strange and familiar things.

Helicopter, Cruise Missile, Space-crafte, and glider/drone aricraft.

The winged disks are a all-universal motif and this one is from Sumerian stone-reliefs.

One way that time to explain or depict this thing was to put wings on it to stress that it could fly.

We also see that it is clearly elevated in the sky, and that the winged disk contain some enteties

sitting inside it.

[LazyYogi]

I think you suffer from trying to piece together something coherent out of many nonsense theories. I very much believe that certain nagas, devas, and other unseen beings "exist" (though lacking self nature). But you lost me with all the unnecessary DNA swapping. The devis and naginis are so out-of-this-world hot that no deva or naga in his right mind would waste time pursuing a human partner.

But, anyways, Thai and Khmer mythology is all taken from India. So why not just go straight to the source?

Edited July 22, 2010 by LazyYogi

[galvheim]

I think you suffer from trying to piece together something coherent out of many nonsense theories. I very much believe that certain nagas, devas, and other unseen beings "exist" (though lacking self nature). But you lost me with all the unnecessary DNA swapping. The devis and naginis are so out-of-this-world hot that no deva or naga in his right mind would waste time pursuing a human partner.

But, anyways, Thai and Khmer mythology is all taken from India. So why not just go straight to the source?

Well, I can see exactly what you are pointing at here, and in fact it doesnt perfectly add up in my brain too. But from just reading trough the Popol Vhu, the legends from Maya culture of how man and gods came to be, it is again striking me that I again see a woman approaching forbidden fruits in a tree and get accused of being a whore by her fellow gods by bearing forth a new kind of beings, by receiving a DNA-sample in the form of saliva from one of the gods that where unwanted and thus sacrificed. Again a virgin conception that we are so familiar with trough the legends. In the same time she also advised the creatures the was suppost to kill her, to abort their adoration for the gods and follow her path, by enlighten them into the fact that they served a class of rulers thet not necessarely had good intentions. They did so and spared her life by fooling the gods.

Anyway, this again raise questions as to why we see this theme over and over agian in the diffrent myths. Its very plain and simple. From my point of view the esoteric meaning of much of this can simply not be explained by other means, since we again and again see the deminishing of the female in all myths after she receive some kind of wisdom or do bare offspring with some race that the gods themselves dispice. This has to raise some questions in all minds that look at many of creation myths. They can differ in many ways but when you boil it down they seem to hold the same stories over and over again throughout the world. No scientific explanation is given to this fact, since the early humans was both unadvanced, not skilled in travelling the world, and also because we supposedly had several ice-ages that did not allow such travelling in the northern hemisphere.

Me and you are of different experience through reading these text. I have no problem reading these as beings with a physical appearance.

I think the Nagas (lets call it that in this context), sought out to free the humans. The Nagas was intelligent enough to know that what the gods had done to the humans was both selfish and a great sin. They where also the offspring of the same experiments if my hypothesis is correct, so they might not at all favour the gods as they wanted. We read again and again about the gods wanting to make a race serving them. Looking into the mayan mythology this is very clear. As they write there, the animals they made did not have a language or intelligence enough to serve praise these gode, so they where then condemned to live their life as both secrifice and as potential food for the coming humans. This is not very fair, in my opinion since the gods themselves made these creatures, but also they show clearly what their goal was, nemeley to create a being that was capeable of serving them and to praise them as the overlords in the world.

Again we see this over and over again in virtaully all mythologies. There are many ways to read this, but again I not see how one could dismiss the ideas of this easily, just because one has a picture of how the Nagas was supposed to behave.

I suppose you are correct about the origins of the Nagas, since they share similar names and so forth in the myths in Thailand and India. The main-reason I want to get a translation of this Thai-version, or the Khmer version, is that many of these differ in many specific ways as to what details they will expose. Some of the myths, especialy from America was deliberately burned by the spanish when they arrived there. This was a great loss, and many thousands of scrips regardings such things where lost forever. Therefore I am very interested to see how much or less is included in the Thai-version. From looking at the pictures and also looking at the symbolism they seem to contain quite a lot more specifics of the Nagas and the Yaks then I can find in India.

From my hypothesis one also has to take into consideration that the religions created by the victorious side, whether it is the god or the Nagas, will tend to deminish the oposition. If the Gods prevailed in India, I would expect to see less of the Nagas, and if the Nagas escaped to Cambodia, one might expect to see a much more clear picture of their side of the story. This is a rough picture I am drawing just to illustrate this, but the fact is that these diffrent fractions have fought and lost several small battles troughout the world up to our times, and therefore religions have changed and been perfected into what they are today. All the great religions of today has been heavily modified and perfected from their early day until now, and one could only try to imagine why something that should be more true in its original form is said to be more true in later versions...?

Me and you are of different experience through reading these text. I have no problem reading these as beings with a physical appearance, and not lacking self-nature. And why do you say that the other mythologies are nonsence when they often just are condenced or diffrerent stories of the same things that you find in your litterature. I have never gone to the gurus of any religions and asked what they think could be the meaning of the scriptures we find. I have alsways read them as they have been delivered to us from thousands of years ago, and thus not been contaminated by other peoples interpretations. I have no reason whatsoever to take one religion any more seriously than another. Especially after I started to understand that they pretty much told the same story, using different names, backdrops, stories and so on, still the archetypes persists, and if you can point out any particular bit that you think is unique for the stories you are told, then please let me know and I will find another that says virtually the exact same thing.

This is pattern recognition on a level that I don't think many will understand. But if you where open enough to read several mythologies, and especailly the mythologies regarding the early days of man and gods, how evil came to us, the godly wars, the deluge, and so on, you would see a lot of patterns appearing. The only problem is that many of these mythologies seems to have distorted chronological order to a great extent, and this might lead to people refering to them as utter nonsence. Also names, places and archetypes are heavily distorted as to what their original esoteric meanings might be. Once you start to see some of the names as personal traits, some names as astronomical bodies, some names as titles of a kind, and some names as particular races they may give whole new meaning to the reader, since this is the true story that they try to project to the mystics that studies these things.

I will at last add this as I find it very true in so many cases when it comes to people who takes religion literally and the ones who seek to find the true story bheind the allegories that are told.

There are, however, but few mature minds in the world; and thus it was that the philosophic-religious doctrines of the pagans were divided to meet the needs of these two fundamental groups of human intellect--one philosophic, the other incapable of appreciating the deeper mysteries of life. To the discerning few were revealed the esoteric, or spiritual, teachings, while the unqualified many received only the literal, or exoteric, interpretations. In order to make simple the great truths of Nature and the abstract principles of natural law, the vital forces of the universe were personified, becoming the gods and goddesses of the ancient mythologies. While the ignorant multitudes brought their offerings to the altars of Priapus and Pan (deities representing the procreative energies), the wise recognized in these marble statues only symbolic concretions of great abstract truths.

In your case you seem to take on a false esoteric meaing of the Nagas, that may well be open to more direct interpretations since the scriptures never seems to say ecplicit that these are fictional beings or beings that are of non-nature.

[Xangsamhua]

I will at last add this as I find it very true in so many cases when it comes to people who takes religion literally and the ones who seek to find the true story bheind the allegories that are told.

There are, however, but few mature minds in the world; and thus it was that the philosophic-religious doctrines of the pagans were divided to meet the needs of these two fundamental groups of human intellect--one philosophic, the other incapable of appreciating the deeper mysteries of life. To the discerning few were revealed the esoteric, or spiritual, teachings, while the unqualified many received only the literal, or exoteric, interpretations. In order to make simple the great truths of Nature and the abstract principles of natural law, the vital forces of the universe were personified, becoming the gods and goddesses of the ancient mythologies. While the ignorant multitudes brought their offerings to the altars of Priapus and Pan (deities representing the procreative energies), the wise recognized in these marble statues only symbolic concretions of great abstract truths.

Galvheim, what is the source of this quote?

[LazyYogi]

I suppose you are correct about the origins of the Nagas, since they share similar names and so forth in the myths in Thailand and India.

...

From my hypothesis one also has to take into consideration that the religions created by the victorious side, whether it is the god or the Nagas, will tend to deminish the oposition. If the Gods prevailed in India, I would expect to see less of the Nagas, and if the Nagas escaped to Cambodia, one might expect to see a much more clear picture of their side of the story.

Naga worship is all over the place in India. Furthermore, the nagas and devas hardly clash at all. The nagas are much more local deities. They inhabit a particular river or lake. They are spread throughout the world. No need to say they came from India, or they fled to Cambodia. Wherever there is water, beings who have the karmic disposition will take birth as nagas. The stories of the nagas came from India, but not the actual beings necessarily. Which brings me to...

Me and you are of different experience through reading these text. I have no problem reading these as beings with a physical appearance, and not lacking self-nature. And why do you say that the other mythologies are nonsence when they often just are condenced or diffrerent stories of the same things that you find in your litterature.

You misunderstand me. The nagas, devas, yakshas, pretas, hel_l-beings, asuras, and gandharvas all have some type of physical body. That is rupa, the form aggregate. But what we consider to be "beings" are just the 5 aggregates: form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness. There is no "self" to be found inside or outside of these five aggregates. This is the teaching of the Buddha. This applies to me and you, and every other human, animal, naga, deva, and sentient being of any type.

Also, I didn't actually mean that the mythologies of the various ancient cultures of the world were nonsense. I was referring more to the various stories of DNA hybrids, lost continents, lost planets, alien races, etc. that seem to have just originated in the imagination of Madam Blavatsky.

[galvheim]

Galvheim, what is the source of this quote?

http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/index.htm

The huge book is called "The Secret Teachings of All Ages" by Manly P. Hall.

For once, a book which really lives up to its title. Hall self-published this massive tome in 1928, consisting of about 200 legal-sized pages in 8 point type; it is literally his magnum opus. Each of the nearly 50 chapters is so dense with information that it is the equivalent of an entire short book. If you read this book in its entirety you will be in a good position to dive into subjects such as the Qabbala, Alchemy, Tarot, Ceremonial Magic, Neo-Platonic Philosophy, Mystery Religions, and the theory of Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry. Although there are some questionable and controversial parts of the book, such as the outdated material on Islam, the portion on the Bacon-Shakespeare hypothesis, and Hall's conspiracy theory of history as driven by an elite cabal of roving immortals, they are far out-weighed by the comprehensive information here on other subjects.

[Xangsamhua]

Galvheim, what is the source of this quote?

http://www.sacred-te...o/sta/index.htm

The huge book is called "The Secret Teachings of All Ages" by Manly P. Hall.

For once, a book which really lives up to its title. Hall self-published this massive tome in 1928, consisting of about 200 legal-sized pages in 8 point type; it is literally his magnum opus. Each of the nearly 50 chapters is so dense with information that it is the equivalent of an entire short book. If you read this book in its entirety you will be in a good position to dive into subjects such as the Qabbala, Alchemy, Tarot, Ceremonial Magic, Neo-Platonic Philosophy, Mystery Religions, and the theory of Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry. Although there are some questionable and controversial parts of the book, such as the outdated material on Islam, the portion on the Bacon-Shakespeare hypothesis, and Hall's conspiracy theory of history as driven by an elite cabal of roving immortals, they are far out-weighed by the comprehensive information here on other subjects.

Thank you.

[fabianfred]

What is the source for the quotes about sanskrit and weapons of mass destruction and vimanas?

I remember my father had a book called 'Flying Saucers have landed' by george Adamski and Desmond Leslie which had a lot about the saucers in ancient sanskrit writings. The vimanas were similar to flying saucers.

Lost continents like Atlantis and Lemuria did exist. If the great Library of Alexandria had not been plundered and destroyed we might have had much more knowledge of them and their technology....but then we might have used this knowledge to destroy ourselves before now.

Edgar Cayce gave past life reading which often showed his subjects having been born in the Altantean age, and he said that many are being born now, in a time of similar high technology.

High technology often seems to be accompanied by low morals, so we do not get to enjoy the benefits for long before we use them wrongly and destroy ourselves.

Edited July 24, 2010 by fabianfred

[LazyYogi]

Well, I don't know about all that. But the real lost continent, the one we have real geographical evidence of, and the one more relevant to Thailand and Cambodia is Sundaland. During the last glacial maximum period, the sea level was about 120 meters lower. And so, there was a vast sub-continent, larger than India, that connected Thailand with Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali. It started to disappear under the ocean sometime around 10,000 years ago as the continental glaciers that covered huge chunks of North America and Eurasia began to melt.

[phetaroi]

...

Lost continents like Atlantis and Lemuria did exist...

First, there is little evidence from generally respected publications to support that Atlantis or Lemuria actually existed. While it is obviously not the final word, my favorite quick reference -- Wikipedia -- notes that in regard to Lemuria: "Although sunken continents do exist — like Zealandia in the Pacific and the Kerguelen Plateau in the Indian Ocean — there is no known geological formation under the Indian or Pacific Oceans that corresponds to the hypothetical Lemuria". And in regard to Atlantis, most respected sources will refer to it with terms such as "legendary" and "science fiction".

I'm also not clear on what you see as the connection between Dhamma and fictional (and generally discredited) continents. Could you expand?