Amazing tales emanated from Tibet. There were strange stories from
this land which was ruled by the Priest-hood and whose Priests had
strange powers. There were some Westerners who decided to go sneaking
through this country to see what was really going on. It is to these
extremely hardy and dedicated individuals that we owe our
descriptions of Tibet before the Communist Chinese came and enslaved
that nation, and destroyed its priest-hood.
One of these travellers was a German, Theodore Illion. Illion tackled
the task of sneaking through Tibet with typical Germanic
thoroughness. In 1932 he began planning his trip. He left Germany in
1934 and returned in 1936 whereupon he wrote his Ratfelhaftes Tibet.
Illion could speak Tibetan fluently. He intended travelling in
disguise. He planned to dress and behave like a Tibetan. He was to
find that the ignorance of the common people was great and this
helped him considerably in pulling this stunt off. The Lamas were
however cleverer, and he did not fool them as easily. In their
presence he would pretend to be deaf and dumb. Once in Tibet he was
sometimes found out. But he was also fortunate enough to make friends
with some of the Lamas who saw no harm in assisting him even though
this was forbidden.
Since Tibet is a mountainous desert there was little point in taking
beasts of burden with him. Sometimes one could travel hundreds of
miles without seeing a single blade of grass. So Illion began
practising the normal mode of travel in Tibet - walking. He began
walking long distances. Then he began spending freezing nights in
northern Scandinavia at many degrees below zero.'
Illion's experiences in Tibet led him to believe that the Tibetans
over-exaggerated when they spoke of an Underground City. Illion
believed that he had indeed discovered the Underground City. In his
introduction to Darkness over Tibet, Illion writes: "The existence of
an Underground City in Tibet is occasionally hinted at by well-
informed people in the forbidden country, although the stories are
often extravagant and turn the Underground City, which I succeeded in
entering, into a `Mighty Underground Empire inhabited by millions of
people"' (emphasis added).
"Tibet becomes somewhat more accessible as the years roll by, and I
am confident that eventually explorers will confirm my description of
the Underground City of Tibet."
Tibet did not become more open, instead, the Tibet of that time with
its religious culture disappeared altogether. Saddest of all was the
deliberate Chinese destruction of this strange religious order which
fascinated so many and which had kept Tibet at peace for centuries.
The brutal Chinese suppression of religion in that country is one of
the darker events of this century. I also can't help but wonder what
happened to Mr Illion during World War II for one never hears of him
again.
Illion therefore does not place any credence in the existence of an
Underground Empire which has millions of inhabitants. But it does
nevertheless demonstrate that back in the 1930'' there was talk among
the "well-informed" of Tibet about the existence of a vast
Underground Empire "inhabited by millions."
Illion's City of Initiates, as he preferred to call it, was really
nothing special. He does not mention its exact location but does
mention passing through one of the sidevalleys of the Sangpo Valley
on his way there. He says it was located 20 miles from the nearest
village. It was located at a place where the valley widened to
approximately 400 yards across.
It can be likened to a sub-surface apartment building. It consisted
of seven underground buildings arranged in a circle around a central
hole - like a bore-hole. At the top of each building was a staircase
which went down into it. And at the top were thick sheets of glass
through which sun-light streamed. The rectangular patches at the top
measured 40 yards x 40 yards. The buildings could easily be
camouflaged if necessary. The railings and entrances could be hidden
and sand could be strewn across the top of the glass.
While waiting to be received into the city, Illion investigated the
central shaft. There was a wall around it, and he formed the
impression that the shaft was extremely deep. He then took a 10 pound
stone and threw it down to ascertain the hole's depth. But he never
heard the sound of it hitting the bottom. He then threw a 20 pound
stone down the shaft and listened carefully. After 35-40 seconds he
heard the sound of it scraping down the one side of the shaft but he
never heard it strike the bottom. He was getting ready to throw a 30
pound stone down the shaft when a messenger bade him to please stop!
Illion lived in the city for quite a while. During this time he
realised that several hundred people lived here. Life was very
regulated and rigid. This city, although composed of Tibetans, does
not seem to be in any way linked to the Tibetan Buddhist order or to
the Government of that country. It seems to have been a strange
religious cult which was extremely dangerous. At one point Illion
feared for his life and that was when he made his successful attempt
at escaping.
The buildings were several stories deep. How such a thing could have
been carved out of rock is a puzzle. Perhaps it is of ancient origin?
The strangest part of the complex was without a doubt the central
shaft. Its incredible depth was a mystery. At one point Illion
mentioned to his rich Tibetan friend, Narbu, that the shaft was very
deep. Narbu replied "It is immeasurably deep, but no one except the
Prince of Light and a few of the highest Initiates ... know where it
leads to. Anyone who would find out where it leads to and what it is
used for would have to die... There are such secrets." The "Prince of
Light" was the cult's leader, and Illion came to dislike him greatly.
Illion could offer no further insight or guesses as to the function
of this shaft.
I should emphasise that there was no talk of this "city" being linked
to Agharta. Illion believed that this was Agharta even though the
Tibetans themselves never claimed that. Narbu had referred to this as
the "City of Initiates." The "Prince of Light" never claimed to be
the "King of the World." It is Illion who came to his own conclusion
that perhaps this was Agharta.
Illion decided to flee when he accidentally stumbled into
the "kitchen" and saw them cutting bits of flesh off a corpse and
cooking it. He had seen many human skeletal remains and had come to
suspect that there was cannibalism going on there. When he saw the
corpse being cut up he decided it was time to leave with the greatest
of haste. It should be pointed out that Tibetan Buddhists do not eat
meat, and this cannibalism is definitely an aberration by their
standards. The cult derived its power and finances from a number of
rich Tibetans who were caught up in it.
Illion's tale is the only one of its kind. His writing is very
rational as he discusses many aspects of Tibetan life and as he makes
his own observations of them. He seems to be level-headed and had not
expected to stumble upon this strange cult. Illion's discovery has
never been verified because of the changes which have taken place in
Tibet since then.'
The tale of the extremely deep shaft is quite curious by itself.
There have long been rumours of deep tunnels in Tibet which led to
the Inner Earth. But whether this is in fact one of them is an open
question.
It is Illion's confirmation that there really was talk of a vast
Underground Empire of millions of inhabitants which is of interest to
us. This talk had enough substance for Illion to believe it was a
physical place.
From Pages 385 - 386 of Jan Lamprecht's book, Hollow Planets
Related thread: Roerich told the Lama tales ... — Follows the December 2017 'Roerich told the Lama tales ...' post