In the first decades of the 20th century, two very different texts were published in Europe, which shared a unique and curious history.
The French esotericist Alexandre Saint-Yves, Marquess d’ Alveydre, in his book “Mission de l’Inde en Europe, mission de l’Europe en Asie: la question du Mahatma et sa solution”, Dorbon Editions 1910), which was published after his death in 1910, records a travelogue full of initiatory narrative stereotypes, in which he recounts that he came into contact with an enlightened underground kingdom, a mysterious Initiatory Center called “Agartha”. In this book, incredible and mythical things are described.
About ten years after the “Mission de l’Indie”, another travelogue by the fierce anti-communist, polymath Polish chemist, geographer, hydrologist, secret agent and warrior, Ferdinand Antoni Ossendowski, was published, entitled “Beasts, Men and Gods”, first in English! (“Beasts, Men and Gods”, 1922), then a year later in Polish (“Zwierzęta, ludzie, bogowie”) and then in the rest of Europe. This travelogue speaks of a peculiar Journey, an exodus of Initiation. Here, in the last pages of his text, Ossendowski tells – not as an eyewitness but having heard from a local – the story of an underground kingdom called “Aggarth”.
Admittedly, Ferdinand Ossedowski is one of the few authors who have dealt with and also reported some detailed information about contacts with this “unknown” world, which is ruled by the “King of the World”, the mysterious lord of the earth. In the tent of the legendary warlord – General of the Whites during the Russian Civil War, Baron Nikolai Robert Maximilian Freiherr Ungern von Sternberg, the exterminator of the Bolsheviks, (Nikolai Robert Maximilian Freiherr Ungern von Sternberg) he manifested a prophecy according to which: “…an unknown curse will spread throughout the world, will sweep away all civilizations, will annihilate all morality and ultimately will destroy the peoples, resulting in the cessation of progress and the blocking of the path to the divine. But after this a very strong and determined leader will appear, more powerful than Genghis Khan and Ogadai Khan, who will also be more benevolent, more skillful and more merciful than Sultan Baber (better known as Baibars “Zahir ad-Din Muhammad” – “Defender of the Faith”, first Emperor of the Mongol Empire of India)…. he will hold power in his hands until that happy day when the “King of the World” will emerge from his subterranean abode.
Ossedovsky also reports the following: “In the palace of Bogda Khan (“Holy Governor”), in Urga (now Ulaanbaatar), a Lama showed him, covered with a precious carpet, a special chest in which were kept the seals of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, the decrees of the Chinese and Russian Emperors and the Agreements between Russia, China. Mongolia and Tibet. There was also a bronze plaque, bearing the mystical emblem of the King of the World and the narrative of the last vision of the “Living Buddha….”
According to Ossedovsky’s description, this subterranean world is inhabited by a people who have reached the highest possible knowledge and is now a kingdom of millions of subjects, over whom reigns the “King of the World”, who knows all the forces of nature, reads all human souls and the great book of destiny, which of course is invisible to the common man. And these subjects of the great ruler, more than 800 million, willingly carry out all his orders. So this kingdom is Agarthi or Agartha …
On the other hand, d’Alveydre confides in us the following in his book “Mission of India to Europe” (page 27) “On the surface and within the bowels of the earth, the real extent of Agartha defies the encroachment and pressure of violence and desecration. Without speaking of America, whose unknown subsoil belongs to a remote Antiquity, in Asia alone, about half a billion people are generally aware of its existence and size.”
According to tradition, Agartha was not always underground and will not always remain so. There will come a time when, according to Ossedowski, “the peoples of Agartha will emerge from their caves and manifest themselves on the surface of the earth.” It is also important to emphasize that the word Agartha means “inaccessible” and “inviolable”.
Jean Marquès-Rivière (1903–2000), orientalist and member of the Asiatic Society, confirms – as does René Guenon in his work “The King of the World” – the real existence of Agartha, which he “places” in a secret area: in Napamako. This forbidden area is located in the heart of the Himalayas (Tibet), because tradition says that “The Brahmaputra, the sacred river, surrounds it to protect it”.
Inspired by the above references, the great Rene Guenon wrote “The King of the World”, a short philosophical essay, in which the French esotericist demonstrates that one should not be surprised by the similarities between the two above narratives and urges to examine them in the light of the world’s mythical and religious tradition. In this text, Guenon dissects the mythical sources of the legendary Agartha and demonstrates that the narratives of Saint – Yves D’ Alveydre and Ferdinand Ossendowski have their roots in very primitive and extremely profound symbols, which are repeated in all traditions.
[The Frenchman René Jean Marie Joseph Guénon (1886-1951) or after his conversion to Islam Sheikh Abdul-Wahid Yahya, was a prominent orientalist scholar, philosopher and scholar of Hermeticism, Eastern and traditional religions. He profoundly influenced the fields of “Metaphysics”, “sacred science”, symbolism and initiation, while his thought greatly influenced Islam, becoming one of the most important contemporary scholars of Sufism. The Great Teacher of the Tradition was born in 1886, in the city of Blois in central-western France, and died in 1951, in Cairo, Egypt.]
On January 7 of the (now guaranteed) new year 2025, the twenty-fourth anniversary of his departure, of his transition to the afterlife, will come. Just after the Christmas break, it is of great importance to study the fourth chapter of the book of the enlightened lord of Blois, “The King of the World,” where the three supreme functions of the Supreme Leader of Agartha and his two assistants are explained, which we subsequently find in the symbolism of the three Magi of the Christian tradition. This explanation and the consequent deeper knowledge of the components of the Faith, allows us to correctly interpret the also imminent Christian anniversary of the Theophany, the Epiphany – Hierophany, that is, the apocalyptic divine appearance, at the baptism of the Lord, which is celebrated on January 6, by the Greek Orthodox and Catholic Churches and on January 19 by the other Eastern Orthodox churches and our fellow “Old Calendarists”, who follow the Julian calendar. When studying this particular chapter of the book in question, it is recommended to pay special attention (as is usually required with Guenon) to the author’s notes, which always provide further ideas, as important as those of the main text.
“According to Saint-Yves #0, the supreme leader of Agartha bears the title of Brahâtmâ (it would be more correct to write Brahmâtmâ – STRONG-Souled), “supporter of souls in the Spirit of God”. His two assistants are the Mahatmâ, (MIGHTY-Souled) “Representative of the universal soul” and the Mahânga, (BIG-BODYED) “symbol of the whole material organization of the Cosmos” [1]. They constitute the hierarchical division, constituted in Western terms by the triptych “Spirit, Soul, Body”, which can be applied here within the constituent proportional framework of the Macrocosm and the Microcosm.
“The name Melchizedek, or more precisely “Melki-Tsedek”, is in reality nothing other than the name by which the very function of the “King of the World” is expressly defined in the Judeo-Christian tradition” (René Guenon)
Here it is important to note that these terms, in Sanskrit, properly define principles and cannot be applied to human beings, except as representatives of these same principles, so that, even in this case, they are essentially connected with functions and not with their individuals. According to Ossendowski, the Mahâtmâ “knows the events of the future” and the Mahânga “directs the causes of these events”. As for Brahâtmâ, he can “speak to God face to face” [2] and it is easy to understand what this means, remembering that he occupies the central point at which the direct communication of the earthly world with the higher states and, through them, with the supreme Principle is established. [3] Moreover, if the expression “King of the World” were intended to be understood in a narrow sense and exclusively in relation to the earthly world, it would be very inadequate. In some respects, it would be much more accurate to attribute to Brahâtmâ the title of “Lord of the Three Worlds” [4] because, in every true hierarchy, he who possesses the highest degree possesses simultaneously and for the same reason, all the existing qualifications, and these “three worlds” (which constitute the “Tribhuvana” – “Triple Cosmos” of the Hindu tradition), [“Svarga” – heaven, abode of light, “Bhumi” or “Martya” – earth, plane of mortals and “Patala” – underworld, Hades] are, as we will explain later, the kingdoms corresponding to the three functions we have just enumerated. “When he leaves the Temple,” says Ossedowski, “the King of the World radiates with divine Light.”
The Hebrew Bible says exactly the same about Moses when he descended from Sinai [5] and, in connection with this comparison, it should be noted that Islamic tradition considers Moses to be the “Pole” (Arabic: El-Qutb) #1 of his time. Isn’t this why, as the Kabbalah says, he was taught by Metatron himself #2?
It would also be appropriate to distinguish between the supreme spiritual center of our world and the secondary centers that can be subordinated to it and that represent it only in relation to specific traditions, specially adapted to certain peoples.
Without dwelling on this point, we simply point out that the function of “lawgiver” (in Arabic rasûl), which is specific to Moses, necessarily presupposes a delegation of power which the name of Manu indicates and, on the other hand, one of the concepts inherent in the name of Manu and which indicates the reflection of the divine Light.
“The King of the World,” a lama told Ossedovsky, “has to do with the thoughts of all those who direct the destiny of humanity… He knows their intentions and ideas. If they please God, the King of the World will favor them with his invisible help. If they displease God, the King will cause their failure. Such is the power given to Agarthi through the mysterious science of Om, the word with which we begin all our prayers.” Immediately follows a phrase that undoubtedly leaves astonished those who have even the vaguest idea of the meaning of the sacred monosyllable Om: “Om is the name of an ancient saint, the first Goro [Ossedowski writes “Goro” instead of “Guru”], who lived three hundred thousand years ago.” This proposition, in fact, is quite incomprehensible unless we take into account the fact that the age in question (which seems to us to be indicated in a very vague manner) is much earlier than the age of the present Manu. On the other hand, the Adi-Manu or first Manu of our Kalpa (in which Vaivaswata is the seventh) is called Swâyambhuva, i.e. “coming from Swayambhû” – “He who subsists in himself”, or the eternal Logos. Now the Logos, or whoever immediately represents him, may indeed be described as the first of the Gurus or “spiritual Teachers” and in fact Om is a name of the Logos [6].
On the other hand, the word Om immediately provides the key to the hierarchical distribution of functions between Brahâtmâ and his two associates, as we have previously shown. In fact, according to Hindu tradition, the three elements of this sacred monosyllable symbolize respectively the “three worlds” mentioned earlier, that is, the three terms of Tribhuvana: Earth (Bhû), Atmosphere (Bhuvas), Sky (Swar), that is, in other words, the world of physical manifestation, the world of subtle or psychic manifestation, and the unmanifested Lord world [7].
These are, from bottom to top, the kingdoms of Mahânga, Mahâtmâ, and Brahâtmâ, as will be seen from the reference to the interpretation of their titles given earlier. The relations of subordination that exist between the different kingdoms justify for Brahâtmâ the title of “Lord of the Three Worlds” that we have already used [8]: “He is the Lord of all, the omniscient (who sees immediately all effects in their cause), the internal dispositor (who dwells in the center of the world and governs it from within, directing its movement without participating in it), the source (of all legitimate authority), the origin and end of all beings (the cyclical manifestation of which law represents)” [9].
Using another symbolism, equally accurate, we will say that Mahânga represents the base of the original triangle and Brahâtmâ its apex. Between the two, the Mahatma, in a sense, embodies a mediating principle (the cosmic vitality, the “Anima Mundi” – “Soul of the World” – of the Hermetists), whose action takes place in the “intermediate space”. And all this is illustrated very clearly by the corresponding characters of the sacred alphabet which Saint-Yves calls vattan #3 and Ossedowski vatannan, or, similarly, by the geometric figures (straight line, spiral, point) to which the three mâtrâ, or constituent elements of the monosyllable Om, essentially refer.
Let us explain with even greater clarity: To Brahâtmâ belongs the fullness of the two powers, priestly and royal, considered in principle and in a certain sense in an undifferentiated state. Then, in order to manifest themselves, the two powers are distinguished, the Mahatma therefore representing in particular the priestly power and the Mahanga the royal power. This distinction corresponds to that of the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas. However, being “beyond castes”, like the Brahâtmâ, the Mahatma and the Mahanga have in themselves, at the same time, a priestly and royal character.
“The Adoration of the Magi”, a fresco by the great Florentine painter Giotto di Bondone, part of the cycle of the Scrovegni Family Chapel or Arena Chapel in Padua. The works of the cycle (created between 1303-1305), were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 2021, and are considered great masterpieces of European art. (They present a clear departure from the conventions of Byzantine painting, a wonderful perspective highlighting of space, a “narrative” representation, as well as eloquent movements and expressions of the figures, who are now real people and not conventional figures.)
From this point of view, we will clarify a point that perhaps has not yet been satisfactorily explained and yet is very important: We referred earlier to the “Three Magi” of the Gospel, saying that they unite within themselves the two powers. Now we will say that these mysterious characters, in reality, represent nothing other than the three leaders of Agartha [10]. Mahanga offers Christ gold and greets him as “King”. Mahatma offers him incense – frankincense and greets him as “Priest”. Finally, the Brahâtmâ offers him myrrh (i.e. the balm of incorruption, an image of Amrîtâ) [11] and greets him as “Prophet” or as the spiritual Teacher par excellence. The homage paid to the emerging Christ by the authentic representatives of the archetypal tradition in the three worlds, which are also their respective kingdoms, please note, is at the same time the promise of the perfect orthodoxy of Christianity vis-à-vis tradition.
Of course, Ossedowski could not have thought in terms of this order. But, if he had understood certain things more deeply than he did, he could at least have noted the strict analogy that exists between the supreme triad of Agartha and that of Lamaism, as he himself describes it: The Dalai Lama, “who comprehends the holiness (or pure spirituality) of the Buddha”, the Tashi Lama, [or Panchen Lama (“Great Sage”), abbot of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery] “who realizes his science” (not “magical”, but rather “theurgic”) and the Bogdo Khan, “who represents material and martial power”, with precisely the same distribution, in accordance with the “three worlds”. This observation could have been made very easily, since it had been pointed out to him that “the capital of Agarthi resembles Lhasa where the palace of the Dalai Lama, the Potala, is situated on the top of a mountain covered with temples and monasteries”.
Moreover, this way of presenting things is wrong, as it reverses the relations: in fact, the image can be said to recall its original, but not the reverse. Now, the center of Lamaism can only be an image of the true “Center of the World”. But, as regards the places in which they are located, all centres of this kind present certain common topographical peculiarities, which, far from being irrelevant, have an indisputable symbolic value and, moreover, must be related to the laws according to which the “spiritual influences” are realized. But this question concerns specifically that traditional science which may be called “sacred geography.”
There is then another agreement no less remarkable: Saint-Hippolyte, describing the different degrees or circles of the initiatory hierarchy related to certain symbolic numbers, which refer particularly to the divisions of time, concludes by saying that: “the highest circle and closest to the mysterious center is composed of twelve members, which represent the supreme initiation and correspond, among other things, to the zodiacal zone.” This structure is reproduced in the so-called “circular council” of the Dalai Lama, composed of the twelve great Namshans (or Nome-khan) and can also be found in certain Western traditions, especially those concerning the “Knights of the Round Table.”
We will also add that the twelve members of the inner circle of Agartha, from the point of view of the cosmic order, represent not only the twelve signs of the Zodiacal circle, but also (and although both interpretations are not exclusive, we are tempted to say that they are “probably” exclusive), the twelve Adityas, who are all forms of the Sun, in relation to these same signs [12]: And certainly, as Manu Vaivaswata is called “son of the Sun,” so the “King of the World” has among his emblems the Sun [13].
The first conclusion that emerges from all this is that there are indeed very close links between the descriptions, which, in all countries, refer to more or less hidden spiritual centers or at least to those having difficult access. The only plausible explanation of this fact, it seems, is that if these descriptions refer to different centers, it is that these, for example, are nothing other than one, single and supreme center, just as all specific traditions are basically only adaptations of the great primary tradition.
NOTES
[1] Ossedowski writes Brahytma, Mahytma, Maynga.
[2] We saw before that Metatron is the “Angel of the Face.”
[3] According to the Far Eastern tradition, the “Unchangeable Mean” is the point where the “Activity of Heaven” is manifested.
[4] Those who admire such an expression should ask themselves if they have ever thought about what the “Triregnum” means, the Tiara of the three crowns, which, together with the clavicles, is one of the main symbols of the Papacy.
“Marian” monogram (with the Virgin’s greeting “Hail Mary” – “Ave Maria”) and Christic symbol (“Alpha – Omega”), which can also be analyzed into AUM, “that is, into the Latin letters which correspond exactly to the three constituent elements of the monosyllable Om”.
[5] It is also said that Moses had to cover his face with a veil, so that he could speak to the people, who could not bear his brilliance (Exodus, XXIV, 29-35). #4 In a symbolic sense, this demonstrates the need for external adaptation for the multitude. In this regard, let us recall the double meaning of the word “reveal”, which can mean both “to spread the veil” and “to cover with a veil”. Thus the word both manifests and conceals the thought it expresses.
[6] This name is also found, in a rather surprising way, in ancient Christian symbolism, where, among the signs used to represent Christ, there was a sign that was later considered an abbreviation of “Ave Maria”, but was originally equivalent to the sign that brings together the two extreme letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and omega, and signifies that the verb is the beginning and the end of all things. In fact, it is even more complete, since it signifies the beginning, the middle and the end. The sign (see figure above) actually disappears in increments, that is, in the Latin letters that correspond exactly to the three constituent elements of the monosyllable Om (the vowel formed in Sanskrit, from the union of the Latin A and U). In our opinion, the combination of the AUM sign and the swastika, both taken as symbols of Christ, seems particularly significant. On the other hand, it should be noted that the form of this sign presents two triangles flowing mutually in the opposite direction, which, in some respects, becomes equivalent to the “seal of Solomon”: If we consider the latter form (of the star of David, author’s note) in which the median horizontal unit determines the general meaning of the symbol, indicating the plane of reflection on the “surface of the waters”, it appears that the two elements include the same number of lines and do not differ except in the arrangement of two of them, which, horizontal in one, become perpendicular in the other.
[7] For further developments concerning this conception of the “three worlds”, we must refer to our previous works:
“The Esotericism of Dante” [Bibliotheque Bosse, Paris, 1925, 96 pages. Definitive edition with the addition of a title to each paragraph and the specific paragraphs published in 1949 by Éditions Traditionnelles which remained in print after many reprints].
And: “Man and his future according to the Vedanta” [Éditions Bossard, Paris, 1925, 214 pages. The final edition by Éditions Traditionnelles was revised by Guénon in 1947: Deletion of Chapters XI (Constitution of Human Existence according to the Buddhists) and XXV (Liberation according to the Jains). Since there have been many reprints, the definitive themes of the pages are referred to in the 1991 edition].
In the first we insist mainly on the correspondence of these worlds, which correspond to the states of existence, with the degrees of initiation. In the second, we have given the full explanation, from a purely metaphysical point of view, of the text of the Mândûkya Upanishad, where the symbolism in question, of which we wish to offer here a concrete application, is fully explained.
[8] According to the order of the universal-universal principles, the function of Brahâtma is referred to Ishwara, that of Mahâtmâ to Hiranyagarbha, and that of Mahânga to Virâja. Their respective characteristics could easily be deduced from this correspondence.
[9] Mândûkya Upanishad, Shruti 6.
[10] Saint Yves correctly says that the three “Magi”
had come from Agartha, but he does not give details in this regard. The names usually attributed to them are probably the result of imagination, with the exception, however, of that of Melchior / Melki-Or, which means in Hebrew “king of light”, which is probably significant.
[11] The Amrita of Hinduism or the Ambrosia of the Greeks, two etymologically identical words, referring to a drink or food of immortality, were precisely represented by the Vedic Soma or the Mazdaic Haoma. The como trees or resinous trees have a very important role in symbolism. More specifically, they have sometimes been taken as emblems of Christ.
[12] It is said that the Adityas (born from Adi, the “Invisible”) were seven, before they became twelve and that their lord was then Varuna. The present twelve Adityas are: Dhâtri, Mitra, Aryaman, Rudra, Varuna, Sûrya, Bhaga, Vivaswat, Pûhan, Savitri, Twashtri, Vishnu. They are all manifestations of a unique and inconceivable essence. It is also said that these twelve Suns will appear simultaneously at the end of the cycle, and then will re-enter the basic and primordial unity of their common nature. Among the Greeks, the twelve great gods of Olympus are also found in correspondence with the twelve signs of the zodiac.
[13] The symbol to which we have referred is precisely that which the Catholic liturgy attributes to Christ, when it gives him the title of “Sun of Justice” – “Sol Justitiæ”. The verb is in reality the “Spiritual Sun”, that is, the true “Center of the World”. Moreover, the expression Sol Justitiæ refers directly to the characteristics of Melki-Tsedeq. It should also be noted that Leo, the solar animal, in antiquity and in the Middle Ages, is an emblem of justice and power together. The sign of the lion, in the Zodiacal circle, is the abode of the sun. The twelve-rayed Sun can be understood as representing the twelve Adityas. From another point of view, the Sun represents Christ. The twelve rays are the twelve Apostles (the word “Apostle” means one who is “sent,” just as the rays are “sent” by the sun). Moreover, in the number of twelve Apostles can be seen, among other things, the perfect conformity of Christianity with the primary tradition.
