Agartha

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For the Turkish coup trial referred as "Ergenekon/Agartha", see Ergenekon (organization). For The Miles Davis album, see Agharta (album). For Japanese manga, see Agharta (manga).

Agartha (sometimes Agartta, Agharti,[1] Agarta or Agarttha) is a legendary city that is said to be located in the Earth's core.[2] It is related to the belief in a hollow Earth and is a popular subject in esotericism.[3]

History

Nineteenth century French occultist Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre published the first "reliable" account of Agartha in Europe.[4] According to him, the secret world of "Agartha" and all of its wisdom and wealth "will be accessible for all mankind, when Christianity lives up to the commandments which were once drafted by Moses and Jesus," meaning "When the Anarchy which exists in our world is replaced by the Synarchy." Saint-Yves gives a lively description of "Agartha" in this book as if it were a place which really exists, situated in the Himalayas in Tibet. Saint-Yves' version of the history of "Agartha" is based upon "revealed" information, meaning received by Saint-Yves himself through "attunement."[citation needed]

The explorer Ferdynand Ossendowski wrote a book in 1922 titled Beasts, Men and Gods. In the book, Ossendowski tells of a story which was imparted to him concerning a subterranean kingdom which exists inside the earth. This kingdom was known to the Buddhists as Agharti.[5]

Connections to mythology

Agartha is frequently associated or confused with Shambhala,[6] which figures prominently in Vajrayana Buddhism and Tibetan Kalachakra teachings and revived in the West by Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society. Theosophists in particular regard Agarthi as a vast complex of caves underneath Tibet inhabited by evil demons called asuras. Helena and Nicholas Roerich, whose teachings closely parallel Theosophy, see Shambhala's existence as both spiritual and physical.[7]

In modern media

Music

  • In 1975, the Jazz musician and composer Miles Davis released a live album entitled 'Agharta', based on a performance at the Osaka Festival Hall in Japan in February of that year, on the Columbia Jazz imprint.[8] Allmusic describes it as 'the greatest electric funk-rock jazz album ever made - period'[9]
  • On his 1987 album Shoulda Gone Before I Left, vocalist/guitarist Ike Willis includes a tune entitled "Hollow Earth," in which he mentions "Aghartha."
  • Head of Wantastiquet, the solo project of Paul LaBrecque, included a track entitled "Return To Agharti" on the album[12] in 2010.
  • ZUN released "Wind of Agartha" as part of his album Neo-traditionalism of Japan, on August 11, 2012.[13][unreliable source?]
  • In 2012, Italian DJ Congorock released a song called "Agarta" along with "Monolith" on Ultra Records.[14] The songs were both featured on the compilation album "Cavo Paradiso" which was mixed by fellow Italian DJ, Benny Benassi.
  • In 2015, American Doom Metal Band The Sword released an instrumental song titled "Agartha" on their album High Country[15]

Video games

  • The 2012 Funcom game The Secret World features Agartha as the open region of the hollow Earth and home to the giant World tree, maintained in a warmer environment by the bees which nest in it, whose many branches reach off in different directions providing portals to different locations (and times) across the surface world.
  • The video game Final Fantasy IV features an above-ground city, Agart (a reference to Agartha), which leads to a subterranean world.
  • The game Castlevania: Lords of Shadow includes Agharta as an advanced but now dead civilization; their surviving technology plays an important role in the game.
  • The video game Dominions 3: The Awakening and its sequel Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension include Agartha as one of the playable civilizations, a group of giants who dwell underground.
  • The video game Call of Duty: Black Ops includes Agartha as in the main Easter Egg in the map Shangri-La, where the two explorers get lost looking for it and stuck in Dr. Richtofen's tomb.
  • The video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II includes a reference to Agartha as an Easter egg within the fourth zombies map, "Buried" and in the fifth map "Origins" where it is referenced that Samantha is trapped in Agartha (Not to be confused with 'The Crazy Place').

Film and Television

Literature

  • In 1989, Argentinian writer Abel Posse wrote a novel based on the search of this mythic city for a Nazi agent.
  • The novel Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco discusses Agartha multiple times in the context of the main characters' preoccupation with esotericism.
  • References to Agartha appear in Mike Mignola's B.P.R.D. series of comics.
  • Agharti is a common topic in Italian series of comics Martin Mystère.
  • The Illuminatus Trilogy, a novel by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea, includes Agartha in its plot.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Ferdynand Ossendowski (1922). Beasts, Men and Gods. New York: E. P. Dutton & Company.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ File:"About Shambala" N.Roerich.ogg
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ [1]
  12. ↑ Dead Seas
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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