Tibet | Kailash | Shambhala | Kalki

With websites on three different subjects plus this blog I get a lot of email from readers. The other day I got an email from a guy in India. I won't use his name or give his email address unless he gives permission. He said that he had stumbled across my website The Legend of Shambhala and that he needed to talk to me immediately about something connected with Shambhala. He even gave me his telephone number in India and asked me to call him. I did not call him but I sent him an email asking what it was he wanted to discuss. I got this reply (the message is completely unedited, but I think its sense come through):

sir,
thanx for ur reply. im highly obliged. i had visions of lake mansarover at mt.kailash in tibet.a day before writin to u i was jus havin these talks bout last avtar of lord vishnu, acc to hindu mythology, hes the preserver. i hav neseen the pics or nythn regardin lake mansarover, i jus had visions of dat place. so wen i startd lookin for excerpts bout kalki(last avtar or reincarnation) on net, i came to kno dat he'll b born in a brahmin family at a place called shambhla n wen i startd surfin the net for shambhala, i came across ur articles n stuff. n lookin deeper into d matter i came to kno its believed or as it is acc the legend, dat shambhala is somewher around mt. kialash, lake mansarover, which is coincidentally a very sacred place acc to hinduism. n seein its pic on a website, i got shocked as it was d visions dat i had in a dream. i don kno how to deal with it but its lik i should b der, i don how to comprehend dis. pls help. also all d things writtn in purans, vedas....etc,,,i.e, hindu mythology books are true, well vr gettin proofs of all d stories told in dem on d exact locations mentioned in dos holy books. regards.

Lake Manasarovar

As I understand it he was having dreams about Lake Manasarovar near Mount Kailash in western Tibet. He had never been to Lake Manasarovar but photos he saw on the internet were similar to the scenes he had envisioned in his dreams. He seems to believe that nearby Mount Kailash is somehow connected with Shambhala, or that is indeed the actual location of Shambhala. He also implies that Kalki, the last Avatar, will be born in Shambhala. He says he has trouble comprehending all this and would like some comments.

I have been at a loss as to what to reply to this guy. Does anyone else have any idea what his dreams may signify?

There is indeed a Hindu version of the Shambhala mythologem, in addition to the Tibetan and Theosophical versions. In any case, Mount Kailash is generally not thought to be the actual location of Shambhala. Most sources place it somewhere to the north of Kailash.

I visited Mount Kailash in 2002, the Year of the Horse, and did a circumambulation, which took three days. Anyone who does the khora in the auspicious Year of the Horse gets credit for doing 12 circumambulations so I can say I have done it twelve times.

Mount Kailash

Pilgrims at the base of Mount Kailash

More Pilgrims at the base of Mount Kailash

Monks performing ceremony at the base of Mount Kailash

Painting “Path to Kailash” by Nicholas Roerich