by Lobsang Rampa

Flying saucers? Of course there are flying saucers. I have seen many both in the sky and on the ground, and I have even been for a trip in one.

Tibet is the most convenient country of all for flying saucers. It is remote from the bustle of the everyday world, and is peopled by those who place religion and scientific concepts before material gain. Throughout the centuries the people of Tibet have known the truth about flying saucers, what they are, why they are, how they work, and the purpose behind it all. We know of the flying saucer people as the gods in the sky in their fiery chariots. But let me relate an incident which certainly has never been told before in any country outside of Tibet, and which is utterly true.

The day was bitter. Frozen pellets of ice driven by the howling gale, hammered like bullets into our flapping robes and tore the skin off any exposed surface. The sky was a vivid purple with patches of white cloud which raced off into the hinterland. Here – nearly thirty thousand feet above the sea, in the Chang Tang Highlands of Tibet, we were toiling upwards, upward. At our last resting place – some five miles behind us – a voice had come into our consciousness: “Strive on, my brothers. Strive on, and enter the fog belt again, for there is much for you to see.” The seven of us, all high lamas from the lama-series of Tibet, had had much telepathic communication with the Gods of the Skies. From them we had learned the secret of the chariots, which sped swiftly across our land and which sometimes alighted in remote districts.

Onwards we climbed, higher, and higher, clawing a foot-hold in the hard earth, forcing our fingers into the slightest crevice in the rocks. At last we reached the mysterious fog belt again, and entered. Soon we were through it and into the wonderfully heated land of a bygone age.

“A days march more, my brothers,” said the voice, “and you shall see a chariot of old.”

For that night we rested in the warmth and comfort of the Hidden Land. We found ease and relaxation on a soft bed of moss, and in the morning we gratefully bathed in a warm, broad river before setting out on another days march. Here in this land there were pleasant fruits which we took with us for our meal, a satisfactory change indeed from the eternal tsampa.

Throughout that day we journeyed upwards through pleasant trees of rhododendron and walnut, and other the like of which we had not seen before. All the time we were rising upwards, and all the time we were in this pleasant warm land. With nightfall upon us we made our camp beneath some trees, and lit our fire, then rolled ourselves in our robes, and fell asleep. With the first light of dawn we were again ready to continue our journey. For perhaps another two to two and a half miles we marched, and then came to an open clearing. Here we were stopped, dumbfounded with amazement; the clearing before us was vast, and incredible.

The open plain we saw was perhaps five miles across, and the scene was so strange that even now I hesitate to write because of the knowledge that I shall be disbelieved. The plain was about five miles across and at its distant side there was a vast sheet of ice extending upwards, like a sheet of glass reaching toward the heavens. But that was not the strangest thing before us, for the plain contained a ruined city, and yet some buildings were quite intact. Some buildings, in fact, looked almost new. Nearby, in a spacious courtyard, there was an immense metal structure which reminded me of two of our temple dishes clamped together and it was clearly a vehicle of some sort.

My guide, the Lama Mingyar Dondup, broke our awed silence, saying. “This was the home of the Gods half a million years ago. During those days men strove against the Gods, and invented a device to shatter an atom, which wrought disaster on the earth, causing lands to rise and lands to sink, destroying mountains and creating them anew. This was a mighty city, the metropolis, and here was once the seashore. The convulsion of the earth, which followed, and the explosion — raised this land thousands of feet, and the shock of that explosion altered the rotation of the earth. We shall go closer, and we shall see other parts of the city embedded in the ice of the glacier — a glacier which, in this hot valley, has gently melted — leaving intact these ancient buildings.”

We listened in fascinated silence, and then, as if by one common impulse, we moved forward. Only as we came close to the buildings, did it become apparent to us that the people who had lived here must have been not less than twelve feet tall. Everything was on a giant scale, and I was forcibly reminded of those huge figures which I had seen deep in the hidden vaults of the Potala. Perhaps fifty or sixty feet across, and now dulled with age. We saw a ladder extending up into a dark opening and, feeling as if we trod sacred ground, we crept up, one by one. The Lama Mingyar Dondup went first and soon disappeared into the dark hole. I was next, and as I reached the top of the ladder and stepped inside the metal hull I saw my guide bending over what looked to be a sloping table in this large metal room. He touched something, and a bluish light came, and there was a faint hum. To our horrified amazement, at the far end of the room figures appeared and walked toward us and spoke to us.

Our first impulse was to turn and run, to flee this house of magic, but a voice in our brains stopped us. “Be not afraid,” it said, “for we were aware of your coming and have been so aware this last hundred years. We made provisions so that those who were intrepid enough to enter this vessel should know the past.” We were held as if hypnotized, powerless to move, powerless to obey our animal instincts and escape.

“Be seated,” said the voice, “for this will be long, and tired men do not listen well.” We sat, the seven of us in a row, facing the end of the room, and waited. For some seconds the buzzing continued. The light in the room faded, and we were in a darkness so profound that we could not see our hands before us. Some seconds later the buzzing stopped and there was a faint clack, then upon the wall appeared pictures — pictures so utterly strange that they were almost beyond our comprehension. Pictures of a mighty city among whose ruins we now sat, a city beside the sea upon which rode many strange craft. Overhead, disc-like vehicles soared through the air, soundlessly, effortlessly. Upon the shore of golden sands giant figures strode amongst waving palm trees. We could hear the sound of happy voices of children at play as they splashed in the surf. We saw scenes in the streets, in the houses, in the public buildings. Without warning, we saw as if from some craft in the air. It reminded me so vividly of my kite flying that I almost clutched a non-existent cross-bar. Then there was a dreadful boom, and from afar a mushroom-shaped cloud soared miles to the heavens, a cloud shot with crimson and yellow, as if the very breath of the gods was afire.

ENGULFED

From our vantage point we saw buildings topple, and people fleeing for their lives. Then, from out of the distance roared a huge wave of the sea, perhaps fifty feet, perhaps a hundred feet high. It struck the land and engulfed the houses — the once stately metropolis. The earth shook, the picture swirled, and faded, and grew again. We had an impression of falling, spinning, and all was blackness. For what seemed to be a long time we sat wonderingly in the darkness. A picture came on the wall again, but this time a different picture. We saw the clearing, and in it were strange craft, such as that in which we now sat.

Men seemed to be doing maintenance work, servicing. Craft were continually arriving and departing. There seemed to be many different types of people, ranging from those about fifteen feet tall to some about five feet tall. The picture changed, and we saw views outside the earth, and a view of the dark side of the moon. The voice on the screen gave us an explanation throughout the picture. We learned that there was an Association — a White Brotherhood, composed of incarnate and discarnate entities. Those who were incarnate came from many different planets, and they had as their one aim the safeguarding of life. Man, we were told, was certainly not the highest form of evolution, and these people, these guardians, worked for creatures of all kinds, not merely for man.

INVASION

We were told Tibet was to be invaded, and that the invaders, Communists, would be as a disease on the body of the earth. Communism, we were told, would be eradicated and in the age to follow — creatures of all kinds would commune together as in the days of long ago.

Tibet was to be invaded. But even Tibet would play her part with telepathic lamas who could so easily contact space ships.

Earth, they said, was a colony, and these people of outer space supervised the earth so that they could mitigate the effects of atomic radiation and, it was hoped, save the people of earth from blowing their world to pieces.

We, the seven telepathic lamas, were later taken in a space ship, and up into the air. We saw, in half an hour, our land of Tibet — a land which it would take three months for a man on a fast horse to cross. Then with no increase in gravity, with no sensation of speed, we were taken out of the atmosphere and into space.

We know how these space ships work. We know why they can turn so quickly, and why those within them are not affected by centrifugal force, but that is for another occasion.

GREETINGS FROM THE TALL ONE

The vivid purple of the afternoon sky was suddenly cut by a snow-white line, as if a finger of a god had swept aside the dark to show a light beneath. The glittering silver at the head of the growing line sped across the sky almost too fast for the eye to follow. A sudden flash of light, and the silver was gone, heading for the blackness of space.

We lamas lay upon our backs upon the soft green sward of the hidden valley some twenty-five thousand feet above the level of the sea. Higher still towered the jagged peaks, which surrounded the warm and pleasant land and protected it from the bitter cold beyond. Tibet, more than eight times larger than the British Isles, had many mysteries but none so strange as this, a valley of tropical splendor amid the sub-Arctic temperature without. A valley with a hidden city dating back to the time of the Flood, and stranger still, where the gods of the Sky had a base.

For centuries past, telepathic lamas of high degree, had been in communication with these Gods, and had learned much from them. Now we, highly favored men, were meeting them.

We lay upon our backs, thinking of the wonders we had seen. To our right, in an immense clearing, stood strange machines, machines which would be strange even to the highly mechanized world beyond our land. Men of other worlds than Earth, walked about. Some moving with lithe grace, breathing the air we breathed, and others stumbling a little in strange clothing which, transparent, covered even their heads, and allowed them to breath a different atmosphere.

For some hours we had lain thus, watching, marveling and following by telepathy the purpose of these activities. Our close concentration was suddenly shattered by a deep humming, which came from just above us. Turning our heads, we saw a spinning disc approaching. As it passed over us, we were flattened to the earth as if by a very strong wind, as if our weight had surprisingly doubled in an instance. Then it was over, and we raised up, resting upon an elbow to watch the landing of the machine.

It resembled two very shallow Tibetan bowls placed edge to edge, one resting upon the other, and through the center of both was a transparent dome, or perhaps translucent would be a better description, because while it was obviously transparent, we could not see clearly into it. Now the whole machine was rotating above the dome, and making a “swish-swish-swish” noise, reminding us of Prayer Flags fluttering in a strong breeze. The deep humming had stopped as the machine hovered above what was quite obviously a landing site. Gradually the machine sank, lower and lower, until it was obscured from view by a much larger tubular vessel. From a nearby building a pear-shaped vehicle sped to the newly arrived machine. Some minutes later it came into view again — going the opposite direction, then returning to the building.

Our intent watching was interrupted by a man who came towards us and said: “Come now, my brothers, for we have much to show you.” We rose to our feet, and once again we felt ashamed of our lack of stature; the Lama Mingyar Donup was six feet tall, and we were all within three inches of that, but this man was twice as tall as Mingyar Dondup. I felt as if we were a seven-year-old about to enter a lamasery for the first time. The Tall One had apparently guessed my thoughts, or read them telepathically, for he said: “It is not the size of the body which matters, my brother, but the size of the aura, and the soul which is within. Here we have people ranging from those smaller than you to taller than I.”

He led us across the green, moss-covered earth to a stretch which we had seen before. This was as hard as rock, smooth, without mark or blemish, yet it did not jar our feet as we walked across it as rock did. I looked about me in fascination wondering at all the strange alien activities going on around us. The Tall One was evidently a man of much importance, all those working nearby touched their heart to him as he passed — a greeting which we in our ignorance thought was our eastern method. We felt very self-conscious in our shabby robes, torn and threadbare through the hard journey from Lhasa.

As we walked, the Tall One amplified the remarks of the day before – telling us the Earth was a colony, a colony which was afflicted with a dread disease, which made most of the inhabitants behave like mad dogs. For centuries the Earth has been observed so that all people, at the right time, could be helped. That time was now near.

Certain of us, of Tibet, were more developed telepathically and esoterically, so we were being given special information and special experience. “Now,” the Tall One said, “we are going to show you your world from beyond its atmosphere. For this it will be better if you are in a craft manned by those of your own stature.”

INSIDE THE SHIP

We were standing before a vessel of tubular shape, some three hundred and fifty feet long by about sixty feet wide (100 x 20m). A broad platform led from the ground to the interior. As we approached, a man of medium height, but very broad, came down to meet us. He touched his heart to the Tall One, and for a moment they looked at each other while a message passed between them. Then the Broad One turned to us and beckoned for us to follow him. We, following the example of my Guide, the Lama Mingyar Dondup, turned first to the Tall One, touching our right hand to our heart before bowing and turning away to follow the Broad One.

The unknown is always fearsome. My own heartbeat increased in tempo as we walked up the sloping ramp, paused a moment, and entered that alien doorway. Inside was a long corridor, pale restful green in color, and the walls appeared to be luminous. The light was uniform, and there were no shadows. The Broad One led us along the corridor for several yards, then stopping, he raised his hands and a portion of the wall slid aside to reveal a pleasant room on one side, and the floor of which appeared to be so transparent, that we were almost afraid to enter.

“Have no fear,” he said, “the floor is very solid and will bear you safely. What you actually see is a special screen, which shows all outside. There are no windows here.” We gasped, and entered hesitatingly; it was as if we were walking on nothing and I certainly had the impression that I would fall through to the ground.

The Broad One faced a wall and seemed to become remote from us as if he were deep in thought for a time. I stood idly gazing through what I had thought was a transparent floor, but now knew to be a special screen. I watched other vessels nearby, and people working on them. Suddenly my knees felt weak with terror. Things were moving further away; the ground was dropping beneath us, and I expected us to fall as well, but there was no sign, no sensation of motion.

The Broad One came out of his seeming reverie and spoke. “We are going to take you out of the earth,” he said. “We are going to show you your earth from afar.” I replied, “But we are not moving. If we were we would feel something. When I swung at the end of a rope, or when I flew in a kite I certainly felt it. But here there is no sensation.” The Broad One replied, “No, there is no sensation, but we maneuver at speeds beyond the ability of any flesh and blood to withstand, and we have special devices which automatically neutralize the effect of sudden turns or of high speed stops. You will feel nothing whatever in this ship, nor is there anything for you to worry about. We have long ago mastered the science of gravity. Later you shall see through this ship, but first–” He gestured with his hands toward the screens. We looked…

NO SENSATION OF MOTION

Far beneath us the rugged land that was Tibet was sinking. The mighty mountains, some towering higher than the much-vaunted Everest, were becoming flattened by the distance, becoming just pimples on a plain surface. We rose higher and higher until at last we could see our Happy River (as we Tibetans call it) swelling out into the mighty sacred river of India, out into the ocean, which we had not seen before. We saw the outline of the coast and could easily distinguish the Bay of Bengal, and see far into China. We could even see the Great Wall of China as a thin crack across the ground.

The sun seemed to be below us, huge, swollen by the refraction of the air, glowing red like the open mouth of a lamasery furnace.

Still there was no motion, no impression of anything. We stood and watched, and thought how utterly remote was all this from our normal life upon the arid earth.

The Broad One gestured to a wall. He touched something and bench-like seats sprang from the previously smooth surface. “Sit down,” he said. “You can see more comfortably sitting.” We sat, rather gingerly and rather embarrassed, because as we sat down we seemed to sink into something which gripped our shrinking forms through our thin robes. “Form-fitting seats,” said the Broad One. “Very comfortable. They prevent you from slipping off yet they yield to every movement.” Form-fitting indeed, thought I. Certainly I am not used to being held in this manner. Still, I suppose I could get used to it. Now safely seated, I gazed again at the screens and held my breath in sheer amazement. I had been taught that the earth was flat, now I knew better – because I could see myself that the earth was a round globe like the ball with which I used to play. Here we were, far up above the earth, going higher and higher, until at last we were completely free of the atmosphere. The earth turned slowly beneath us, a huge globe largely covered by the gray-green of the ocean. The land masses appeared insignificant, with splotches of green and russet. Large areas of it were covered with white fleecy clouds obscuring much of the surface. Through gaps we could see the outline of continents and islands. We could see inland lakes, but of cities there was no sign. From our height there was no indication whatsoever that there was life upon Earth.

VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE

Surrounding the earth was a faint bluish haze, fairly dense close-in, but fading out altogether after a few miles. The earth rolled on, turning lazily like a hawk wheeling slowly in the sky. The Broad One said, “You are intent upon Earth, yet the whole of your Universe is before you. Is it not worth a glance?” It brought us to life with a start, and we looked up. Above us was utter blackness interrupted with startlingly vivid points of light. Distant planets appeared sharply round and of many different hues, while on those nearer we could distinguish features of their surface. So that we could gaze upon the sun — the Broad One caused a dark shield to cover part of the screen. We saw the sun huge and clear, and the sight struck us with terror because we thought it was on fire. Vast tongues of flame leapt from its circumference, while its surface presented itself to us as a writhing mass, freely marked with dark blobs.

“We have a base on what you call the Moon,” said the Broad One. “The Moon always presents one side to the Earth. Our base is on the other side and we are going there now.” The filter was swung aside and we were able to gaze upon the blindingly brilliant face of the Moon, that airless world which still contains life deep beneath its surface. We approached it at a speed, which was so fast as to be quite incomprehensible to us, although there was no sensation of movement.

“You have learned much about us,” said the Broad One. “Yet upon earth, people are taught that we do not exist. They have been taught so because of the religious teaching that Man is made in the image of God, and the people of the earth think that Man is the earth human. Today to admit the possibility of Man on other planets would be to prove the various religions wrong. Again, those who hold the power of life and death over nations, dare not let it be known that there is even a greater power, for to do so would be to lessen their hold upon their enslaved people.”

PROPULSION

Later we were introduced to the large crew. We felt very ignorant in their presence, but they did everything possible to answer our questions and set us at ease. The problem of propulsion interested me greatly, and I was given an answer in much detail. There were a number of methods used, ships for different purposes had their particular appropriate method of propulsion. That on which we were traveling had a form of magnetism which was repelling to Earth’s magnetism. The electricity used on Earth, we were told, was most crude. That used elsewhere was a form of magnetism based on cosmic energy. The force was wicked up from the cosmos by special collectors on the surface of the ship, and conducted to the “engine room.” Here it was fed through induction coils to the two halves of the ship. The half facing the Earth was strongly repelling to Earth, and the half facing the planet of destination, in this case the Moon, was strongly attracted.

On a planet the repelling force could be adjusted so that the machine could hover, rise or sink. The whole interior of the ship was lined with a network of conductors, so that no matter what altitude a ship adopted, the force of gravity was at all times that most suitable for the occupants. We were shown the remarkable simple device which automatically adjusted the gravitic force.

But there is no more space to go into greater detail here. It is indeed a tragedy that Western peoples are so skeptical for there is such a lot to tell, and it is a waste of time to even start when one KNOWS that one will be disbelieved. Flying saucers are real. Very real.

The Complete Works of Dr. Lobsang Rampa