All language subtitles for Ancient.Aliens.S16E02.720p.WEB.h264-BAE_Subtitles01

Could be the gateway
to another realm.

There's a place
somewhere in tibet

that's some kind of vortex.

Giorgio a. Tsoukalos:
It is said that this was

the abode of the gods.

Narrator:
With thousands
of reports of ufos...

Suddenly they saw an oval-shaped
object pass over them.

Narrator:
...Accounts
of terrifying monsters...

These yetis are able to appear
and disappear at will.

Narrator
...And mysterious
mass vanishings...

Jonathan young:
This kingdom had power,
it had glory.

And then it disappeared.

Narrator:
...Could tibet be
an extraterrestrial outpost

-on earth?
-Tsoukalos: The reason why

this area of the world has
become a religious center

is because of the arrival
of the extraterrestrials.

Narrator:
There is a doorway

in the universe.

Beyond it is
the promise of truth.

It demands
we question everything

we have ever been taught.

The evidence is all around us.

The future is
right before our eyes.

We are not alone.

We have never been alone.

Narrator:
On the northern side
of the himalayas

lies the highest geographical
region on earth: Tibet.

Known as "the roof
of the world,"

it has an average elevation
of nearly 15,000 feet.

There is 40% less oxygen to
breathe here than at sea level,

and the weather can be dangerous
and unpredictable.

Yet more than three million
people call tibet home.

Millions more brave the harsh
conditions to travel here

each year and visit
tibet's sacred peaks,

including mount everest,
which reaches

nearly five and a half miles
into the heavens.

Tibet we call "land of snow."

young: Here is this mountain
kingdom, very hard to get to,

with an exotic culture all
its own, amazing architecture...

...And the dizzying heights
of its location.

Deepak shimkhada:
There are a lot
of mysteries involved,

with the origin of, uh, tibet,
and also a lot of history.

Tibet is usually referred to
as a land of gods.

It is a kind of exotic land

where many people-- westerners--
wanted to go there.

Young:
The secrets
of the tibetan culture

have eluded us and held our
fascination since early times.

Narrator:
Humans have inhabited tibet
for at least 20,000 years.

Little is known about
the earliest inhabitants

of this forbidding environment,

but ancient tibetan texts
identify

the region's first rulers
as the zhangzhung people,

who emerged around 500 bc.

Much about this early
civilization is still a mystery.

But their spiritual tradition,
called bon,

remains a powerful force
in tibet.

The native indigenous
tibetan religion,

which is known as bon or bon po,

that, in many ways,
is similar to taoism.

It connects nature
and spirituality.

Certain spots are
very powerful spots.

There's a lot of magic involved,
like, with demons and exorcisms.

Narrator:
In the eighth century,
tibetan king trisong detsen

introduced a new religion

and philosophy to the area:
Buddhism.

Followers of buddhism share
a belief in reincarnation

and don't acknowledge
a supreme god or deity.

They instead focus
on achieving enlightenment,

a state of inner peace
and wisdom.

The combination of bon,
buddhism,

and other local traditions

resulted in what is known today
as tibetan buddhism.

At the same time buddhism was
introduced, tibet also gave rise

to the world's most mysterious
spiritual leader,

the dalai lama.

Young:
The great tibetan thinkers
strongly believe,

along with the rest
of the population,

that this is, in fact, the 74th
incarnation of the chenrezig.

And it is a continuation
of the buddha himself.

So, the current dalai lama
is a continuation

of this great energy.

Shimkhada:
These lamas and all
these great personalities

lived in tibet,
so perhaps there is something

to be learned from
these great masters in tibet.

David childress:
Having traveled in tibet
a number of times,

it really expands your mind.

And in many ways,

tibet is that magical, mystical
place where anything can happen.

Narrator:
Tibet not only stands
at a crossroads

of eastern religious traditions,
but is believed by many

to be a place where heavenly
beings actually reside on earth.

Tsoukalos:
It is said that this was
the abode of the gods.

The himalayan region
is filled with stories

of so-called "celestial beings"

that descended from the sky
in flying vehicles

that they're referred to
as dragons and flying furnaces.

According to some
of the earliest sanskrit texts,

the first buddha
that ever walked the earth

was nine feet tall,
had light blue skin,

and his arms reached
all the way down to his knees.

And there are multiple statues
all throughout that region

of the world that depict
exactly a buddha like that.

Tsoukalos:
Visitation did happen,

and this was something that has
remained in the consciousness

of the local people
over millennia.

The reason why
this area of the world

has become a religious center

is because of the arrival
of the extraterrestrials.

Narrator:
Is it possible
that the culture of tibet

was influenced
by ancient alien visitors?

And if so,
could they still be present

in this mountainous region
today?

According to both hindu
and buddhist traditions,

the gods reside in a hidden
kingdom in the himalayas

known as shambhala.

Childress:
Shambhala is ruled by kings

who live for hundreds of years.

They are all-knowing.

And they, particularly,
are guiding the planet.

Very much as we often think that
extraterrestrials are doing.

They have wonderful technology.

There's electricity.
There's airships.

So what is going on
in shambhala?

Is it some mystical city
of the masters,

where extraterrestrials
and humans

are living and working together?

I mean, that's what
many people believe.

Narrator:
Is the lost kingdom of shambhala
really a secret city

of advanced
extraterrestrial beings,

as some ancient astronaut
theorists suggest?

And if so, might evidence
of its alien origin

be found somewhere in tibet?

Perhaps clues can be found
in one legendary expedition

into the very heart
of the unknown.

William henry: We're told
that people live there
narrator:
Russian painter, philosopher

and archaeologist
nicholas roerich

embarks on
an unprecedented expedition

into the uncharted territory
of the tibetan plateau

on a quest to find
the lost kingdom of shambhala.

On August 5, 1927,

roerich notes a strange object
in the skies while traveling

through the mountains along the
northeastern border of tibet.

Roerich writes that they were
looking up at the sky,

watching an eagle fly around,
and then suddenly they saw

a sort of oval-shaped object,
moving from north to south

at very fast speeds,
pass over them.

Hugh newman: At one of his
later lectures in 1935,

nicholas roerich described
his sighting as a spacecraft

or an aerial vehicle that must
have come from shambhala itself.

Narrator:
Did nicholas roerich witness

an alien craft in tibet
nearly a century ago,

decades before the era
of modern ufo sightings began?

And if so, is it possible
that the traditions

that have endured here
for centuries

reflect not only
a profound spirituality,

but are tied
to an otherworldly presence?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by examining
an early buddhist civilization

that suddenly
and mysteriously disappeared.

Ngari prefecture, tibet, 2020.

Towering at over 12,000 feet,

these ancient ruins
are all that is left

of the mysterious buddhist
kingdom of guge.

Established
in the tenth century,

this civilization flourished
for 700 years.

But then, according
to local legend,

its inhabitants vanished.

The ruins of this early city
are truly amazing.

They're in the southwest corner
of tibet,

and there are thousands
of what were temples

and palaces, mostly gone now.

This was a kingdom
of great influence in its time.

This magnificent capital
had artwork over all the walls,

images of the buddha,
sacred carvings

and images of all kind.

It had power, it had glory,

and now it is nothing.

Henry:
Guge was in continuous operation

until it mysteriously,
virtually disappeared.

Nobody knows exactly
what happened there

or why people
stopped living there

or why they-- where they want.

Narrator:
Guge was brought under the rule

of the central tibetan
government in 1680,

but remained largely isolated
and independent

for more than 200 years.

Then, in the early 20th century,

the tibetan government
decided to finally

start taxing
the residents of guge.

But when soldiers arrived
to collect,

they were shocked to find

that the entire population,
an estimated 100,000 people,

had disappeared.

Where they went remains
a complete mystery,

and many tibetans believe
the reason why

is because the people of guge
traveled deep underground.

Childress:
The fortress of guge
had all kinds of tunnels

and hidden staircases
that went underground

and went inside this mountain.

So even though
it was, uh, ruins already

when archaeologists went there,

they were astounded
that this city of guge

apparently led inside the earth.

What people seemed to believe
was that

if you were to follow
these tunnels far enough

into the earth,
you would eventually

come to that hidden city
of shambhala...

An active city full of light
and-and power.

Narrator:
Did the people
of this ancient civilization

flee underground
on an epic pilgrimage

to the mythic kingdom
of shambhala?

And if so,
where did their path lead?

Some researchers believe
the tunnels of guge

lead to a holy mountain
to the east

that can be clearly seen
from these ruins...

Mount kailash.

Every year,
thousands of pilgrims

make the treacherous journey
to the base

of this sacred peak.

Steavu: Every year,
there are pilgrimages

around mount kailash
in order to gain the blessing

and maybe even
some of the powers

associated with
the residing gods

and, and buddhas and deities
of mount kailash.

It lasts up to four weeks
if it's done correctly,

with full prostrations
at every step,

and it's also
a very unforgiving landscape,

so many people end up
giving up, and some of them

also end up dying.

Narrator:
According to ancient
buddhist texts

known as the kalachakra tantra,

the kingdom of shambhala

can be found "behind"
mount kailash,

or, as some interpret it,
within.

And many who have stared up
at this sacred peak

have observed mysterious objects
in the sky.

Mount kailash is at the center
of all sorts of mysteries.

Ufo sightings,
the hint that there might be

something hidden there,
but it's unknowable.

Henry:
There are many myths and legends
and strange things

that have gone on
at mount kailash.

People go there on pilgrimages,

but they're told not to stay
there long,

because there's
something radioactive

inside the mountain.

And we're told that
people live there,

both in physical form
and in nonphysical form.

It has to be one of

the strangest places
on the planet.

Narrator:
Is it possible
that the mysterious phenomena

occurring at mount kailash,

and its association
with shambhala,

is connected
to extraterrestrial activity?

Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest answers can be found

by studying the sacred
buddhist monuments

known as stupas,
found all throughout nepal,

india and tibet,
including at the ruins of guge.

Henry:
For centuries,
people have been sighting ufos

or unexplained craft coming
in and out of mount kailash.

And it's very interesting
when you compare the shape

of the stupas
that we find in tibet,

these dome shapes,
and how they highly resemble

some kind of extraterrestrial
craft sitting on the ground.

So perhaps people saw

these craft entering
into kailash and decided,

"we're gonna build stupas in
remembrance of what they saw."

tsoukalos:
A stupa, by definition,

is a vehicle with which
to reach the realm of the gods.

That is the definition
of a stupa.

Well, just change the wording,
"a vehicle

with which to reach space."

these stupas can be seen,
for example,

in the ajanta cave, with smoke
and fire at the, at the bottom.

And what more do you want?

It's no longer a symbol.
It is the truth.

Narrator:
Might the buddhist stupas
of tibet be monuments

to alien craft witnessed flying

in and around mount kailash,

a site believed by many to be
the kingdom of shambhala?

And if so, how has it remained
hidden for millennia?

Could it be that somewhere
on the slopes of mount kailash

is the entrance to a hidden
extraterrestrial realm?

While countless expeditions
have tried and failed

to find the legendary kingdom
of shambhala,

there are some who claim
to have found a way

to communicate with
its otherworldly inhabitants.

Newman:
Was she somehow in contact

famed russian mystic
and philosopher

madame helena petrovna blavatsky

publishes her seminal book
the secret doctrine.

In it, she offers
detailed descriptions

of the legendary lost continents

of atlantis and lemuria.

She claims not only that these
ancient civilizations existed

but that they possessed
highly advanced technology,

including flying machines,
thousands of years ago.

Madame blavatsky maintained
that human lineage

is vastly older
than we understand

and that primordial
civilizations,

like atlantis or lemuria,

formed the foundation
of human history

and were much older
than egyptian culture,

than vedic culture,

than any culture
known to humanity.

This, to her, was an occult
history that humankind,

uh, had forgotten about,
had failed to understand.

Lachman:
Atlantis, we know,
goes back to plato.

Uh, he's the first one
to really talk about it.

And both atlantis and lemuria
at some point,

they sort of turned dark.

They became fascinated
with a kind

of form of black magic,
and a kind of hyper technology.

And this led to their demise.

Narrator:
Madame blavatsky claimed
she received this knowledge

from a mysterious entity
she described

as a "mahatma," a sanskrit word
that means "great soul."

he called himself koot hoomi
and resided in tibet.

Koot hoomi communicated
with her telepathically.

In other words,
she kind of channeled him.

Shimkhada:
The way she described him

is almost like an eternal baba,
eternal soul,

so, you know, he is,
like, immortal.

Michael salla:
Also, he was able
to manifest himself

in her apartment
in new york city,

even though it was
thousands of miles away.

Newman:
We have to question
what was going on here.

Was she somehow in contact

with some kind of hidden world
in the himalayas?

Narrator:
In 1875,

madame blavatsky founded
the theosophical society.

It was made up
of prominent thinkers

who sought to explore eastern
religions and the occult,

and create a kind
of universal brotherhood

based on the teachings
of koot hoomi

and other mahatmas.

Lachman:
Theosophy means, uh,
"the wisdom of the gods."

the theosophical society
was incredibly, um...

Successful and popular
and influential.

Not only in the occult world,

but she was also influential
in the cultural world.

Uh, people like, uh,
the-the painter, mondrian,

and wassily kandinsky
were early theosophists.

L. Frank baum,
who wrote the oz books.

Abner doubleday,
who invented baseball.

Thomas edison invented
the light bulb.

These were all
very early members

of the theosophical society.

Narrator:
While many important figures

joined the theosophical society,

madame blavatsky had a
particularly profound influence

on a young indian law student

who came to visit her
in london...

Mohandas gandhi.

Horowitz:
Gandhi wrote about this
as one of the pivotal

encounters of his life.

He maintained that
madame blavatsky gave him

the first sense of universal

brotherhood
that later came to form

the core of his philosophy,

not only of radical equality
but of radical nonviolence.

Now, this is quite astonishing,
when we think about

the potential here
that perhaps an entity,

this strange tibetan entity

that's making psychical contact
with blavatsky,

has now reached out to someone
who would go on to be

one of the most famous persons
in history,

and would have made this radical
change in india that would,

you know, really shock the world

and change the face
of the british empire.

Narrator:
Was gandhi's
transformative leadership

and indian independence in part
a result of influence

from these mysterious,
enlightened masters in tibet?

And if so, who were these
so-called mahatmas?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe the answer can be found

by examining an encounter
with a similar entity.

New york city, 1918.

British occultist and writer
aleister crowley engages

in a magic ritual he calls
the amalantrah working.

He claims the ritual opens
an interdimensional portal,

allowing him to interact
with an otherworldly being.

Aleister crowley is probably
the most famous,

or, rather, infamous, magician
of the 20th century.

And crowley took it
upon himself to revive

the ancient black arts--
the dark arts, as it were.

He was contacting
lots of different beings

from other dimensions.

But there was also a vision
crowley had of this individual,

this entity that he called lam.

Narrator:
According to crowley,

this entity claimed to reside
high in the mountains of tibet,

just like the mahatma
that madame blavatsky said

she encountered.

Lam claimed to be
a tibetan master of wisdom,

somewhat in the footsteps
of some of the figures

that madame blavatsky had
been in touch with.

And he was a kind of mystical
or otherworldly adept,

in his own description,
according to crowley.

Picknett:
Aleister crowley drew a sketch
of this creature.

And if you look at this sketch,
one thing that hits you

very forcibly--
in fact, startlingly--

is the fact that this looks like
a grey alien.

Narrator:
More than 70% of alleged
alien abductees

describe encountering what have
become known as the greys,

or grey aliens.

Is it possible that
there is a connection

between these beings
and the tibetan masters

that both aleister crowley
and madame blavatsky

claimed to have contacted?

And if so, does this suggest
that there is a hidden

extraterrestrial realm
within tibet?

Some ancient astronaut
theorists believe

that physical proof

of an alien presence in tibet
was uncovered

more than 80 years ago

by adolf hitler and the nazis.

Lachman:
The idea is that the statue has
some kind of mystical,

may, 1938.

Roughly one year before the
start of the second world war,

german explorer and zoologist
ernst schafer

leads a nazi-funded expedition
into tibet.

Schafer's official objective
for the expedition

was the creation of a complete
scientific record of tibet.

But unofficially, he was given
another directive:

To determine whether tibet was
the cradle of the aryan race.

This was allegedly inspired
by a 19th century book written

by british author
edward bulwer-lytton called

vril, the power
of the coming race.

He describes this
extraordinary race of beings

that have magical powers--
sort of superheroes, really.

And they have the "vril" power.

And sadly,
this idea also permeated

into the very early nazi
ideologues' worldview.

The idea that a man
can be a superman,

and in order to do this,
in their eyes,

you had to be of the aryan race.

Narrator:
Some within the nazis' ranks
identified the tibetan mahatmas

described by madame blavatsky
as a race of supermen,

and sought to prove that the
aryans were their descendants.

But even more important to the
german expedition than proving

nazi superiority was finding
the hidden kingdom of shambhala.

Collins:
The nazis took
an incredible interest

in looking for that entrance
to shambhala.

The nazis were almost
certainly influenced

by the works
of madame blavatsky,

because she said
if somebody could find access

into shambhala,

they would also be able to
control the destiny of humanity,

and the world as a whole.

Lachman:
While they were there,

the war broke out in 1939,
so they were called back.

So, uh, they didn't really
return with any positive proof

about what, you know,
what they were looking for,

but the story is, they did come
back with this statue.

Narrator:
Among the items schafer
brought back to germany

was a mysterious
22-pound iron statue

of what was presumed
to be a buddhist deity.

The figure had a swastika on its
clothing, a symbol of divinity

that predated the nazis
by thousands of years.

One of their discoveries
was a little nine-inch statue

of a being wearing
a swastika on his chest,

which certainly would have got
the attention of the nazis,

having adopted the swastika
as their symbol,

although they put it
into its counterclockwise form.

The swastika was originally
a tibetan symbol for prosperity

and for good luck.

Narrator:
In the late 19th century,
the term aryan

referred to an indo-european
language group

that included german, romance
and sanskrit languages.

The ancient symbol of
the swastika became associated

with "aryan"
due to where it was found.

But when the nazis
redefined the term to identify

what they called "the master
race," they adopted the swastika

as a symbol of their heritage
and self-proclaimed superiority.

We can assume that this is
what stood out to them,

was this, you know, swastika
emblazoned on the chest,

and they decided that this
is a representation

of one of these entities
that are somehow involved

in the backstory
of the aryan race

and their sort of greatness
in the world.

Narrator:
Could the "iron man" statue
depict

one of the powerful mahatmas
described by madame blavatsky?

Was it perhaps a sign
that the nazi expedition

was close to finding shambhala?

While most researchers have been
preoccupied with determining

what the statue
is meant to depict,

80 years after its discovery,
a scientific study uncovered

an even more intriguing aspect
of the iron man.

Narrator:
Stuttgart university, 2012.

A team of german geologists
that have performed

a new examination
of the iron man statue

publish their analysis
in the scientific journal

meteorics & planetary science.

They estimate the figure was
created in the 11th century

and have found that it was not
made of earthly iron,

but was carved
from the chinga meteorite.

Pope:
It turns out this thing is made

from one of the rarest
meteorites in human history,

that fell to earth over tibet
around 15,000 years ago.

It's the most unusual

and hardest meteorite
ever discovered.

The ancient tibetans
who carved this into a statue

clearly suspected
that this thing had great power.

Childress:
The tibetans themselves seem to
realize that this was special.

And you have to wonder,
is this meteorite,

was it perhaps part
of a spaceship?

Something that had crashed
there in tibet,

and the chinga meteorite
is all that's left of it?

Narrator:
Is it possible
that the iron man statue

was made from part
of an alien craft

that crash-landed on earth
thousands of years ago?

Could it be
a remnant of an event

that marked the arrival
of otherworldly visitors,

and the beginning
of the legend of shambhala?

Ancient astronaut theorists say
yes, and suggest that the reason

this alien realm remains
so elusive can be found

by examining stories
of a tibetan monster

known as the yeti.

Childress:
Were they murdered by,

April 29, 2019.

Just a few miles south of the
tibetan border, the indian army

reports the discovery of
enormous footprints in the snow

measuring an astounding 32
inches long by 15 inches wide.

They identify the footprints
as having been made

by the legendary monster
known as the yeti.

Shimkhada: The yeti is some kind
of a himalayan monster

that looked like a man,
that looked like an ape.

This is a composite, uh, figure.

Local people have seen it
in the snow, in the mountains.

Narrator:
Tales of the yeti stretch back
to pre-buddhist tibet,

where the shamanic mystics
of the bon religion

told of wild men
that guarded a hidden place

of power and perfection
called olmo lung ring,

known in the tibetan buddhist
tradition as shambhala.

The yeti have this reputation
of being extremely violent

and aggressive towards humans.

And one explanation for this
is because they're considered

to be the guardians
of shambhala.

Keeping away all those
that are not pure of heart

from entering into
this holiest of holy places.

Childress: When the early
british expeditions

went through india into tibet,

they would stop
at tibetan monasteries

on their way to mount everest

and they would be told
about yetis.

And that yetis were guardians

of the entrances to shambhala.

Narrator:
Monsters guarding the entrances
to the land of the gods?

While it may sound
like the stuff of legend,

ancient astronaut theorists
suggest there is

disturbing evidence
that may prove

such stories are,
in fact, very real.

Uttarakhand, india.

16,000 feet high
in the himalayas,

just 40 miles
from the tibetan border,

lies roopkund lake.

While it has become
a popular tourist destination,

those who approach this small,
picturesque body of water

are confronted
with a chilling sight...

Because roopkund lake
is littered

with the remains
of over 600 human bodies.

For decades,
scientists assumed that the dead

had fallen victim
to a single massive catastrophe.

But in 2019, dna sampling

revealed that
the bodies contained

in what has been dubbed
"skeleton lake"

did not all die at once,

but at different points in time,

over a period
of at least a thousand years.

Some of the skeletons, uh,
had, uh, what they said were,

um... Unhealed compression
fractures on the head.

Were they murdered by, like,
being hammered on the head

and then thrown into this lake?

So researchers were baffled
by this whole thing.

And the more information
that came out of this lake,

the stranger it became.

Shimkhada:
Recently, indian scientists
have performed

dna testing on those bones
in roopkund.

They have found
many south asians

and some east asians--

meaning chinese and koreans--

and of course
some from the west,

you know, for example
mediterranean region.

So that is really intriguing,
you know, how these people

wound up there,
uh, that's baffling.

Narrator:
What could have drawn people
from all over the world

to make the treacherous journey
to this very small

and remote mountain lake?

And not just
at a single point in time,

but continuously
for hundreds of years?

Lachman:
Roopkund lake is

on the pilgrims' trail, uh, to

uh, mount kailash, which is,

uh, one of the central, uh, uh,

geographic sites
in-in, um, hindu

and-and tibetan and buddhist,
uh, religion.

These people at different times
could have been

on the pilgrimage path.

Henry: If the yeti is considered
to be the guardian of shambhala,

and if shambhala is kailash,
then it makes perfect sense

why the yeti is somehow taking
these people, killing them,

harming them, and throwing them
in skeleton lake.

(growling)

narrator:
Could the bones found
at skeleton lake

belong to pilgrims
who were seeking

shambhala and fell victim
to the yeti?

Although there have been
numerous reported sightings

of yetis in tibet,
no reliable physical proof

of their existence has been
successfully retrieved.

In fact, these mysterious beings
are often reported

as simply vanishing
into thin air.

In 1951, the world-famous
mountaineer eric shipton

was on his way to mount everest.

He's at 19,000 feet.

And all of a sudden,
he sees these giant

footprints in the snow.

And he follows them
for over a mile

until they disappear
into the glacier.

The yeti could, in fact, be
an interdimensional creature,

capable of either
cloaking itself

or disappearing
into other realms.

Perhaps they are not
physical biological beings,

but are some sort
of interdimensional

class of entities,
which is able

to appear and disappear at will.

And manifest themselves at will
to stop those

who are not supposed
to enter certain areas.

Narrator:
Is it possible
that both the yeti

and the kingdom of shambhala
that it is said to protect

are not only extraterrestrial,

but also interdimensional?

Might this explain
why they remain so elusive?

Some modern researchers,
people like jacques vallée,

john keel, amongst others,

have drawn the conclusion
that maybe we're not really

dealing with extraterrestrials
from outer space,

but ultra-terrestrials were
coming from parallel space.

That's exactly
what masters of mysticism

and experiences
of the prophetic traditions

have been saying
for thousands of years.

Narrator:
If a gateway

leading into another dimension
exists somewhere

in tibet, as ancient
astronaut theorists suggest,

could it be a site
where extraterrestrials--

or, perhaps,
ultra-terrestrials--

are entering our world?

And might it also be possible
for us to enter theirs?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe

that the key to accessing
this cosmic paradise

may not lie in traveling
to a secret location in tibet...

But in mastering an ancient
technique of the mind.

Narrator:
Seda county, china.

December 11, 2015.

In the southeast region
of the tibetan plateau,

renowned tibetan buddhist monk

lama thubser has been in
a state of continuous meditation

for seven straight days,

engaged in a practice
that is said

to go back some 10,000 years.

He is attempting
to attain what is known

as the "rainbow light body."

tibetan buddhists believe that
through meditation practices

like this, it is possible
to access alternate realms.

And that this may be
where the kingdom of shambhala

truly exists.

You will find people within
tibetan buddhist tradition

who believe that shambhala
is an actual place.

But it may be what we might
call an interdimensional place.

So it cannot be accessed through
ordinary material techniques.

But it exists in another
dimension, so to speak.

Narrator:
Is it possible that the concept
of the rainbow light body

holds the key
to reaching an alien realm

that exists on earth?

And is there any evidence that
such a transformative process

could actually take place?

Recently, scientists have
discovered that the human body,

particularly in the brain,

naturally produces light
in the form of biophotons.

The average person emits
14 to 20 photons

by centimeter square per second.

This is very, very low.

But in a state of meditation,

you are able
to raise that number

by 100,000 photons per
centimeter square per second,

which is extremely bright.

This tells us that
when we are in a higher state

of consciousness, our bodies
emit a huge amount of light.

And perhaps that is the reason
why we call it enlightenment.

Narrator:
Tibetan buddhists say that
when a highly trained priest

commits himself to attainment
of the rainbow light body,

his material body
will fade away.

Photographs taken by those
in attendance

on the seventh day
of lama thubser's meditation

provide an incredibly
rare documentation

of this sacred process.

As his breathing stops and his
physical body begins to die,

it dramatically
decreases in size.

According to the monks,

he has dissolved into light.

And a final photograph reveals
a beam of light shooting up

into the sky from the site
of his transformation.

Henry: In the tibetan tradition,
they tell us that once a lama

has achieved
this state of being,

that they're able to then
travel to 12 star systems

where this teaching is taught,
that are all connected

with the earth,
and that beings come and go,

bringing this teaching
and enlightening

all other civilizations
they come into contact with.

The rainbow light body, it is
an extraterrestrial teaching

that was imported to earth
from other star systems.

Tzadok:
Right now, very few
make the efforts

to learn how to expand
consciousness,

to interact
with our parallel dimensions.

But the future is
to bring the worlds together.

This is what the biblical
tradition teaches

when it says everyone
will know the truth.

There will be
enlightenment for all.

Narrator:
Could it be that high

in the mountains of tibet,

there is a gateway
into another dimension?

And if so, is it possible
that this alternate realm

can only be accessed through
a state of enlightenment?

Perhaps as science begins
to understand more

about human consciousness,

we will learn
what the tibetan masters

have known for centuries.

That we can reach
the stars not only

by mastering technology

but by mastering
the power of the human mind.

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