Buddha at Yungang Grotto, China (Anthony Bak/Flickr.com)Bhurloka, or Bhu-mandala is the earthly level consisting of seven spheres (dvipas, literally "islands") -- Jambudvipa [India], Plaksadvipa, Salmalidvipa, Kusadvipa, Krauncadvipa, Sakadvipa, Puskaradvipa -- inhabited by various human beings.
"The planetary system known as Bhu-mandala resembles a lotus flower, and its seven islands resemble the whorl of that flower. The length and breadth of the island known as Jambudvipa, which is situated in the middle of the whorl, [is] one million yojanas [8,000,000 (square) miles]. Jambudvipa is round like the leaf of a lotus flower" (SB 5.16.5).
The planet Earth where we live now as human beings is situated within Jambudvipa. It is known as a karma-bhumi (Visnu Purana 2.3.2), the place where new karma is created, a kind of cosmic crossroads. Here we decide our future situation, higher or lower, by acting in a particular way.
"King Rahugana said: This birth as a human being is the best of all. Even birth among the demigods [hybrid humans] on other planets is not as glorious as birth as a human being on this Earth. What is the use of the exalted position of a demigod? On "heavenly" planets, due to profuse material comforts, there is no possibility of associating with devotees" (SB 5.13.21).
Governments are building secret underground cities and tunnels (helpfreetheearth.com)
BILA-SVARGA [Underground Bases, Hollow Earth]
Bila-svarga is the name of subterranean "heavens" inhabited by the Asuras [titans] and the Nagas. The Bhagavata Purana lists seven of them, each below the other: Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala, and Patala.
"In these seven planetary systems, which are also known as the subterranean heavens [bila-svarga], there are very beautiful houses, gardens, and places of sense enjoyment, which are even more opulent than those in the higher planets because the demons have a very high standard of sensual pleasure, wealth, and influence. Most of the residents of these planets, who are known as Daityas, Danavas, and Nagas, live as householders. Their wives, children, friends, and society are all fully engaged in illusory, material happiness. The sense enjoyment of the demigods is sometimes disturbed, but the residents of these planets enjoy life without disturbances. Thus, they are understood to be very attached to illusory happiness" (SB 5.24.8).
ASURAS - "Now let me describe the [offspring] of Diti, who were begotten by Kasyapa but who became demons. In this demoniac family the great devotee Prahlada Maharaja appeared, and Bali Maharaja also appeared in that family. The demons are technically known as Daityas because they proceeded from the womb of Diti" (SB 6.18.10).
"Beneath Mahatala is the planetary system known as Rasatala, which is the abode of the demoniac sons of Diti and Danu. They are called Panis, Nivata-kavacas, Kaleyas, and Hiranya-puravasis [those living in Hiranya-pura]. They are all enemies of the demigods, and they reside in holes like snakes. From birth they are extremely powerful and cruel, and although they are proud of their strength, they are always defeated by the Sudarsana cakra of [Krsna], who rules all the planetary systems. When a female messenger from Indra named Sarama chants a particular curse, the serpentine demons of Mahatala become very afraid of Indra" (SB 5.24.30).
NAGAS - "Beneath Rasatala is another planetary system, known as Patala or Nagaloka, where there are many demoniac serpents, the masters of Nagaloka, such as Sankha, Kulika, Mahasankha, Sveta, Dhananjaya, Dhrtarastra, Sankhacuda, Kambala, Asvatara, and Devadatta. The chief among them is Vasuki. They are all extremely angry, and they have many, many hoods [marks of royalty] -- some five hoods, some seven, some ten, others a hundred, and others a thousand. These hoods are bedecked with valuable gems, and the light emanating from the gems illuminates the entire planetary system of bila-svarga" (SB 5.24.31).
Someone has become one of the Asuras or Nagas, half human and half serpent beings, who are enjoying a high standard of material life on sub-earthly levels. One is endowed with supernatural powers, totally irreligious and usually inimical to humans. This seemingly ideal life is interrupted from time to time. One may be killed by the Sudarsana chakra and reborn as a human. More>>
(LiteralWord) Coast to Coast radio: George Noory discusses DUMBs with Richard Sauder
Do Buddhist texts agree?
Wisdom Quarterly
"In the middle of the ocean
There are mansions aeon-lasting,
Sapphire-shining, fiery-gleaming
With a clear translucent lustre,
Where iridescent sea-nymphs dance
In complex, intricate rhythms" (MN 50).
Mahakassapa's ability to directly know this stemmed from the exquisite development of his psychic abilities. The Buddha declared him the foremost male disciple in this regard. In the same sutra, Mahakassapa reports a previous life of which he says, "My body had the same form as a human body, but my head had the form of a fish's head."
Of course, the agreement goes far beyond this one discourse. The Buddha repeated the ancient Indian cosmology inherited from the Vedas. He adapted and updated some parts but kept the principal figures and elements: Devas (space alien-human hybrids), nagas (reptilian-human hybrids), asuras (titans), yakkhas (ogres), garudas (avian hybrids), petas (phantoms), and others.
How is this anomalous data dealt with in Buddhism?
The same way it is dealt with in Hinduism and Christianity: It's not. It's dismissed as nothing but "mythology." The wonderful thing about considering this wealth of information "myth and make believe" -- preserved as sacred and monumental for the understanding of not only our origins as a species but the history of life on this planet -- is that human cultures are able to preserve what we no longer understand until such time as it can be understood again.
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