By Dr. Michael Hartman

In ancient Sanskrit/Auyurvedic texts - AD 700 - a plague over India was predicted which describes AIDS. The cure was Shilajit!

Ancient Sanskrit holy texts, over 3,000 years old, make reference to a mysterious substance called shilajit, which they describe as the "destroyer of weakness." The texts list its powerful health and spiritual benefits and the positive changes that shilajit brought in the lives of those who used it. The sacred substance was prescribed for thousands of years for many different health problems and became a powerful tool in Ayurvedic medicine. There is some indication that shilajit may have been the priceless soma of the Eastern alchemists.

The rediscovery of the power of shilajit is said to have been made by Himalayan villagers observing large white monkeys migrate to the mountains in the warm summer months. The monkeys were seen to be chewing a semi-soft substance that flowed from between layers of rock. The villagers attributed the monkey’s great strength, longevity and wisdom to the strange substance. They began to consume it themselves and reported a broad spectrum of improvements in health. It seemed to give them more energy, relieve digestive problems, Increase sex drive, improve memory and cognition, improve diabetes, reduce allergies, improve the quality and quantity of life and it seemed to cure all diseases. The ancient Vedic text Rig Veda states that soma "has mountains and stones for its body" and "dwells within the mountainous rock where it grows." Mountainous rocks are the "abode of soma," and it is "plucked from between the rocks by mountain dwellers and brought to the priests-alchemists who prepared the soma by washing and grinding and cooking." Soma was considered the elixir of immortality, the secret substance used by alchemists to perfect both body and mind.

Shilajit must be harvested from sacred cliff sides high in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal. Millions of years ago, before the Himalayas were formed, a lush garden flourished in a vast fertile valley. The vegetation in that primeval garden became trapped and preserved as the movement of the continents caused that valley to become the tallest mountain range in the world...

Angkor Wat, one of the most beautiful and mysterious historical sites in the world. Located over 192 miles to the North-West of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, Angkor has been "protected" from tourism, and the customs and the cultures of the people living there have not changed much. However, intense internal warfare for over fifty years has impacted on the people and to an extent on the physical structure of the temples at Angkor.In 1991, the Khmer Rouge, the guerrilla movement, controlled the area. It was then very difficult to visit the area, and the only way to get there was by Helicopter from Phnom Penh. I will never forget when I first got out from the Helicopter, and stepped into the land of history, a land which the western civilization had forgotten. In this paper, I would like to discuss the history of the great temples of the "lost city" of Angkor Wat, but I would also like to describe some of my own observations from the summer of 1991.

For many years, Angkor Wat was totally isolated from the Western World. Large, thick jungles covers the area, and it is located in the center of Cambodia. The French colonialists were the first westerners to get exposed to Angkor. They heard rumors from the local population about "temples built by gods or by giants." Most of the colonialists referred these rumors to folk tales, but some believed that there really was a "lost city of a Cambodian empire", which had once been powerful and wealthy. The temples were first discovered by French missionaries in 1860. Henri Mahout, a French botanist started intensive research and restoration programs. These research efforts continued until 1968, when the Vietnam war disrupted the studies. Initially, he did not believe that the temples were built by Cambodians, but by another race which had concurred and occupied Cambodia for over 2000 years ago. His theory would later be proven to be incorrect, after that researchers discovered scripts on the walls of the temples, and stone sculptures, that have made it possible for archeologists to piece together the history of Cambodia. Now it is known that Angkor, was the great capital city of the Khmer empire from the city's founding in about AD 880 until about 1225.

The history of Angkor Wat dates back to the kingdom of Funan. This kingdom was established by an Indian Brahmin, and in AD200, the country was peacefully settled by Indian traders. Four hundred years later, the kingdom had become a prosperous trading region. As the area was located on the Pilgrim rout between China and India, Hinduism and Chinese Buddhism was adopted by the new settlers. The Indian and Chinese influence can still be felt in Cambodia, and the temples of Angkor Wat closely resembles Hindu and Buddhist temples that can be found in Northern India and in Nepal. In the end of AD600, the Funan Empire lost much of its power to the kingdom of Chenla...

"Whenever there is decay of righteousness... and there is exaltation of unrighteousness, then I Myself come forth... for the destruction of evil-doers, for the sake of firmly establishing righteousness, I am born from age to age." --- KRISHNA- Bhagavad Gita- fourth discourse

Hindus are awaiting the coming of the Kalki Avatar at the end of this present age, Kalki Yuga (Dark or Iron Age). Baha'is believe that the Kalki Yuga age has already ended and, as promised in the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord has again manifested Himself to humanity.... this time with the name Baha'u'llah. Baha'u'llah is the Kalki Avatar.

Baha'u'llah's name means the Glory of Bhagwan or the Splendor of Ishvara. The coming of Baha'u'llah is therefore the start of the Sat or Krta Yuga (Golden Age). It is the time when people will return to righteousness and the world will be at peace.

Baha'is have pointed to the prophecies in the Hindu scriptures and stated that all of these have been fulfilled in this age. There are many passages in the Hindu writings which describe the condition of the world at the end of the Kalki Yuga. Baha'is would say that what is described in the Hindu books is exactly what we are seeing in the world today. Among the most striking of these passages from the Hindu holy books are the following....

Hinduism is characterized by not only one Supreme God but also by many gods and goddesses, such as Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, Lakshmi, Parvathi, Saraswathi and so on. In Hinduism they are regarded as the manifestation of Iswara, the Universal Creative Consciousness, the One Supreme, or the Saguna Brahman. In addition to gods and goddesses, in Hinduism we also come across the worship of many objects such as trees, plants, rivers, lakes, snakes, hills, the various planets, some stars, constellations, the sun, the moon and so on. Many saints, babas and sages also are objects of their veneration. The Hindus worship the gods and goddesses variously adding further complexity to the manner of worship in Hinduism. They may worship them all or only some of them at a time, or venerate each of them separately as the Supreme God himself.

Generally, the present trend is that most of the Hindus believe and worship many gods simultaneously in the hope of receiving blessings from many of them. Some times this may even create confusion in their minds as to whom to worship in a given situation. But most of them resolve these problems in their own individual ways. There are traditions according to which each Hindu god is to be worshipped on a particular day in a week, month or year and many follow these traditions. There are certain specific rules and regulations to be observed by the devout Hindus while worshipping them, which involve performance of specific rites, rituals and chanting. Many observe these rules with great sincerity.

Polytheism is an integral part of Hinduism, despite of opposition from certain intellectual quarters over the centuries. After contacts with Islam and the Christianity of the British, attempts were made by some educated Hindus like Raja Rammohan Roy and Keshab Chandrasen to discourage polytheism. The reformist movements like Brahmo Samaj and the Arya Samaj were products of such a reaction. But their impact did not last long as is evident from the way present day Hindus visit the temples and worship various gods, observe the festivals and celebrate the glory of gods and goddesses, perform pujas and vratas whenever the occasion demands...