Flex Mentallo

Moths gathered in a fluttering throng one night To learn the truth about the candle light, And they decided one of them should go To gather news of the elusive glow. One flew till in the distance he discerned A palace window where a candle burned – And went no nearer: back again he flew To tell the others what he thought he knew. The mentor of the moths dismissed his claim, Remarking: “He knows nothing of the flame.” A moth more eager than the one before Set out and passed beyond the palace door. He hovered in the aura of the fire, A trembling blur of timorous desire, Then headed back to say how far he’d been, And how much he had undergone and seen. The mentor said: “You do not bear the signs Of one who’s fathomed how the candle shines.” Another moth flew out — his dizzy flight Turned to an ardent wooing of the light; He dipped and soared, and in his frenzied trance Both self and fire were mingled by his dance – The flame engulfed his wing-tips, body, head, His being glowed a fierce translucent red; And when the mentor saw that sudden blaze, The moth’s form lost within the glowing rays, He said: “He knows, he knows the truth we seek, That hidden truth of which we cannot speak.” To go beyond all knowledge is to find That comprehension which eludes the mind, And you can never gain the longed-for goal Until you first outsoar both flesh and soul; But should one part remain, a single hair Will drag you back and plunge you in despair – No creature’s self can be admitted here, Where all identity must disappear. Farid ud-Din Attar – The moths and the flame

Profoundly though, the real reason Mount Kailash has not been climbed is because it cannot be found. For the true form of Mount Kailash exists only in the realm of Shambala, of which the visible manifestation is but a shadow.

Mount Kailash was also said to be the site of a magical battle between Milarepa, who first introduced Buddhism to Tibet, and the Bön priest Naro Bön-chung, in which they vied to be first to climb the mountain and claim it for their respective religions. Milarepa won by riding a shaft of sunlight to the mountain top at dawn.

Though sacred, these are regularly climbed by pilgrims visiting the beautiful mountain top temples high in the clouds.

Legend says they are scattered fragments of Mount Kailash that fell down as Hanuman flew overhead.

Two places I have been are Pavagadh and Mount Girnar, two sacred mounts rising from the flat plains of Gujarat.

Hanuman cannot find the herb, so decides to bring the mountain instead.

In the Ramayana, Rama sends the monkey king Hanuman on a mission to mount Kailash to find a certain herb that will revive his sleeping consort Sita.

Some achieve this in a single day. Others perform the parikrama, prostrating themselves after every step, stretching their fingertips with every prostration to mark the next footstep.

Despite the remoteness of it's location, thousands of pilgrims journey to Mount Kailash every year to walk the 32 mile path around it's base, believing this to be a holy ritual that will bring them good fortune.

Precious Jewel of the Snows

The Chinese then gave permission for a Spanish team to climb the peak in 2001 , but this provoked such fervent international disapproval they withdrew the invitation and decided to ban all further attempts to climb the mountain. "If we conquer this mountain, then we conquer something in people's souls ... I would suggest they go and climb something a little harder. Kailash is not so high and not so hard." Reinhold Messner

Reinhold Messner is widely considered to be the greatest climber in history. In 1978 he became the first to summit Everest single handed - without the aid of oxygen, a feat doctors had thought not humanly possible. He was the subject of a documentary by Werner Herzog, The Dark Glow of the Mountains in 1984. At about this time he was invited by the Chinese government to climb Mount Kailash but he declined.

In 1926 Hugh Ruttledge had seriously planned to climb Mount Kailash, the most sacred mountain in the Hindu, Buddhist, Bön and Jain religions. Fortunately he ran out of time.

Although I was a student in India for two years back in the early '80's I never managed to get to either Nepal or Tibet - maybe one day! You are quite right about Machhapuchhre - though therein hangs a tale. In 1957 a British team led by Jimmy Roberts did climb to within 150 feet of the top - a height of 22,793 feet. But having promised not to set foot on the summit, they turned back. Since then, the mountain has been declared sacred, and it is now closed to climbers.

One of my favorites too - I have the second one somewhere as well, but never managed to lay my hands on the third!

I hereby declare these publications to be National Treasures and demand their immediate return to the motherland.

..in fact a number by Tubb.

..and this one perhaps.

Pick of the litter maybe.

..that did jog my elbow to recall "The Man Who Would be King" by Rudyard Kipling (a novella written in 1888) and the subject of a well-known and wonderful movie adaptation by John Huston, which features a semi-mythical kingdom, Kafiristan. The artist William Strang did a series of Goya-esque etchings of Kiplings stories, of which this was one. Kipling was supposedly inspired by the life of Josiah Harlan (1799-1871), 'Prince of Ghor', an American adventurer who was a soldier, spy and governor in the Punjab, Afghanistan and Central Asia.He claimed to have obtained the right to rule a 'kingdom' in the Hindu Kush. "The Son of Man goes forth to war, A golden crown to gain; His blood-red banner streams afar-- Who follows in his train?" Kipling

Another one I've never heard of - and the date is surprisingly early. Love the cover!

I'm currently in Oregon attending my nephew's wedding. When I return home I'll go through my pulps and see if I can find anything. Thanks BZ.

I assume the cover story has a twist in the tale? (Wish Marvel would print more Atlas masterworks!}

Oh! I didn't know either of those! Classic stuff Pat!