The Hermit

Rating:
Summary: A UFO Classic!
Review: At the outset, let it be declared that "The Hermit" by T. Lobsang Rampa is a genuine classic of UFO and abduction literature. While that may not have been Rampa's original intent, what he has written not only accurately predicts the future of what would be eventually learned by abduction researchers decades later, but also provides another dimension to the typical abduction narrative that is almost never present: In Rampa's book, the aliens actually SPEAK to the abductee and make him a conscious and active participant in what is happening.

But let us first look at the framework of the story Rampa tells. It begins with a young Buddhist monk's arrival at the cave of another monk who is a hermit greatly advanced in years. The hermit has been expecting the younger priest to visit for more than sixty years, meanwhile enduring deprivations of mind and body that would kill many less faithful to their appointed task. The young monk is to be the repository of knowledge that his elder counterpart has been waiting to impart to him.

The hermit's own story began when he was himself a young Tibetan priest and was taken captive by the Chinese, who falsely believed he was carrying classified information to their enemies. The hermit/priest is tortured as part of his interrogation, and eventually has his eyes gouged out before being thrown on a nearby dung heap to die. Now blinded and barely alive, he makes his escape to the mountains, where he is eventually captured by the aliens and taken to an underground location for indoctrination into the mysteries he is to pass on to the world.

The aliens tell him he has been chosen because he has an exceptional memory that will allow him to vividly remember the details of their message to the world for the rest of his life. At that point, Rampa begins the story of the hermit's abduction experience that, given that it was originally published in 1971, seems absolutely prescient today.

The hermit tells the young monk the entire story in a series of lectures. The hermit was initially placed on an operating-type table with only one pillar in the middle supporting it, one of the most familiar details of the standard abduction scenario. Various devices are connected to his body that seem to serve some kind of medical purpose. At one point, the top of his head is sawed off and a kind of brain surgery performed. There are also moments when he views other worlds on large television screens onboard a ship, as well as a fascinating extended out-of-body experience that teaches him about the slow process of alien-controlled evolution by which mankind came to dwell upon the Earth.

The aliens' message concludes with their many attempts to send religious role models to help keep mankind as much as possible on the straight and narrow. Historical figures such as Moses, Buddha and Christ are shown to be alien creations whose true purpose remains obscured behind the clouds of human superstition.

By now, you may be tempted to say, "But we've heard it all before." Which is precisely the point, it really HAS all been heard before. Whitley Strieber and Betty Andreasson Luca and any number of abductees have had similar things happen. But their stories began in the 1980s, more than a decade after Rampa's book was published in 1971. (Inner Light Publications has enthusiastically reprinted it.) At that point in UFO history, the only other widely read abduction account was John Fuller's "The Interrupted Journey," which told the story of Barney and Betty Hill's 1961 capture and medical examination onboard a UFO.

Rampa has quite simply assembled a narrative report so remarkably consistent with what would be learned in future years that it staggers the imagination and serves as a wonderful bit of prophecy that has been undeniably fulfilled by the abduction research that came later.

The story ends with perhaps one of the most profound scenes ever to grace the pages of a book of this type. Though Rampa is himself deceased, "The Hermit" will live forever as both a spiritual work of sublime depth and as another invaluable glimpse into the crucially important phenomenon of alien abduction, which may one day be the deliverance of life as we "know" it. And for which we will owe T. Lobsang Rampa and others like him a debt of gratitude.

Rating:
Summary: Your not alone!
Review: At the outset, let it be declared that "The Hermit" by T. Lobsang Rampa is a genuine classic of UFO and abduction literature. While that may not have been Rampa's original intent, what he has written not only accurately predicts the future of what would be eventually learned by abduction researchers decades later, but also provides another dimension to the typical abduction narrative that is almost never present: In Rampa's book, the aliens actually SPEAK to the abductee and make him a conscious and active participant in what is happening.

But let us first look at the framework of the story Rampa tells. It begins with a young Buddhist monk's arrival at the cave of another monk who is a hermit greatly advanced in years. The hermit has been expecting the younger priest to visit for more than sixty years, meanwhile enduring deprivations of mind and body that would kill many less faithful to their appointed task. The young monk is to be the repository of knowledge that his elder counterpart has been waiting to impart to him.

The hermit's own story began when he was himself a young Tibetan priest and was taken captive by the Chinese, who falsely believed he was carrying classified information to their enemies. The hermit/priest is tortured as part of his interrogation, and eventually has his eyes gouged out before being thrown on a nearby dung heap to die. Now blinded and barely alive, he makes his escape to the mountains, where he is eventually captured by the aliens and taken to an underground location for indoctrination into the mysteries he is to pass on to the world.

The aliens tell him he has been chosen because he has an exceptional memory that will allow him to vividly remember the details of their message to the world for the rest of his life. At that point, Rampa begins the story of the hermit's abduction experience that, given that it was originally published in 1971, seems absolutely prescient today.

The hermit tells the young monk the entire story in a series of lectures. The hermit was initially placed on an operating-type table with only one pillar in the middle supporting it, one of the most familiar details of the standard abduction scenario. Various devices are connected to his body that seem to serve some kind of medical purpose. At one point, the top of his head is sawed off and a kind of brain surgery performed. There are also moments when he views other worlds on large television screens onboard a ship, as well as a fascinating extended out-of-body experience that teaches him about the slow process of alien-controlled evolution by which mankind came to dwell upon the Earth.

The aliens' message concludes with their many attempts to send religious role models to help keep mankind as much as possible on the straight and narrow. Historical figures such as Moses, Buddha and Christ are shown to be alien creations whose true purpose remains obscured behind the clouds of human superstition.

By now, you may be tempted to say, "But we've heard it all before." Which is precisely the point, it really HAS all been heard before. Whitley Strieber and Betty Andreasson Luca and any number of abductees have had similar things happen. But their stories began in the 1980s, more than a decade after Rampa's book was published in 1971. (Inner Light Publications has enthusiastically reprinted it.) At that point in UFO history, the only other widely read abduction account was John Fuller's "The Interrupted Journey," which told the story of Barney and Betty Hill's 1961 capture and medical examination onboard a UFO.

Rampa has quite simply assembled a narrative report so remarkably consistent with what would be learned in future years that it staggers the imagination and serves as a wonderful bit of prophecy that has been undeniably fulfilled by the abduction research that came later.

The story ends with perhaps one of the most profound scenes ever to grace the pages of a book of this type. Though Rampa is himself deceased, "The Hermit" will live forever as both a spiritual work of sublime depth and as another invaluable glimpse into the crucially important phenomenon of alien abduction, which may one day be the deliverance of life as we "know" it. And for which we will owe T. Lobsang Rampa and others like him a debt of gratitude.

Rating:
Summary: Strange but True?
Review: Slightly different from other Rampa books insofar as it is written in the third person. The contents switch easily between the life of the hermit and the story he is telling. If you believe that earth is not the only inhabited world in this or other galaxies then this will enhance your fascination of the subject. With some 'quite logical explanations' for some of the more profound happenings in our history it certainly gives food for thought. Some, perhaps not followers of the Lobsang mysteries, will consider this production from Lobang's imagination. Read it and judge for yourself - no matter what your thoughts on the matter - it's not to be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Strange but True?
Review: Slightly different from other Rampa books insofar as it is written in the third person. The contents switch easily between the life of the hermit and the story he is telling. If you believe that earth is not the only inhabited world in this or other galaxies then this will enhance your fascination of the subject. With some 'quite logical explanations' for some of the more profound happenings in our history it certainly gives food for thought. Some, perhaps not followers of the Lobsang mysteries, will consider this production from Lobang's imagination. Read it and judge for yourself - no matter what your thoughts on the matter - it's not to be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Your not alone!
Review: This book is amazing. More people should read this book. We hear people talk about aliens and U.F.O.'s and this book provides proof that they exist and interact with certain humans. It has changed my outlook on how we are supposed to live life. This book will leave you amazed and wanting to hear more.