Vajrayana,
The Path Royale (Vaj)
USA, Europe and Africa
AESCULAPIUS. A prince of Thessaly who became the Grand Master of the Order in Greece. He became famous for his miraculous healing, and up to this day he is known as the god of healing.
AKBAR THE GREAT. Also known as Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar and was the third Mughal Emperor of India/Hindustan. A wise ruler of Timurid descent, he was also a sound judge of character. He was an artisan, warrior, artist, armorer, blacksmith, carpenter, emperor, general, inventor, animal trainer, lace maker, technologist, and theologian.
AKHNATON. He was best renowned for his loyalty to one deity. The only one of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs to promote a monotheistic religion and has earned him the title of "The Heretic Pharaoh". He was born as Amenhotep IV, but changed his name to Akhenaten, a tribute to his chosen deity, Aten, the Sun God.
AMENEMHET III. The twelfth pharaoh’s name is also spelled Amenemhet and is considered as the greatest monarch of the Middle Kingdom. He had ruled alongside his father, Sensuret III for a long time. Pharaoh Amenemhet III built the first pyramid at Dahshur, famously known as the "Black Pyramid," but was abandoned due to building problems. It later served as burial ground for several royal women. The pyramid that he built at Hawara, was known as the “Labyrinth” due to its complex security features.
ARTHUR. A legendary British leader who led the defense of Britain against Saxon invaders. King Arthur was depicted as a British soldier in a Latin historical text in 9th century. Much later, texts regard him as a legendary king of the Britons.
AURANGZEB. More formally known as Al-Sultan al-Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram Abul Muzaffar Muhi ud-din Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahadur Alamgir I, Badshah Ghazi was the 6th Mughal emperor and has the second longest leadership streak after Akbar. His reign was marked by many wars of expansion and he ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly half a century. Presently, he is considered as one of the most powerful Mughal rulers in Afghanistan and South Asia.
CHANDRAGUPTA. The founder of the Maurya Empire and of Shakya descent of the Kshatriya varna. As the first Mauryan king, he conquered the Nanda Empire by age 20 and established centralized rule throughout South Asia. He continues to be one of the most celebrated rulers in the history of India.
CONFUCIUS. He was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. His teachings have greatly influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese thought and life. One of his greatest lessons may possibly be the emphasis on self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules.
ELIZABETH I. Queen Elizabeth I was sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess. She was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. The queen ruled by good counsel, and she depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers led by William Cecil, Baron Burghley. Her 44 years of rule, provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity.
HELENA IVANOVNA ROERICH. She was a Russian philosopher, writer, and a prominent public figure. She worked with Teachers of the East and was an Honorary President-Founder of Institute of Himalayan Studies. She has also participated in the expedition in Central Asia under the guidance of Nicholas Roerich. Helena Roerich translated from English to Russian two volumes of Helena Blavatsky’s Secret Doctrine and selected Mahatma’s Letters.
IMHOTEP. Imhotep’s name means as the “one who comes in with peace.” He was an Eqyptian polymath, poet, engineer, architect, and physician. He served as chancellor under the Third Dynasty king, Djoser, and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. He was one of the very few mortals to be depicted as part of a pharaoh's statue and was accorded a divine status after death.
JESUS THE CHRIST. As the central figure of Christianity, he is perceived as the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament. He continues to be one of the most influential figures in history and several other religions revere him in some way. As a bodhisattva, he dedicated his life to the welfare of human beings. As such, Gasan Jōseki, a 14th century Zen master, mentioned that the Gospel teachings were written by an enlightened man. He is considered by the Bahá'í Faith as a Manifestation of God with both human and divine stations, like the great messengers of other religions of the world.
KAHLIL GIBRAN. He was born in Lebanon and emigrated with his family to the United States where he studied art and began his literary career. He was a distinguished artist, poet, and writer and was chiefly known for his book, The Prophet. He was considered as the third most widely read poet in history.
KRISHNA. The avatar Krishna was a deity worshipped across many traditions in Hinduism in a variety of perspectives. In some he is considered as an avatar of Vishnu while in others, he is considered as the Supreme Being. Krishna is portrayed in various perspectives: a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero and the Supreme Being. The Mahābhārata, the Harivamsa, the Bhagavata Purana, and the Vishnu Purana are the principal scriptures that conveys Krishna’s story. He is a much loved subject in performing arts and regional traditions such as the Jagannatha in Orissa, Vithoba in Maharashtra and Shrinathji in Rajasthan.
KUBLAI KHAN. He was fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China. He was the second son of Tolui and Sorghaghtani Beki and a grandson of Genghis Khan. His reign extended from the Pacific to the Urals, from Siberia to Afghanistan – one fifth of the world's inhabited land area.
LAO TZU. A Chinese philosopher and central figure in Taoism (also spelled "Daoism"). The term Laozi literally means "Old Master" and is considered honorific. He is revered as a deity in most religious forms of Taoism and is considered as "One of the Three Pure Ones." The Daodejing is one of the most significant treatises in Chinese cosmogony. His ideas are mostly explained by way of paradox, analogy, appropriation of ancient sayings, repetition, symmetry, rhyme, and rhythm.
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916-18. His popular title Lawrence of Arabia was due to the extraordinary breadth and variety of his activities and associations, and his ability to describe them vividly in writing. His public image was partly due to journalist Lowell Thomas' sensationalized reportage of the revolt, as well as Lawrence's autobiographical account – the Seven Pillars of Wisdom. He was a prolific writer and corresponded with several notable figures including George Bernard Shaw, Edward Elgar, Winston Churchill, Robert Graves, Noël Coward, E. M. Forster, Siegfried Sassoon, John Buchan, Augustus John and Henry Williamson.
MAHATMA GHANDI. He was the pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement and also known as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. In Sanskrit, the term mahātmā means Great Soul. He founded satyagraha—resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, a philosophy firmly founded upon ahimsa or total nonviolence. Gandhi led nationwide campaigns to ease poverty, expand women's rights, build religious and ethnic amity, end untouchability, and increase economic self-reliance, after he assumed his position in the Indian National Congress.
MENCIUS. A Chinese philosopher who was arguably the most famous Confucian after Confucius himself. His teachings emphasize the innate goodness of the individual, believing that it was society's influence – its lack of a positive cultivating influence – that caused bad moral character.
MILARESPA. Patron saint of Tibetan yogis and mystics. In a superhuman effort, he rose above the miseries of his younger life and with the help of his Guru, Marpa the Translator, took to a solitary life of meditation until he had achieved the pinnacle of the enlightened state, never to be born again into the Samsara (whirlpool of life and death) of worldly existence. Out of compassion for humanity, he undertook the most rigid asceticism to reach the Vajra Buddhic state of enlightenment and to pass his accomplishments on to the rest of humanity. His spiritual lineage was passed along to his chief disciples, Gambopa and Rechung. According to a blessing Milarepa uttered towards the end of his life, anyone who but hears the name Milarepa even once, attracts an instant blessing and will not take rebirth in a lower state of existence during seven consecutive lifetimes. This was prophesized by Saints and Vajra buddhas of the past even before his lifetime.
NAGARJUNA. Born in southern India (circa 100 A.D.), Nagarjuna is revered not only as an exceptional mystic, but also as a sagacious philosopher, alchemist and physician in the holy lands of India, Tibet and the Himalayan regions. Nagarjuna is said to have found an elixir of life, which enabled him to live for an unknown number of centuries. He has attained immortality by transmuting his physical form into a radiant, indestructible body, which can become visible or invisible at will. He can manifest his body several times at different places all at the same time.Nagarjuna had mastered the medical aspect of alchemy and the chemical aspect of the art. He used his ability to produce gold out of other materials to help his fellow monks survive times of economic impoverishment.The great siddha Buddha left in the keeping of the Nagas a collection of important manuscripts called the Prajna-Paramita, literally meaning "The Perfection of Wisdom." Nagarjuna became a bodhisattva (avatar).
NICHOLAS ROERICH. He was also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh and was a Russian painter, philosopher, scientist, writer, traveler, and public figure. He founded an international movement for the defense of culture and earned several nominations for the Nobel Prize. He painted 7,000 artworks and created about 30 literary works.
OMAR KHAYYAM. He was a Persian polymath, philosopher, astronomer, physician, and poet. He also wrote treatises on mechanics, geography, and music. He was known as one of the major mathematicians and astronomers of the medieval period. Zamakhshari referred to him as “the philosopher of the world.”
PADMASAMBHAVA. An Indian sage Guru whose name means the Glorious Lotus Born and venerated as a second Buddha. It was believed that he has transmitted Tantric Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century. He is known across those lands as the Rinpoche or Precious Guru, Lopon Rinpoche or Padum in Tibet.
SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA BUDDHA. He was regarded as the Supreme Buddha and was a great spiritual teacher and philosopher from ancient India. The title Buddha means the "awakened one" or "the enlightened one." He is also known as Shakyamuni or the sage of the Shakya clan and as Tathagatha (thus come or thus gone). He is of noble birth from the Shakya clan, a warrior tribe. At 29 years, he left his palace and family in pursuit of enlightenment. Some of Buddha’s greatest teachings include the Four Noble Truths and the secret to peace and happiness.
SOLOMON. According to the Hebrew bible, King Solomon was third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah split. King Solomon is credited as the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem. He was portrayed as a ruler with great wisdom, wealth, and power, but ultimately as a king whose sin, including idolatry and turning away from God, lead to the fall of the kingdom during the reign of his son Rehoboam.
TAMERLANE. He is also known as Tīmūr-e Lang in Perso-Arabic or Tamerlane in English. The name Temur means iron in the Chagatai language. He was a conqueror of great parts of Western and Central Asia and the founder of the Timurid Empire and Timurid Dynasty. Tamerlane the Great sought to restore the Mongol Empire and was a great patron of the arts.
THUTMOSE III. The Pharaoh Thutmose the III was considered to have been the Napoleon of Egypt and greatest warrior pharaoh of Egypt because of his military conquests – nearly 350 cities captured during his reign. He was also a very religious man and had several temples built.