Buddha from Space: The Enigmatic "Iron
Man" Statue of Tibet
Introduction:
For centuries, European explorers
have been fascinated by the enigmatic lands of Asia, particularly Tibet.
Numerous stories and accounts exist, ranging from the ancient Greek explorer
Scylax's visit to the Indus region in BC 515 to the tragic expedition of Sandor
Csoma de Koros, the Hungarian linguist, and the Nazi German Expedition of Tibet
in 1938-1939. In this article, we will focus on the latter and the intriguing
discovery of the "Iron Man" statue made by the expedition team.
Background of Nazi German
Expedition of Tibet in 1938-1939:
In 1938, after the establishment
of the German Reich under Adolf Hitler, Germany sought to explore the lands of
Asia, with a special interest in Tibet. The Nazi regime imagined Tibet as a
potential base for attacking British India and hoped that the mission would
establish an alliance with Tibetans against British imperialism. Under the
patronage of Heinrich Himmler, the Officer of the Third Reich with an interest
in mysticism and occult, a German expedition team was formed. Led by Dr. Ernst
Schaefer, a renowned zoologist and botanist, the expedition had a dual purpose
– a scientific and cultural exploration of Tibet on the surface, but a
diplomatic and quasi-scientific mission to forge relations with Tibet secretly.
The Expedition's Encounter with
the "Iron Man" Statue:
During their exploration in Tibet
in 1938, the Nazi Expedition team discovered an ancient Buddhist statue called
the "Iron Man." The circumstances of its discovery remain unknown,
and there are conflicting reports about whether the statue was stolen by the
expedition members. The "Iron Man" statue is a stylistic hybrid,
reflecting a cultural fusion of the pre-Buddhist Bon tradition and Tibetan
Buddhism. It portrays the Buddhist deity Vaisravana, also known as Jambhala,
the Buddhist King of the North, and is believed to be over 1,000 years old,
weighing around 10 kilograms.
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Recent Developments &
Discovery:
After decades of obscurity, in
2009, the "Iron Man" statue was auctioned and made available for
study. In 2012, Dr. Elmar Buchner from Stuttgart University conducted the first
scientific analysis of the statue. To the astonishment of Dr. Buchner and his
team, it was revealed that the statue was crafted from Ataxite, a rare class of
iron meteorite with high nickel content. This meteorite was believed to have
crashed into the border area between Mongolia and Russia approximately 15,000
years ago. The statue's uniqueness lies in the fact that it is the only known
illustration of a human figure carved from a meteorite, making its true value
hard to determine. Dr. Buchner suggests that it could be valued at $20,000, but
if its age is indeed close to a thousand years, it might be considered
invaluable.
Conclusion:
The story of the Nazi German
Expedition of Tibet in 1938-1939 and the discovery of the "Iron Man"
statue shed light on the thousands of artifacts and cultural treasures
plundered from Asia during the Imperial Occupation years. Many of these sacred
treasures remain obscure in private collections. It is our hope that with
further research and proper examination, more artifacts like the "Iron
Man" will come to light, revealing their historical and cultural
significance.
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