Shambhala within the Soviet intelligence service, as well as rival efforts of the Soviet Foreign Commissariat that sent its own expedition to Tibet in 1924. French Buddhist Alexandra David-Néel associated Shambhala with Balkh in present-day Afghanistan, also offering the Persian "Sham-i-Bala", "elevated candle" as an etymology of its name. In a similar vein, the Gurdjieffian J. G. Bennett published speculation that Shambalha was "Shams-i-Balkh", a Bactrian sun temple. Shambhala may have been the inspiration for Shangri-La, a paradise on Earth hidden in a Tibetan valley, which features in the 1933 novel "Lost Horizon" by British author James Hilton. Shambhala In Hinduism
Lost Horizon (1973 film) has not improved since. It was selected for inclusion in the book "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time", co-written by critic Michael Medved, and is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book "The Official Razzie Movie Guide" as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made. The film was also a box office bomb, losing an estimated $51 million. This musical version is much closer to the 1937 film than to the original James Hilton novel. It tells the story of a group of travellers whose aeroplane is hijacked while fleeing a bloody revolution. The