According to the post-1900 publications of theosophy, Sanat Kumara is an "Advanced Being" at the Cosmic level of initiation who is regarded as the "Lord" or "Regent" of Earth and of humanity. He is thought to be the head of the Spiritual Hierarchy of Earth who dwells in Shamballah (also known as 'The City of Enoch'). According to the adherents to the Ascended Master Teachings, Shamballah is a floating city manifested on the etheric plane somewhere above the Gobi Desert in the borderlands of Mongolia. Sanat Kumara is a mythical religious figure often referred to as an advanced human master with a consciousness far evolved from a human master as a master human is from an animal. His consciousness, age and experience of cosmic and interplanetary life and deity far exceeds that of a human master. In Theosophy, the Great White Brotherhood is a spiritual "fraternity" of Ascended Beings, which was founded by and is still directed by Sanat Kumara. Presently he is supported in his role as the head of planet Earth and of Shamballah by a number of Avatars, most notably Buddha and Maitreya. According to Elizabeth Van Buren, the Brotherhood once maintained (earthly) headquarters hidden in a remote valley near a sacred lake in old Tibet, until relatively recently, when, possibly due to the surmised threat of Communist China, they withdrew, allegedly through tunnels to an alternative earthly location in Peru, where they are still reported as having an earth base (circa 1985). These authors believe that Sanat Kumara is the founder of this Great White Brotherhood, which is composed of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom (called in the Ascended Master Teachings Ascended Masters) and volunteers from other worlds who have joined to advance spiritual evolution on Earth. In Hinduism Sanat Kumara appears as a rishi in the Hindu religious text the Chandogya Upanishad. A shrine to Sanat Kumara which attracts and unites people of all religions and faiths is situated in the town of Kataragama, Sri Lanka. In Sanskrit, "Sanat Kumara" is "Eternal Youth" (from Sanat "eternal", Ku "with difficulty" and Mara "mortal"). Shamballa in Buddhism – home of the King of the World Shambhala (Tib. bde 'byung) in Vajrayana Buddhism (the religion of Tibet) is a Sanskrit term meaning "place of peace/tranquility/happiness". Gautama Buddha is said by Vajrayana Buddhists to have taught the Kalachakra tantra on request of King Suchandra of Shambhala; the teachings are