Founded in the mid-1950s, you may never have heard of The Aetherius Society. It has supporters all over the world and there was one branch in England that most people may not know exists.
Described as a 'UFO religion' and a 'New Age' belief system, there's a temple in Yorkshire on the A61, Sheffield Road. The religion was founded by a man called King George, a 'master of yoga' who claimed to have been in contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, also known as 'Cosmic Masters', Yorkshire Live reports.
Fast forward 70 years and the religious movement has spread across the globe, though the penetration into Yorkshire appears to be fairly modest, with reference on the Society's website to supporters in Barnsley and Hull.
However, one location in Yorkshire appears to have played a significant role in the development of George King's outlook. It was at Roseberry Topping - sometimes jokingly called Yorkshire's Matterhorn - that King visited in 1978 on a 'mystical pilgrimage'.
A photograph of King atop the 1,049ft Roseberry Topping in North Yorkshire is featured on The Aetherius Society website. King says he had a profound 'realisation' while during that 'bright sunny morning in June'.
According to King, his mission on earth was to act as an 'agent' for the Gods and to help "Goddess Earth Herself in her sacrifice for humanity."
In 'The King who Came to Earth', a biography of George King, chapter six deals with a mission that "moved into a dark and dangerous phase of transmuting the powerful evil forces in the lower astral realms of Earth."
Over in Barnsley, the branch organiser is Bipin Patel who says he came across The Aetherius Society through his brother who was for a time living in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, and later a university student in London.
Mr Patel has been in Barnsley nearly a year now and says the branch is one of the larger ones. Members meet up three or four times a week, with services such as 'The Twelve Blessings' aimed at changing the world with spiritual energy.
Members also take part in 'Operation Prayer Power' in which spiritual energy is directed into a "spiritual energy battery" described as "a special piece of apparatus which can store spiritual energy for release in times of need to bring about healing, peace and upliftment," according to the Society's website.
Mr Patel admits that the concept of storing spiritual energy in a 'battery' may sound "a bit crazy" and radical.
I ask him what's inside the battery but he cannot say.
"The exact design of the battery is classified information. It's a crystalline material to store energy. Specialist apparatus can discharge it."
The energy produced can, he says, be released in the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake, or to help bring about peace during wartime.
Mr Patel says The Aetherius Society appeals to people who are interested in spirituality and worried about humanity.
Asked about contact with Gods from space, Mr Patel says: "The primary contact was through Dr George King. He was a very unusual person who did 8-10 hours of yoga a day for 10 years while in full-time employment. He became a master of yoga through exceptional dedication."
Mr Patel, who is Hindu, says members of the Society come from various backgrounds including Christianity and Islam.
"To me, it all blends in perfectly. We think there is only one God. We think all different religions are the same God with different names."
Asked about UFOs, Mr Patel says that these are real and that "they are spacecraft of extraterrestrial origin. There have been lots of different sightings."
"The Aetherius Society is an international spiritual organization dedicated to spreading, and acting upon, the teachings of advanced extraterrestrial intelligences," the Society's website explains.
"In great compassion, these beings recognize the extent of suffering on Earth and have made countless sacrifices in their mission to help us to create a better world.
"The Society was founded in the mid-1950s by an Englishman named George King shortly after he was contacted in London by an extraterrestrial intelligence known as 'Aetherius.' The main body of the Society’s teachings consists of the wisdom given through the mediumship of Dr King by the Master Aetherius and other advanced intelligences from this world and beyond.
"The single greatest aspect of the Society’s teachings is the importance of selfless service to others. The Society’s motto is 'Service is the jewel in the rock of attainment.'
"The Society does not regard itself as the one and only path to enlightenment or salvation. It maintains that all the great religions are simply different expressions of the one essential timeless reality that is the Divine Source."
Service to others is known as 'karma yoga' and is "the greatest spiritual practice anyone can perform."
Karma, it says, is not about punishment, but about learning.
"Due to the wrong thought and action of humankind for millennia, the balance of world karma at present is not good. This prevents more direct intervention from the Cosmic Masters, such as an open landing in a major city.
"Much of The Aetherius Society’s work is done specifically in order to improve world karma, especially through the Cosmic Missions it is instrumental in performing."
