The Roerich movement was organized by the Roerichs during missionary trips in the 1920s in countries such as the United States, Latvia, France, and Bulgaria. By 1934, about 100 Agni Yoga societies had already formed in many countries of the world. Roerich societies, circles and groups also existed in Germany, Switzerland ("Crown Mundi"), Estonia and Manchuria (Harbin). These circles were esoteric in their focus and engaged in occult practices. The members of these circles studied the relevant literature, gathered together in the evenings, using the “table-turning” method, called otherworldly spirits who dictated to them spiritual messages, which were “a symbolic image of the path of ascent”. One of the most active was the Roerich Society of Latvia, which existed before Latvia joined the USSR in 1940.
On the territory of Russia, the Roerich movement as such began to actively develop only during the period of "perestroika" in the late 80s. But the foundation for this was laid by a well-known artist and public figure who lived in India. Svyatoslav Roerich (1904-1993) , the youngest son of Nicholas and Helena Roerich, who repeatedly came to the USSR with exhibitions of paintings, his own and his father's. On his initiative, in 1989, the Soviet Roerich Foundation was established in Moscow, to which Svyatoslav Roerich transferred the cultural heritage of his parents. After 1991, this fund was renamed to International Center of the Roerichs .
Today Roerich's organizations work in some countries of Europe, America and Asia, in Australia, as well as in such countries of the former USSR as Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia.
According to the Sectoved.ru website, this movement uses a purely sectarian method of propaganda: one thing is publicly declared (say, religious tolerance and fidelity to the Gospel), in fact, the true essence of the doctrine is hidden from a wide range of followers and outsiders for a while.So, Helena Roerich in her letter of 03/08/1938 advises lie for propaganda purposes . In addition, none of the traditional confessions of Russia adopted the Roerich doctrine and did not join the corresponding movement. In fact, the Roerichs were unable to unite believers, theologians, hierarchs. The slogan of "unity" was used only to aggravate the religious schism of people: among dozens of other religious movements, another one arose that was very hostile to everyone else.
At present, the "Roerich movement" has taken shape in the form of a huge number of cultural, educational and educational centers spread in a dense network throughout Russia and abroad, which have become a kind of centers for the dissemination of the occult views of the Roerichs. Hiding behind the mask of cultural enlightenment, occultists actively penetrate secular and government agencies countries, including the education system! Hundreds of schools in Russia have already introduced mandatory lessons for the study of Agni Yoga (Living Ethics) practiced by the Roerichs.
It is believed that it was the "Roerich movement" that had a significant impact on the development of New Age in Russia.
Roerichs
The names of Helena and Nicholas Roerichs are now known to very many people. Most people heard only good things about the Roerichs: artists, travelers, very talented people… They traveled to India. And there, either in Tibet or in Shambhala, they met with holy hermits and sages - mahatmas.
Fenugreek- a mythical country in Tibet, the location of the Great Teachers who promote the evolution of mankind. The concept of Shambhala was originally part of classical Hinduism and was associated in the Mahabharata with the birthplace of Kalki, the future avatar of Vishnu. In the modern esoteric tradition, this concept was first reflected by Helena Blavatsky. It is in Shambhala, according to Helena Blavatsky, that the coming Messiah will be born, who is expected in different nations and religions under different names - Kalki Avatar of Vishnu, Maitreya Buddha, Sosiosh, the Messiah on the White Horse, Christ. Subsequently, the idea of Shambhala was developed by representatives of post-theosophy, such as Charles Leadbeater, and in particular Alice Bailey and Nicholas Roerich. In the works of Nicholas and Helena Roerich, the idea of Shambhala is of great importance. Nicholas Roerich, who traveled through Central Asia in 1923-28, claimed to have personally heard countless stories about Shambhala. He painted a series of inspired paintings about Shambhala. The veneration of Shambhala is one of the important foundations of the teachings of Agni Yoga created by the Roerichs.
On the one hand, Roerich was indeed a great, talented and very interesting person as an artist and thinker. But on the other hand, he tried to build his own religious-mystical teaching based on a controversial mixture of scientific, anti-scientific, paranormal and quasi-religious statements.
Roerich Nicholas Konstantinovich (1874 - 1947)
- Russian artist, philosopher-mystic, writer and poet, traveler, archaeologist, public figure, teacher.
Roerich lived in Russia for 42 years, in India for about 20 years,in USA. He visited almost all countries of Europe, America, Asia. The artist spent 5 years on a large scientific expedition to Central and East Asia.
During his life he created about 7,000 paintings, many of which are in famous galleries around the world. Graduated from the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University and the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. He was a member of the Russian Archaeological Society, taught at the St. Petersburg Archaeological Institute. The multifaceted talent of Nicholas Roerich manifested itself in his works in the field of easel, monumental painting (frescoes, mosaics). From early works, sketches of his mosaics for a number of churches, including the Trinity Cathedral of the Pochaev Lavra, are known. In 1909, N. K. Roerich became an academician of the Russian Academy of Arts and a member of the Reims Academy in France. From 1917 he lived abroad.
"The Savior Not Made by Hands and the Holy Princes".
Mosaic based on sketches by Roerich. Trinity Church, Pochaev Lavra, Ternopil region, Ukraine
After October revolution Roerich stood in open opposition to Soviet power. However, soon his views suddenly changed, and the Bolsheviks found themselves in the category of Roerich's ideological allies. The ideological closeness to communism manifested itself among the Roerichs in literature. In one of the books of Agni Yoga (1926), there were frequent references to Lenin and parallels were drawn between the communist community and the Buddhist one. In fact, it gave instructions to the Soviet government on the need to immediately implement the reforms initiated by Lenin (which was not done). In China, the Roerichs got the famous letter of the Mahatmas to be handed over to the Soviet government and a casket with Himalayan earth on the grave of “Mahatma Lenin”. Roerich handed all the gifts personally to People's Commissar Chicherin in June 1926.
In search of values that have universal significance, N. K. Roerich, in addition to Russian philosophy, also studied the philosophy of the East, the works of the outstanding thinkers of India - Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, the work of the Indian writer Rabindranath Tagore. It must be said that Roerich's fascination with the East did not come from "nowhere". In this sense, he was not even original: he did not run counter to his time, did not go ahead of him, but, on the contrary, was in full accordance with his spirit. At the turn of the century, Russia experienced a passion for India and esotericism. Indian metaphysical doctrines, their view of the cosmic and historical cycles captured Roerich, as they captured many. Tibet and Tibetan miracle workers were especially attractive. Nicholas Roerich was breathtaking from the statuettes of buddhas, small images of stupas and rosaries. From them emanated a secret. He was extremely interested in the question of the common roots of Russia and Asia. He suspected a commonality between Russia and Asia in everything: in art, beliefs, mentality.
In addition to Eastern philosophy, Russia, following the West, was fascinated by the occult. Roerich was no exception in this. Among artists, occultism and séances have also become a very popular pastime. In 1919, while living in London, Nicholas Roerich, together with his wife Helena, joined the Theosophical Society founded by Helena Blavatsky. Since the spring of 1920, seances fashionable at that time began to be held in the Roerichs' house, to which friends and high-ranking dignitaries were invited. The method of "automatic writing" was mastered. During séances, the Roerichs called up the "souls of dead people" and tried to establish contact with the Teachers (Mahatmas).
Acquaintance with the philosophical thought of the East was reflected in the work of N. K. Roerich. If in the early paintings of the artist the defining plots were ancient pagan Rus' (a series of paintings "The Beginning of Rus'. Slavs"), colorful images of the folk epic ("The city is being built", "Idols", "Overseas guests", etc.), religious painting (a series of paintings "Saint")
N.K. Roerich. Idols. (1901)
N.K. Roerich. Overseas guests. (1901)
N.K. Roerich. The city is being built. (1902)
N.K. Roerich. Pigeon book. (1922)
N.K. Roerich. "And We See" ("And We'll See") (1922)
N.K. Roerich. Russian Easter. (1924)
N.K. Roerich. Sergius the builder. (1925)
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N.K. Roerich. Zvenigorod (1933)
then after the 1920s, Roerich directs all the passion of his soul, all thoughts to the future, to the second period of his work. Still fascinated by the history of Slavic Rus' and creating paintings on these topics, he also turns to the East - many of his paintings and essays are now devoted to India ("Lakshmi", "The Indian Way", "Krishna", "Dreams of India", etc.) . He tries to give the depicted a deep philosophical meaning.
N.K. Roerich. Mother of the World. (1924)
N.K. Roerich. Signs of Christ. (1924).
Here Roerich depicted a still young Christ traveling with His Teacher Moriah - the Lord of Shambhala
N.K. Roerich. Krishna. Spring in Kulu. (1930)
N.K. Roerich. Sophia-Wisdom (1932)
Sophia flies on a horse, as is customary for the image of the Archangel Michael - the governor - the leader of the forces of light. Instead of the halo of Sophia - the disk of the sun. According to tradition, Sophia keeps a closed list and "in it are the unknown and hidden mysteries of God." Roerich reveals the list. On it is the Banner of Peace and an ancient word repeated three times, which means "holy."
N.K. Roerich. Madonna Oriflamma. (1932)
The painting depicts the Madonna with the banner of the "Banner of Peace" unfolded in her hands.
In the last period of his work, Roerich paid much attention to the landscape, in which he put a deep meaning (Himalayan series). A huge section here is occupied by works depicting mountains. Roerich captures the glaciers of the Karakorum, the eternal snows of Altai, the rocky ledges of the Tibetan Plateau, mountain lakes, and stormy rivers. The relief of his landscapes is varied. But the Himalayas became a particularly close, bright source of inspiration for him. He dedicated more than 600 paintings to the Eastern Himalayas. Roerich showed the mountains of the Himalayas as a land of death, similar to a lunar landscape, as a tombstone over a bottomless grave; he discovered the Pamir mountains in their metaphysical looking glass, where blood streams flow from under the shell of ice. The mountains of Tibet seem to exude the cold of death. This is not the cold of ice and snow, but the cosmic cold of some interstellar black spaces.
N.K. Roerich. Tibet (1933)
N.K. Roerich. Buddha Cup (1934)
N.K. Roerich. Song of Shambhala (1943)
N.K. Roerich. Remember. (1945)
At the same time, color in Roerich's paintings always has symbolic meaning, carries a complex emotional connotation, being means of expression conveying a certain mood. Referring to the last period of the artist's work, Archimandrite Raphael (Karelin) said: "Roerich's paintings are a false triumph of evil over good, death over life. Therefore, in the paintings of Tibet, painted by Roerich, two colors prevail: red and blue; red is the color of blood, blue is the color of corpses."
They say that Roerich converted to Buddhism, but this is not entirely true. He converted to Lamaism. Buddhism is a religion of nothingness, while Lamaism is a religion of death. Non-existence is that which does not exist. The mysticism of non-existence is the identification of the world with an illusion; death is something that exists but is condemned to destruction. The mysticism of death is a bloody sacrifice, so in Mongolia, Tibet and Manchurian China, Genghis Khan is revered as the Great Mahatma. Lamaists call him "blessed" and "enlightened." Pilgrims go to his tomb in China to worship; satanic initiations are performed at his grave.
ElenaRoerich (1879-1955)
- spiritual leader, ascetic, esoteric philosopher, writer. Born into a noble family in St. Petersburg. She was a great-great-granddaughter of the commander Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. Before marriage, she was known as a "socialite" - she attended balls, as was customary in her circle, loved outfits, always dressed in the latest fashion. In addition, she was a gifted person, had excellent musical abilities (she graduated from a music school and was going to enter the St. Petersburg Conservatory), reached a high level of playing the piano, was enthusiastically engaged in drawing, studied philosophy, mythology and religion.
In 1901, out of great love, she married Nicholas Roerich, and since that time their lives have merged into one, and then we can only talk about the Roerichs - Elena Ivanovna and Nicholas Konstantinovich. Helena Roerich supported all her husband's undertakings, delved into all areas of his cultural activities.
In 1903-1904. spouses make a trip to Russian cities: Nikolai Konstantinovich sought to identify the origins national history and culture. They traveled to about 40 cities in 2 years.
Since 1905, Helena Roerich's passion for the East begins. She reads about India, studies the works of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Ramacharaka. A special place in the formation of Helena Roerich's worldview is occupied by the works of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky.
From 1907 to 1909 The Roerichs are increasingly immersed in the study of India and Tibet. If Nicholas Konstantinovich sought to comprehend Asia through the study of archeology, ethnography, folk customs, then Elena Ivanovna seeks to study Eastern philosophy, mythology, religion. She was especially interested in the legend of Shambhala. In it, she saw the spiritual stronghold of Asia, where esoteric knowledge about man and the Universe is collected.
The long gravitation towards the East results in the decision to make a big trip to India, Tibet and Mongolia in order to study Indian culture and get closer to the Himalayan ashrams. In 1923 Helena and Nicholas Roerichs set off on an expedition funded by US public organizations under the American flag. In India, the Roerichs study ancient monuments of art and culture, visit monasteries, follow the route that Buddha walked while preaching. The expedition lasted 5 years. Together with the members of the expedition, Helena Roerich overcame dangerous passes, climbed high mountain ranges, froze and starved in Tibet, covered more than 25 thousand kilometers.
After the completion of the Central Asian expedition, the Roerichs remained to live in India, in the Kullu Valley (Western Himalayas), where in 1928 they founded Himalayan Research Institute “Urusvati” (translated from Sanskrit "Light of the Morning Star").
However, the main "achievement" of Helena Roerich's entire life was creation of the doctrine of Agni Yoga (Living Ethics) , which combines the ancient wisdom of the East with the philosophical and scientific achievements of the West, providing the ethical foundations of behavior and means of in-depth self-knowledge. She was called the "Mother of Agni Yoga". She claimed that she received messages from Mahatma Morya by clairaudience. The ideas set forth by Helena Roerich in Agni Yoga had a strong influence on the formation and development of the New Age in Russia.
Mahatma Morya
- in Theosophy and Agni Yoga - one of the "Teachers of the Timeless Wisdom". Mahatma ("great soul")
- in Hindu mythology and theosophy, one of the names of the world spirit. In Hinduism, it means "saved while alive." In Christianity, the concept of "holy" can be considered a synonym for the term. It should be noted that the traditional Indian idea of the Mahatmas differs significantly from the understanding of this word adopted in Theosophy. In accordance with theosophical teaching, Mahatma is not a disembodied spirit, but a highly developed person, engaged in individual spiritual growth and the development of earthly civilization as a whole (for example, the spiritual leader of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi). According to Blavatsky, the Mahatmas (or adepts) reside in Tibet and are considered already saved from the cycle of samsara. In the first years after the creation of the Theosophical Society, the Mahatmas corresponded with many of its members. Blavatsky claimed that Mahatma Moriah had appeared to her in dreams and visions since childhood, and that on August 12, 1851, on her twentieth birthday, their first meeting took place in Hyde Park (London). Although many members of the Theosophical Society in the 19th century described their encounters with Mahatma Morya and other Mahatmas, their very existence was questioned by most individuals and organizations (including the London Society for Psychical Research) even at that time. However, after Blavatsky's death, members of the Theosophical Society continued to claim that they were meeting the Master or receiving secret messages from him. So, Helena Roerich claimed that thanks to her and her husband’s communication with the “Great Teacher” (Mahatma Moriah), the teachings of Agni Yoga arose, and that at the first stages, the so-called automatic writing was used for communication, and further records were obtained by clairaudience, which Helena Roerich herself possessed. She considered herself clairvoyant and clairaudience.
In the first half of the 1930s, Helena Roerich translated two volumes of Helena Blavatsky's The Secret Doctrine into Russian. At the same time, she corresponded with more than 140 correspondents from many countries of the world. Among the correspondents of Helena Roerich are friends, students, cultural figures, political leaders. In her letters she gives answers to numerous questions, explains the most complex philosophical and scientific problems, the foundations of the Living Ethics. She writes about the great Cosmic Laws, about the meaning of human existence, about the significance of culture in the evolution of mankind, about the Great Teachers. In 1940, the two-volume "Letters of Helena Roerich" was published in Riga for the first time.
The Roerich family had two children. In August 1902, the eldest son Yuri was born, who later became an orientalist with a worldwide reputation, and in October 1904, the youngest of the Roerichs, Svyatoslav, a future artist, thinker, and public figure, was born.
The connection of the Roerichs with the Masons
Modern researchers claim that N. K. Roerich was a Freemason. In the 1930s, Nikolai Konstantinovich joined the Masonic (Rosicrucian) lodge in the USA, immediately receiving the highest degree of initiation. Nicholas Roerich received the initiation from the general delegate of the Grand Lodge of France, Cheslav von Chinsky, who from 1911 held séances in the artist's house. However, Helena Roerich denied that their family belonged to Freemasonry.
And yet, to the question “Was Roerich a Mason?” should be answered: rather “yes” (99%) than “no” (1%).
The Rosicrucians considered Roerich theirs. And now, on the official Russian website of the Rosicrucian Order, Nicholas Roerich is mentioned in the list of the most prominent personalities who were members of the Order or had a direct connection with it: "Nicholas Roerich (1874 - 1947), artist, writer, humanist, philosopher, researcher, archaeologist, fighter for Peace, being for many years a member of the Order of the Rose and Cross and an envoy of the Brotherhood, represented the Order at various meetings."
The Roerich Museum in Paris, headed by G. G. Shklyaver, was one of the centers for the reconstruction of the Russian Masonic movement in exile. Georgy Gavriilovich Shklyaver himself, doctor of international law and political sciences at the University of Paris, was a member of Jupiter. "Jupiter" is a Masonic lodge of the Scottish Rite, recreated in exile in 1926.
The President of the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York from 1923 to 1936 was the closest collaborator of Nicholas Roerich, Lewis Horsch, a Mason of the 33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Ritual in New York (a copy of the diploma is in the archive of the St. Petersburg State Museum-Institute of the Roerichs).
Without solid ties with Masonic circles, the project of the Banner of Peace and the Roerich Pact would not have been supported by the US political elite. Doctor historical sciences A.I.Andreev notes that “American Freemasons showed a certain interest in Roerich and his activities ... and N. Roerich himself was definitely drawn to the Freemasons”
An interesting fact is that Nicholas Roerich is credited with the authorship of the US one dollar bill . However, this episode has its own story... In February 1926, in Kashgar, Roerich, at the request of the Soviet consul, created a sketch of a monument to Lenin. He even managed to put up a pedestal on the territory of the Soviet consulate, before the Chinese authorities banned the installation of the monument. The pedestal was made in the shape of a truncated pyramid... In Roerich's life, this form will come up again later... conversion in the late 1930s at the instigation of renowned Freemason Henry Wallace, then Vice President (Wallace had been a devoted follower of Nicholas Roerich since the mid-1920s and, with the consent of Roosevelt, actively lobbied in the US Congress for the Roerich Pact, which was signed in Washington in 1935).
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So to this day, a truncated pyramid flaunts on it, above which, however, this time it is placed not the head of Lenin, but a triangle with the image of an eye - the oldest Masonic symbol of the Builder of the Universe. It remains to be clarified that we are talking here about traditional Masonic symbols. In ancient Egypt, the eye symbol was called Eye of the Mountain. An analogue of this symbol is the image of an eye enclosed in a triangle.
How a Russian emigrant managed to get to the creation of American money and build a museum of his own name in the form of a 29-story building with three hundred rooms and with an annual income of $100,000!? But the origin of this money cannot be explained by the popularity of N. Roerich. There was no superdemand either for his paintings, or for his books, or for his lectures.
Museum of N.K. Roerich "The Master Institute" in New York.
Architect Garvey W. Corbet.
Nicholas Roerich in the East Hall of the Roerich Museum in New York
in front of a collection of sacred Tibetan scriptures. 1929
Probably, it was the “lodge” that placed at the disposal of Roerich good connections among the highest US government officials, so good that N. K. Roerich had the opportunity to meet with US President Roosevelt and borrow fantastic sums of 900,000 dollars (in 1929 money). Here is how Helena Roerich describes their arrival in America: “06/20/29. Upon arrival N.K. (Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich) was met on the pier by three members of the New York Mayor's Committee. In three cars and accompanied by police motorcycles, we drove through the whole city ... All this with a police escort, sirens. Stopping all traffic for us in New York on 5th Avenue and everywhere." Who else among the Russian emigrants was so met in America? And this was by no means a tribute to the glory of the artist.
Many prominent theosophists (H.P. Blavatsky, Annie Besant, and others) were members of Masonic lodges. The "Lodges" supported Blavatsky. N. Roerich's "promotion" seems to have come from the same source.
Doctrine of the Roerichs ("Agni Yoga")
Most people who revere the name and talent of the Roerichs are completely unaware of their doctrine. Everyone knows that they wrote about beauty, that culture will save the world. They called for tolerance and respect for all religions, the unity of which the Roerichs preached. In general, they were taught to live in harmony with nature and the Cosmos.This is, perhaps, the entire popular catechism of Roerich's propaganda.But in addition to calls for peace, goodness and love, there is something else in the Roerichs' teachings. There are judgments and advice, assessments and predictions that lead their followers away from God, away from the TRUTH, into mysticism and Kabbalah.Those., Roerich's teaching is a teaching in a beautiful intellectual package, but with essentially poisoned content , which is quite capable of fatally poisoning the human soul.
"Agni Yoga" , or "Living Ethics" - a religious and philosophical doctrine that combines the Western occult-theosophical tradition and the esotericism of the East. The creators of the doctrine are Nicholas and Helena Roerich . However, the main author of Agni Yoga is Helena Roerich. Agni Yoga is in many ways a continuation of the teachings of theosophy of H. P. Blavatsky (the connection between these teachings is mentioned in the texts of the Living Ethics). According to Nicholas and Helena Roerich, the teaching of the Living Ethics arose in the process of their "conversations" with the "Great Teacher" (known in theosophical circles under the name of Mahatma Morya). The Roerichs claim that this communication took place in the years 1920-1940. The question of the existence of a person who could be identified with Mahatma Morya remains controversial to this day. In the process of creating texts at the first stages, all members of the Roerich family, including children, took part, and the so-called automatic writing was used, and further recordings were obtained by clairaudience, which Helena Roerich allegedly possessed. The first name of the teachings of Agni Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word "Agni", meaning "fire". In Agni Yoga, this concept, of course, does not mean a physical flame, but a universal spiritual environment that permeates the entire universe and has an energy or subtle nature. Apparently, the creators of Agni Yoga believed that the very concept of Agni, or evolutionary cosmic energies, is the most relevant for the modern era due to its important features. The second name of Agni Yoga - Living Ethics - emphasizes its practical spiritual and ethical orientation. This doctrine was called Living Ethics, apparently, in order to emphasize the difference between the spiritual ethics of relationships between people, society and the Cosmos from the usual, formal, secular ethics. Researchers classify Agni Yoga as a New Age teaching.
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According to the teachings of Agni Yoga, all world religions appeared as a result of the fact that the "powers of light" (they are also the "Lords of the Cosmos", they are also "very high spirits", they are also the "Great Brotherhood", they are also the "Mahatmas of the East", etc. .d.), striving to help humanity in its march along the path of evolutionary development, sent their representatives to the erring humanity, who revealed parts of the "Great Wisdom" to people and became the founders of religions and philosophical schools. Thus, every religion contains parts of "Wisdom" , there is she in witchcraft, magic, astrology, but only Theosophy possesses its fullness. And the obvious fact that the creeds of many religions fundamentally contradict each other, theosophists and the Roerichs explain by the fact that all the followers of modern religions have long since departed from that teaching. But since Theosophists have “true knowledge,” they know exactly what Buddha brought to the Buddhists, Moses to the Jews, Christ to the Christians, and Mohammed to the Muslims. Now, in their opinion, the time has come to tell the modern foolish man about it.
Declaring from the outset about the presence of elements of "single Wisdom" in all religions, Agni Yoga only recognizes itself as "the only way". "There is only one Hierarchy of Light, and of course this Hierarchy is the Trans-Himalayan Hierarchy"- Helena Roerich assures. Christianity is a "false faith"; The Church is a "source of corruption". No less harsh judgments can be found in the letters of Helena Roerich and in Agni Yoga about Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Lamaism. All the historically existing beliefs of mankind, from the point of view of the Roerichs, "are not subject to repair", and must be replaced by theosophy. It is worth noting that such an opinion about religions is very typical for many sects, the New Age movement.
It should be noted that the books of Agni Yoga themselves do not contain clearly expressed postulates of the doctrine. The Teaching is spread outside of these books, which are designed to develop a certain way of thinking in a person, to gradually change his system of worldview. The style of writing is such that it inevitably leads the reader into a state of heightened suggestibility, sets him up for the failure of the traditional system of worldview, instills a sense of his own insignificance and helplessness.
Officially, the Roerichs declare that they themselves are Christians and that all Christian values and concepts are very close to them, and that they are ready to do everything that “Mahatma Jesus” commands. But in reality, Agni Yoga of the Roerichs is clearly anti-Christian . So what exactly is anti-Christian in the teachings of the Roerichs?
If you carefully study the Teaching of Living Ethics, and especially the correspondence of Helena Roerich, it will become obvious that the preachers of Agni Yoga asserted the compatibility of their views with Christian ones only to better entrap people. Roerich advises taking lessons in tactical lies from Rosenkreutz, the founder of the Rosicrucian Order. In a suitable company or to a trusted addressee, Helena Blavatsky and Helena Roerich were recognized as opposed to their teachings from the teachings of the Church.
The Roerichs themselves assured that they did not write the treatises of the Agni Yoga cycle themselves, but wrote down the "cosmic dictation". This is a well-known phenomenon of automatic writing, when the person himself is in a meditative semi-conscious state, and the pencil writes by itself, fulfilling the will of a certain spirit that has come into contact.
To make sure that the Roerichs' Teaching is a religious sect not only incompatible with Christianity, but also directly hostile to it, it is enough to get acquainted with some postulates of their teaching.
About God
Agni Yoga teaches that the world and the Absolute are one, and God as a Personality does not exist at all. “As far as God is concerned, we cannot regard Him as eternal or infinite or self-existent. There is no place for Him in the presence of Matter, the irrefutable properties and qualities of which are fully known to us, in other words, we believe only in Matter, in Matter as visible Nature, and Matter in its invisibility as the invisible, omnipresent Proteus.(Letter to E. Roerich dated 12.09.34). “Neither our philosophy nor we ourselves believe in God, least of all in the one whose pronoun requires a capital letter. We deny God as philosophers and as Buddhists."(Mahatma Letters, 57). Helena Roerich agrees with this: “The Mahatma denies and speaks against the blasphemous human conception of a Personal God. Mahatma denies the God of church dogma"(Letters dated 09/08/34 and 09/12/34). She fully shares the conviction of the Mahatmas: "We only believe in Matter"(ibid.). In fact, here the Roerichs preach atheism, not "religious synthesis". Thus, « Agni Yoga states that The Absolute has neither Personality nor Will . They do not know God as Creator, Judge, Redeemer. The place of the living, loving God is replaced by a faceless and indifferent, blind "Law of Karma"
About repentance
Christians confess that, since God is not bound by the laws of the world He created, He can creatively renew human life - if a person desires this renewal. God can forsake sins and withdraw the human soul from the effects of sin. Agni Yoga of the Roerichs claims that no one can help a person in the repentant renewal of his life , What the consequences of past actions, called the "action of karma", are inevitable. “The time has come to point out that the Greatest God is the God of the immutable Law, the God of Just retribution, but not arbitrariness in Mercy”(Letter to E. Roerich dated 05/28/37). “No one, not even the Highest Spirit, can forgive the committed sins, for this would be contrary to the law of karma”(Letter to E. Roerich dated 07/09/35). “The recompense for deeds is produced not by the all-wise Lord, but by a blind and at the same time reasonable law. A religiously minded Christian can pray to his God even from morning to evening, can repent of his sins at least every day, can break his forehead, laying prostrations, but he will not change his fate one iota, because the fate of a person is formed by his deeds, for which the law of Karma will bring the corresponding results, and these results will in no way depend on prayers, bows, or repentance. So, it is useless to repent, and not before anyone . "Agni Yoga" imposes prohibition of repentance .
About Evil
Christians profess that "God is light and there is no darkness in Him"(1 John 1:5) that evil and darkness are contrary to the Divine Nature, that the world is not God, and therefore the evil that acts in the world is not the action of God, it is unnatural to the created perfect world. Evil, in the Christian understanding, is opposition to the ordinances of God. Agni Yoga teaches that evil is not evil in the proper sense, but, being part of the world, is one of the properties of the "Absolute" , in which evil is potentially present, therefore, is natural for the world. That is, the assessment of a certain phenomenon, both evil and good, depends on the attitude of the evaluator towards it, and if, with a certain view, something seems evil, then with a different, let’s say, more general, view, the same something can turn out to be good (Letter E. Roerich dated 11/27/37).
Attitude towards Jesus Christ
Christians confess that Jesus of Nazareth is the true Messiah, the Christ foretold by the prophets Old Testament. In his face, God Himself became a man.
What do the Roerichs think about Christ? “The Christian Nicene Creed is a complete fallacy. None of the provisions of the Creed about God the Son corresponds to the truth and is the result of fantasy and legends. Helena Roerich assures that Jesus at all was not Christ the Messiah : “Christ was not the Messiah promised by Scripture”(Letter 30.06.34). Christianity for her “the sectarian view that it was only through the manifestation of Christ that humanity was saved from the wiles of the devil”(03.02.39). For her it is “terrible blasphemous phenomena: a terrible suggestion of the notion that the death of Christ on the cross saved mankind from original sin”(31.12.35). A Fall of Adam and Eve she considers the greatest and, moreover, a positive event in human history (03.12.37).
About the resurrection of the dead
Christianity is built on the Easter message: “Christ is Risen!”. The Roerichs claim that belief in the bodily resurrection of Christ can only be explained by “self-folly” (Letter to E. Roerich dated February 17, 1934). Agni Yoga claims that Christ did not rise at all , or that it was not a resurrection of the body, but of a certain spirit.
Followers of the Roerichs believe absurd and apostolic preaching about the bodily resurrection of the dead . “And now there are people who are educated and even consider themselves scientists in some areas, who believe that on the Day of Judgment they will be resurrected in their physical body! How to explain such self-stupefaction?(Letter to E. Roerich dated February 17, 1934).
The Roerichs, on the other hand, argue that the body is nothing more than clothes that the soul can change many times, which underlies the theory of reincarnation (reincarnation).
On Golgotha and the Death of Christ on the Cross
Christians confess that Christ saved us not by his “teaching”, but by the fact that in Him human and divine natures were actually united and reconciled. "Agni Yoga" claims that if Christ can be called the "Savior" - it is only because He saved people from ignorance, "reminding" them the laws of ethics. For Helena Roerich Golgotha is only an illustration of the commandments, but not the act of Salvation itself : “If He had not suffered, His Teachings would have been forgotten”(Letter to E. Roerich dated 05/07/39). The cross does not save people , but simply reminds of some moral prescriptions. However, limiting the ministry of the Savior to only preaching deprives Christianity of its most important content and its greatest joy - Easter.
In the end, Roerich and the Hindus tempt with the same thing that Satan does: they fight with the Cross. They don't need him, he's in the way. The Christ of the Sermon on the Mount is close to them, but the Christ of Golgotha is not. Golgotha becomes either an accident or a performance designed to squeeze out a tear of repentance from people who have suddenly turned into deicides. Any system that fails to explain the unique meaning of the Cross is not Christian. She can compliment the “Master Jesus”, even assert his “divinity” (in the Hindu sense) – but she will still remain the “Kiss of Judas”...
The understanding of Christ as simply a "Master" is inconsistent with the teachings of Christ himself. The Roerichs and Theosophists, Buddhists and occultists are well aware of the profound incompatibility of their teachings with the Gospel of Christ. The Church also sees this incompatibility.
About Lucifer
Finally, it is impossible not to notice the frankly satanic notes of Roerich's occultism. Christ speaks of His wrestling with "the prince of this world": "...now the prince of this world is banished..."(John 12:31). “Prince of Peace” is a translation of the Greek word “kosmokratores”, which means “lord of the cosmos”. But that is exactly what the spiritual master “mahatmas” calls himself. The “Planet Spirits”, instructing the Shamballists, assure that God is "a fictional monster with ignorance in its tail"(Mahatma Letters, 153), "a demon vengeful, unjust, cruel and stupid .., a heavenly tyrant on whom Christians so generously squander their servile adoration"(Mahatma Letters, 57). "Christendom still worships God in the Devil and the Devil in God"(Mahatma Letters, 72).
"Agni Yoga" tends to speak enthusiastically about Lucifer : "Lucifer, the time has come to renew your lamp!"(A. Klizovsky. Vol. 1.). “The gift of recognition was sacrificially bestowed by the Forces of Light. Therefore, the original name of such a Messenger was Lucifer the Lightbearer. But over the centuries in the West, the great meaning of this legend was lost. He remained only in the secret Teachings of the East. There is a place in the "Secret Teaching" that explains this meaning. Satan, when he is no longer considered in the superstitious, dogmatic and philosophic spirit of the churches, grows into the majestic image of the one who creates from the earthly man - the divine : who gives him, during the long cycle of Mahakalpa, the law of the spirit of Life and frees him from the sin of ignorance"(Letter to E. Roerich dated 3.12.37). “Of course, Lucifer fully corresponded to the name given to him and, probably, is very sad that such a beautiful name of his in later times, through the efforts of ignorant clergymen, was usurped by them for His shadow - or Antipode”(Letter to E. Roerich dated 24.5.38). “Christ is the teacher of mankind. Satanail is an examiner... Christ and Satanail are connected into one whole... In esoteric symbolism, Christ and Satanail are depicted as a two-headed serpent»(Otari Kandaurov, performance in the program “Oasis”, shown by the TV channel “ Russian universities April 10, 1994).
About the gospel
According to the Roerichs, "The gospel does not correspond to the true teachings of Mahatma Jesus" , which means that the Gospel and all Christian literature will be removed from libraries according to their plan.
About the new world order
The Roerichs' assumptions for the future include such events as: destruction of cemeteries as hotbeds of epidemics; the abolition of monetary alms; in a new community, kindness must be forgotten, for kindness is not good; nationalities with their history and culture must be abolished. Klezovsky, a disciple of Helena Roerich and one of the leaders of Agni Yoga, lists among the prejudices the faith of the Western world in Christ as the Only Begotten Son of God. “Wrong are those who consider our community a prayer house”- writes E. Roerich.
Excommunication of the Roerichs from the Church
The new world order offered by the Living Ethics (or Agni Yoga) fundamentally contradicts the Christian worldview. Therefore, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church clearly defined Agni Yoga as a religious movement of an anti-Christian character.
From the Definition of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church "On PSEUDO-CHRISTIAN SECTS, NEO-Paganism and Occultism" (December 2, 1994): “...paganism, astrology, theosophical and spiritualist societies, once founded by E. Blavatsky, the “Teaching of the Living Ethics” are incompatible with Christianity. People who share the teachings of these sects and movements, and even more so contribute to their spread, have excommunicated themselves from the Orthodox Church.”
Excommunication means that people who were previously baptized in the Orthodox Church, but then began to preach and share theosophical views, as excommunicated from the Church, cannot resort to the saving grace of church sacraments. If they do not repent and turn to a sincere confession of the whole and intact Orthodox teaching, they are not allowed to take Communion, they cannot be godparents at baptism, they cannot be commemorated in church prayers, and they are also deprived of church burial and funeral service. Such people can cross the threshold of an Orthodox church only if they have come to repent. . It is impossible to commemorate the names of these people at the Liturgy, both for health and for the repose of their souls. Even if such people consider themselves Christians and dare to come to Holy Communion, the grace of Christ will not sanctify their hearts, but will serve them as condemnation.
With all this, The Church has never criticized Roerich's peacemaking activities, has NOT expressed any judgments about Roerich's paintings, has NOT opposed Roerich's calls for a dialogue of cultures and tolerance, has NOT condemned Roerich's works to protect cultural monuments.
The soul of even the most gifted person can be afflicted with a spiritual illness. After all, what difference does it make whose soul it is: a brilliant writer or a port loader?! Passions act everywhere in the same way, except that the artist needs to be especially on his guard, because his keenly sensitive and impressionable soul can more easily than the soul of a “commoner” succumb to the call of passion. Yes, geniuses also get sick, and the soul of such people needs the same blessed protection as any person. The Roerichs, like Tolstoy earlier, rejected this defense.
Roerich's "Banner of Peace"
"Banner of Peace" - a symbol declaring the trinity of times (past, present and future) in the circle of Eternity.
This sign was proposed by N. K. Roerich for the International Pact for the Protection of Cultural Property. In his opinion, this sign "is of great antiquity and is found all over the world, therefore it cannot be limited to any sect, religion or tradition, for it represents the evolution of consciousness in all its phases."
According to one version, the source of N. K. Roerich’s idea to create the sign of the Banner of Peace is the ancient Russian icon “Trinity” by Andrei Rublev.
But, according to Andrey Kuraev, "with a closer acquaintance with the texts of the pro-Roerich circle, it turns out that this Three-Eyed Banner of Shambhala .
In Buddhism, a similar symbol is called triratna (literally -"Three Jewels") - a kind of Buddhist creed, the three jewels of Buddhist doctrine: Buddha, Dharma (law, teaching), Sangha (monastic community).
Triratna
In Hindu mythology, he ("Roerich's sign") means a wonderful Chantamani stone (Treasure of the World) who fulfilled any desires of people who are pure in heart. An important source of knowledge about the Stone was the information given by Helena Roerich in the "Legend of the Stone", included in the collection "Cryptograms of the East", as well as in her letters and diaries. Thus, we learn that at turning points in history, the sacred Stone appears in those countries and in the hands of those heroes who can especially influence the course of human evolution. The stone was owned by King Solomon, the first emperor of China of the Qin dynasty, as well as Alexander the Great. Chintamani was in Ancient Novgorod, was in the hands of Tamerlane. The stone was once sent to Napoleon in the hope that his talent could serve the process of renewing the thinking of the West and the cause of the unity of the peoples of Europe. But Napoleon, rushing to Russia, violated the Covenant, and the Stone was taken away from him. In 1923, the Stone fell into the hands of the Roerichs, and since then they have become carriers of a special Testament, carrying out the instructions of the Brotherhood of Teachers of Humanity, promoting the evolution of the planet.
The history of the Casket in which the Stone was sent is interesting. In the letters of Helena Roerich, the following is said about this: “The casket was made in the XIII century in Germany, in Rothenburg, from a very ancient piece of leather that belonged to King Solomon. A certain German woman hid in her castle the compiler of the Kabbalistic treatise "Zohar" Rabbi Moses da Leone, who was pursued by persecutors. In gratitude for the rescue, she received from the hands of the rabbi the Chintamani Stone and an ancient piece of leather. From it, the Casket was made specifically for storing the sacred relic. On the Casket were depicted "magic signs" and four letters "M." The letter "M" on the Casket refers to the Lord Maitreya, whose era on Earth was advancing, and the Roerichs were called to help in its approach.
Svyatoslav Nikolaevich Roerich. "Sacred Casket" (1928)
No less amazing is the piece of fabric in which the Stone was wrapped. He is depicted in the painting "The Sacred Casket" in such a way that the drawing with the inscription in the center is clearly visible. Almost the entire surface of this fabric is occupied by an embroidered color image of the Sun. Its powerful beams extend around just as they were depicted around the head of the solar deities. Inside the circle of the Sun are the Latin letters "I.H.S." (this motto was inscribed on the banner of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine the Great).
Sergius of Radonezh and the Roerichs
In Novosibirsk, one of the offshoots of the Roerich movement is called "Spiritual Center. Sergius of Radonezh" . They loudly declare that many saints, such as Sergius of Radonezh, were true spiritual people, lights, devoted to the "Hierarchy of Light", initiated into the secrets of the occult teachings. What connects the Roerichs with St. Sergius of Radonezh?
The image of St. Sergius was especially revered in the Roerich family. Sergius of Radonezh was for the Roerichs and their followers one of the mahatmas of Shambhala, and the content of his faith, in their opinion, corresponds to the teachings of Agni Yoga (Living Ethics).
The image of St. Sergius as an inspiring example of the "Builder of Russian spiritual culture" took a special place in Roerich's painting after the artist's "meeting" with Teacher Moriah in London. In the 20-30s, Roerich painted a number of paintings dedicated to St. Sergius: “Sergius the Builder” (1924), “Sergius Chapel” (1931), “Sergius Deserts” (1933 and 1936) and others.
In 1932, Roerich painted the painting "Saint Sergius of Radonezh". It gives a generalized image of the defender of the Russian land. Against the background of the dark sky and Mount Makovets with the Trinity-Sergius Monastery stands St. Sergius. He blesses the soldiers going to the Battle of Kulikovo.
N.K. Roerich. Saint Sergius of Radonezh (1932)
The majestic figure of Sergius of Radonezh stands on the Earth, engulfed in flames, towering, as if protecting Rus' from the fire, shielding it from trouble. N.K. Roerich depicted Sergius of Radonezh not just in full growth - the figure seems to rise into the sky, connecting with itself, like a living bridge, the tiny Earth and the Infinity of the Cosmos. A golden halo shines around the head of the saint - a symbol of holiness and purity...In his hands is a board with the sign of the Banner of Peace and a temple - "The Veil on the Nerl", dedicated to the Holy Mother of God - a symbol of future Rus'.
The symbol of three circles in the general circle of eternity on His clothes indicates His Highest Knowledge. The dark lilac color of the clothes speaks of the highest qualities of his spirit - humility, courage, aspiration, connection with the Highest.
Above the head of Sergius of Radonezh, in the disturbing sky, the All-Seeing Eye in a purple triangle is depicted - "the sign of the Divine Mind", a symbolic image of God - testifies that St. Sergius carries out his mission according to the Higher Will. The whole compositional solution of the picture can be characterized by the words of E.I. Roerich: “Illuminated by the Inexpressible Light, He stands, invisibly Visible.”
N.K. Roerich. Saint Sergius of Radonezh (detail)
At the bottom of the picture, Roerich made an inscription: “It was given to the Holy Reverend Sergius three times to save the Russian Land. The first time under Prince Dmitry. second under Minin. Third …". The ellipsis eloquently spoke of what Roerich had in mind (the most bloody war- Great Patriotic War 1941-1945). The prophecy of N.K. Roerich, given by him in the inscription on the painting "Saint Sergius", although it came true during the Patriotic War, but it was given, as it is believed, for the whole future of our country.
N.K. Roerich dedicated the painting to his spiritual Teacher, Master Moriah, deliberately giving the face of St. Sergius the features of an Eastern sage.
An interesting evidence of the great significance of this picture is the statement of the famous Bulgarian prophetess Vanga. In one of the conversations, Vanga called St. Sergius "not just a saint, but the main Russian saint," and then, according to her internal idea, she described in detail Roerich's painting "Saint Sergius." And further she said: “The picture was painted by four souls who came from another world. Little is known about this painting. Everyone needs to know about her. Take care of the painting like the apple of your eye. This is the greatest wealth of Russia. Do not send it to other countries. It is intended only for Russia.” And concluded: “The one who was Saint Sergei is now the greatest Saint. He is the leader of all mankind. Oh, how He is helping mankind now! He has turned into light, His body is made of light!”
The Roerichs believe thatSaint Teresa, Saint Catherine, Saint Joan of Arc, Saint Nicholas, Saint Sergius of Radonezh, Saint Francis of Assisi, Thomas of Kempis - this is the week of the Glorious, the week of the great Heralds, great Teachers, great Peacemakers, great Builders, great Judges, expressed in them a truly great earthly journey.
The Roerichs also claimed that Sergius of Radonezh is the incarnation of Krishna (Letters of H.I. Roerich, vol. 1, 11.08.1934). But at the same time, the “teachers” and “mahatmas” “forget” that the holiness of Sergius of Radonezh is inextricably linked with the Orthodox Church and with the holiness of hundreds of other saints of the Church, they forget that St. Sergius was an Orthodox monk who prayed before the icons to the personal God, in the Trinity To the One, and in prayerful repentance and deeds, he acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit, and what inspired him on the difficult monastic path was the example of hundreds of monks who walked this narrow path for many centuries of Christianity before him, and with their lives, and even more with their deaths, testified to the truth and piety of the Orthodox Faith. Sergius of Radonezh was ordained a priest, which means he was a representative of that “dark orthodox” priesthood, against which the Roerichs repeatedly rebelled. There is not a single authentic evidence that Sergius of Radonezh would have taught that there is no one God in Three Persons, but that there is a “law of karma”, that there is no point in repenting and praying, that there are reincarnations, but there is neither heaven nor hell. But it is known for sure that the teaching of St. Sergius as a pastor of the Orthodox Church and mentor of Orthodox monks in no way contradicted either the dogmas of the Orthodox Faith, and even more so the Nicene Creed.
Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK
All Teachings, all philosophies were given for life. There is no such lofty Teaching that would not be practical in the highest sense of the word. We can solve the innumerable problems of modern turmoil only by realizing the Beautiful and the Highest. Only a beautiful Bridge will be strong enough to pass from the shore of darkness to the side of Light.
So much has been written about Nicholas Roerich that it would be strange to try to say something new. But, on the other hand, it is necessary to write about outstanding people so that their example is constantly before our eyes. This year, our great compatriot was supposed to turn 130 years old, and it would be unfair to miss this date.
Who is he?
Let this question not seem strange, because most of us know very little about Roerich. Usually the name of Nicholas Konstantinovich is associated with his artistic heritage, and few people know that Roerich was not only an artist. We know Roerich much worse as a writer, philosopher, traveler, public figure. Even less do we know him as a Disciple who in the 20th century was awarded the honor of direct contact with the Great Teachers and who tried to put a particle of the Wisdom received from them into each of his works. The Roerich Pact, rightly called the "Red Cross of Culture", the famous trans-Himalayan expedition, which followed the path of the secret wanderings of the Buddha, the Urusvati Institute with the task of synthesizing science and religion - all this is also directly related to the name of Roerich. Let's try to fit into the brief framework of the article the main milestones in the life path of a person, about whom they say in the east that he honored the Earth with his presence.
Childhood and youth
Nicholas Roerich was born on October 9 (September 27, old style) 1874 in St. Petersburg in the family of a successful notary, Konstantin Fedorovich Roerich. The surname Roerich itself is of Scandinavian origin and means "rich in fame."
Already in childhood, the versatility of Roerich's hobbies and his craving for the East manifested itself. In Izvara, a country estate not far from the capital, having barely learned to read, he re-read everything that concerned the history of Russia and, especially, its heroic epic. A little later, he became interested in archeology and even received permission to conduct excavations in the vicinity of Izvara. “My first finds from the burial grounds correlated not only with my favorite lessons of history, but also with geography, as well as with Gogol’s bizarre historical fiction,” wrote Nikolai Konstantinovich later, whose ability to synthesize different kinds creativity in search of common spiritual foundations became his own creative credo.
His musical and artistic taste since childhood gravitated towards the East. To a large extent, this was facilitated by the stories of oriental scholars who came to visit the Roerich family, but, obviously, the reasons for such aspirations are much deeper. It is noteworthy that the childish imagination of the boy was struck by the majesty of the mountain depicted in the painting located in Izvara. Subsequently, Roerich learned that it was Kanchenjunga - one of the most beautiful and mysterious peaks of the Himalayas.
Konstantin Fedorovich, Nikolai's father, did not resist the variety of his son's hobbies, setting a legal career as the only condition for him. Nikolai himself, already in the gymnasium, showed outstanding artistic abilities and dreamed of entering the Academy of Arts. As a result, in 1893 he received permission to visit her, becoming a law student at the Imperial University.
The beginning of creative activity
In the development of Roerich as an artist, his studies in the workshop of Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi, an outstanding Russian artist-wanderer, played a huge role. “There must be spirituality in painting,” Kuindzhi taught. “Composition and technique must obey her.” “Arkhip Ivanovich became a teacher not only of painting, but of all life,” Roerich himself summed up this period. In the thesis - the painting "Messenger. Rise against race" - he summarized his understanding of Russian history, the first philosophical reflections on the mission of Russia and opened to her a whole series of canvases dedicated to Russian history and mythology. "Messenger" was highly appreciated by L. N. Tolstoy himself.
Being confident that Russian art had its roots in history long before the Christianization of Rus', Roerich boldly used folk motifs in his work, which earned him both sharp criticism and high recognition from his contemporaries. In 1900, he went to Paris, where he continued his studies at the studio of Fernand Cormon, who, like Roerich, appreciated the legendary past.
In the fact that the path to the future lies through an understanding of the past, Roerich was supported by Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva, whom he met in 1903. The young artist was enthusiastically involved in the reconstruction of the Talashkino estate, in which, according to Tenisheva's plan, a community for artists was to emerge. Roerich's brush belongs to a unique fresco in the Temple of the Spirit in Talashkino, depicting the Queen of Heaven, the Mother of the World, to the theme of which he later repeatedly returned.
Lada
In 1900, while traveling to Bologoy on the estate of Prince Putyatin, Nikolai Konstantinovich met Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova, who became Helena Roerich on October 28, 1901. Who could have foreseen then the amazing future of this union? "Lada" Nicholas Roerich called his "friend and inspirer" and dedicated several of his works to her. One of them, “The Host,” conveys in allegorical form the subtle and deep relationships that bound the Roerichs for life. “Truth, justice, the constant search for truth and love for creative work transform all life around a young, strong spirit. And the whole house and the whole family - everything is built according to the same fertile principles, ”Nikolai Konstantinovich wrote about his wife.
Many paintings, creative and social undertakings of Roerich were the result of the work of two. The works of Ramakrishna and his disciple Vivekananda had a great influence on the young Roerichs. Especially close to them was the idea that serving God should be accompanied by conscious work for the common good, serving other people. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Roerichs became acquainted with theosophy, with the works of Blavatsky. Subsequently, it was Helena Roerich who translated The Secret Doctrine into Russian. The ideas and images of the Living Ethics, Agni Yoga, written down through the mediation of Elena Ivanovna, found their embodiment in the work of Nikolai Konstantinovich.
Departure from Russia
In 1916, due to complications from pneumonia suffered a year earlier and at the insistence of doctors, the Roerich family moved to Finland, where they met the revolution and were cut off from Russia. Nikolai Konstantinovich did not have an unambiguous attitude towards the events of 1917 in Russia, but he had a very clearly formulated position regarding the preservation of cultural values from destruction. Until the border between Russia and Finland was finally closed in 1918, he continued to come to Petrograd and work in the Commission for the Protection of Monuments of Culture and Art. In 1919, the Roerichs moved to London, and in 1920 - at the invitation of the Art Institute of Chicago - to America.
In October 1921, in New York, Nikolai Konstantinovich founded the School of United Arts, thereby realizing his long-standing dream of uniting various types of art under one roof. Roerich's main idea was through art to pave the way for higher knowledge into the hearts of people: "Art will unite humanity. Art is indivisible. Art has many facets, but, nevertheless, is one. Art is a phenomenon of the coming synthesis. Art is for everyone. Gates" sacred source" should be wide open to everyone, and the light of art will kindle many hearts with new love. At first it will be an unconscious feeling, but gradually it will clear people's consciousness. How many young hearts are looking for something real and beautiful! So let's give it to them. Bring art to people "It belongs to them. Then not only will we have museums, theatres, universities, public libraries, railway stations and hospitals, but the prisons will be fine. Then there will be no need for prisons."
In parallel, exhibitions of the artist were held in America with unprecedented success, and in 1924 the world's first museum dedicated to the work of one artist, N. K. Roerich, was even opened. Since its inception, the Roerich Museum has acquired almost all of the artist's paintings and is still the largest collection of them.
Trans-Himalayan expedition
In 1925-28, a grandiose trans-Himalayan expedition took place, which passed along the route Kashmir - Ladakh - Chinese Turkestan - Altai - Mongolia - Gobi Desert - Tibet - Himalayas - India. The expedition was officially scientific goals and collected the richest ethnographic material. Collections of minerals were collected, rare photographs of ancient images were taken. On its way, Roerich's expedition overcame unprecedented physical and political obstacles. Suffice it to say that the expeditionary caravan had to go through passes in the Himalayas at an altitude of about 5000 meters, stay at an altitude of more than 3000 meters for a long time - and at the same time continue to work. For five months in winter, in summer tents at arctic temperatures, the expedition was under arrest in Tibet, as the Tibetan authorities suspected Roerich as a spy and prevented him from entering Tibet.
But Roerich's trans-Himalayan expedition had not only scientific, but also other goals, far beyond the "scientific" understanding. Suffice it to say that with her route she repeated the path of the innermost wanderings of the Buddha, and that during the expedition the Roerichs were in close contact with the Mahatmas - the Great Teachers of mankind - and worked under their guidance. It is known that long before the expedition, in Paris, they received an unusual parcel by mail containing a box with the Chintamani Stone, the legendary treasure of the East, and that this Stone accompanied them on the expedition. However, the Roerichs never tried to advertise the true goals of the expedition, knowing full well that they cannot be widely understood and, most likely, will be distorted. But with unprecedented perseverance and, at times, a real risk to their lives, they did not retreat from the goal and completed the expedition.
"Peace through Culture"
In 1928, after returning from the expedition, Roerich came to grips with the task for which he had worked for a long time before. We are talking about the famous Roerich Pact, which called at the international level for the protection of cultural property from destruction during hostilities. The text of the Covenant states, in particular, that "educational, artistic and scientific institutions, artistic and scientific missions, their personnel, property and property ... are considered neutral and are subject to protection and protection by the belligerents. The protection and protection of the above organizations and missions throughout territory belongs to the sovereignty of the heads of the contracting parties (heads of state of the world), without any discrimination by the state with respect to any special institution or mission... Monuments, organizations, collections and missions so registered may fly a distinctive flag... which will notify of their special protection and protection by the belligerents, governments and peoples of all the heads of the contracting parties.
As a "distinctive flag", Roerich proposed an image called the "Banner of Peace": three red spheres on a white background, inscribed in a red circle. This image was not new, it was found in many ancient sources and symbolized, according to Roerich's plan, religion, science and art in the circle of culture. Another reading is past, present and future in the circle of eternity. The task of the Banner of Peace was to protect works of art in the same way that the Red Cross protects human lives. On April 15, 1935, in the presence of President Roosevelt, the Peace Pact was signed in the White House, to which more than 20 countries joined.
"Urusvati"
After returning from the Central Asian expedition, the Roerichs settled in India, in the Kullu valley. Nikolai Konstantinovich founded the Himalayan Institute scientific research"Urusvati", which in Sanskrit means "Light of the morning star". Under the guidance of Yuri Roerich, the son of Nicholas Konstantinovich, ancient manuscripts were collected and translated, half-forgotten dialects were studied. The Institute carried out extensive activities in the study and collection of medicinal plants; The world's first atlas of Tibetan medicinal herbs was compiled. Many travelers and scientists collaborated with the Urusvati Institute, among them, for example, Sven Hedin and Albert Einstein.
Nikolai Konstantinovich himself, during his work in Kullu, created some of his most profound and philosophical canvases. In them, he tried to convey the images of ascetics, teachers in different times and in different countries trying to convey to people the sparks of timeless wisdom and ignite the fire of the Spirit in them. Having laid at the foundation of Urusvati the principle of unceasing labor that transforms man and the world around him, Nikolai Konstantinovich himself relentlessly followed this principle. Despite being diagnosed with a serious heart disease, he continued his daily work. His heart stopped on December 13, 1947, when he was working on a new version of the painting "Master's Order".
The names of Helena Ivanovna and Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich are now known to very many people in our country. He is the largest artist, thinker, archaeologist, traveler, public figure. She is a spiritual leader, ascetic, philosopher. Her main feat in life is that she conveyed to mankind the secret teachings of the Himalayan Mahatmas.
14 books of Living Ethics or Agni Yoga forever included her name in the treasury of the planetary spiritual culture, immortalized it. Books of Living Ethics were published in 20-30 years. in Riga and Western Europe in Russian. Now it is the most popular series among people striving for spiritual perfection. They have been translated into many languages. All over the world there are societies of followers of Living Ethics.
Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova /Roerich/ was born on February 12, 1879. Petersburg, in a noble family. Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov and composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky belonged to her family. From birth, she was gifted with many abilities, including supernatural powers - clairvoyance and clairaudience. Elena Ivanovna brilliantly graduated from the Mariinsky Women's Gymnasium, then entered the St. Petersburg Music School, because. She had excellent musical abilities. After graduating from college, she was going to enter the St. Petersburg Conservatory.
The last two decades of the 19th century were a period of maturation of self-awareness of the Russian intelligentsia. A period that prompted the intelligentsia to carry out a reassessment of values. Faith and hope in the coming changes was accompanied by fear of the collapse of established forms of being.
At this time, Elena Ivanovna, a recognized secular beauty, had great success in society and attracted everyone's attention. Here is how one of her contemporary, a witness of those years, recalls her: “She had some kind of charm, charm and unusual femininity of her whole appearance. She loved outfits, always dressed in the latest fashion, very elegant. She had a developed sense of beauty. " She paid some external tribute to secular life, attended balls, as was customary in her circle, but she was a romantic nature with high spiritual aspirations, secular life did not captivate her. She decided to marry a highly talented person in order to inspire him to high deeds, to serve and help him. Her dream of meeting a soul mate came true. There was a feeling of inner kinship and community of views, goals, aspirations. Mutual love of rare purity was born, which passed many years of testing and only increased in adulthood. In 1901 they got married in St. Petersburg, and since that time their lives have merged into one, and further we can only talk about the Roerichs - Elena Ivanovna and Nikolai Konstantinovich. In 1902 son Yuri was born - the future famous orientalist, and in 1904. - the second son, Svyatoslav - an artist, like his father.
In 1903-1904. the spouses make a trip to Russian cities: Nikolai Konstantinovich sought to reveal the origins of national history and culture. They traveled to about 40 cities in 2 years. At this time, their hobby is collecting works of art and antiques. Gradually, a magnificent family collection was formed, over 300 works, which they transferred to the Hermitage after the revolution.
Somewhat later, Elena Ivanovna's passion for the East begins. She reads about India, studies the works of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Ramacharaka. Subsequently, Elena Ivanovna recalls these sources of knowledge with gratitude, calling them "my first teachers." By this time, Nikolai Konstantinovich grew into a major artist and public figure. In their family, thoughts about the universal, worldwide ways of developing culture, about the approaching general crisis, about the fate of mankind, about new ways of its development, come to the fore.
The Russian intelligentsia was divided into two camps: one supported the ideas of the revolution, the other preached death, decadent aestheticism, hopelessness. The Roerichs see the reason for the coming destruction in the impoverishment of the spirit. Together with the best representatives of the intelligentsia, they were looking for a way out of the impasse. Gradually confidence came: knowledge of the East is the spiritual light that can lead peoples out of the impasse of development. At the same time, there was a premonition of the mission of Russia, which is a bridge between the West and the East. This view was not too original and alien in the public life of Russia. The idea of the middle position of Russia was first expressed by Karamzin. The fateful role of Asia in the spiritual and historical development of Russia was seen by Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. A special place in the formation of Helena Roerich's worldview is occupied by the works of Helena Petrovna Blavatskaya.
From 1907 to 1909 The Roerichs are increasingly immersed in the study of India and Tibet. If Nikolai Konstantinovich sought to comprehend Asia through the study of archeology, ethnography, folk customs, then Elena Ivanovna seeks to study Eastern philosophy, mythology, and religion. She was especially interested in the legend of Shambhala. In it, Elena Ivanovna saw the spiritual stronghold of Asia, where esoteric knowledge about man and the Universe is collected. Her thoughts and feelings gradually rush to the Himalayan Teachers. The premonition of a meeting with the Great Teacher does not leave her. The Roerich family met the revolution in Karelia, where they lived for 2 years until 1918.
The long gravitation towards the East results in the decision to make a big trip to India, Tibet and Mongolia in order to study Indian culture and get closer to the Himalayan ashrams. Such a difficult expedition required serious preparation. In 1919 The Roerich family moves to England. In England, the first meeting of the Roerichs with representatives of the Hierarchy and the Great Teachers of the East takes place. Here they meet Rabindranath Tagore and Herbert Wells, who is keen on Eastern metaphysics.
At this time, Nikolai Konstantinovich received an invitation to take part in a tour of the United States with an exhibition of his paintings. America, where they hoped to secure a costly expedition by selling paintings, becomes the next stop on their way to India. They stayed in America for 3 years.
Exhibitions of paintings by Nikolai Konstantinovich were held with triumphant success, but a new enterprise was conceived - the Peace Pact - an interstate convention designed to preserve the cultural values of peoples during wars. Elena Ivanovna continues to work on the book "The Call" started in England. The book represents the Teacher's call to his disciples to carry the Knowledge of the East.
In America, the Roerichs create several cultural organizations: the International Society of Artists "Flaming Heart", the Institute of United Arts and the Art Center "Crown of the World".
In 1923 Elena Ivanovna and Nikolai Konstantinovich set off on an expedition equipped with funds from US public organizations under the American flag. In India, the Roerichs study ancient monuments of art and culture, visit monasteries, follow the route that Buddha walked while preaching. The expedition lasted 5 years. Together with the members of the expedition, Elena Ivanovna overcame dangerous passes, climbed high mountain ranges, defended herself from the attack of bandits, traveled more than 25 thousand kilometers.
At the beginning of the expedition there was a meeting with the Teacher, which left the deepest impressions on Elena Ivanovna and Nikolai Konstantinovich. They receive one more task - to transfer to the Soviet government a casket with sacred Himalayan soil on the grave of Lenin, whose name was highly honored in the East, and a message to the leaders of the USSR, where help was offered based on knowledge accumulated over millennia.
In 1926 The Roerichs arrive in Moscow, where, fulfilling the will of the Teachers, they convey the message of the Mahatmas to the Soviet government. Help was not rejected, but it was not accepted either. It was postponed "until better times." The way back to India lay through Altai, Siberia, Mongolia. After long wanderings in Asia, in 1928, the Roerichs again arrived in the north of India and acquired a house in the Kullu Valley. The task of scientific processing of the received materials arose. During the expedition, rare books, manuscripts, manuscripts, collections of archaeological finds, objects of religious cults were collected. To this end, the Roerichs create an institution called "Urusvati", which means "Light of the dawn." Elena Ivanovna becomes the honorary president - the founder of the Institute and its soul. His collaborators were such scientists as Albert Einstein, Nikolai Vavilov and others.
A period of hard work has begun. The daily routine was scheduled by the minute. We got up at sunrise, at 5 am, and worked until late in the evening, with short breaks to listen to records of classical music. Everyone went to their rooms and worked hard. Letters came from all over the world, and not a single one remained unanswered. Scholars from different countries came to Kullu, invited to work at the Urusvati Institute, as well as representatives of international Roerich societies. The reverence that surrounded the family in India was enormous. Their names were surrounded by legends.
All the books of the Agni Yoga series were written here: "Signs of Agni Yoga" /1929/, "Infinity" /1930/, "Hierarchy" /1931/, "Heart" /1932/, "Fiery World" /1935. /, "AUM" /1936/, "Brotherhood" /1937/. Part II of the book "Brotherhood" and the last in the series "Elevated" remained unfinished.
Promulgation of the Living Ethics is the main feat of life of Helena Roerich. Her mission was carried out so brilliantly that the Mahatmas called her the "Mother of Agni Yoga".
This is a new moral and spiritual Teaching that combines the ancient wisdom of the East with the philosophical and scientific achievements of the West, providing the ethical foundations of behavior and means of in-depth self-knowledge. This is a whole encyclopedia of spiritual improvement and transformation. This is a teaching about hidden resources and human capabilities, about creative energies that reside in the depths of consciousness. This is a cosmic teaching about the multidimensionality of being, about the immortality of the soul, about the integrity of the universe.
Speaking on almost every page about the revelation of a person's enormous psycho-energetic potential, Agni Yoga criticizes the fascination with magic and all purely mechanical methods of awakening hidden forces. A person becomes a slave to artificially caused, incomprehensible forces for him and runs the risk of becoming a medium. According to living ethics, a person must carry out all work on the internal transformation of consciousness in ordinary conditions of life, without interrupting ordinary activities.
The Teaching of Agni Yoga is universal, it was given to the whole world, but in this teaching there was a certainty that it would be perceived, first of all, in Russia. "To the new Russia is my first message" / "The Call" /.
World War II was brewing - the biggest battle in world history. Elena Ivanovna proposes to establish an interstate public organization - the League of Culture. The creation of such a league was conceived as a unity of all the forces of light against the onslaught of darkness. The organization was created and existed for some time. Since the beginning of the Second World War, the connection of the Roerichs with societies and circles was interrupted. Scientists from other countries stopped coming. The Roerichs experienced the threat hanging over the Motherland. Throughout the five years of the war, they never once doubted the final victory. We wanted to help you achieve it. They transferred money to the Red Cross fund and the fund for helping the Soviet Union, gave lectures and radio broadcasts. Several times Yuri Nikolayevich and Svyatoslav Nikolayevich applied to the Soviet embassy to enlist them in the ranks of the Red Army. The patriotic actions of the Roerichs made them many enemies.
After the war, the whole family was going to return to their homeland. Suitcases were packed, boxes with paintings were sent to the port, but Nikolai Konstantinovich suddenly died. In 1948 Elena Ivanovna, together with Yuri Nikolayevich, makes another attempt to return to her homeland. But the visa was not received. Only in 1958. Khrushchev, during his stay in India, gave permission to return to Yuri Nikolayevich.
Elena Ivanovna continues active correspondence, leads the Roerich societies scattered all over the world. In her latest letters, she increasingly refers to the Russian mission. " Best country will become the cosmic basis of balance in the world."
Two concepts - "Russia" and "humanity" - are merged into one for Elena Ivanovna and Nicholas Roerich. In the article “The Testament”, which was the testament of the great artist and great thinker, it is written: “This is what I bequeath to all of you: love the Motherland, love the Russian people, love all peoples throughout our vast Motherland. Let this love teach you to love all of humanity. in the separation, but only in the unification of people, there is that huge force that will help not only the Russians to survive, but will help to create a new state unprecedented on earth, which will be the spiritual reservoir from which, as from the source, all mankind will take life-giving forces. "
Introduction Hierarchy
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Annie Besant
Ramakrishna
Alice Bailey
Vivekananda
Rudolf Steiner
Sri Aurobindo
V.V. Frolov
Nicholas Roerich -
once in Finland I was sitting on the shore of Lake Ladoga with
peasant boy. A middle-aged man walked past us, and my little companion stood up and removed his hat with great reverence. I asked him afterwards: "Who was this man?" And with particular seriousness the boy answered: "This is the teacher." I asked again, "Is he your teacher?" "No," the boy replied, "he's a teacher from a nearby school." - "Do you know him personally?" I insisted. "No," replied
he was surprised... Then why did you greet him so reverently?" Even more seriously, my little companion replied: "Because he is a teacher." N.K. Roerich to the Teachers, who played a huge role in his life.
A document has been preserved certifying that Nicholas Roerich was born in St. Petersburg in 1874 on October 9 (September 27, O.S.) in the family of the notary Konstantin Fedorovich Roerich and his wife Maria Vasilievna. Roerich was lucky with teachers. He studied at one of the best educational institutions of the then St. Petersburg - the K. May gymnasium. His first mentors, who gave their students all the heat of their hearts, were an example of a highly moral attitude to work. By their example, they helped Roerich form those highest qualities to which the Master was faithful all his life - a deep consciousness of personal responsibility for everything that he had to do, and the personal duty that life placed on him.
Nicholas Roerich writes about his teachers with warmth and sincerity. “We ourselves, recalling our school and university years, turn especially affably to those teachers who taught clearly and simply. It makes no difference from the subject itself, whether it will be the highest mate-
1 Roerich. M.: Shalva Amonashvili Publishing House, 2004. S. 5-29. (Anthology of humane pedagogy.)
2 Roerich N.K. Guru-Teacher // Roerich N.K. Fenugreek. M.: MCR, 1994. S. 187.
1. The first teachers
Mathematics or philosophy, or history, or geography - absolutely everything could find clear forms in gifted teachers.
After graduating from high school, he simultaneously studied at the law department of St. Petersburg University and at the Imperial Academy of Arts. As a student, Roerich communicated with famous cultural figures - V.V. Stasov, I.E. Repin, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, D.V. Grigorovich, S.P. Diaghilev, A.N. Benois, A.A. .Blok... During this period, he was engaged in archaeological excavations, wrote the first literary works, created paintings. In 1897, P.M. Tretyakov bought the diploma work of N.K. Roerich “Messenger” for his gallery.
A.I. Kuindzhi, with whom he studied at the Academy of Arts, had a huge influence on the moral and creative development of the young Roerich. “I remember,” Nicholas Roerich wrote, “in the most exalted words about my teacher, Professor Kuindzhi, the famous Russian artist. His life story could fill the most inspirational biography pages for the younger generation. He was a simple shepherd in the Crimea. Only by a consistent, passionate desire for art was he able to overcome all obstacles and, finally, become not only a respected artist and a man of great opportunities, but also a real Guru2 for his students in his high Hindu concept. This feature of Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi, in addition to rare diligence and determination, sincerity and love for his students, inspired Roerich to the sublime veneration of his teacher. Roerich was selflessly devoted to him. Kuindzhi was a Teacher in the highest sense of the word. He was Guru.
Once, Nikolai Konstantinovich recalls, the students rebelled against the vice-president of the Council of the Academy of Arts. And no one could calm them down. The situation became very serious. Then Kuindzhi came to the meeting and said, turning to the students, that they had come to the Academy to become artists, and therefore he asked them to start working. The rally was immediately stopped. Such was the authority of this man.
“Kuindzhi was a great teacher,” writes Helena Ivanovna Roerich, “but only his student N.K. became great. The same disciples, who were not averse to belittling him and even calling him simply “Arkhip” behind his back, gradually completely deterioriated4 and came to naught”5.
1 Roerich N.K. Diary sheets. M.: MCR, 1995. T. 1. S. 84.
2 Guru (Skt.) - this is how the Spiritual Teacher is called in the East.
3 Roerich N.K. Shambhala. S. 188.
4 From deterioration (English) - deteriorate, deteriorate.
5 Roerich E.I. Letters. M.: MCR, 1999. T. 1. S. 132-133.
Gratitude and devotion to the Teachers N.K. Roerich carried through his whole life. I can't resist citing Roerich's recollection of the Indian Gurus, in which he reveals the essence of teaching and his attitude to this phenomenon.
“Many years later,” Roerich wrote, “in India I saw such Gurus and saw devoted disciples who, without any servility, enthusiastically revered their Gurus, with that sensitivity that is so characteristic of India.
I heard a delightful story about a little Indian who found his teacher. He was asked: "Can the sun darken for you if you see it without a Teacher?"
The boy smiled: "The sun must remain the sun, but in the presence of the Master, twelve suns will shine for me."
Roerich's first teachers helped him find himself in a space of true culture and beauty. His wife, Elena Ivanovna, nee Shaposhnikova, had no less influence on him. They met in 1899 and married in 1901. The Roerichs will spend their whole lives together, spiritually and creatively complementing and enriching each other. Helena Roerich, who announced to the world about a new, cosmic worldview in the books of the Living Ethics, will become the spiritual leader of all creative undertakings of Nicholas Roerich, and Nikolai Konstantinovich will sensitively listen to her advice.
Nikolai Konstantinovich treated Elena Ivanovna with unusual reverence, love and respect. He published many of his books with a dedication: "To Elena, my wife, friend, companion, inspirer." Elena Ivanovna was the bright genius of the Roerich family, who inspired all its members to spiritual and creative achievements. N.K. Roerich implemented in his artistic work the inspired ideas and images that arose from Elena Ivanovna. Their sons Yuri and Svyatoslav took part in the cultural activities of the Roerichs. The family was a single whole and lived with a constant and unshakable aspiration for culture, knowledge and creativity in the name of the Common Good.
The creative heritage of N.K. Roerich, inseparable from the cultural heritage of the whole family, is so multifaceted that everyone who embarks on the path of spiritual perfection will find in it invaluable treasures of the spirit, without mastering which true human development is impossible. Roerich's books cannot simply be read, as one reads a historical narrative or a literary essay, for each of his works opens a window into a completely wonderful world- The State of Roerich. This is a world of unique discoveries and the deepest insights of a thinker-artist, helping to feel the enchanting beauty
1 Roerich N.K. Shambhala. pp. 189-190.
that of the Universe. In the State of Roerich, the synthesis of religion, art and science is embodied, fusing together the spiritual accumulations of mankind. Entering this power, we cleanse our souls from cowardice, weak will, and from many other things, unworthy of the title of man. The borders of the state are guarded by selfless people, devoted to a common cause, with an unshakable will and a pure heart, always ready for a feat.
N.K. Roerich was constantly improving in scientific, artistic creativity and cultural projects. For him, it was a way of being. He did this solely for the sake of the Common Good and serving Culture, to which Roerich devoted many works: “Culture is the veneration of Light”, “Culture is the winner”, “The value of beauty” and others. People who serve Culture are truly happy. Happiness is not in gold, Roerich notes, but in beauty, which is personified in nature, human relationships and works of art. Those who are drawn to Culture, making it the basis of their lives, endure and win in the most difficult life situations because Culture gives a person self-confidence. Although the victory may be invisible, because it is accomplished, ultimately, in the spiritual world of man. That is why Culture is the basis of the Teaching, the sphere of activity of which is the spiritual improvement of man.
In his artistic work, Roerich revealed the originality of Russian culture, rooted in ancient Slavic traditions. His paintings depicting the life of the Slavs were exhibited at the largest exhibitions in St. Petersburg and Moscow. At the same time, he saw in Russian culture such facets that connected it with the culture of the East and West. Studying the culture of past eras and defending it from destruction and oblivion, Roerich saw in it the grain of the imperishable, eternal, without which there can be no future. He considered the future as a slice of history, rooted in the past and having no development prospects without the past.
In the future, bright and beautiful, N.K. Roerich was directed all his life. “The future,” Nicholas Roerich wrote, “is sometimes thought about, but very often it is not included in everyday discussions. Of course, it is not in human power to completely determine the future, but one should strive for it with all one's consciousness. And one must strive not for a vague future, but precisely for a better future. In this striving, there will already be a guarantee of good luck. Nikolai Konstantinovich did not think of a better future outside of Culture and Beauty. He was convinced that only they would help a person overcome many negative qualities and imperfections and reach a higher round of evolution.
1 Roerich N.K. Diary sheets. T. 1. S. 244.
N.K. Roerich not only comprehended the possible ways of shaping the future, he built it with his whole life. It came to life under the pen of the thinker with the deepest ideas and under the brush of the artist - beautiful images of nature and the inhabitants of the countries he visited. The future belongs to the ascetic cultural projects of the thinker, numerous cultural organizations created on his initiative, and much more, into which the titanic energy of the Master poured. N.K. Roerich was a kind of pioneer, paving the way to the future for his contemporaries and those who would come to replace them. For him, the past, present and future were united in a holistic flow of history, thanks to enduring cultural values.
Beauty plays the most important evolutionary role in the life of the Cosmos, humanity and man. She, according to Roerich, is a multifaceted energy phenomenon and acts as the basis for the spiritual improvement of man. The energy of Beauty, contained in the works of spiritual ascetics, such as, for example, V.S. Solovyov, A.N. Skryabin, M.K. It helps to overcome life's difficulties and become better. Therefore, a person, if he wants to improve his essence, cannot but aspire to Beauty. N.K. Roerich, as if developing the idea of F.M. Dostoevsky - "Beauty will save the world", said: "The awareness of Beauty will save the world." It is the awareness and daily creation of Beauty by a person that will transform him and the world in which he lives. The clearest example of this is the work of N.K. Roerich, who created Beauty as an artist, philosopher and cultural figure. In this he saw the meaning of not only his life, but also the objective meaning of the life of every person: “After all, everything strives for beauty in its own way”1.
His life, flowing under the sensitive guidance of the Teachers, is not perceived otherwise than as a feat. The difficulties that accompanied Roerich were comparable to the planetary scale of his personality, the enormous power of the spirit. Together with his family, he honorably overcame all seemingly insurmountable obstacles and hardships, purposefully and unwaveringly fulfilling his mission. Both by nature and under the influence of his Teachers, Roerich was a builder, creator of Culture. “The whole active life of Roerich,” writes Vsevolod Ivanov, “grown out of the Russian land, is a constant and useful, persistent and benevolent construction. It is not for nothing that he often repeats in his writings the French proverb: “When construction is going on, everything is going on”2.
1 Roerich N.K. Diary sheets. T. 1. S. 144.
2 State Roerich. M.: art. 1994, p. 252.
“Benevolent construction...” These words, perhaps, express the pathos of the entire life path of the Master. This path was marked by cultural discoveries, which were influenced by the spiritual traditions of Russia, dating back to the distant past. In the past, when Saint Sergius of Radonezh performed asceticism. Six centuries have passed since then. But St. Sergius, as before, “still shines, teaches and leads”1. For the entire Russian people, he remains a spiritual Mentor and Teacher. Nicholas Roerich could not but accept his ideas. And in this he was, as always, unanimous with Elena Ivanovna. E.I. Roerich, who wrote an excellent work about Sergius, emphasized the great importance of the asceticism of the Reverend for the construction of the Russian Land. “... The memory of Sergius,” wrote Elena Ivanovna, “will never die, for the magnet of the spirit that he placed in the soul of the Russian people is great. The history of the development of spirituality in the Russian soul and the beginning of the gathering and construction of the Russian Land are inextricably linked with this great Ascetic. Roerich, painting churches and creating canvases based on Russian history, developed the cultural and moral traditions of St. Sergius. Working in churches, visiting ancient Russian cities, Nikolai Konstantinovich felt the currents of history that converged in the space of cultural construction, the unification of the Russian Land. Also, Sergius laid down the traditions of construction, creation, showed an example of communal life, which was based on the high moral authority of the Saint himself. He brought up in his spiritual children the spirit of selflessness and asceticism primarily by personal example. Later, the ideas of Sergius were embodied in the art of icon painting by the great painter Andrei Rublev, who created the world-famous Trinity. This icon expresses the idea of peace, harmony and unity. The result of the ascetic activity of Sergius was the unification of Russian forces, which made possible the victory of the Russian army in 1380 over the Mamayev hordes.
N.K. Roerich is separated from St. Sergius by centuries. At the same time, the asceticism of Sergius and the work of Roerich in some deep moments are in contact. The deeds of Sergius and all the undertakings of Roerich are united by building motives - both of them were committed to the idea of \u200b\u200bcreation for the Common Good. Both the monk and the artist showed with all their deeds that cultural, moral construction lies at the basis of such creation. Nicholas Konstantinovich and Helena Ivanovna Roerich deeply revered the moral precepts of the Radonezh Wonderworker. This showed their cordial and reverent attitude.
1 Banner of St. Sergius of Radonezh. M. 1991. S. 104.
2 Letters from Helena Roerich. Minsk, 1992. T. 2. S. 167.
to Orthodox shrines and, in general, to true Orthodoxy, which was for the Roerichs one of the sources of creative inspiration in their work on paintings and philosophical works.
The time will come, images of St. Sergius will appear on the icons. "Church icon painters will paint it<...>, - notes L.V. Shaposhnikova, - with an unearthly, holy detachment in her eyes. However, history will bring us another Sergius of Radonezh. Philosopher and thinker, warrior and politician. Man - the builder of Russian culture and Russian statehood. Earthly tireless ascetic and worker. Sharp features, visionary eyes and strong hands, accustomed to hard physical labor. This is how we see Sergius on the canvases of Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich. It can be assumed that it was these qualities of Sergius that inspired N.K. Roerich when he portrayed the Reverend in the paintings. The image of Sergius was collective for Roerich, absorbing the best qualities of the Russian people. “Sergius,” wrote H.I. He is, of course, our intercessor. Five hundred years later, looking at his image, you feel: yes, Russia is great! Yes, the holy power is given to her. Yes, next to the true power we can live. Roerich, of course, felt the influence of the ideas of St. Sergius on Russian culture. And this could not but affect his work. In addition, the life of the great Russian Ascetic for Roerich was the highest moral example of service to the Common Cause. Therefore, Sergius can no doubt be considered a spiritual Mentor, the Teacher of Roerich. With St. Sergius, Roerich associated all the best that was in Russia. Contact with the spiritual feat of Sergius, which influenced him through the thickness of centuries, work on his image gave Nikolai Konstantinovich a lot to determine the main milestones of his future life.
2. Roerich - Teacher
N.K. Roerich not only constantly improved himself, studied with his Teachers, but also, being an excellent teacher, educator, helped others to learn. Together with H.I.
1 Shaposhnikova L.V. Great trip. M.: MCR, 1998. Book. 1. Master. S. 85.
2 Banner of St. Sergius of Radonezh. S. 104.
their people of high culture. It is very important. But no less important is the fact that the sons of the Roerichs possessed the highest human qualities. And this is also the greatest merit of parents.
In addition to the sphere of family education, the gift of a teacher manifested itself in N.K. Roerich in the public arena. He took the most lively and interested part in the education of young people, whose problems he devoted several works. One of these problems was the relationship between generations. The elders, Roerich said, complain a lot and attack the youth for preferring dancing, avoiding lectures, and not wanting to read. There are other accusations against the youth. But if, Roerich believed, to think about the reasons for all this, then the older generation should take a significant share of the responsibility for the moral state of the youth. Roerich always believed in the youth and tried to encourage and support them. In youth, he saw, first of all, aspiration to lofty human tasks. Despite the enormous difficulties that many young people face, they find the strength to set good milestones. Is it not the wonderful sprouts of the new, which Nikolai Konstantinovich noticed with a keen eye, being in the thick of life and communicating with young people. Roerich especially valued in youth the aspiration to high quality labor, which, according to Roerich, is more often found among working youth than among the rich and wealthy. Roerich advocated a serious attitude towards young people, for trusting them and involving them in responsible matters. He assigned a special role to the teacher in his work with youth. “... Form folk teacher- wrote Nikolai Konstantinovich. - Give him a tolerable existence. Call the youth co-workers in all matters. Show young people the beauty of creativity.
The life and work of the teacher N.K. Roerich knew firsthand, since for more than ten years he worked as the director of the Drawing School of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts in St. Petersburg, and also taught in others educational institutions. Colleagues and students have always respected and loved Nikolai Konstantinovich. So it was in the Drawing School. Roerich was able to direct her work in such a way that she began to enjoy great prestige both among young people striving to receive an art education, and among the artistic intelligentsia of St. Petersburg, whose best representatives worked there. N.K. Roerich had his own pedagogical principles, which he firmly and persistently adhered to in his work with novice artists. He considered the main thing to be the education of creative thinking and responsibility for the quality of work. Roerich was a very demanding teacher. And he had the moral right to do so, since he showed
1 Roerich N.K Sheets of the diary. M.: MCR, 1995. T. 2. S. 377.
high demands on yourself. These qualities, along with devotion, gratitude and love for the Teachers, allowed him to steadily ascend along the path of ascetic construction.
Wherever he collaborated, Roerich became a special spiritual magnet that attracted interesting, talented people. He possessed an amazing gift - to unite like-minded people for the Common Good. In unity I saw the key to success creative activity employees to whom he approached with a very high moral standard. This is heartfelt trust, and broad good work, and selfless love for culture, and devotion to it, and much more that a person needs to improve. When people striving to live up to this ideal find each other, a commonwealth arises, which Roerich calls the center of good creation. “Commonwealth - what a sweet and cordial word,” writes Nikolai Konstantinovich. - In it there is both from mutual understanding, and from mutual respect, and from cooperation. So, it is in it, in the word - commonwealth - that the most necessary is contained. A commonwealth cannot live if the people who have come together in it do not know what mutual assistance is, do not understand what self-improvement is.
These beautiful words fit so well on the heart, because indeed in the community a person can find the most necessary. And the reason is that the community is based on the internal spiritual discipline of employees. They support each other not only in the midst of difficulties, but also in joy. At the same time, they completely lack the envy and evil whispering that are so common in formal societies. Commonwealths can form a stronghold of true statehood, for fellows accept the natural hierarchy that underlies true state power. The energy of the communities is directed towards creation, they have nothing from destruction. The Commonwealth should not be abstract, it always has specific goals and acts in accordance with them. Relations between its members should be free, benevolent and based on cordial trust. In serving humanity, according to Roerich, is the duty of companions. It is all the more joyful that it is carried out for the benefit of one's neighbor. Only then will the unity of people be vital. This is how Nicholas Roerich imagined the Commonwealth. It was for him the ideal of future human relations, for the implementation of which he called on his closest collaborators.
To a certain extent, this ideal was realized and continues to be realized in Russia in the pedagogy of cooperation, the ideas of which are based on
1 Roerich N.K. Diary sheets. T. 1. S. 542.
throughout the history of mankind were developed by spiritual ascetics, outstanding educators and educators. In Russian pedagogy, these ideas were actively implemented in the 20s and subsequent years of the twentieth century (A.S. Makarenko, V.A. Sukhomlinsky and others), finding further development in our days in the work of such famous teachers as Sh .A.Amonashvili, V.F.Shatalov, S.N.Lysenkova and others.
3. The Great Law of Teaching
Much has already been done by Roerich in Russia. But even more he had to do outside the homeland, which Nikolai Konstantinovich had to leave shortly before the revolution. On the recommendation of doctors in 1916, Roerich and his family left for Finland and settled in the quiet town of Serdobol, on the shores of Lake Ladoga. The climate of Finland was beneficial for Roerich. It was assumed that after recovery, Nikolai Konstantinovich would return to St. Petersburg. But this did not happen, since in 1918 Finland separated from Russia and after a while the border was closed. Thus began a new and very important period in the life of Roerich.
The life of the Roerichs on the shore of the lake outwardly proceeded quietly and measuredly. “Ladoga,” writes L.V. Shaposhnikova, “revealed before them in all its amazing and unique beauty. There was softness and severity in it, it exuded deep antiquity and the purity that the eternal combination of water, rocks and pine forests gives. Purple-orange sunrises rose and scarlet sunsets blazed over a huge, sea-like lake. The water absorbed the generous blueness of the sky and was saturated with it. The wind drove the clouds across the sky, bizarrely changing their shapes, and it seemed that these were not clouds, but visions floating over the lake and the earth. Visions that contain something special, as if they carried a message from somewhere far away and tried to convey it in unexpected symbols and figures.
At the same time, despite outward calmness, the Roerichs' minds more and more entered into a premonition of some significant changes, in anticipation of which every day flowed. But the artist did not just wait, he worked hard. In the paintings painted during that period, Nikolai Konstantinovich expressed his inner state - the expectation of something new and significant: “Waiting”, “Waiting”, “Eternal expectation”, “Waiting on the pier”. Uncertainty of the future important events was painful and almost unbearable, also because he
1 Shaposhnikova L.V. Great trip. Book. 1. S. 141.
more clearly felt the signs of future changes. The experiences and reflections of N.K. Roerich are reflected in his poems contained in three cycles: “Signs”, “Messenger”, “To the Boy”. At first glance, the poems seem somehow strange, expressing, perhaps, the fabulous world of northern nature and the very difficult state of mind of the author. But, reading carefully, you begin to understand that in these poetic cycles Roerich comprehended the deepest philosophical problems that were relevant primarily for himself. Due to the brevity of the article, I will try to give only general characteristics poetic creativity of the Master. Roerich's poetry, in essence, contains all of his worldview, but taken not as a ready-made set or system of provisions, but as a process of spiritual formation and development of the thinker.
The poetic cycles were created by Roerich in the period from 1911 to 1921, which largely coincided with the stage in the life of Nicholas Konstantinovich, when his spiritual essence as a thinker, artist and cultural figure was formed and determined. P.F. Belikov gives a very capacious description of this facet of the spiritual evolution of N.K. Roerich: “Answering some questions about the book “Flowers of Moria”, S.N. (Svyatoslav Nikolaevich Roerich. - Auth.) wrote: "The poems of N.K. from the very beginning contained an inner key to his subsequent aspirations (letter dated April 11, 1963). In this light, one should approach the disclosure of the true meaning of poetic creativity N.K., in which, behind poetic images and allegories, autobiographical moments are hidden, connected with the experience of understanding the priority tasks of the era and one’s role in their implementation”1.
These tasks concern the transition of mankind to a higher level of development. And in their implementation, the Roerichs were assigned the mission of pioneers, paving the way for humanity to hitherto inaccessible heights of the spirit. This mission, very responsible and difficult, was entrusted to the Roerichs by the Teachers of mankind, whose role in the evolution of mankind requires explanation.
According to N.K. Roerich's worldview, the Universe is a majestic spiritualized system in which there is a constant energy exchange between its structures. The vital activity of the Universe, the Cosmos is supported by this energy exchange. Therefore, cosmic evolution is an energy process. Man, being a part of the Cosmos, is also included in this energy exchange. In the process of energy exchange, energy is accumulated, which increases the energy of a person, peoples, countries, the Earth and prepares the prerequisites for their further advance along the spiral of cosmic evolution.
1 Belikov P.F. Roerich (experience of spiritual biography). Novosibirsk, 1994, p. 100.
The evolution of the Universe and man is accompanied by its inalienable opposite - involution. Nowadays, people who are interested in the ideas of cosmism pay more attention to evolution. While there is less interest in involution, and quite often it is understood as a fall, the descent to a level lower than already reached. Meanwhile, “in order for any evolution to begin,” writes L.V. Shaposhnikova, “the fiery spark of the spirit must enter or descend into inert matter. For spirit it is involution, for matter it is the beginning of evolution. Having descended into matter, the spark of spirit with its energy creates a difference in the potentials of spirit and matter, and thereby forms the energy for ascent. As a rule, the High Essence acts as such a spark of the spirit. This Essence, “having completed the cycle of its earthly incarnations,” L.V. Shaposhnikova writes further, “can continue its ascent into Higher Worlds. But some of them, owning the energy mechanisms of evolution, voluntarily return to Earth again in order to start a new stage, or a new round, of the cosmic evolution of mankind with a spark of their spirit. In India, such High Beings are respectfully called Mahatmas, or Great Souls. These are the Great Teachers of mankind, with whom N.K. Roerich and H.I. Roerich were lucky enough to meet more than once.
Myths, legends and tales of all peoples of the world tell about the Teacher - a sage, enlightener, mentor. The image of the Teacher, which has its roots in ancient times, is revered in all cultures. It occupies a special place in the culture of India, where Teachers - Gurus, who help people to break through to spirituality and Beauty, are still revered. It was with such Teachers that N.K. Roerich communicated in India and wrote a wonderful essay about them “Guru-Teacher”. The image of the Teacher in a continuous line permeates the entire Indian history, as if refracting in specific milestones of Culture the “Great Law of the Hierarchy of the Animated Cosmos”3, in the space of which, thanks to the Teacher, the spiritual perfection of man and mankind takes place and the connection with cosmic evolution takes place.
Therefore, it is no coincidence that the theme of the Teacher became the leading theme of Roerich's poetic work, for Nikolai Konstantinovich in verse reflected his feelings and impressions caused by communication with the Teacher -
1 Shaposhnikova L.V. Fiery creativity of cosmic evolution // Roerich E. At the threshold of the New World. M.: MCR, 2000. S. 13-14.
2 Ibid. S. 14.
3 Shaposhnikova L.V. Teachers. Morning Star // Scientific and artistic illustrated almanac. M.: MCR, 1993. No. 1. S. 10.
mi. The first appearances of the Teacher by Roerich were perceived in a dream. Here is how Nikolai Konstantinovich writes about this in the poem “In the Morning”:
You, who comes in silence, silently tell me what I wanted in life and what I have achieved? Lay your hand on me, I will again be able and desire, and the desired will be remembered at night
In the poems, Roerich reveals his perception of the Teacher as the personification of something very perfect and beautiful, which manifests itself through the beautiful appearance of the Teacher both in his shining light and in his grace, which, like precious moisture, pours onto the earth. This is narrated, in particular, in the poem "Light":
How to see Your Face? All-pervading Face, deeper than feelings and mind. Intangible, inaudible, invisible. I call: heart, wisdom and work. Who has known that which knows no form, no sound, no taste, no end and no beginning? In the dark, when everything stops, the thirst for the desert and the salt of the ocean! I will wait for your radiance. The sun does not shine before Your Face. The moon does not shine. No stars, no flames, no lightning. The rainbow does not shine, the radiance of the north does not play. Your face shines there. Everything shines with its light. Grains of Your radiance sparkle in the darkness. And in my closed eyes your wonderful light shines.
1 Roerich N. Flowers of Moria. Ways of Blessing. Heart of Asia. Riga: Vieda, 1992, p. 21.
2 Ibid. S. 23.
In the poem "Drops" Roerich writes:
Your grace fills my hands. It flows in abundance through my fingers. I can't keep everything. I do not have time to distinguish the shining streams of wealth. Your good wave pours through your hands to the ground. I don’t see who will pick up the precious moisture? Small splashes on whom will fall? I won't be able to get home. Of all the grace in the hands of tightly clenched, I will only convey
The image of the Teacher gradually fills the whole being of Nicholas Roerich and awakens in him the highest feelings - devotion and love. These qualities of a student, namely, Roerich was such in relation to the Teacher, opened up the possibilities of true discipleship, in which the Teacher became the Driver and Mentor in all endeavors. N.K. Roerich describes this facet of his apprenticeship in the poem “Pearl”, feeling both the trust of the Teacher and the responsibility for the work that He entrusts to him:
Another messenger. Again your order! And a gift from you! Lord, You sent me Your pearl and commanded me to include it in my necklace.
In another poem - "I did not leave", Roerich writes:
You left me the work you started. You wanted me to continue it. I feel your trust in me. I will treat my work carefully and strictly. After all, you did this work yourself3 ...
Poetic creativity not only enabled Roerich to comprehend the spiritual depths of apprenticeship and teaching, but also in full
1 Roerich N. Flowers of Moria. Ways of Blessing. Heart of Asia. S. 19.
2 Ibid. S. 30.
3 Ibid. S. 28.
to some extent realize the responsibility to the Teacher and internally prepare for the fulfillment of a very difficult mission.
Roerich's period of forced life in Ladoga was coming to an end. New opportunities opened up ahead, the implementation of which Nikolai Konstantinovich would devote his whole life to. “The wait was coming to an end, and he clearly felt it,” writes L.V. Shaposhnikova, describing one of the most crucial moments in Roerich's life. - Deadlines are approaching. Everything about him was exacerbated to the extreme. He understood quite clearly that, having taken the step he had been waiting for and wishing for so long, he would not return to Petrograd. He left the Motherland, with which he had so much to do with. He left her for her. Knowing this didn't make the parting any easier. He wanted to delay, stretch out the last moment.
I'm going. I'm in a hurry. But one time, one more time, the last time I'll go around everything I left behind.
"But one time, one more time" sounded like a plea.
The predestined time came, and in 1919 the Roerichs left Finland. On their way there were new countries and cities where they had to work hard. But they had to do even more for the Common Good in India, which the Roerichs had long expected.
N.K. Roerich, leaving Finland for a great journey through Central Asia, made his choice very responsibly. He understood that no one would make this journey except them, and therefore he considered the fulfillment of duty to be indispensable. The desire to fulfill one's mission is reflected in poetic creativity. In the suite "To the Boy" Nicholas Roerich turns to himself, as if testing his strength, readiness for action to achieve the goals set by the Teacher. This suite begins with the poem "Eternity":
Boy, you say you'll be on your way in the evening. My dear boy, do not delay. We'll go out with you in the morning. We entered the fragrant forest among the silent trees. In the icy brilliance of dew, under a bright and wonderful cloud,
1 Shaposhnikova L.V. Great trip. Book. 1. S. 157.
we will go on the road with you. If you hesitate to go, it means that you still do not know what is the beginning and joy, the beginning and
eternity1.
After leaving Finland, the Roerichs did not immediately reach India. To get there, they had to overcome many of the most difficult obstacles that arose in their way in Europe and America until 1923 - that cherished year when the Roerichs arrived at the port of Bombay. And before that there were Sweden, England, America, France. Exhibitions were organized in these countries, hard work was going on, important meetings were held. Among them are those that determined the entire future life of the Roerichs - these were meetings with the Teachers of mankind.
The phenomena of the Teachers were realized by Elena Ivanovna back in childhood and accompanied them throughout their lives. H.I. Roerich describes their phenomena in the third person. “Very early, the girl began to have significant dreams and even visions. For six years now, the girl had had an extraordinary experience, which was imprinted in her heart for the rest of her life, almost without losing its original freshness and strength of feeling. It happened in late spring. Her parents moved to a dacha in Pavlovsk, and on the very first morning the girl, getting up earlier than usual, ran to the park, to a small pond where goldfish lived. The morning turned out to be wonderful, the air seemed to tremble and sparkle in the rays of the sun, and nature itself seemed to be dressed in festive attire, and the blue of the sky was especially deep. The girl, standing on the pier, absorbed the beauty and joy of life with all the fibers of her being. Her gaze rested on a blossoming apple tree standing on the opposite shore, and against its background the girl saw a tall male figure in a white robe, and in her mind the memory immediately arose that the Teacher of Light lives somewhere far away. The girl's heart fluttered, and her joy turned into delight, her whole being was drawn to this distant, beloved and Beautiful Image.
What is written here about the connection with the Teachers of H.I. Roerich, in the context of the theme of N.K. Thoughts of Nikolai Konstantinovich about the Teacher, awareness of His role in the life of an artist, the first appearances of the Teacher He.I. Roerich were reflected in his artistic work. "Shadow of the Teacher", "Fiat Rex", "Burning of Darkness", "Treasure of the Mountains" - these and
1 Roerich N. Flowers of Moria. Ways of Blessing. Heart of Asia. S. 32.
2 Roerich E. At the Threshold of the New World. S. 45.
other paintings are dedicated to the Teachers. They depict extraordinarily beautiful figures from which streams of light emanate.
H.I. Roerich met the Teacher for the first time in 1920 in London, where an exhibition of Nicholas Konstantinovich was held. In this city, at the gates of Hyde Park, Elena Ivanovna received advice on the future trip of the Roerichs to India. Later meetings with the Masters took place in New York, Chicago, Paris, Darjeeling and other places. The Roerichs throughout their lives repeatedly communicated with the Teachers and felt Their support. N.K. Roerich described meetings with the Teachers and many things connected with Them. But he did it very carefully, realizing that his words could be misinterpreted. In this regard, the essay "Milestones" is very indicative, in which Nikolai Konstantinovich compares meetings with the Teachers and Their help with milestones in life. Describing these cases in an allegorical form, on behalf of his friend, he means a lot that was connected with the Teachers in the life of his family. At the same time, in this essay, Roerich advises others to be careful, because ignorance and self-conceit often obscure people from "landmarks" that speak of many things that can be useful on life path.
In India, Roerich was often, in detail and authentically told about the Teachers, or Mahatmas. Therefore, the story of Nikolai Konstantinovich about the Teachers is very convincing. “At a time when people in Europe are arguing about the existence of the Mahatmas,” he wrote, “when the Indians are penetratingly silent about them, how many people in Asia not only know the Mahatmas, not only saw them, but also know many real cases of their deeds and appearances. . Always expected, unexpectedly, the Mahatmas created a great, special life in the expanses of Asia. When needed, they showed up. If necessary, they passed unnoticed, like ordinary travelers. They do not write their names on the rocks, but the hearts of those who know keep these names stronger than rocks. Why suspect a fairy tale, imagination, fiction, when information about the Mahatmas is imprinted in real forms<...>Not divorced from life, not leading away, but creating - such is the teaching of the Mahatmas. They talk about the scientific foundations of existence. They direct to the mastery of energies.
During their stay in India, the Roerichs met with the Teacher in Darjeeling, in a small roadside temple. This meeting influenced their entire subsequent life, since the Roerichs received advice from the Teacher regarding the Central Asian expedition, which they were to carry out in the near future. And in this journey, they repeatedly met with the High Beings.
Studying the cultural traditions of the East, N.K. Roerich became convinced that the theme of the Teacher and Teaching is present in many myths and legends.
1 Cited. according to the book: Shaposhnikova L.V. Great trip. Book. 1. S. 206.
Roerich collected them during the Central Asian expedition and published them in the diaries “Altai-Himalayas” and “Heart of Asia”, as well as in the essay “Shambhala1 Shining”.
“Another lama of the red sect,” Roerich wrote, “told us about the wonderful azars of the Hindu type, long-haired, in white clothes, sometimes appearing in the Himalayas.
These wise people know how to control the inner forces and how to unite them with the cosmic currents. The head of the medical school in Lhasa, an old learned lama, personally knew such Azars and maintained direct relations with them.
Historical evidence of the existence of the Great Teachers of mankind, and personal meetings with them allowed Roerich to realize that the Teachership lies at the basis of the evolution of man and mankind.
So, with the birth of a child, he immediately becomes a student of his parents, who help him to get on his feet both physically and spiritually; they instill in him the foundations of morality, including him in social relations. Parents become teachers of the child. Later, children meet with school teachers, who sometimes determine the direction of their whole life. And if these are teachers who love children, who are creative in their work, then the school years will remain in the memory of students as one of the brightest memories. A vivid example of such teaching is the life and work of the famous teacher Sh.A. Amonashvili, the author of the book “School of Life”, who develops the ideas of humane-personal pedagogy. These ideas generalize both the works of outstanding teachers-thinkers who lived in different eras in different countries, and the pedagogical experience of Shalva Aleksandrovich himself. Today, humane-personal pedagogy attracts many children, teachers and parents, primarily because it is saturated with cordiality and kindness. The main characters of the School of Life are the student and the teacher, whose cooperation gives rise to a relationship of true Teachership. Much in these relations depends on the teacher, about whom Sh.A. Amonashvili writes: himself to the finest work of education.
1 Shambhala is a region in the Himalayas where energy exchange takes place between the Earth and the worlds of other states of matter, the main residence of the Teachers.
2 Roerich N. Flowers of Moria. Ways of Blessing. Heart of Asia. S. 219.
3 Amonashvili Sh.A. School of Life. M.: Sh. Amonashvili Publishing House, 2000. P. 81.
The example of school teaching is the most obvious. But the relationship "Teacher - student" or "student - Teacher" also permeates other aspects of people's lives. Moreover, this relation, which is of a natural nature, is inherent in the entire Universe. “If the Teacher and the student,” writes L.V. Shaposhnikova, “follow the Great laws of the Cosmos, if both of them are harmoniously, as required by the laws, inscribed in an infinite series of Infinity, then each link or element of this series carries two functions<....>Each Teacher, having a Teacher, is a student. Each student in relation to those who are below him on the hierarchical ladder, is a Teacher. The cosmic manifestation of Teaching carries in itself complementary functions: The teacher is the student. Any kind of deviation in this cosmic series is a violation of the Great space laws. Any disrespect for the Teacher is a deviation from the path of evolution and development. True Teaching is that “silver thread” that connects if not every person, then humanity as a whole with the Great Teachers.
The Great Teachers have been fulfilling their planetary-cosmic mission for many millennia, helping humanity to ascend the spiral of cosmic evolution, the meaning of which is most fully manifested in the Teachership. First of all, through the Magisterium, evolution draws into its upward movement those who aspire to it. This happens if the student is grateful and devoted to the Teacher throughout the life path. It is very important that the student voluntarily accept the apprenticeship and entrust himself to the Master. “Teaching,” we read in the essay “Shining Shambhala,” “is the highest connection that can only be achieved in our earthly vestments. We are guided by the Masters, and we strive for perfection in our reverence for the Master.”2
N.K. Roerich, like no one else, understood the evolutionary significance of the Teaching, for he was connected with the Teachers - the Mahatmas - and carried out all his ascetic deeds under their guidance. The forms of Teaching are as diverse as life itself is diverse. But regardless of this, the essence of Teaching is always the same - the Teacher transfers his knowledge and experience to the student, helps to improve spiritually. Thus, He promotes his ascent along the steps of cosmic evolution. The teacher has the moral right to teach only if he himself was and remains a real student. A vivid confirmation of this is the life of N.K. Roerich. IN early years, like all his life, he was a devoted student. It is enough to remember the tremulous
1 Shaposhnikova L.V. Teachers: Morning Star // Scientific and artistic illustrated almanac. No. 1. S. 21-24.
2 Roerich N.K. Fenugreek. S. 36.
attitude towards school teachers, later - to AI Kuindzhi, not to mention his apprenticeship under the guidance of the Great Teachers. At the same time, Nikolai Konstantinovich was a true Teacher. He fulfilled this lofty mission with honor. He was very loved in India and was considered the Mahatma. The heroic life of Roerich, filled with examples of indomitable will and selflessness in the performance of duty, teaches how to overcome the difficulties of many, and the paintings and philosophical works of Nicholas Konstantinovich contain invaluable knowledge, so necessary for everyone who embarks on the path of spiritual perfection.
4. Leadership of the Teachers and the Central Asian Expedition
In the 20th century, humanity faced tasks related to the transition to a higher level of evolution. The solution of these problems was vital. Then people appeared who, according to their spiritual accumulations, were ready for their realization. These were the Roerichs. They came into the world as ordinary people, albeit with special spiritual qualities. And only meetings with the Teachers helped them to realize and fulfill the evolutionary mission entrusted to them. The Roerichs with their ascetic life and spiritual discoveries showed mankind the ways of spiritual transformation.
The example of the Roerich family inspires many people to search for the truth, helps to be persistent and unshakable in moving towards this lofty goal. L.V. Shaposhnikova chose as the epigraph for the book about N.K. These words in many respects reveal the significance of the great spiritual feat of the Roerichs, the peak of which is the unique Central Asian expedition. It is rightly considered the main work of the life of N.K. Roerich. His associates were Elena Ivanovna and Yuri Nikolaevich. Its goals were determined at the meetings of the Roerichs with the Teachers. N.K. Roerich hardly touches the content of conversations with Them in his works. At the same time, from some of the works of Nicholas Konstantinovich and, most importantly, from the actions of the Roerichs following the meetings with the Teachers, one can understand that the Teachers gave instructions on the Central Asian expedition and provided assistance along its entire route.
The objectives of the expedition were varied. “Of course, my main aspiration as an artist,” Nikolai Konstantinovich wrote, “was in artistic work. It is hard to imagine when I will be able to embody all the artistic notes and impressions - these are so generous
gifts of Asia"1. The route passed through the lands ancient cultures Asia, and each of these cultures was a huge field for the researcher. Roerich was looking for common points that united different cultures, he was interested in the problems of cultural interaction between peoples. At the same time, the expedition faced another, very important task, unusual for other expeditions. It had a planetary-cosmic, evolutionary character. “The expedition,” writes L.V. Shaposhnikova, “had to perform a historical action called “laying magnets””2.
A magnet, according to the Roerichs' worldview, is an energy that attracts other energy. Thus, conditions are created for energy exchange, thanks to which the Universe lives and develops. Magnets differ in shape, structure, and also in their energies. So, the magnet is the energy of the spirit. It interacts with matter and organizes it. The energy of the spirit manifests itself in the structure different levels. One of them is the Cosmic Magnet3 - a very complex phenomenon and not yet studied by man. The action of the Cosmic Magnet is universal, for it manifests itself at all levels and in all forms of the existence of the Cosmos. Important condition spiritual development of a person consists in his awareness of the universal nature of the manifestation of this Magnet and in interaction with its energy. A person's connection with the Cosmic Magnet is possible only through a spiritual Teacher - earthly or heavenly. “The Cosmic Magnet,” writes H.I. Roerich, “is the Cosmic Heart or the consciousness of the Crown of the Cosmic Reason of the Hierarchy of Light”4. That Hierarchy of Light, the infinite links of which go to Eternity and Infinity. In the Cosmic Magnet, the energy of the consciousness of the Mind of the Cosmic Hierarchs is accumulated. The manifestation of the Cosmic Mind can be explained to some extent by analogy with the human mind. But such an analogy must be approached very carefully. For, in comparison with the human mind, the energy of the Cosmic Mind is a phenomenon of a different order, since it also exists in the worlds of other states of matter. The Cosmic Magnet has a very high energy compared to the energy of our planet and influences its energy. This process is complex, multifaceted and still waiting to be explored. But there is some information about it. And the Roerichs had the most direct relation to them.
1 Roerich N.K. Favorites / Comp. V.M. Sidorov; Artistic I.A. Guseva. M.: Sov. Russia, 1979. S. 100.
2 Shaposhnikova L.V. Commands of the Cosmos. M.: MCR, 1996. S. 94.
3 The information about the Cosmic Magnet, Stone and Shambhala is presented on the basis of the book by L.V. Shaposhnikova “Decrees of the Cosmos”. M.: MCR, 1995. S. 81-101.
4 Roerich E.I. Letters. M.: MCR, 2000. T. 2. S. 492.
In 1923, a parcel arrived in a Paris bank addressed to the Roerichs. When they opened the plywood box, they found in it an old box covered with leather. “Nikolai Konstantinovich opened the box and saw in it a Stone, a piece of a dark meteorite. He immediately felt a slight tingling in his fingers, his centers responded to the energy of the Stone. But it was only a fragment, the main meteorite was in the Reserved Land, where the Teachers lived and where they conducted their evolutionary research. From this meteorite thousands of years ago the earthly refuge of the Cosmic Hierarchs began. The legend told that the meteorite came to Earth from the distant constellation Orion.
The stone, located in Shambhala and energetically connected with the worlds of other states of matter, contributes to the formation of a higher energy of the Earth. In this process, the Teachers play an important role, who, with the help of the Stone, during their “night vigil” saturate the space with high energy. After the story about the Stone, the image of the legendary Shambhala takes on a somewhat greater relief. For Shambhala is not only the main residence of the Teachers. In Shambhala, there is an energy exchange between our planet and the worlds of other states of matter, the energy is formed that is necessary for the advancement of the planet and earthly humanity along the spiral of cosmic evolution. It was with the help of a particle of such a Stone obtained in Paris, and thanks to the high energy of Helena Ivanovna Roerichs, that they “lay magnets” on the route of the Central Asian expedition. Thus, they completed the main task of the expedition, the route of which passed through India, China, Siberia, Altai, Mongolia, Tibet. In these areas, the Roerichs formed an energy field, in the space of which a number of highly developed cultures and countries will arise in the future.
The unique route of the expedition ran through the most beautiful and historically significant places. The Roerichs discovered dozens of unknown peaks and passes, archaeological sites, and found the rarest Tibetan manuscripts. N.K. Roerich summarized his impressions of the expedition in his diaries, created about five hundred paintings, collected together with H.I. Roerich and Yu.N. Roerich a huge scientific material. The Roerichs studied this material following the universal philosophical concept, according to which the past, present and future constitute a single historical process, within which the future determines not only milestones in the study of the cultures of various peoples, but also the main directions of their development. This is what scientific significance expeditions.
1 Shaposhnikova L.V. Commands of the Cosmos. S. 91.
After returning from the expedition in 1928, the Roerichs settled in the Kullu Valley (India), where the last period of the life of Nikolai Konstantinovich passed and the Urusvati Himalayan Research Institute (translated from Sanskrit as “Light of the Morning Star”) was founded. This institute was a logical continuation of the Central Asian expedition and was a scientific center of a completely new type. His work combined both traditional methods that were used in ancient Asia, and those that were yet to be formed. The work of the institute was distinguished by constant mobility. The explorers who lived in Kullu constantly went on expeditions. There were many such scientists who collaborated with the Institute while in other countries. Therefore, the center was international. It studied the culture of the peoples of Asia, conducted comprehensive studies of human qualities.
The Central Asian expedition, the most significant work of the life of Nicholas Roerich and "those like him", was successfully completed. This expedition, as well as other undertakings, Nikolai Konstantinovich was able to carry out thanks to the guidance of the Teachers, whose most devoted student he was all his life. At the same time, his apprenticeship with the Great Teachers helped Roerich develop the highest spiritual guidelines and become a real Teacher - Guru. These guidelines were not abstract concepts, on their basis the whole life of Nikolai Konstantinovich was built, who was an extremely purposeful person, possessing extraordinary spiritual strength, as well as amazing tolerance for the views of other people. All his spiritual finds - paintings, philosophical works, cultural undertakings - are permeated with Beauty and continue to serve people, helping them to join Beauty. More than a hundred institutes, academies, cultural institutions around the world elected Nicholas Roerich an honorary and full member.
During his travels to different continents and his stay in India, he never left the thought of returning to his homeland. As soon as the war ended, he immediately began to fuss about moving to the Soviet Union. “... As long as there is strength,” Nicholas Roerich wrote, “I would like to apply it for the benefit of my native land”1. But the dream was not destined to come true. Permission to enter the homeland did not come, and on December 13, 1947, he passed away. “Nikolai Konstantinovich always thought,” wrote Svyatoslav Roerich, “that in the end the main task of life is self-improvement. Art or any other creative achievements can be very great, but the focus of everything is the life of the person himself, his personality. He believed that his creative life, his art is only accomplices of self-improvement-
1 Roerich N.K Sheets of the diary. M.: MCR, 2002. T. 3. S. 101.
vanity. He always worked on himself first of all. He wanted to rise above who he was and end his life as a more perfect person. And in this he succeeded. He became an absolutely exceptional person, a wise man, of remarkable personal qualities. I met a lot of people all over the world, but I didn’t have to meet another person like Nikolai Konstantinovich”1.
These words express the main quality of Nicholas Roerich, inseparable from his whole life - constant self-improvement. Thanks to this quality, Nikolai Konstantinovich was able to remain a devoted student of his Teachers all his life. And at the same time, Roerich, constantly working on himself, became a true Teacher, who was awarded the most honorary title in the East - Guru.
World outlook and ascetic life of N.K. Roerich is attracting more and more attention of the cultural community of Russia and the whole world. The attraction of Roerich's feat in life is that it reveals the Master's unshakable faith in a better future and serves as an excellent, inspiring example for all people striving to build their lives on the basis of Knowledge and Beauty. Outstanding achievements of N.K. Roerich in the field of culture are recognized all over the world. In 1935 in Washington, twenty-one countries of the American continent signed the Pact on the international protection of cultural monuments during hostilities, known as the Roerich Pact. On its basis, the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was adopted. Along with the Pact, Roerich proposed a distinctive symbol to designate cultural institutions. It was later named the Banner of Peace. This Banner - a white banner with three red circles enclosed in a red circle - has been adopted by many cultural and educational institutions around the world. Museums of many countries exhibit paintings by Nicholas Roerich and S. N. Roerich. Since 1990, the International Center-Museum named after Nicholas Roerich has been operating in Moscow, formed on the basis of the cultural heritage of the Roerich family, which was donated in 1990 to Russia by S.N. Roerich.
N.K. Roerich's works contain, along with the author's pedagogical views, the deepest philosophical ideas that reveal his world outlook, without mastering which true Teaching is impossible. Therefore, the works of our great artist will be of invaluable help to all who, perhaps, are already moving forward along the beautiful, albeit difficult, path of teaching, or are just preparing to set foot on it.
1 Shaposhnikova L.V. Great trip. Book. 1. S. 585-586.
Frolov Viktor Vasilievich,
Doctor of Philosophy, Professor,
Deputy General Director of the Nicholas Roerich Museum for Research,
Head of the Joint Scientific Center for Problems of Space Thinking
at the International Center of the Roerichs, Moscow.
“Once in Finland I was sitting on the shore of Lake Ladoga with a peasant boy. A middle-aged man walked past us, and my little companion stood up and removed his hat with great reverence. I asked him afterwards, "Who was this man?" And with particular seriousness the boy replied: "This is the teacher." I asked again, "Is he your teacher?" “No,” the boy replied, “he is a teacher from a nearby school.” "Do you know him personally?" I insisted. "No," he replied in surprise... "Then why did you greet him so respectfully?" Even more seriously, my little companion replied: "Because he is a teacher." This small story from N.K. Roerich's essay "Guru - Teacher" perhaps most accurately expresses his attitude towards the Teachers, who played a huge role in the life of the Master.
A document has been preserved certifying that Nicholas Roerich was born in St. Petersburg in 1874 on October 9 (September 27, O.S.) in the family of the notary Konstantin Fedorovich Roerich and his wife Maria Vasilievna. Roerich was lucky with teachers. He studied at one of the best educational institutions of the then St. Petersburg - the K. May gymnasium. His first mentors, who gave their students all the heat of their hearts, showed an example of a highly moral attitude to their work. By their example, they helped Roerich form his highest qualities, to which the Master was faithful all his life - a deep awareness of personal responsibility for everything that he had to do, and the personal duty that life placed on him.
N.K. Roerich writes about his teachers with amazing warmth and cordiality. “We ourselves, recalling our school and university years, turn especially affably to those teachers who taught clearly and simply. It makes no difference from the subject itself, whether it will be higher mathematics or philosophy, or history, or geography - absolutely everything could find clear forms from gifted teachers.
After graduating from high school, he simultaneously studied at the law department of St. Petersburg University and at the Imperial Academy of Arts. Already a student, Roerich communicated with famous cultural figures - V.V. Stasov, I.E. Repin, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, D.V. Grigorovich, S.P. Diaghilev, A.N. .A. Blok and others. During this period, N.K. Roerich was engaged in archaeological excavations, wrote the first literary works, and created paintings. In 1897, Tretyakov bought the diploma work of N.K. Roerich "Messenger" for his gallery.
A. I. Kuindzhi, with whom he studied at the Academy of Arts, had a huge influence on the moral and generally creative development of the young Roerich. “I remember,” Nicholas Roerich wrote, “in the most exalted words about my teacher, Professor Kuindzhi, the famous Russian artist. His life story could fill the most inspirational biography pages for the younger generation. He was a simple shepherd in the Crimea. Only by a consistent, passionate desire for art was he able to overcome all obstacles and, finally, become not only a respected artist and a man of great opportunities, but also a real Guru for his students in his high Hindu concept. What, besides rare diligence and determination, sincerity and love for his students in the guise of Kuindzhi, inspired Roerich to the sublime veneration of his teacher? Kuindzhi was a Teacher in the highest sense of the word. He was Guru. Once, Roerich recalls, students of the Academy of Arts raised a revolt against the vice-president of the Council, Tolstoy. And no one could calm them down. The situation became very serious. Then Kuindzhi came to the meeting and said, turning to the students, that they had come to the Academy to become artists, and therefore he asked them to start working. The rally was immediately stopped. Such was the authority of Kuindzhi.
Nikolai Konstantinovich was selflessly devoted to his teacher. His wife, Helena Roerich, wrote about this quality of Roerich: “Kuindzhi was a great teacher,” Elena Ivanovna recalled. – But only the student N.K. he became great. Those students who were not averse to belittling him and even calling him simply “Arkhip” behind his back, gradually completely deteriorated and came to naught. The exalted veneration of the Teachers, gratitude and devotion to the Teachers, N.K. Roerich carried through his whole life. I can't resist citing Roerich's recollection of the Indian Gurus, in which he reveals the essence of teaching and his attitude towards teaching.
“Many years later,” Roerich wrote, “in India I saw such Gurus and saw devoted disciples who, without any servility, enthusiastically revered their Gurus, with that sensitivity that is so characteristic of India.
I heard a delightful story about a little Indian who found his teacher. He was asked: "Can the sun darken for you if you see it without a Teacher?"
The boy smiled: "The sun must remain the sun, but in the presence of the Master, twelve suns will shine for me."
Roerich's first teachers helped him find himself in a space of true culture and beauty. His wife E.I. Roerich, nee Shaposhnikova, had no less influence on Roerich. Roerich met her in 1899, and in 1901 Elena Ivanovna became his wife. The Roerichs will spend their whole lives together, spiritually and creatively complementing and enriching each other. H.I. Roerich, who announced to the world about a new, cosmic worldview in the books of the Living Ethics, will become the spiritual leader of all the creative undertakings of N.K. and literary creativity.
N.K. Roerich highly appreciated He.I. Roerich. He published many of his books with a dedication: "To Elena, my wife, friend, companion, inspirer." Elena Ivanovna was the bright genius of the Roerich family, who inspired all its members to spiritual and creative achievements. N.K. Roerich implemented in his artistic work the inspired ideas and images that arose from Elena Ivanovna. Their sons, Yuri and Svyatoslav, took part in the cultural activities of the Roerichs. The Roerich family was a single whole and lived with a constant and unshakable aspiration for culture, knowledge and creativity in the name of the Common Good.
The creative heritage of N.K. Roerich, inseparable from the cultural heritage of his family, is so multifaceted that everyone who embarks on the path of spiritual improvement will find priceless spiritual treasures in Roerich's heritage, without mastering which true human development is impossible. Roerich's books cannot simply be read, as one reads a historical narrative or a literary essay, for each of his works, as it were, opens a window into a completely amazing world - Roerich's power. This is a world of unique discoveries and the deepest insights of a thinker-artist, helping to feel the enchanting beauty of the Universe. Roerich's realm embodies the synthesis of religion, art and science, fusing all the spiritual accumulations of mankind into a single whole. Cowardice, weak will, betrayal and much more, from which a person needs to be freed, are not welcomed at all. The borders of this power are guarded by selfless people, devoted to the common cause, with an unshakable will and a pure heart, always ready for a feat.
N.K. Roerich in scientific, artistic creativity and cultural projects never stood still, he was constantly improving. For him, it was a way of being. He did this solely for the sake of the Common Good and serving Culture, to which Roerich devoted many works - "Culture - the veneration of Light." "Culture is the winner", "The value of beauty" and others. People who serve Culture are truly happy. Happiness is not in gold, Roerich notes, but in beauty, which is personified in nature, human relationships and works of art. Those who are drawn to Culture, making it the basis of their lives, endure and win in the most difficult life situations, because Culture gives a person confidence in his strength. Although the victory may be invisible, because its space, in the final analysis, is the spiritual world of man. That is why Culture is the basis of Teaching, the scope of which is the spiritual improvement of man.
In his artistic work, Roerich revealed the originality of Russian culture, rooted in ancient Slavic traditions. His paintings, depicting the life and culture of the Slavs, were exhibited at the largest exhibitions in St. Petersburg and Moscow. At the same time, he saw in Russian culture such facets that connected it with the culture of the East and West. Studying the culture of past eras and defending it from destruction and oblivion, Roerich saw in it grains of the imperishable, eternal, which germinated as fresh, green shoots into the future. He considered the future as such a slice of history, which is rooted in the past and without the past has no prospects for development.
In the future, bright and beautiful, N.K. Roerich was directed all his life. It was for the sake of a better future that he carried out unique expeditions and wrote philosophical works, created paintings and cultural organizations, taking an active part in their work. “The future,” Nicholas Roerich wrote in his essay “A Better Future,” is sometimes thought about, but very often it is not included in everyday discussions. Of course, it is not in human power to completely determine the future, but one should strive for it with all one's consciousness. And one must strive not for a vague future, but precisely for a better future. In this endeavor, there will already be a guarantee of good luck. Nikolai Konstantinovich did not think of a better future outside of Culture and Beauty. Roerich was convinced that only Culture and Beauty would help a person overcome many negative qualities and imperfections and reach a higher stage of evolution.
N.K. Roerich not only comprehended the possible ways of shaping the future, he built it with his whole life. It came to life under the pen of a thinker with the deepest ideas and under the brush of an artist - beautiful images of nature and inhabitants of the countries that Roerich visited. The future was born in the ascetic cultural projects of the thinker, in numerous cultural organizations created on his initiative, and in many other ways, into which the titanic energy of the Master poured. N.K. Roerich was a kind of pioneer who paved the way to the future for his contemporaries and those who came to replace them. For him, the past, present and future were united in a holistic flow of history, thanks to enduring cultural values.
Beauty plays the most important evolutionary role in the life of the Cosmos, humanity and man. She, according to Roerich, is a multifaceted energy phenomenon and acts as the basis for the spiritual improvement of man. The energy of Beauty, contained in the fruits of creativity of spiritual ascetics, such as, for example, V.S. Solovyov, A.N. Skryabin, M.K. It helps people overcome life's difficulties and become better. Therefore, a person, if he wants to improve his life, cannot but aspire to Beauty. N.K. Roerich, as if developing the idea of F.M. Dostoevsky: "Beauty will save the world", said: "The awareness of Beauty will save the world." It is the awareness and creation of Beauty by a person in the life of every day that will transform the person himself and the world in which he lives. The clearest example of this is the work of N.K. Roerich, who created Beauty as an artist, philosopher and cultural figure. In this, Nicholas Roerich saw the meaning of not only his life, but also the objective meaning of the life of every person. “After all, everything strives for beauty in its own way,” wrote Nicholas Roerich.
In comprehending the beauty of being, in affirming high ideals, Nikolai Konstantinovich had someone to take an example from. One of the mentors deeply revered by Roerich was the priest Father John of Kronstadt, who played a very important role in the spiritual development of Nicholas Roerich and in general in the life of his parents and brother Yuri Nikolayevich. The life of N.K. The difficulties that accompanied Roerich were comparable to the planetary scale of his personality, the enormous power of his spirit. Roerich, together with his family, with honor overcame all seemingly insurmountable obstacles and hardships, purposefully and unwaveringly fulfilling his mission. By nature, Roerich was a builder, creator of Culture. “The whole active life of Roerich,” writes V. Ivanov, “grown out of the Russian land, is a constant and useful, persistent and benevolent construction. No wonder he often repeats the French proverb in his writings: "When construction is underway, everything is underway."
"Friendly construction...". These words, perhaps, express the pathos of Roerich's entire life path. This path was marked by the cultural finds of the Master, the formation of which was influenced by the spiritual traditions of Russia, dating back to the distant past. In the past, when Saint Sergius performed his asceticism. Five centuries have passed since then. But the appearance of Sergius is still "the same shines, teaches and leads." For the entire Russian people, Sergius remains a spiritual Mentor and Teacher. Nicholas Roerich could not but accept his ideas. In this he was not alone. E.I. Roerich, who wrote an excellent work about Sergius, emphasized the great importance of the asceticism of St. Sergius for the construction of the Russian Land. “... The memory of Sergius,” wrote H.I. The history of the development of spirituality in the Russian soul and the beginning of the gathering and construction of the Russian Land are inextricably linked with this great Ascetic. Roerich, painting church churches and creating canvases based on Russian history, as if continued the cultural and moral traditions formed by St. Sergius. Working in churches, visiting ancient Russian cities, Nikolai Konstantinovich felt the currents of history that converged in the space of cultural construction, the unification of the Russian Land. Sergius also laid down the traditions of construction, creation, showing an example of communal life, which was based on the high moral authority of Sergius himself. The monk instilled in the community members the spirit of self-sacrifice and asceticism, primarily by personal example. Later, the ideas of Sergius were embodied in the art of icon painting by the great painter Andrei Rublev, who created the world-famous Trinity. Its plot was based on Sergius's views on peace and harmony. The result of the ascetic activity of Sergius was the unification of the Russian lands, which made possible the victory of the Russian army in 1380 over the Mamayev hordes.
Nicholas Roerich appeared in Russia much later than Sergius. At the same time, the asceticism of Sergius and the work of Roerich in some of their deepest moments were in contact. The deeds of Sergius and all the undertakings of Roerich united the motives of creation for the Common Good. Both the monk and the artist showed with all their deeds that cultural, moral construction lies at the basis of such creation. Nicholas Konstantinovich and Helena Ivanovna Roerich deeply revered the moral precepts of St. Sergius. This, as it were, manifested their cordial and reverent attitude towards Orthodox shrines and, in general, towards true Orthodoxy, which was for the Roerichs one of the sources of creative inspiration in their work on paintings and philosophical works.
Many years later, images of St. Sergius will appear on the icons. “Church icon painters,” notes L.V. Shaposhnikova, “carefully and prudently will paint it with an unearthly, holy detachment in their eyes. However, history will bring us another Sergius of Radonezh. Philosopher and thinker, warrior and politician. Man-builder of Russian culture and Russian statehood. Earthly tireless ascetic and worker. Sharp features, visionary eyes and strong hands, accustomed to hard physical labor. This is how we see Sergius on the canvases of Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich. It can be assumed that it was these qualities of Sergius that inspired N.K. Roerich when he depicted the Reverend in his paintings. The image of Sergius for Roerich was collective, absorbing the best qualities of the Russian people. “Sergius,” wrote H.I. Roerich, “is just an example, beloved by the people themselves, of clarity, transparent and even light. He is, of course, our intercessor. Five hundred years later, peering into his image, you feel: yes, Russia is great! Yes, the holy power is given to her. Yes, next to true power, we can live. Roerich, of course, felt the influence of the ideas of St. Sergius on Russian culture. And this could not but affect his work. In addition, the life of the great Russian Ascetic for Roerich was the highest moral example of serving the Common Cause. Therefore, Sergius can no doubt be considered as a spiritual Mentor, Roerich's Teacher. With St. Sergius, Roerich associated all the best that was in Russia. Contact with the spiritual feat of Sergius, which influenced him through the thickness of centuries, work on the image of a monk gave Nikolai Konstantinovich a lot to determine the main milestones of his future life.
N.K. Roerich not only constantly improved himself, studied with his teachers, but also, being an excellent teacher, educator, helped others to learn. Together with H.I. Roerich, he raised his sons, Yuri and Svyatoslav, whose scientific and artistic achievements entered the golden fund of world culture, primarily due to the fact that Nikolai Konstantinovich managed to instill in his sons a sense of reverence for Beauty, to educate them as people of high culture. It is very important. But no less important is the fact that the sons of Nicholas Roerich possessed the highest human qualities. And this was largely the merit of Roerich - father and teacher.
In addition to the sphere of family education, the gift of a teacher manifested itself in N.K. Roerich in the public arena. He took an active part in the education of young people, whose problems he devoted a number of his works. One of these problems was the relationship between generations. The elders, Roerich said, complain a lot and attack the youth for preferring dancing, avoiding lectures, and not wanting to read. There are other accusations against the youth. But if, Roerich believed, to think about the reasons for all this, then the older generation should take a significant share of the responsibility for the moral state of the youth. Roerich always believed in the youth and tried to encourage and support them. In youth, he saw, first of all, aspiration to lofty human tasks. Despite the enormous difficulties that many young people face, they find the strength to set good milestones. Is it not the wonderful sprouts of the new, which Nikolai Konstantinovich noticed with his keen eyes, being in the thick of life and communicating with young people. Roerich especially valued in young people the aspiration for high quality work, which, according to Roerich, is more often found among working youth, who met his family more than wealthy and wealthy youth. Therefore, Roerich advocated a serious attitude towards young people, for trusting them and involving them in responsible matters. Roerich assigned a special role to the teacher in his work with youth. “...Educate a people's teacher,” Nikolai Konstantinovich wrote, “Give him a tolerable existence. Call the youth co-workers in all matters. Show young people the beauty of creativity.
N.K. Roerich knew firsthand the life and work of a teacher, since for more than ten years he worked as the director of the Drawing School of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts in St. Petersburg, and also taught at other educational institutions. Colleagues and students have always respected and loved Nikolai Konstantinovich. So it was in the Drawing School. Roerich was able to direct its work in such a way that the School began to enjoy great prestige both among young people striving to receive an art education, and among the artistic intelligentsia of St. Petersburg, the best representatives of which worked at the School. N.K. Roerich had his own pedagogical principles, which he firmly and persistently pursued in his work with novice artists. He considered the main thing to be the education of their creative thinking and responsibility for the quality of work. Roerich was a very demanding teacher. And he had a moral right to this, as he showed high demands, first of all, on himself. These qualities of Roerich, along with devotion, gratitude and love for the Teachers, allowed him to steadily ascend along the path of ascetic construction.
Wherever Roerich collaborated, he became a special spiritual magnet that attracted interesting, talented people. N.K. Roerich possessed an amazing gift - to unite like-minded people for the Common Good. In unity, he saw the key to the successful creative activity of employees, whom he approached with a very high moral standard. This is heartfelt trust, and broad good work, and selfless love for culture, and devotion to it, and much more that a person needs for his improvement. When people striving to live up to this ideal find each other, a commonwealth arises, which Roerich calls the center of good creation. “Commonwealth – what a sweet and cordial word,” writes Nikolai Konstantinovich. It has both from mutual understanding, and from mutual respect, and from cooperation. This means that it is precisely in it, in the word - commonwealth - that the most necessary is contained. A commonwealth cannot live if the people who have come together in it do not know what mutual assistance is, do not understand what self-improvement is.
These beautiful words fit so well on the heart, because indeed in the community a person can find the most necessary. And the reason is that the community is based on the internal spiritual discipline of employees. They support each other not only in the midst of difficulties, but also in joy. At the same time, they completely lack the envy and evil whispering that are so common in formal societies. Commonwealths can form a stronghold of true statehood, for fellows accept the natural hierarchy that underlies true state power. The energy of the communities is directed towards creation, they have nothing from destruction. The Commonwealth should not be abstract, it always has specific goals and acts in accordance with them. Relationships between associates should be free, benevolent, and based on cordial trust. In serving humanity, according to Roerich, is the duty of "friends". It is all the more joyful that it is carried out for the benefit of one's neighbor. Only then will the community be viable. This is how Nicholas Roerich imagined the Commonwealth. It was for him the ideal of future human relations, for the implementation of which he called on his closest collaborators.
To a certain extent, this ideal has been realized and continues to be realized in Russia in the pedagogy of cooperation, the ideas of which throughout the history of mankind have been developed by spiritual ascetics, outstanding educators and educators. In Russian pedagogy, these ideas were actively implemented in the 1930s. of the twentieth century, finding further development already today in the work of such famous teachers as E.N. Ilyin, V.F. Shatalov, S.N. Lysenkova, Sh.A. Amonashvili and others.
Much has already been done by Roerich in Russia. But even more he had to do outside the homeland, which Nikolai Konstantinovich had to leave shortly before the revolution. On the recommendation of doctors, in 1916 Roerich and his family went to Finland and settled in the quiet town of Serdobol, and a little later on the shores of Lake Ladoga. The climate of Finland was beneficial for Roerich. It was assumed that after recovery, Nikolai Konstantinovich would return to St. Petersburg. But this did not happen, since in 1918 Finland separated from Russia and after a while the border was closed. Thus began a new and very important period in the life of Roerich.
The life of the Roerichs on the shore of the lake outwardly proceeded quietly and measuredly. “Ladoga,” writes L.V. Shaposhnikova, “revealed to them in all its amazing and unique beauty. There was softness and severity in it, it exuded deep antiquity and the purity that the eternal combination of water, rocks and pine forests gives. Purple-orange sunrises rose and scarlet sunsets blazed over a huge, sea-like lake. The water absorbed the generous blueness of the sky and was saturated with it. The wind drove the clouds across the sky, bizarrely changing their shapes, and it seemed that these were not clouds, but bizarre visions floating over the lake and the earth. Visions that contain something special, as if they carried a message from somewhere far away and tried to convey it in unexpected symbols and figures.
At the same time, despite outward calmness, the consciousness of Nicholas Roerich more and more entered into a premonition of some significant changes, in anticipation of which every day of his life flowed. But Roerich did not just wait, he worked hard. In the paintings painted during that period, Roerich expressed his inner state - the expectation of something new and significant: “Waiting”, “Waiting”, “Eternal expectation”, “Waiting on the pier”. The expectation of some important events was painful and almost unbearable also because Nikolai Konstantinovich more and more clearly felt the signs of future changes. The experiences and reflections of N.K. Roerich are reflected in his poems contained in three cycles: “Signs”, “Messenger”, “To the Boy”. At first glance, the poems seem somehow unusual, expressing, perhaps, the fabulous world of northern nature and the very difficult internal states of the author himself. But at the same time, in these poetic cycles, Roerich comprehended the deepest philosophical problems that were relevant primarily for Roerich himself. Due to lack of space, I will try to give only a general description of the poetic work of the Master. Roerich's poetry essentially contains all of his worldview, but taken not as a ready-made set or system of positions, but manifested as a process of spiritual formation and development of the thinker.
Poetic cycles were created by Roerich in the period 1911-1921, which largely coincided with the stage in the life of Nicholas Konstantinovich, when his spiritual essence was formed and determined as a thinker, artist and cultural figure. P.F. Belikov gives a very capacious description of this facet of the spiritual evolution of N.K. Roerich: “Answering some questions about the book “Flowers of Moria”, S.N. (Svyatoslav Nikolaevich Roerich - approx. Auth.) wrote: “... The poems of N.K. already from the very beginning contained the inner key to his subsequent striving” (letter dated April 11, 1963). It is in this light that one should approach the disclosure of the true meaning of N.K.'s poetic work, in which autobiographical moments are hidden behind poetic images and allegories, connected with the experience of understanding the priority tasks of the era and one's role in their implementation.
These tasks concern the transition of mankind to a higher level of development. And in their implementation, the Roerichs were assigned the mission of pioneers, paving the way for humanity to hitherto inaccessible heights of the spirit. This mission, very responsible and difficult, was entrusted to the Roerichs by the Teachers of mankind, whose role in evolution requires explanation.
According to N.K. Roerich's worldview, the Universe is a majestic spiritualized system in which there is a constant energy exchange between its structures. The vital activity of the Universe, the Cosmos is supported by this energy exchange. Therefore, the Cosmic Evolution is an energy process. Man, being a part of the Cosmos, is also included in this energy exchange. In the process of energy exchange, energy is accumulated, which increases the energy of a person, peoples, countries, the Earth and prepares the prerequisites for their further advance along the spiral of Cosmic Evolution.
Evolution and involution are two sides of the same process. Quite often, involution is understood as a fall, a descent to a level lower than that already achieved. Meanwhile, “in order for any evolution to begin,” writes L.V. Shaposhnikova, “the fiery spark of the spirit must enter or descend into inert matter. For spirit it is involution, for matter it is the beginning of evolution.” Having descended into matter, the spark of the spirit with its energy creates a difference in the potentials of the spirit and matter, and thereby forms the energy for ascent. The role of such a spark of spirit, as a rule, is played by a High Essence. This Essence, “having completed the cycle of its earthly incarnations,” L.V. Shaposhnikova writes further, “can continue its ascent in the Higher Worlds. But some of them, owning the energy mechanisms of evolution, voluntarily return to Earth again in order to start a new stage or a new round of the Cosmic evolution of mankind with a spark of their spirit. In India, such High Beings are respectfully called Mahatmas or Great Souls. These are the Great Teachers of mankind, with whom N.K. Roerich and H.I. Roerich were lucky enough to meet more than once.
Myths, legends and tales of all peoples of the world tell about the Teacher - a sage, enlightener, mentor. The image of the Teacher, which has its roots in ancient times, is revered in all cultures. It occupies a special place in the culture of India, where teachers are still revered - gurus who help people break through to spirituality and beauty. It was these Teachers that N.K. Roerich saw in India and wrote about them a wonderful essay “Guru-Teacher”. The image of the Teacher in a continuous line permeates the entire Indian history, as if refracting in specific milestones of culture the “Great Law of the Hierarchy of the Animated Cosmos”, in the space of which, thanks to the Teacher, the spiritual perfection of man and mankind takes place and their connection with cosmic evolution takes place.
Therefore, it is no coincidence that the theme of the Teacher became the leading theme of Roerich's poetic work, for Nikolai Konstantinovich reflected in his verses his feelings and impressions caused by his communication with the Teachers. The first appearances of the Teacher by Roerich were perceived in a dream. Here is how Nikolai Konstantinovich writes about this in one of his poems:
You who come in silence
silently say that I'm in life
wanted and what have I achieved?
Lay your hand on me,
I will be able and willing again
and the desired night will be remembered
In the morning
In the poems “Light” and “Drops”, Roerich reveals his perception of the Teacher as the personification of something very perfect and beautiful, which manifests itself through the beautiful appearance of the Teacher both in his shining light and in his grace, which, like precious moisture, pours onto the earth. This is described in the poem "Light".
How to see your face?
all-pervading face,
deeper than feelings and mind.
imperceptible, inaudible,
invisible. I urge:
heart, wisdom and work.
Who knew that
that knows no form,
no sound, no taste,
has no end and no beginning?
In the dark when everything stops
desert thirst and salt
ocean! I will wait for the glow
Your. Before Your Face
the sun doesn't shine. Doesn't shine
moon. No stars, no flames
no lightning. Rainbow doesn't shine
the radiance of the north does not play.
Your face shines there.
Everything shines with its light.
Glitter in the dark
grains of Your radiance.
And in my closed eyes
your wonderful glimmers
light .
In the poem "Drops" Roerich writes:
Your grace fills
my hands. It pours in excess
it through my fingers. Don't hold back
me everything. I can't distinguish
shining streams of wealth. yours
a good wave pours through the hands
to the ground. I do not see who will pick
precious moisture? small splashes
who will they fall on? I won't be able to go home
walk. With all the grace in your hands
tightly compressed, I will only convey
drops .
The image of the Teacher gradually fills the whole being of Nicholas Roerich and awakens in him the highest feelings - devotion and love for the Teacher. These qualities of a student, namely Roerich was such in relation to the Teacher, opened before Nikolai Konstantinovich the possibilities of true apprenticeship, in which the Teacher became the Driver and Mentor of Roerich in all his undertakings. N.K. Roerich describes this facet of his apprenticeship in one of his poems, feeling both the trust of the Teacher and the responsibility for the work that the Teacher entrusts to his student:
Another messenger. Again your order!
And a gift from you! Lord,
You sent me a pearl
Yours and commanded to include it in my necklace.
In another poem Roerich writes:
You left me the work you started.
You wanted me to continue it.
I feel your trust in me.
I will treat my work carefully and strictly.
After all, you did this work yourself.
Poetic creativity not only enabled Roerich to comprehend the spiritual depths of apprenticeship and teaching, but also to fully realize his responsibility to the Teacher and internally prepare for the fulfillment of his very difficult mission.
The period of Roerich's forced imprisonment in Ladoga was coming to an end. New opportunities opened up ahead, the implementation of which Nikolai Konstantinovich would devote his whole life to. “The wait was coming to an end, and he clearly felt it,” writes L.V. Shaposhnikova, describing one of the most crucial moments in Roerich's life. - Deadlines are approaching. Everything about him was exacerbated to the extreme. He understood quite clearly that, having taken the step he had been waiting for and wishing for so long, he would not return to Petrograd. He left the Motherland, with which he had so much to do with. He left her for her. Knowing this didn't make the parting any easier. He wanted to delay, stretch out the last moment.
I'm going. I'm in a hurry.
But one time, one more time
the last I will go around everything that
left.
“But one time, one more time” sounded like a plea.”
The predestined time came, and in 1919 the Roerichs left Finland. On their way there were new countries and cities where the Roerichs had to work hard. But they had to do even more for the Common Good in India, which the Roerichs had long expected. N.K. Roerich, leaving Finland for a great journey through Central Asia, made his choice very responsibly. He understood that no one would make this journey except him, and therefore he considered the fulfillment of his duty to be indispensable. Roerich's aspiration to fulfill his mission is reflected in his poetic work. In the suite “For a Boy” N.K. Roerich turns to himself, as if testing his strength, readiness for action to achieve the goals set by the Teacher. This suite begins with the poem "Eternity".
Boy you say
that by the evening you will be on your way.
My dear boy, do not delay.
We'll go out with you in the morning.
We entered the fragrant forest
among silent trees.
In the icy sheen of dew,
under a bright and wonderful cloud,
we will go on the road with you.
If you hesitate to go, then
still you don't know what is
beginning and joy, beginning and
eternity .
After leaving Finland, the Roerichs did not reach India immediately. To get there, they had to overcome many of the most difficult obstacles that arose on their way in Europe and America until 1923, that cherished year when the Roerichs arrived at the port of Bombay. And before that there were Sweden, England, America, France. Exhibitions were organized in these countries, hard work was going on, important meetings were held. Among them were those who determined the entire future life of the Roerichs - these were meetings with the Teachers of humanity.
The first manifestations of the Teachers were realized by Elena Ivanovna at the age of six and accompanied her all her life. H.I. Roerich describes their phenomena in the third person. “Very early, the girl began to have significant dreams and even visions. For six years now, the girl had had an extraordinary experience, which was imprinted in her heart for the rest of her life, almost without losing its original freshness and strength of feeling. It happened in late spring. Her parents moved to a dacha in Pavlovsk, and on the very first morning the girl, getting up earlier than usual, ran to the park, to a small pond where goldfish lived. The morning turned out to be wonderful, the air seemed to tremble and sparkle in the rays of the sun, and nature itself seemed to be dressed in festive attire, and the blue of the sky was especially deep. The girl, standing on the pier, absorbed the beauty and joy of life with all the fibers of her being. Her gaze rested on a blossoming apple tree standing on the opposite shore, and against its background the girl saw a tall male figure in a white robe, and in her mind the memory immediately arose that the Teacher of Light lives somewhere far away. The girl's heart fluttered, and her joy turned into delight, her whole being was drawn to this distant, beloved and Beautiful Image.
What is written about the connection with the Teachers of H.I. Roerich in the context of the theme of the teaching of N.K. Roerich is not accidental, for Helena Ivanovna was the spiritual leader of the family and Roerich carried out all his undertakings together with his “friend”. N.K. Roerich's reflections on the Teacher, his awareness of His role in the artist's life, the first manifestations of the Teacher He.I. "The Shadow of the Teacher", "Fiat Rex", "The Burning of Darkness", "The Treasure of the Mountains" - these and other paintings are dedicated to the Teachers. The paintings depict extraordinarily beautiful figures from which streams of light emanate.
H.I. Roerich first met the Teachers in 1920 in London, where an exhibition of Nicholas Konstantinovich was held. In this city, at the gates of Hyde Park, Elena Ivanovna received advice on the future trip of the Roerichs to India. Later meetings with the Masters took place in New York, Chicago, Paris, Darjeeling and other places. The Roerichs met with the Teachers many times throughout their lives and felt Their support. N.K. Roerich described the meetings of the Roerichs with the Teachers and many things connected with Them. But he did it very carefully, realizing that his words could be interpreted somehow differently. Roerich's essay "Milestones" is very informative in this regard, in which Nikolai Konstantinovich compares the meetings of the Roerichs with the Teachers and Their help with milestones in life. Nicholas Konstantinovich, describing these cases in an allegorical form, on behalf of his friend, has in mind a lot that was connected with the Teachers in the life of the Roerichs. At the same time, in this essay, Roerich advises others to be careful, because ignorance and self-conceit often distract people from the “milestones” that speak of many things that can be useful on the path of life.
In India, Roerich was told a lot about the Teachers, or Mahatmas. Therefore, his story about the Masters looks very convincing. “While in Europe they argue about the existence of the Mahatmas,” Roerich writes, “when the Indians are penetratingly silent about them, how many people in the expanses of Asia not only know the Mahatmas, not only saw them, but also know many real cases of their deeds and appearances. Always expected, unexpectedly, the Mahatmas created a great, special life in the expanses of Asia. When needed, they showed up. If necessary, they passed unnoticed, like ordinary travelers. They do not write their names on the rocks, but the hearts of those who know keep these names stronger than rocks. Why suspect a fairy tale, imagination, fiction, when information about the Mahatmas is imprinted in real forms ... Not cut off from life, not leading away, but creative - such is the teaching of the Mahatmas. They talk about the scientific foundations of existence. They direct to the mastery of energies. Traveling in Central Asia, the Roerichs were lucky enough to meet the Teachers more than once. So, during their stay in India, the Roerichs met with the Teacher in Darjeeling, in a small roadside temple. This meeting with the Teacher influenced their entire subsequent life, since at it the Roerichs received advice from the Teacher on the Central Asian expedition, which they were to carry out in the near future. Studying the cultural traditions of the East, N.K. Roerich became convinced that the theme of the Teacher and Teaching is present in many myths and legends. Roerich collected them during the Central Asian expedition and published them in the diaries "Altai-Himalayas" and "Heart of Asia", as well as in the essay "Shining Shambhala".
“Another lama of the red sect,” wrote Roerich, “told us about the wonderful azars of the Hindu type, long-haired, in white clothes, sometimes appearing in the Himalayas.
These wise people know how to control the inner forces and how to unite them with the cosmic currents. The head of a medical school in Lhasa, an old learned lama, personally knew such Azars and maintained direct relations with them.
Historical evidence of the existence of the Great Teachers of mankind, and personal meetings with them allowed Roerich to realize that the Teachership lies at the basis of the evolution of man and mankind.
So, with the birth of a child, he immediately becomes a student of his parents, who help him to get on his feet both physically and spiritually, instilling in him the foundations of morality, including him in social relations. In turn, parents become teachers. Later, the child meets his first school Teacher, who, at times, determines the direction of his whole life. And if this is a Teacher who loves children and is creative in his work, then his students will remember his school years as one of the brightest pages of life. A striking example of such teaching is the life and work of the famous teacher, Sh.A. Amonashvili, the author of the treatise "School of Life", which develops the ideas of humane-personal pedagogy. These ideas generalize both the works of outstanding teachers-thinkers who lived in different eras in different countries, and the pedagogical experience of Shalva Aleksandrovich himself. Today, humane-personal pedagogy attracts many children, teachers and parents, primarily because it is saturated with cordiality and kindness. The main characters of the School of Life are the student and the teacher, whose cooperation gives rise to a relationship of true Teachership. Much in these relations depends on the teacher, about whom Sh.A. Amonashvili writes: “A teacher of the School of Life is a person who serves for the highest goals of mankind, for the sake of planetary and cosmic evolution, and such conditions must be created for him so that he can devote himself entirely to the finest work of education.”
The example of school teaching is the most famous. But the relationship "Teacher - student and student - Teacher" permeates other aspects of people's lives. Moreover, this relation, which is of a natural nature, is inherent in the entire Universe. “If the Teacher and the student,” writes L.V. Shaposhnikova, “follow the Great Laws of the Cosmos, if both of them are harmoniously, as required by the laws, inscribed in an endless series of Infinity, then each link or element of this series carries two functions - the Teacher - student. Each Teacher, having a Teacher, is a student. Each student in relation to those who are below him on the hierarchical ladder, is a Teacher. The cosmic manifestation of Teaching bears in itself the complementary functions of the Teacher-student. Any kind of deviation in this cosmic series is a violation of the Great Cosmic Laws. Any disrespect for the Teacher is a deviation from the path of evolution and development. True teaching is that “silver thread” that connects, if not every person, then humanity as a whole with the Great Teachers.
The Great Teachers have been fulfilling their planetary-cosmic mission for many millennia, helping humanity to ascend the spiral of Cosmic Evolution, the meaning of which is manifested in the Teachership with the greatest fullness. First of all, through the Teaching, Evolution draws into its upward movement those who aspire to it. This happens if the student is grateful and devoted to the Teacher throughout the life path. At the same time, it is very important that the student voluntarily accept the apprenticeship and entrust himself to the Teacher. “Teaching,” we read in the essay “Shining Shambhala,” “is the highest connection that can only be achieved in our earthly vestments. We are guided by the Masters, and we strive for perfection in our reverence for the Master.” N.K. Roerich, like no one else, understood the evolutionary significance of the Teaching, for he was connected with the Teachers and carried out all his ascetic deeds under the guidance of the Teachers. The forms of Teaching are as diverse as life itself is diverse. But regardless of this, the essence of Teaching is always the same - the Teacher transfers his knowledge and experience to the student, helps to improve spiritually. Thus, He promotes his ascent along the steps of the Cosmic Evolution. The teacher has the moral right to teach only if he was and remains a real student. A vivid confirmation of this is the life of Nicholas Roerich. In his youth, as throughout his life, he was a devoted student. Suffice it to recall his reverent attitude towards school teachers, towards AI Kuindzhi, not to mention his apprenticeship under the guidance of the Great Teachers. At the same time, Nikolai Konstantinovich was a true Teacher. He fulfilled this lofty mission with honor. He was very loved in India and was considered the Mahatma. The heroic life of Roerich, filled with examples of indomitable will and selflessness in the performance of duty, teaches how to overcome the difficulties of many, and the paintings and philosophical works of Nicholas Konstantinovich contain invaluable knowledge, so necessary for everyone who embarks on the path of spiritual perfection.
In the 20th century, humanity faced tasks related to the transition to a higher level of evolution. The solution of these problems was vital for humanity. Then people appeared who, according to their spiritual accumulations, were ready for their realization. These were the Roerichs. They came into the world as ordinary people, although with special spiritual qualities. And only meetings with the Teachers helped them realize and fulfill their evolutionary mission. The Roerichs with their whole ascetic life, spiritual discoveries showed mankind the ways of spiritual transformation.
The example of the ascetic life of the Roerich family inspires many people to search for the truth, helps to be persistent and unshakable in moving towards this lofty goal. L.V. Shaposhnikova chose as the epigraph for the book “Master” dedicated to Nicholas Roerich, the statement of Viktor Shklovsky: “It is useful for small journeys to study great journeys: they help not to be afraid of fatigue.” These words in many ways reveal the significance of the great spiritual feat of the Roerichs, the shining facet of which is the unique Central Asian expedition. She was the main business of N.K. Roerich's life. Elena Ivanovna and Yuri Nikolaevich Roerich also took part in it. Its goals, presumably, were determined at the meetings of the Roerichs with the Teachers. N.K. Roerich almost does not touch the content of conversations with the Teachers in his works. At the same time, from some works of Nikolai Konstantinovich and, most importantly, from the actions of the Roerichs following the meetings with the Teachers, it can be understood that the Teachers gave instructions to the Roerichs on the Central Asian expedition and assisted them along the entire route of the expedition.
The objectives of the expedition were varied. “Of course, my main aspiration as an artist,” Nikolai Konstantinovich wrote, “was in artistic work. It is hard to imagine when I will be able to embody all the artistic notes and impressions - these gifts of Asia are so generous. The route of the expedition passed through the lands of the most ancient cultures of Asia, and each of these cultures was a huge field for the researcher. Roerich was looking for common points that united different cultures, he was interested in the problems of cultural interaction between peoples. At the same time, the expedition faced one very important task, not inherent in expeditions of this kind. It had a planetary-cosmic, evolutionary character. “The expedition,” writes L.V. Shaposhnikova, “was to perform a historical action, which is called“ laying magnets ”.
A magnet, according to the Roerichs' worldview, is an energy that attracts other energy. Thus, conditions are created for energy exchange, thanks to which the Universe lives and develops. Magnets vary in shape, structure, as well as their energies. So, the magnet is the energy of the spirit. It interacts with matter and organizes it. The energy of the spirit manifests itself in the structure of different levels. One of them is the Cosmic Magnet - a very complex phenomenon that has not yet been studied by man. The action of the Cosmic magnet is universal, for it manifests itself at all levels and in all forms of the existence of the Cosmos. An important condition for the spiritual development of a person is his awareness of the universal nature of the manifestation of this magnet and in interaction with its energy. The connection of a person with the Cosmic magnet is possible only through a spiritual Teacher - earthly or heavenly. “The cosmic magnet,” writes H.I. Roerich, “is the Cosmic Heart or the consciousness of the Crown of the Cosmic Mind, the Hierarchy of Light.” That Hierarchy of Light, the infinite links of which go to Eternity and Infinity. In the Cosmic magnet, the energy of the consciousness of the Mind of the Cosmic Hierarchs is accumulated. Its manifestation can to some extent be explained by analogy with the human mind. But such an analogy must be approached very carefully. For, in comparison with the human mind, the energy of the Cosmic Mind is a phenomenon of a different order. The Cosmic Magnet has a very high energy compared to the energy of our Planet and influences the energy of the latter. This process is complex, multifaceted and still waiting to be studied. But there is some information about it. And the Roerichs had the most direct relation to them.
In 1923, a parcel arrived in a Paris bank addressed to the Roerichs. When they opened the plywood box, they found in it an old box covered with leather. “Nikolai Konstantinovich opened the box and saw in it a Stone, a piece of a dark meteorite. He immediately felt a slight tingling in his fingers, his centers responded to the energy of the Stone. But it was only a fragment, the main meteorite was in the Reserved Land, where the Teachers lived and where they conducted their evolutionary research. From this meteorite thousands of years ago the earthly refuge of the Cosmic Hierarchs began. The legend told that the meteorite came to earth from the distant constellation Orion.
The stone, located in Shambhala and energetically connected with the worlds of other states of matter, contributes to the formation of a higher energy of the Earth. In this process, the Teachers play an important role, who, with the help of the Stone, during their “night vigil” saturate the space with high energy. After the story about the Stone, the image of the legendary Shambhala takes on a somewhat greater relief. For Shambhala is not only the main residence of the Teachers. In Shambhala, there is an energy exchange between the Planet and the worlds of other states of matter, the energy necessary for the advancement of the Planet and earthly humanity along the spiral of Cosmic Evolution is formed. It was with the help of a particle of such a Stone, obtained by them in a Paris bank, that the Roerichs carried out the “laying of magnets” along the route of the Central Asian expedition. Thus, they completed the main task of the expedition, the route of which passed through India, China, Siberia, Altai, Mongolia, Tibet. In these areas, the Roerichs formed an energy field, in the space of which a number of highly developed cultures and countries will arise in the future. The unique route of the expedition ran through the most beautiful and historically significant places. The Roerichs discovered dozens of unknown peaks and passes, archaeological sites, and found the rarest Tibetan manuscripts. N.K. Roerich summarized his impressions of the expedition in his diaries, created about five hundred paintings, collected together with H.I. Roerich and Yu.N. Roerich a huge scientific material. The Roerichs studied this material through the prism of a universal philosophical concept, according to which the past, present and future constituted a single historical process, within which the future not only determined milestones in the study of the cultures of various peoples, but also the main directions of their development. This was the scientific significance of the expedition.
After returning from the expedition in 1928, the Roerichs settled in the Kullu Valley (India), where the last period of the life of Nikolai Konstantinovich passed and an international scientific center was founded - the Institute of Himalayan Studies (“Urusvati” or translated from Sanskrit “Light of the Morning Star”). This scientific center was, as it were, a continuation of the Central Asian expedition and was a Center of a completely new type. His work combined both traditional methods that were used in ancient Asia, and those that were yet to be formed. The work of the Institute was distinguished by constant mobility. The explorers who lived in Kullu regularly went on expeditions. There were many such scientists who collaborated with the Institute while in other countries. Therefore, the Center was international. It studied the culture of the peoples of Asia, conducted comprehensive studies of human qualities.
The Central Asian expedition, which became the life work of N.K. Roerich, was successfully completed. This expedition, as well as other undertakings, Nikolai Konstantinovich was able to carry out only thanks to the guidance of the Teachers, whose most devoted student Roerich was all his life. At the same time, his apprenticeship with the Great Teachers helped Nikolai Konstantinovich develop the highest spiritual guidelines and become a real Teacher - Guru. These guidelines were not abstract concepts, on their basis the whole life of N.K. Roerich was built, who was an extremely purposeful person, possessing extraordinary spiritual strength, as well as amazing tolerance for the views of other people. All spiritual finds of Nikolai Konstantinovich - paintings and philosophical works created by him, as well as cultural undertakings - are permeated with Beauty and continue to serve people, helping them to join Beauty. More than a hundred institutes, academies, cultural institutions around the world elected Roerich an honorary and full member.
During his travels across different continents and his stay in India, Nicholas Roerich never left the thought of returning to his homeland. As soon as the war ended, he immediately began to fuss about moving to the Soviet Union. “... As long as there is strength,” wrote Nicholas Roerich, “I would like to apply it for the benefit of my native land.” But his dream was not destined to come true. Permission to enter the homeland never came, and on December 13, 1947, he passed away. “Nikolai Konstantinovich always thought,” wrote Svyatoslav Roerich, “that in the end the main task of life is self-improvement. Art or any other creative achievements can be very great, but the focus of everything is the life of the person himself, his personality. He believed that his creative life, his art were only accomplices of self-improvement. He always worked on himself first of all. He wanted to rise above who he was and end his life as a more perfect person. And in this he succeeded. He became an absolutely exceptional person, a wise man, of remarkable personal qualities. I met a lot of people all over the world, but I didn’t have to meet another person like Nikolai Konstantinovich.
These words of S. N. Roerich express the main quality of N. K. Roerich, inseparable from his whole life - constant self-improvement. Thanks to this quality, Nikolai Konstantinovich was able to remain a devoted student of his Teachers all his life. And at the same time, Roerich, constantly working on himself, became a true Teacher, who was awarded the most honorary title in the East - Guru. Outstanding achievements of N.K. Roerich in the field of culture are recognized all over the world; In 1935 in Washington, twenty-one countries of the American continent signed the Roerich Pact on the international protection of cultural monuments during hostilities, which was the basis for the adoption of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Along with the Pact, Roerich proposed a distinctive symbol to designate cultural institutions. Later it was called the Banner of Peace, which is a white cloth with three red circles enclosed in a red circle. This Banner has been adopted by many cultural and educational institutions around the world.
Museums in many countries exhibit paintings by N.K. Roerich and S.N. Roerich. Since 1990, the International Center-Museum named after N.K. Roerich, formed on the basis of the cultural heritage of the Roerich family, which was donated in 1990 to Russia by S.N. Roerich. Why is the worldview and selfless life of Nicholas Roerich attracting more and more attention of the cultural community of Russia and the whole world? The attraction of Roerich's feat of life is that it reveals the unshakable faith of the Master in a better future and encourages him to aspire to the highest peaks of Knowledge and Beauty.
The works of N.K. Roerich, presented in this collection, express not only his pedagogical views, but also contain the deepest philosophical ideas that reveal Roerich's worldview, without mastering which true Teaching is impossible. That is why the works of N.K.
Great trip. Book one. Master. - M .: ICR, Master Bank, 1998. - P. 141 Roerich N.K. Favorites / Comp. V.M. Sidorov; Artistic I.A. Guseva. – M.: Sov. Russia, 1979. - S. 100.
Information about the Cosmic Magnet, Stone and Shambhala is presented on the basis of the book by L.V. Shaposhnikova "Decrees of the Cosmos"
Helena Ivanovna Roerich. Letters. T. II. - M .: ICR, Charitable Foundation. E.I. Roerich, Master-Bank, 2000. - S. 492.
