ROERICHS THEOSOPHY

BY
STANLEY SFEKAS
Professor of Philosophy and Religion
University of Indianapolis/Athens Campus

In his 20s, Nicholas Roerich developed an interest in eastern religion as well as alternative belief
systems such as Theosophy. This was largely due to his wife, Helena, who had not only a passionate
interest in these subjects, but who had experienced many strong spiritual dreams. Both Roerichs
became avid readers of the works of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, the poetry of Rabindranath
Tagore and the Bhagavad-Gita. The Roerichs developed a profound commitment to occult mysticism.
This was reinforced by the events of World War I and the Russian revolutions of 1917. The Roerichs
like many Russian intellectuals of the time attached apocalyptic significance to these momentous
events, as had many Russian intellectuals. The influence of Theosophy, Vedanta, Buddhism and other
forms of mysticism can be seen in many of Roerichs paintings as well as in the many short stories and
poems Roerich wrote before and after the 1917 revolutions, including the Flowers of Morya cycle,
begun in 1907 and completed in 1921, when Roerich was 45 years old.
The Roerichs, consumed by millenarian expectations, found in Theosophical mysticism a
teaching that a new age was imminent. This prompted them to move to India as soon as possible.
Theosophy is a doctrine of religious philosophy and metaphysics that originated with Helena Petrovna
Blavatsky. Theosophy holds that all religions are attempts by humanity to evolve to greater perfection,
and that therefore each religion has a portion of the truth. Furthermore, it is attested that these human
attempts to achieve perfection are assisted by what Theosophy calls a Spiritual Hierarchy, an
expression popularized in Theosophical literature in the 19th century by Blavatsky who claimed that
her teachers were adepts or Mahatmas who reside in Tibet. According to the Theosophical teachings,
the Mahatmas can be disembodied beings as well as highly evolved people involved in overseeing the
spiritual growth of individuals and the development of civilizations. Blavatsky claimed to have contact
with these Adepts, especially the Masters, Koot Humi and Morya, a contact that inspired her works and
her insights. It is important to note that Mrs. Roerich also claimed to have spiritual contact with the
Blavatskys teacher, Mahatma Morya, a contact that she termed clairaudient rather than clairvoyant,
and the dictation she received from him constituted the foundation of the Roerichss school of thought.
In addition to theosophys ecumenical appeal, that all religions are different pathways to God,
another feature of Theosophy that appealed to the Roerichs was its millenarianism. If humanity is to
evolve to greater perfection, this means that humanity is entering a New Era. And indeed, the teachings
gleaned from Master Morya constituted an advance and a development of Theosophy. This teaching,
which became their own philosophy, the Roerichs named Agni Yoga. Agni Yoga states that
humanity is entering a New Era in which the flow of cosmic fire pouring onto to the Earth will
intensify. Agni means fire in Sanskrit, and Agni was the fire god, a major deity in the Vedic pantheon.
Fire symbolizes the life force, the primordial light and life at the root of the universe, cosmic energy,
psychic energy, the powers of the human mind and heart, therefore love, thought, and creativity.
Fire, therefore, in this context is the energy of transformation, the energy with which to create a
new world. This same energy, left untransformed, unpurified is dangerous and volatile. It is can
become negative energy, destructive, the energy behind world wars, behind Armageddon, which is the
name the Roerichs gave to the two World Wars. This powerful energy from space must be used
constructively and transformed into a creative force, a subtle fire of thought and feeling or else it will
become a gross fire, not only of natural disasters like earthquakes and other upheavals, but as the poet
has said of what man has done to man. To accomplish this we must first purify and refine our
psychic energy, the subtle force at the root of our emotions, perceptions and thoughts. This is a gradual
process that involves expanding our consciousness through transformation of our energies, through
transmutation of our fires.
But this transfiguration is not to take place in the monastery. Unlike Buddhism, whose spiritual
disciplines are primarily monastic, Agni Yoga insists that spiritual mastery must take place within the
context of contemporary secular life. Monasticism is replaced by action for the common good, creative

work that helps build a new era based on knowledge that is both scientific and spiritual. A cardinal
tenet of Theosophy is embodied here: the concern to combine religion, philosophy and science.
Theosophy speaks of the need to investigate the unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in
man. This gives occasion to include magic, the occult, the uncanny, and the marvelous in any and every
form.
The New Era is to be known as the Age of Maitreya, the future Buddha. In Mahayana Buddhism,
Maitreya was a savior, a bodhisattva, a future Buddha who chose not to enter Nirvana so that he could
re-enter the wheel of rebirth, samsara, in order to save others. This is in keeping with the principle that
one cannot be saved till all are saved, a cardinal tenet in Mahayana messianism that was adopted by the
Roerichs. One of the significant characteristics associated with Maitreya is his feminine nature, that the
manifestation of Maitreya is linked with the affirmation of the Mother of the World. The coming era is
to be known as the Epoch of the Woman, or the Epoch of the Mother of the World.
In addition to this soteriological feminism , a second feature of the messianism, inherent in Agni
Yoga is the claim that the new Era will also be the Epoch of Shambala, the Brotherhood of Adepts, the
Spiritual Hierarchy, which is located mysteriously somewhere in the Himalayas, and humanity will be
directly ruled by this spiritual Brotherhood. This will mark the Age of truth and cooperation.
Another messianic feature is the concern with the welfare of the planet. The Roerichs were truly
prophetic on this issue, as they were with their feminism. Agni Yogas insight into the Earths critical
situation is ahead of its time. The question of the day, according to Agni Yoga is how can we serve the
Earth in the most beneficial way? The answer is to restore the Earths health. Agni Yoga refers to many
solutions to carry out this worldwide task of restoration. In the view of Agni Yoga, humanity has been
merciless in destroying the resources of the earth. The earth and the air has been poisoned, the Roerichs
stress. Forests have been incinerated, forests which are the receptacles of prana, a Sanskrit word
meaning something akin to Pneuma. The destruction of animal life, Agni Yoga tells us, ignores the fact
that animal energy nourishes the earth. Agni Yoga protested against the use of untested chemical
substances, substances which should be tested over the course of a century, for a single generation is
too short to determine whether it will harm the earth. The mineral resources of the earth must be
maintained in a balance, Agni Yoga argued, all this in the 1920s. n the words of Helena Roerich, they
think that by some act of mercy the weather will clear and people will become prosperous! But the
problem of restoring health does not cross their minds. So let us love all of creation! There was also
discussion of climate change, desertification, excessive urbanization, air pollution, and narcotics. The
illness of the planet they called fever by poisoning. Of course, the Roerichs expressed this in the
language of theosophy as well. They wrote that the poisons on the planet could cut the planet off from
other worlds that could be bringing it assistance. Furthermore, in their own words, and I quote, The
Earths destiny could end with a gigantic explosion if this thick veil is not penetrated. To save this
world, and bring about the renewal of the earth, people must consciously participate in the tremendous
battle that rages, not only in or visible world, but primarily in the invisible world, that is to say, the
spiritual world. This will help to save the earth. In the language of theosophy, it will therefore usher in
a period in which Kalis influence will be overcome, Kali being the goddess of destruction. Instead will
be ushered in the Epoch of Maitreya, an age of worldwide peace and culture. For the Roerichs this is
seen as a battle between the earthly world and the spiritual.
From a symbolic point of view this battle can be seen from a variety of points of view. It is a
conflict between the elements of fire and earth; or between the higher and lower fires. From a
humanistic point of view, it is a battle between the creative, affirmative power of the human free will
and the destructive power of negation, of nihilism. Agni Yoga says yes to every aspect of life,
including conflict. The battle can be used to affirm the highest creative values. This is what Agni Yoga
means when nit says that it is not a peaceful teaching but a call to battle. It is full of martial imagery
swords, shields, arrows, spears, and armorand seeks to inculcate such martial values as courage and
vigilance. This is why it calls itself warriors of light.
The warriors of light must be able to transmute the energy of the life force into positive ends. The
processes of this transmutation are accomplished by spiritual exercises, known in India as yoga. There
are 4 basic types of yoga in the Indian tradition, hatha, bhakti, jnana, and raja. Hatha refers to the yoga
that focuses on physical exercises, bhakti yoga is the discipline of the passionate religious devotee;
jnana yoga is the discipline of the metaphysical intellectual, and Raja yoga is the discipline of

meditation. Agni Yoga correctly asserts that these can be unified, and sees its own yoga as a synthesis
of these, but with an added future orientation. It is the yoga of the future. It is a yoga which seeks to
enhance humanitys increasing humaneness. It excludes nothing from the past, nor any of the
various yoga methodologies, but sees itself as a natural extension or outgrowth of previous yoga forms
with a view to humanitys development to a higher level. Agni Yoga postulates three messianic
principles, Maitreya, Buddha, Christos. Here we see the role of the love ethic of Christos in the system.
This is why Agni Yoga affirms that in addition to exercises to develop concentration found in Raja
Yoga, inspiration from the Hierarchy gives rise to a direct communion that leads to a surge of love.
Therefore, the ultimate state is to be imbued with love to ones very core. Then one can easily approach
the source of Being through a truly wondrous feeling. Indeed, amidst the disintegration of the planet,
one needs to turn to the principle that will most effectively restore spiritual health. And the Roerichs
invoke the mantra or prayer: I love you, O Lord!
Love, then, is what makes possible to receive inner knowledge, especially when accompanied by
feelings of gratitude and joy. Courage and patience are also virtues that are necessary. To achieve such
states of consciousness a fiery transmutation is needed, by which the feelings, thoughts, and sensations
are refined and transubstantiated into a sublime and powerful fiery essence that makes it possible for an
Agni Yogi to work for the good of others on a vast scale and thus to attain immortality to attain
immortality: that is to say, the ability to act consciously at will in the earthly, spiritual and fiery worlds.