Description
Book SynopsisThis book examines the lives of the famous Russian painter, thinker, and mystic Nikolai Roerich and his wife, Elena Roerich, the “mother” of Agni Yoga esoteric teaching. Extensively researched, it focuses on the couple’s spiritual quest, resulting in their gradual transformation under the influence of theosophy, spiritualism and Elena’s psychic “fiery experience” into mystics and gurus who fashioned their new version of the “myth of the Masters,” the invisible guides of humanity. Special attention is given to N. Roerich’s travels in Central Asia and Far East, his cultural and public activities and particularly his Buddho-Communist utopia. The myth of the Masters revived will appeal to those interested in New Age esotericism, mysticism, and Russian thought in the first half of the 20th century.
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations and Color Plates Preface Acknowledgements Prologue: Blavatsky and Her Masters 1. The artist’s roots and formative years 2. Elena, Nikolai’s Muse and Life’s guide 3. The time of fulfillment 4. Visions of the Beyond 5. A strange encounter at Hyde Park 6. In New York: Haunted by spirits 7. The Great Plan 8. The Apparition of the Black Stone: a miracle or a hoax? 9. Dreaming of New Russia 10. In India: Mahatma’s second coming 11. An alliance with Bolsheviks 12. The Transhimalayan Journey 13. The Moscow Mission and the trip to Altai 14. In New Mongolia 15. Leading the “Western Buddhist Embassy” to Tibet 16. Between the Himalayas and New York City 17. Suspected of Red sympathies 18. The Manchurian Expedition and the Kansas Project 19. The “chalice of poison” 20. The final years in Kulu Epilogue: Inquiring into the phenomenon of the Roerichs’ Masters Bibliography Index
