(This is chapter 25 of the Nicholas Roerich's book
Shambhala.)
THE GREAT
MOTHER
From
the most ancient days, women have worn a wreath upon their heads. With this
wreath they are said to have pronounced the most sacred incantations. Is it not
the wreath of unity? And this blessed unity, is it not the highest
responsibility and beautiful mission of womanhood?
From
women one may hear that we must seek disarmament not in warships and guns, but
in our spirits. And from where can the young generation hear its first caress
of unification? Only from mother. To both East and West, the image of the Great
Mother— womanhood, is the bridge of ultimate unification.
Raj-Rajesvari—All-powerful
Mother. To you, the Hindu of yesterday and today sings his song. To you, the
women bring their golden flowers and at your feet they lay the fruits for
benediction, carrying them back to their hearths. And glorifying your image,
they immerse it in the waters, lest an impure breath should touch the Beauty of
the World.
To
you, Mother, is dedicated the site on the Great White Mountain, which has never
been surmounted. Because when the hour of extreme need strikes, there you will
stand, and you will lift up your Hand for the salvation of the world. And
encircled by all whirlwinds and all light, you will stand like a pillar of
space, summoning all the forces of the far-off worlds!
Devastated
are the ancient temples. The columns are cleft. And shells have pierced the
stone walls.
At
Goa the Portuguese ships landed long ago. Upon the high prows of the caravels,
the images of the Madonna glittered with gold, and in her Great Name, cannon
balls were fired into the ancient sanctuaries. By Portuguese cannon-balls the
pillars of Elephanta were shattered! All for “The Virgin of the Conquerors”!
The
negative of the West and East
In
Sevilla, in the Alcazar, there is an old painting by Alexandro Fernandes, which
bears this very title. In the upper part of the painting, in the radiance of
the celestial light of clouds, stands the Holy Virgin with a benign smile, and
under Her broad mantle is sheltered a host of conquerors.
Below,
there is a turbulent sea, covered by galleons, ready to sail far off to new
soils. Perhaps these are the very ships which will destroy the sanctuary of
Elephanta! And with a benign smile the compassionate Virgin regards the
conquerors, as if She Herself rose with them to destroy alien acquisitions.
This
is no longer the threatening warning of Elijah the prophet, nor the Archangel
Michael, the constant warrior. But She Herself, the Peaceful, is raised in the
folk-consciousness for battle as if it befitted the Mother of the World to concern
Herself with the deeds of human slaughter.
My
friend is indignant. He says:
-
“Look!
This painting is certainly frank! In it is apparent the entire psychology of
Europe. Look at the conceit! They make ready to lay siege to foreign treasure
troves and to the Mother of God they ascribe protection for their deeds! Now
compare how different is the mood of the East, where the benevolent Kwan Yin
covers the children with her garment, defending them from danger and violence.”
Another
friend present defends the psychology of Europe, and also refers to certain
paintings as true documents of the psychology of each era. He recalls how in
paintings of Zurbaran or Holbein, the Holy Virgin covers all who come to Her
with Her veil. Referring to the images of the East he recalls fearful horned idams, adorned with
frightful attributes. He recalls the dance of Durga upon human bodies and upon
necklaces made from skulls.
But
the exponent of the East does not concede. He points out that in these images
there is nothing of a personal element and that the seemingly frightful
attributes are the symbols of the unbridled elements, and only by knowing their
power may man understand that he can conquer them. The lover of the East
pointed out how the elements of terror have been used everywhere, and that
flames no less terrifying, nor horns less demoniac, were represented in the
Hells of the frescoes of Orcana in Florence. All the horrors of the brush of
Bosch or the austere Grunwald rival the elemental images of the East.
The
devotee of the East cited the so-called Tourfan Madonna as being in his opinion
an evolution of the Goddess Marichi, who after being a cruel devouress of
children gradually evolved into their solicitous guardian, becoming the
spiritual comrade of Kuvera, god of fortune and wealth. Recalling these
benevolent evolutions and high aspirations, one may mention a custom still
existing in the East. Lamas ascend a high mountain and, for the salvation of
unknown travelers, scatter small images of horses which are carried far off by
the winds. In this action lies a sense of benevolence and renunciation.
To
this, the answer made to the lover of the East was that Procopius the
Righteous, in self-renunciation, averted the stone-cloud from his native city
and, on the high banks of the Dvina, always prayed for the unknown travelers.
And it was also pointed out that in the West many saints like Procopius
renounced their high worldly position for the good of the world.
In
these deeds and in these orisons “for the unknown, for the unsung, for the
unstoried” lies the same great principle of anonymity, and the realization of
the transitoriness of incarnation which also is so attractive in the East.
The
lover of the East stressed the fact that this principle of anonymity, or renunciation
of one’s temporary title, this inception of benevolent disinterested giving,
has been carried to a much broader and higher level in the East. In this regard
he reminded us that the art works of the East were almost never signed because
the gift of the heart never needs its accompanying note. In response, however,
his opponent recalled that all Byzantine, old Italian and old Netherland
primitives, Russian ikons and other primitives were also unsigned, and that the
beginning of personal signatures appeared much later.
The
talk turned to the symbols of omnipotence and omniscience, and it was again
evident that the identical symbols have passed through the most varied
manifestations. The conversation continued, because life afforded inexhaustible
examples. In answer to each indication from the East, an example from the West
was brought forward. One recalled the white ceramic horses which, up to the
present time, stand in circles in the fields of Southern India, and upon which,
it is related, women in their astral bodies take their flights. In answer to
this was placed forward the images of Valkyries and even the contemporary
projection of astral bodies. It was then recalled touchingly how the women of
India each day adorn the thresholds of their homes with some different design,
the design of well-being and happiness; but at the same time it was remembered
that the women of the West embroidered their many designs for the salvation of
those dear to their hearts.
One
recalled the great Krishna, benevolent shepherd, and involuntarily compared him
with the ancient image of the Slav, Lel, a shepherd resembling in every way his
Hindu prototype. One recalled the songs in honor of Krishna and the Gopis and
compared them with the songs of Lel, and the choral dances of the Slavs. One
recalled the Hindu woman on the Ganges and her torches of salvation for her
family. And they were compared to the wreaths cast on the river during the
celebration of the Trinity—a custom dear to all Aryan Slavs.
Remembering
the conjurations and evocations of the sorcerers of the Malabar coast one could
not overlook the very same rites of the Siberian Shamans, the Finnish witches,
the clairvoyants of Scotland and the red-skinned sorcerers.
Neither
the separation of oceans nor continents had affected the essence of the folk
conception of the forces of nature. One recalled the necromancy of Tibet and
compared it with the black mass of France and the Satanists of Crete…
* * *
By
counter-opposing the facts, the exponents of East and West found themselves
speaking about identical things: The seeming diversities became only various
degrees of human consciousness! These two conversationalists looked at each
other with astonishment—where was the East and where the West which one was so
accustomed to contrast?
The
third silent person present smiled, “And where is the boundary of East and West
altogether? And is it not strange that Egypt, Algeria and Tunis, which are
south of Europe in the general conception, are really considered as the Orient?
And the Balkans and Greece, lying East of them are regarded as West?
I
remembered then how walking on the San Francisco shore, with a professor of
literature, we asked each other, “Where are we really—in the extreme West or
the extreme East?” If China and Japan, in relation to the Near-East, Asia
Minor, are considered as the Far-East, then, continuing the same line of
argument—would not America, with her Incas, Mayans and Redskins, be considered
as the Farthest East? What then can one do with Europe, which would then appear
to be surrounded by “Easts” from both sides?
We
recalled that during the time of the Russian Revolution, the Finns considered
Siberia their own, giving as their reasons the tribal similarities. We recalled
that Alaska almost touches Siberia, and the face of the Red Indians, compared
with many Mongoloids, appears strikingly like an Asiatic face.
The
positive of the West and East
In
this way it happened that for a moment all superstition and prejudices were
laid aside by all adversaries, the exponent of the East spoke about the
“Hundred-armed One” of the Orthodox Church, and the exponent of the West
exalted and admired the images of the many-armed all-benevolent Kwan Yin. The
exponent of the East spoke with reverence about the gold-embroidered garment of
the Italian Madonna and felt the deep penetration of the paintings of Duccio
and Fra Angelico, and the lover of the West gave reverence to the symbols of the
many-eyed Omniscient Dukhar.
They
remembered the All-Compassionate. They remembered the multitudinous aspects of
the All-Bestowing and All-Merciful. They remembered how correctly the
psychology of the people had conceived the iconography of symbols and what an
enormous knowledge lay hidden at present under the dead lines. There, where
preconceptions disappear and prejudice is forgotten, appears a smile!
And
as if freed of a great burden, they spoke of the Mother of the World. With
affection they recalled the Italian cardinal, who was in the habit of advising
worshipers, “Do not overburden Christ the Saviour with your request, for He is
very busy; better address your prayers to the Holy Mother. She will pass your
prayers on to whomever is necessary.”
They
remembered how a Catholic priest, a Hindu, an Egyptian and a Russian once set
out to investigate the origin of the Sign of the Cross and how each searched
for a meaning to suit his own purpose but how they all arrived at the same
unifying meaning.
They
remembered attempts that flashed through literature, intended to identify the
words “Christ” and “Krishna,” and again they remembered Iosaph and Buddha. And
since at that moment the benevolent hand of the Mother of the World turned away
all prejudices, the conversation could run in peaceful tones.
And
instead of sharp contradiction, advocates of East and West turned to a creative
reconstruction of images.
One
of the speakers recalled the story of a pupil of Ramakrishna, who cited the
great reverence given to the wife of Ramakrishna, who, according to Hindu
custom, was called Mother. Another likened the meaning of the word Mother to
the conception of “Materia matrix.”
The Mother
of the World
The
images of the Mother of the World, of the Madonna, the Mother Kali, the
Benevolent Dukhar, Ishtar, Kwan-Yin, Miriam, the White Tara, Raj-Rajesvari,
Niuka—all these great Images, all these Great Self-Sacrificing Entities flowed
together in the conversation as a benevolent Unity. And each of these in his
own tongue, but comprehensible to all, pronounced that there should be not
division but construction. All pronounced that the day of the Mother of the
World had come, when Supreme Energies would approach our Earth, but that
because of wrath and destruction, these energies, instead of the predestined
creation, might result in disastrous catastrophes.
In
the smile of Unity all became simple. The aureole of the Madonna, so odious to
the prejudiced, became a scientific physical radiation—the aura, long since
known to humanity.
The
symbols of today, so poorly interpreted by rationalists, from being regarded as
supernatural, suddenly became accessible to the research worker for
investigation. And in this miracle of simplicity and understanding, there
became distinct the breath of the evolution of Truth.
One
of the speakers said: “Here we now speak of purely physical experiments, but
did we not begin with the Mother of the World?”
Then
the other took from a drawer of his writing desk a slip of paper and read it:
“A
Hindu of today, graduated from many universities, thus addresses the Great
Mother, Raj-Rajesvari Herself:
If
I am right, then Mother, Thou art all—
The
ring, the way, the dark, the light, the void,
And
hunger, sorrow, poverty and pain—
From
dawn to dusk, from night to morn and life and death—if death there be—
All
things art Thou.
If
Thou art they, then hunger, poverty and wealth are only transitory shapes of
Thine.
I
do not suffer nor enjoy
For
Thou art All, and I am surely Thou.
If
Thou art He, to mortals manifest,
Then
pass me through Thy Light to Him—The Truth.
The
only Truth—to us so dimly known in Thee.
Then
lash this mortal body as Thou wilt,
Or
embed in golden comfort rich and soft—
I’ll
feel it not, for with Thy Light I’ll know
For
Thou art He and I am Thou—
The
Truth.”
And
the third one added: “At the same time, on the other end of the world, people
sing:
“Let
us glorify Thee, Mother of Light!”
And
the old libraries of China and the ancient central-Asiatic centers guard, since
most ancient days, many hymns to the same Mother of the World.
Throughout
the entire East and in the entire West there lives the Image of the Mother of
the World, and deeply significant salutations are dedicated to this High
Entity.
The
Great Features of the Face are often covered and under the folds of this veil,
glowing with the squares of perfection, may one not see the One Great Unifying
Aspect, common to Them All!
Peace
be to the World!
Talai-Pho-Brang, 1928.
OBSERVATION
This chapter is
very laudable but I suspect that in reality the history of the debate that took
place between those two men, Nicolás Roerich invented it to elaborate his text.
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