(This is the first part of chapter 19 of the Nicholas
Roerich's book Shambhala.)
URUSVATI
“Vade,
filii ad Monies India; et ad cavernas suas, et accipe ex cis lapides honoratos
qui liquefiunt in acqua, quando commiscentur ei.” (Go my son, to the Mountains
of India and to their quarries and take thence our precious stones, which
dissolve in water when they are mixed therewith.)
So
speaks the most excellent Hali, the Arabian, mentioned by Paracelsus.
Let us go to the
Mountains of India!
“Sophiae
cum Moria Certamen,” published in Summum Bonum discusses about the mountain and
the treasures therein contained. And again old Paracelsus justly assures us: “nihil
est opertus quod nont revelabitur.”
“Lumen
de Lumine” outlines the special conditions of the path to the mysterious
mountain:
To this mountain you shall go on a certain
night, when it comes, most long and most dark and see that you prepare
yourselves by prayer. Insist upon the way that leads to the Mountain but ask
not of any man where lies the way. Only follow your Guide, who will offer
himself to you and will meet you on the way. But you shall not know him. This
Guide will bring you to the Mountain, when all things are silent. You need no
sword nor any other bodily weapons.
When you have discovered the Mountain the
first miracle that will appear is a most vehement wind that will shake the
Mountain and shatter to pieces the rocks. You shall be met also by lions and
dragons and other terrible beasts; but fear not any of these. Be resolute and
take heed that you return not, for your Guide will not suffer any evil to
befall you.
As for the treasure, it is not yet discovered
but it is very near. After the wind, will come an earthquake that will
overthrow those things which the wind hath left untouched and rend them. But be
sure that you do not fall. After the earthquake, there shall follow a fire that
will consume the earthly debris and unearth the treasure. But as yet you cannot
see the treasure… Then, toward daybreak there shall come a great calm; and you
shall see the morning star rise and the dawn will appear and you shall perceive
the great treasure. The chief thing and the most perfect is a certain exalted
tincture.
This
“story” was told by Thomas Vaughan, who gave up his life in an explosion during
his research for humanity.
The
same “story” will be told to you by a guide in the Himalayas, when he tells you
how to find the black aconyte, how during the night you must go fearlessly to
the mountains to search this phosphorescent flower.
It
does not mean anything that in the whole world lives the legend about a
miraculous flower. But this so-called “fantasy” is fulfilled by the reality of
the Himalayas. A seller of aconyte shall tell you precisely about it, not
knowing that he repeats a legend of world-wonder, to which so many stories are
dedicated by many nations. For to transform a “fairy tale” into reality, you
must go to the Himalayas.
And
from another part of the world, the voice of Athanasius Nikitin Tveritin, a
Moscovite of the Fifteenth Century, reaches us. He adds another aspect to the
statement of Paracelsus, after his journey to India, when he exclaims:
-
“And
I, out of the midst of many troubles, went to India.”
In
the fairy-like, flower-like Yaroslavl, in the frescoes, in ornaments of the
Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries, was discovered the beauty of the flowers
of the Orient. These exquisite frescoes of old temples sing of the precious
gifts of India, of the power of stones and herbs.
“War has flooded the world with blood.
Droughts and rains have violated the eternal order. Famine showed its face.”
and
again from the highest mountain, from the mountain of “five treasures,” in wind
and in thunder, in sparks of lightning we hear the forgotten:
-
“From
many troubles, let us go to India.”
In
Vedic wisdom many medical herbs are prescribed and much wise council is given.
Certainly these are veiled in symbols. But the ancient wisdom again rises and
those sensing the greatness of the coming evolution are ready to serve humanity
in the most practical way, in the reconstruction of health.
People
ask where are the remedies to be found? And again from far comes the answer: In
the Himalayas.
Crossing
above the visible, the sage of Rig-Vedas chants the Hymn of Creation:
“Neither death was there, nor immortality;
nor the sheen of night, nor light of day. That One breathed breathlessly, by inner power;
beyond It truly
nothing existed.”
In
these lines of the Rig-Vedas, a Vedic Sage brushes aside all mythology and
reaches the monism of an ultimate causative principle. This is a real “Hymn of
Creation,” as it was called. So that we are not surprised when we hear a
lecture by Dr. V. R. Kokatnur, the Hindu chemist, in which he gives evidence
that Cavendish and Priestly were not the first to discover hydrogen and oxygen,
but that the sages of ancient India knew these great gases:
-
“It
is known,” he says, “that our almost perfect system of numerals was originated
by the Hindus and introduced into Europe by the Arabs from whom it derives its
name. The world also owes decimal notation to the Hindus, who taught it first
to the Arabs. Algebra (Vijaganita) was already a developed science with the
ancient Hindus. It was the Hindu mathematicians who developed trigonometry,
Bhaskara’s great work ‘Lilavati’ reveals a profound understanding of what is
now called ‘Higher Mathematics’ and Brahmagupta shows even greater originality
and scholarship.”
The
old country of Aryavarta only recently revealed to us the remnants of the most
ancient culture of India. But we are not astonished because we know that even
Pythagoras received the keys of wisdom from India.
In
this country in the environs of the Himalayas, eons ago a high intelligence had
already descended to the bottoms of earth and ascending, touched the finest
energies. From every side, from every summit, from every tree, are revealed,
generously, various medicinal herbs. You recall the conjurations of the Atharva
Vedas.
“We wear Vishkandha’s (rheumatics) antidote,
the Amulet of Jangida (garlic), the Amulet of a thousand powers. Jangida, save
us all around from pain and from inflammation, from rheumatism and tormenting
pain.”
During
a single day’s passage in the Himalayan slopes and valleys, one is overwhelmed:
“Nature awaits here, full of gifts. Come and
be cured! Charrura, Parura, Or-rura are the three important curative fruits
against cough, cold and fever. Charrura is like a yellow cherry; parura like a
green chestnut and orrura like a yellowish green crab-apple. All these are
sharp to the taste and full of tannin. Here is the red bark of Aku Ombo, to
cure wounds. Salve against fever is Sergi Pruba, like a dry giant bean. Chuta
the dry bitter root, will cure swelling and heal the throat. Bassack is a brown
powder against colds. The red-stemmed Tze produces magenta; bitter Purma is for
incenses. A broth from the roots of Bese-kuro is effective against woman’s
ailments. The flowers of Dangero heal the stomach, much like the flowers of the
red rhododendron, while the leaf of Dysro is a disinfectant against wounds.
Memshing Pati is a sacred plant in Nepal where it is used for head ornaments at
festivals. Endless are the useful plants, awaiting the best application and
study.”
Elexir
Damiana, Datura, Abroma, Agusta; Extracts of Arjuna, Asoka, Aswagandha, Ayapan,
Chattim, Gokhura, Gulancha, Kalmegh, Kamala, Kan-tikery, Khetpapra, Kurchi,
Punarvana; Syrup of Brahmi and Vasaka, Tincture of Myrobolan…
These
are not mysterious invocations. These are simply the names of medicines,
recently prepared out of the healing substances of India.
I
recall talks with Bhattacharya. I recall those who strove to fulfil their
research of healing treasures, guarded near the Himalayas. This is not a fairy
tale, not a “heavenly Fire Blossom,” not the Fire Bird of a dream. This is
earthly creative thought. This is earthly labor for the peaceful purification
of humanity. The sick and the hungry cannot think of the glory of the finest
energies.
Kalidasa
says:
-
“The
mediocre dare not to begin a noble work from the moment they foresee obstacles.
But for the daring ones no obstacles exist. All obstacles turn into brilliant
possibilities for them. Aditi—the Primordial Light—will illumine their way. Devas
and Rishis, the Fires and Flames, and the forty-nine Agnis of the ancient Aryas
will offer their power to those aspiring, to those useful for humanity.”
Urusvati
the abode of research, the abode of science, is to be built in the Himalayas,
within the boundaries of ancient Aryavarta. Again the human spirit, purified by
the continuous currents of the Himalayas, will search in untiring labor. The
healing herbs, medicinal research, wonderful magnetic and electric currents,
the unrepeatable conditions of altitudes, unrepeatable glowing of planetary
bodies with astrochemical rays, the radio-activity and all those unspeakable
treasures, which are preserved only in the Himalayas…
Urusvati
is a name, meaning the Morning Star. Is it not the morning of a glorious day of
new labor and attainment—ever-healing, ever-searching, ever-attaining? In those
places, where the great wisdom of the Rig-Vedas was crystallized, where passed
the Mahatmas Themselves, here in the caves and on the summits has been
accumulated the power of human thought!
Again,
do not take this for an idealistic outburst. Take it in full reality. As real,
as splendid, are the glowing summits of the Himalayas! Verily, only here, only
on the Himalayas, exist the unique, unparalleled conditions of calm, for
ascertaining curative results. The conditions for scientific study, undisturbed
by the rush of modern cities, only exist here, where even planetary rays seem
to be purer and more penetrating.
When
you see the mineral colorings of mountains, when you study huge geysers, full
of various mineral salts, when you see all types of hot springs, you understand
the teeming character of this part of the world, which still untouched, has
witnessed so many cosmic cataclysms. This is the place. This is the unique site
of a many sided scientific research. Here you sense a festival of knowledge and
beauty.
The
great Indian biologist, Sir Jagadis Bose says:
-
“The
Golden Age is not in our past, but it lies in the Future.” And he wisely
advises that, with the danger of the present situation humanity is as on a
sinking ship, and without discussion, should unite as for a common peril. It is
his belief that we receive everything from somewhere and therefore we must give
away freely with noblest intentions.”
This
wise scientist also knows the value of the great meaning of Teacher, and he who
knows this can joyously face the Future.
With
joy I notice the spreading of high intellectual and artistic forces in India.
Highly gifted individuals now stand at the head of universities, institutions
and schools and the names of Tagore, Bose, Raman and other men of science and
art act as a living bridge between present-day India and the deep roots of its
past culture. Thus, following the best milestones, we reach the highest paths.
The
great Vivekananda, when asked by a devoted follower, what he ordained her to do
in India, answered:
-
“Love
India!”
The
great Teachings of the Vedas, the Covenants of Buddha, Apollonius of Tyana,
Paracelsus, Thomas Vaughn, Ramakrishna the numberless calls of the centuries
and all nations, direct us to the Great Mountain of India, which guards the
treasure.
Love
India!
The
Mountains of India guard the healing leaves and roots.
The
Mountains of India have gathered powerful energies and have strained the best
currents for the strengthening of body and spirit.
Love
India!
“Lapis
exilis dicitur origo mundi.”
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