The Myth of the Masters Revived the Occult Lives of Nikolai And
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The Myth of the Masters Revived © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi 10.1163/9789004270435_001 Eurasian Studies Library History, Societies & Cultures in Eurasia Series Editors Dittmar Schorkowitz (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale, Germany) David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye (Brock University, St. Catherines, Canada) Board members Ildikó Bellér-Hann Paul Bushkovitch Peter Finke Geoffrey Hosking Michael Khodarkovsky Marlène Laruelle Virginia Martin Willard Sunderland VOLUME 4 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/esl The Myth of the Masters Revived The Occult Lives of Nikolai and Elena Roerich By Alexandre Andreyev LEIDEN | BOSTON Cover illustration: N. Roerich: Burning of Darkness (from ‘His Country’ series), 1924, fragment, NRM This publication has been typeset in the multilingual ‘Brill’ typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 1877-9484 isbn 978-90-04-27042-8 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-27043-5 (e-book) Copyright 2014 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill nv provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, ma 01923, usa. Fees are subject to change. Brill has made all reasonable efforts to trace all rights holders to any copyrighted material used in this work. In cases where these efforts have not been successful the publisher welcomes communications from copyright holders, so that the appropriate acknowledgements can be made in future editions, and to settle other permission matters. This book is printed on acid-free paper. v And finally I summoned you to the Great Service Elena Roerich, Leaves of Morya’s Garden, Book of Joy … To those who never stop questioning ⸪ © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���� | doi ��.����/������4269736–001 vi contents Contents List of Illustrations ix Preface xiii Acknowledgements xvii A Note to the Reader xviii Prologue: Helena Blavatsky and Her Masters xix 1 The Artist’s Roots and Formative Years 1 2 Elena, Nikolai’s Muse and Life’s Guide 11 3 The Time of Fulfillment 26 4 Voices from the Beyond 39 5 The Beginning of Exile. A Strange Encounter at Hyde Park 56 6 In New York: Haunted by Spirits 76 7 The Great Plan 97 8 The Apparition of the Black Stone: A Miracle or a Hoax? 124 9 Dreaming of New Russia 146 10 In India: Mahatma’s Second Coming 164 11 An Alliance with Bolsheviks 185 12 The Transhimalayan Journey 205 13 The Moscow Mission and a Trip to Altai 235 14 In New Mongolia 256 15 Leading the ‘Western Buddhist Embassy’ to Tibet 284 viii contents 16 Between the Himalayas and New York City 314 17 Suspected of Red Sympathies 344 18 The Manchurian Expedition and the Kansas Project 357 19 The “Chalice of Poison” 399 20 The Final Years in Kulu 420 Epilogue: Inquiring into the Phenomenon of the Roerichs’ Masters 441 Bibliography 459 Index 491 Contents Contents vii List of Illustrations ix Preface xiii Acknowledgements xvii A Note to the Reader xviii Prologue: Helena Blavatsky and Her Masters xix chapter 1 1 The Artist’s Roots and Formative Years 1 chapter 2 11 Elena, Nikolai’s Muse and Life’s Guide 11 chapter 3 26 The Time of Fulfillment 26 chapter 4 39 Voices from the Beyond 39 chapter 5 56 The Beginning of Exile. A Strange Encounter at Hyde Park 56 chapter 6 76 In New York: Haunted by Spirits 76 chapter 7 97 The Great Plan 97 chapter 8 124 The Apparition of the Black Stone: A Miracle or a Hoax? 124 chapter 9 146 Dreaming of New Russia 146 chapter 10 164 In India: Mahatma’s Second Coming 164 chapter 11 185 An Alliance with Bolsheviks 185 chapter 12 205 The Transhimalayan Journey 205 chapter 13 235 The Moscow Mission and a Trip to Altai 235 chapter 14 256 In New Mongolia 256 chapter 15 284 Leading the ‘Western Buddhist Embassy’ to Tibet 284 chapter 16 314 Between the Himalayas and New York City 314 chapter 17 344 Suspected of Red Sympathies 344 chapter 18 357 The Manchurian Expedition and the Kansas Project 357 chapter 19 399 The “Chalice of Poison” 399 chapter 20 420 The Final Years in Kulu 420 Epilogue: Inquiring into the Phenomenon of the Roerichs’ Masters 441 Bibliography 459 Color Plates 477 Index 491 List of illustrations List of Illustrations Figures 1 Helena (Elena) Petrovna Blavatsky xx 2 Mahatma Morya. Drawing by David Anrias xxv 3 Mahatma Koot Hoomi. Drawing by David Anrias xxvi 4 Nikolai Roerich, in student’s uniform, 1896–08 5 5 Nikolai Roerich, 1900 14 6 Elena Shaposhnikova as a child, 1884 14 7 Elena Shaposhnikova, 1900 15 8 Elena Roerich, ca. 1910 50 9 Mahatma Koot Hoomi. From a painting by Hermann Schmiechen 71 10 Mahatma Morya. From a painting by Hermann Schmiechen 71 11 The Roerich Circle in New York, 6 December 1924 82 12 Allal Ming, the Roerichs’ “spirit guide”, automatically drawn by N. Roerich in London, 1920 86 13 “The Flaming Chalice”, the Token of the Master, drawn by N. Roerich, 1923 122 14a-b A wooden box and the Casket with the Stone 131 15 The Black Stone (Chintamani), 1923 131 16 The Black Stone (side view) 132 17 The Casket (with the Stone), 1923 132 18 Talai Phobrang house, Darjeeling 168 19 A Shambhala tangka (‘The Kingdom of Shambhala’), fragment, Mongolia, 19th C., Musée Guimet, Paris 169 20 Yuri Roerich, a Shambhala warrior, 1924 177 21 Elena Roerich, relaxing, Darjeeling, 6 March 1924 179 22 Panchen Lama, 6th, Chos-kyi- nyi-ma (1883–1937) 182 23 Group photo of Maurich Lichtmann, Louis Horch, Frances Grant, Sina Lichtmann, S.M. Shafran, Nettie Horch, Esther Lichtmann, and Sviatoslav Roerich 191 24 V. Shibaev and N. Roerich on seated camels, in helmets, at Giza, Egypt, January 1925 203 25 Yuri and Nikolai Roerich, in Tibetan chuba robes, Darjeeling, 1924 203 26 Main route of Nikolai Roerich’s Central Asian Expedition (1925–1928) 206 27 Elena and Nikolai Roerich, Ladakh, 1925 215 x list of illustrations 28 Group photo of Y. Roerich, A.E. Bystrov, N. Roerich and E. Roerich, Urumchi, 1926 229 29 Yuri Roerich, Nikolai Roerich and Soviet Consul-General A.E. Bystrov, Urumchi, 1926 230 30 The Roerich house in Ulan-Bator, Mongolia, before renovation, 1990s 259 31 The same house, after renovation, end of 2010s 259 32 Group photo of Elizaveta Kozlova (wife of P. Kozlov), B.B. Polynov (geochemist), N. Roerich, Ts. Zhamtsarano, Petr Kozlov, lama Gomboidchin and Y. Roerich 260 33 Samdan Tsydenov as Dharmaraja, 1919 269 34 Samdan Tsydenov as Dharmaraja, 1919 270 35 Baron R.F. Ungern von Sternberg, 1921 273 36 Agvan Dorjiev (1853/54–1938), mid-1925 274 37 N. Roerich with the ‘Shambhala Banner’, Urga, April-May 1927 282 38 The Buddhist Stupa erected by N. Roerich at Sharagol, 1927 289 39 A letter from the Panchen Lama to Roerich, 1935 293 40 Nikolai Roerich, “the Dalai Lama of the West”, 1929 298 41 Marbori Hill with the Potala Palace of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa 304 42 The Potala Palace 304 43 Group photo of Mrs. F.M. Bailey, Nikolai and Elena Roerich, Nikolai Kordashevsky, Yuri Roerich, Konstantin Riabinin, and Frederick M. Bailey. Gangtok, Sikkim, 1928 308 44 The Roerichs’ house at Naggar, 2008 324 45 View of the Himalayas from the Roerichs’ house at Naggar, 2008 325 46 N. Roerich outside the Urusvati Himalayan Research Institute, 1930s 326 47 Urusvati Institute, 2008 326 48 The Master Building, designed by H.W. Corbett, 1929 330 49 The Master Building (façade) 330 50 The Master Building (façade 2) 331 51 Master Building (entrance) 331 52 Nettie Horch, Sina Lichtmann and Frances Grant: friends and rivaling co-workers, 1920s, New York 335 53 N. Roerich standing in front of the complete collection of the Nartang Kangyur and Tangyur, obtained by the Central Asian Expedition, accommodated at the Hall of the East in the Master Building, 1929 337 54 Esther Lichtmann, Elena Roerich, and Nettie Horch at the Rothang Pass, Kulu, 1930 346 55 N. Roerich, standing by the triptych Fiat Rex, Naggar, 1933–1934 359 list of illustrations xi 56 Elena Roerich, with the triptych Fiat Rex and Banner of Peace by N. Roerich in background, Naggar, 1933–34 360 57 Dr Walter Koelz, with antlers collected for the pharmaceutical research conducted by Sviatoslav Roerich at the Urusvati Insitute, 1930–1931, Kulu 361 58 Group photo of N. Roerich, Mrs D.E. Mahon, Esther Lichtmann, Col. A.E. Mahon, Sviatoslav and Y. Roerich. September 1931 364 59a-b Nikolai Roerich in Oriental robe, Naggar, 1932–33 376 60 N. and Y. Roerich meeting Japan’s war minister Hayashi, 24 May 1934 379 61 The Manchurian Expedition: N. Roerich, Viktor Gribanovskii, Y. Roerich, K. Gordeev, August 1934 385 62 Group photo of the staff of the Manchurian Expedition, 1935 392 63 Esther Lichtmann and Nikolai Roerich, Naggar, January, 1934 400 64 ‘The Chalice of the Buddha’, painted by Sviatoslav Roerich 402 65 The logos of the Roerich institutions in New York 410 66 Nikolai Roerich with sons, Sviatoslav and Yuri, Kulu, 1930s 427 67 N.