Kritik am Buch „The Shadow Of The Dalai Lama ... - Neues von Shi De

the seething waves of water, in the storms of the air (H. I. Roerich, 1980, vol. I, p. 5). Keep away
from the other “elements” as “they do not love fire” (H. I. Roerich, 1980, vol. I, p. 7). Only the “fiery
world” brings blessing. Everyone carries the “sparks of the fiery world in their hearts” (H. I. Roerich,
1980, vol. II, p. 8). This announces itself through “fiery signs”. “Rainbow flames” confirm the
endeavors of the spirit. But only after a “baptism of fire” do all the righteous proceed with “flaming
hearts” to the “empire of the fiery world” in which there are no shadows. They are welcomed by “fire
angels”. “The luminosity of every part of the fiery world generates an everlasting radiance” (H. I.
Roerich, 1980, vol. II, p. 8). The “song of fire sounds like the music of the spheres” (H. I. Roerich,
1980, vol. II, p. 8). At the center of this world lies the “supreme fire”. Since the small and the large
cosmos are one, the “fiery chakras” of the individual humans correspond to “the fiery structures of
space” (H. I. Roerich, 1980, vol. I, p. 240).
This fire cult is supposed to be ancient and in the dim and distant past its shrines already stood in the
Himalayas: „Beyond the Kanchenjunga are old menhirs of the great sun cult. Beyond the
Kanchenjunga is the birthplace of the sacred Swastika, sign of fire. Now in the day of Agni Yoga, the
element of fire is again entering the spirit.” (N. Roerich, 1985, p. 36, 37). Madame Blavatsky’s abovementioned
god of electricity, Fohat, is also highly honored by the Roerichs.
The Roerichs’ fiery philosophy is put into practice through a particular sacred system which is called
Agni Yoga. We were unable to determine the degree to which it follows the traditions of the already
described Sadanga Yoga, practiced in the Kalachakra Tantra. Agni Yoga gives the impression that is
conducted more ethically and with feelings than technically and with method. Admittedly the Roerich
texts also talk of an unchaining of the kundalini (fire serpent), but nowhere is there discussion of
sexual practices. In contrast -the philosophy of the two Russians requires strict abstinence and is
antagonistic to everything erotic.
In 1920 the first Agni Yoga group was founded by the married couple. The teachings, we learn, come
from the East , indeed direct from the mythical kingdom: „And Asia when she speaks the Blessed
Shambhala, about Agni Yoga, about the Teaching of Flame, knows that the holy spirit of flame can
unite the human hearts in a resplendent evolution” (N. Roerich, 1985, p. 294). Agni Yoga is supposed
to join the great world religions together and serve as a common basis for them.
With great regret the Roerichs discover that the people do not listen to the “fiery tongues” that speak
to them and want to initiate them into the secrets of the flames. They appropriated only the external
appearances of the force of fire, like electricity, and otherwise feared the element. Yet the “space fire
demands revelation” and whoever closes out its voice will perish in the flames (H. I. Roerich, 1980, p.
30).
Even if it is predicted in the cosmic plan, the destruction of all dark and ignorant powers does not
happen by itself. It needs to be accelerated by the forces of good. It is a matter of victory and defeat,
of heroic courage and sacrificial death. Here is the moment in which the figure of the Shambhala
warriors steps into the plan and battles with the inexorably advancing Evil which wants to extinguish
Holy Flame: “They shall come — the extinguishers; they shall come — the destroyers; they shall
come — the powers of darkness. Corrosion that has already begun cannot be checked” (H. I. Roerich,
1980, vol. I, p. 124).
Shambhala