In America, Roerich further developed his interest in Buddhism and the mystical world of Asia which he had begun to study while he was still in Russia. So profoundly in fact did the subject seize his imagination, that in 1923 he proposed an expedition to explore India, Mongolia and Tibet. It was the Himalayas that perhaps excited him most, and certainly their influence on him was to colour the rest of his life and work. (Roerich actually settled in India in the late 1920s and died there in 1947.)
The expedition, consisting of Roerich and eight Europeans plus local guides, set out in 1924 from Sikkim, striking through the Punjab and then on across Kashmir, Khotan, Urumchi, the Altai Mountains, the Oyrot region, Mongolia, the Central Gobi and Tsaidam, finally ending up in Tibet. The small group wandered through the ‘remote, dangerous and seldom visited parts of Asia for five years’ to quote one contemporary report, encountering ‘frustration and hostility’ in numerous places. Leading the party took all Roerich’s skill, courage and intelligence, and as well as sketching the scenery and people, he kept a diary of their progress written literally ‘in the saddle’.
As far as the outside world was concerned, little was heard of the Roerich party until a lengthy cable reached India from Tibet in May 1928. Extracts from this graphically show the kind of experience they underwent:
On Tibetan territory have been attacked by armed robbers … Forcibly stopped by Tibetan authorities on October 6, two days north of Nagchu. With inhuman cruelty Expedition had been detained for five months at altitude of 15,000 feet in summer tents amidst severe cold about 40 degrees below Centigrade … Expedition suffered from want of fuel and fodder. During stay in Tibet five men, Mongols, Buriats and Tibetans died and ninety caravan animals perished … By order of authorities all letters and wires addressed to Lhasa Government and Calcutta British authorities seized. Forbidden to speak to passing caravans. Forbidden to buy foodstuffs from population. Money and medicines came to an end …
Roerich was later to explain that stories were rife about the party as they journeyed along:
During these years, rumour made me a ‘French and American King’, ‘Commander of a Russian Corps’ and ‘King of all Buddhists’. I succeeded in dying twice. I succeeded in being simultaneously in Siberia, America and Tibet. According to the words of Mongols of Tsaidam I carried on a war with the Amban of Sining. And according to the words of the Taotai of Khotan I brought a small cannon which would, in ten minutes, destroy entire Khotan and its 100,000 inhabitants. We became accustomed to all this and now are no longer astonished by ‘authentic’ rumours. The Mongols firmly remember the ‘Ameri Khan’: Thus the American has been visualized as a kind of warrior. Fairy tales about ourselves from Lhasa were related to us, in which we could only identify ourselves with difficulty.
Despite all the hardships and tribulations, Roerich found friends and information along the way to enrich his knowledge of the people and their traditions. And the expedition was only a few weeks old before the legend of Agharti first engaged his attention and thereafter became an absorbing study with him. He jotted down his first thoughts on the underground kingdom as he rode along, and these notes were later published in a remarkable record of the expedition entitled Altai Himalaya: A Travel Diary (1930). This is what he wrote:
A legend of Central Asia tells of the mysterious nation, underground dwellers – the Agharti. Approaching gates into this blessed kingdom, all living beings become silent, reverently pausing in their course. Recall, now, the Russian legend about the mysterious ‘Tchud’ which went underground to escape the persecution of evil forces. To this secreted place also leads the sacred legend of the subterranean Kitege.
The whole world tells its tales of underground cities, treasure troves, temples merging under water! The Russian and Norman peasant relates about this with equal surety. So, too, does the inhabitant of the desert know of the treasures which sometimes glimmer from under the sand waves and then – until the ordained time – recede again under the earth.
Around one beacon-fire are gathering those who remember the predestined dates. We do not speak of superstitions but of knowledge – knowledge revealed in beautiful symbols. Why invent, when truth is so manifold? In La Manche even now is seen the city which has been ‘submerged’ under water.
Many sources tell of the subterranean dwellings in the district of Lhasa and Koko-Nor. A lama from Mongolia recalls the following legend: When the foundations of the monastery Genden were built during the time of the Teacher Tsong-kha-pa, in the fourteenth century, it was noticed that through the gaps of the rocks there arose the smoke of incense. A passage was broken through and there was found a cave in which, motionless, was seated an old man. Tsong-kha-pa aroused him from his ecstasy and the old man asked for a cup of milk. Then he asked what teaching now existed upon earth. After which he disappeared. It is also pointed out that the Potala, the palace of the Dalai-Lama, has hidden recesses of greatest antiquity. By the facial expressions of the lamas one will not discover anything. One must seek through other paths.
If so much lies underground – how much more lies under the veil of silence. It is naive to insist, after the first cautious response. An authoritative astrologer assures us that he knows nothing – has only heard rumours. Another who is versed in the ways of antiquity just now insists he has not even heard of such things. And why should they answer otherwise? They must not betray. Most heinous is treason – and there are many traitors. We discern the true devotion and behind it the structure of the future.
Like Ossendowski before him, Roerich was soon on the lookout for any more titbits of information, any more clues, about this mysterious underground world. In Lamayuru-Hemis, he encountered a Buriat lama who, though rather reticent about the subject, revealed that at the heart of Agharti was a great city called Shamballah where the ‘King of the World’ dwelt.
‘There are several ways into this forbidden place,’ the lama told Roerich, enigmatically. ‘And those that are taken are led by an underground passage. This passage sometimes becomes so narrow that one can hardly push through. All the entrances are safeguarded by the lamas.’
If this man told Roerich any more, he makes no mention of it in his diary, and there is evidence that the explorer found the conversation rather frustrating except for the important new information about the city called Shamballah. Another incident recorded in his diary a few days later must have been equally tantalizing:
Someone comes in the evening and whispers about a manuscript of Shamballah. We ask him to bring it.
One must be in these places to understand what occurs! One must look into the eyes of these coming ones, in order to realize how vitally important for them is the meaning of Shamballah. And the dates of events are not a curious oddity for them but are connected with the structure of the future. Though these structures are sometimes dust-ridden and perverted, their substance is vital and stirs the thought. Following the development of thought you realize the dreams and hopes. And out of these fragments has been pieced together the new web of the world!
Despite any feeling of frustration, Roerich was clearly becoming captivated by the mysticism of the subject, and perhaps became deliberately enigmatic himself in his notes. When his party reaches Tourfan, however, and he is shown a number of caves which, it is claimed, lead ultimately to Agharti, he is a little more specific in his diary:
In the cliffs towering over Kurlyk, the entrances of the caves loom dark. These caves penetrate deeply: their depth has not been ascertained. There are also secret passages – from Tibet, through Kuen lun, through Altyntag, through Tourfan; the Long Ear knows of secret passages. How many people have saved themselves in these passages and caves! Reality has become a fairy tale. Just as the black aconite of the Himalaya has become the Fire-Blossom.
The exiled Russian explorer indicates that he is now becoming convinced that there is a centre to which the nations of the world are linked by tunnels, with at its heart a golden capital city called Shamballah. While the party rests for a
few days in Mongolia, Roerich takes up his brushes and paints ‘The Ruler of Shamballah’, a colourful interpretation of the ‘King of the World’ in his domain. (Roerich later presented this canvas to the Mongolian government.)
The remainder of Roerich’s diary is dotted with similar references to Shamballah, indicating that he took every opportunity to discuss the legend. He suspects that ‘the Mongolian lamas know a great deal’ and that ‘many other neighbouring nationalities also understand all the reality of the meaning of Shamballah’. But, he adds: ‘it is not easy to win their confidence in spiritual matters.’
As if in confirmation, more talk reaches his ears as the party nears the border with Tibet. He tells us about this in a most curious entry in the diary:
We hear legends. That which was told us about the visitation by the ‘Ruler of Shamballah’ to monasteries in Narabanchi and Erdeni Dzo is confirmed in various palaces. Yum-Beise is an unpleasant, windy place. The monastery itself is not an inviting one and the lamas are not gracious. Beyond and above the monastery, on the mountain, a tremendous phallus is erected …
As the party enter Tibet, Roerich confides to his diary that he believes only a High Lama can answer all his questions – if he could find one so disposed. He notes down: ‘The Tibetans relate that during the time of the flight of the Dalai Lama in 1904, at the Chang-thang crossing, the men and horses felt a severe tremor. The Dalai Lama explained to them that they were at the hallowed border of Shamballah. Does the Dalai Lama know much of Shamballah?’ he wonders.
Roerich’s fascinating account of his trans-Asia journey closes with his arrival at the holy city of Lhasa, leaving the reader intrigued with his references to Agharti and Shamballah and as frustrated about them as the author himself must have felt. But Roerich had not faced all the hardships and privations, nor searched so diligently for information all in vain, for in Lhasa in the summer of 1928 he encountered a High Lama named Tsa-Rinpoche who at last answered his most pressing questions. Roerich recorded their unique conversation in a second volume which he called simply Shamballah, published in 1930.
First, Roerich had to convince the High Lama that he had a serious interest in the subject, and was not merely curious. Evidently the explorer’s answers did not immediately convince the holy man, for he described Shamballah as being ‘far beyond the ocean’. And to this Tsa-Rinpoche added: ‘It is a mighty heavenly domain. It has nothing to do with our earth. So why do you earthly people take an interest in it?’
For a moment there was complete silence in the room as the two men looked at each other. Roerich was aware that he was being sidetracked, but was equally anxious not to offend the High Lama and have him bring their conversation to a premature end. When he started to speak again, he picked his words very carefully:
‘Lama, we know the greatness of Shamballah. We know the reality of this indescribable realm. But we also know the reality of the earthly Shamballah. We know how some High Lamas went to Shamballah, how along their way they saw the customary physical things. We know the stories of the Buryat lama, of how he was accompanied through a very narrow secret passage. We know how another visitor saw a caravan of hill-people with salt from the lakes, on the very borders of Shamballah. Moreover, we ourselves have seen a white frontier post of one of the three outposts of Shamballah. So, do not speak to me about the heavenly Shamballah only, but also about the one on earth: because you know as well as I, that on earth Shamballah is connected with the heavenly one. And in this link, the two worlds are unified.’
The lama became silent. With eyes half concealed by the lids, he examined Roerich’s face. And then, in the evening dusk, he began to explain:
‘Verily, the time is coming when the Teaching of the Blessed One will once again come from the North to the South,’ he said. ‘The word of Truth, which started its great path from Bodhgaya, again shall return to the same sites. We must accept it simply, as it is: the fact that the true teaching shall leave Tibet, and shall again appear in the South. Really, great things are coming. You come from the West, yet you are bringing news of Shamballah. We must take it verily so. Probably the ray from the tower of Rigden-Jyepo, “The King of the World”, has reached all countries.
‘Like a diamond glows the light on the Tower of Shamballah. He is there – Rigden-Jyepo, indefatigable, ever vigilant in the cause of mankind. His eyes never close. And in His magic mirror He sees all events of earth. And the might of His thought penetrates into far off lands. Distance does not exist for Him; He can instantaneously bring assistance to worthy ones. His powerful light can destroy all darkness. His immeasurable riches are ready to aid all needy ones who offer to serve the cause of righteousness. He may even change the karma of human beings …’
Sensing that he had broken through his host’s reticence, Roerich went on to ask if it was true that many people lived in the underground kingdom and if they possessed great powers.
‘Uncountable are the inhabitants of Shamballah,’ the old man in his richly ornate robes replied. ‘Numerous are the splendid new forces and achievements which are being prepared there for humanity.’
‘But how are the secrets of Shamballah guarded?’ Roerich asked. ‘It is said that many co-workers of Shamballah, many messengers, are speeding through the world. How can they preserve the secrets entrusted to them?’
Once again Tsa-Rinpoche’s piercing eyes gazed into those of his guest.
‘The great keepers of mysteries are watching closely all those to whom they have entrusted their work and given high missions. If an unexpected evil confronts them they are helped immediately. And the entrusted treasure shall be guarded. About forty years ago, a great secret was entrusted to a man living in the Great Mongolian Gobi. It was told to him that he could use this secret for a special purpose, but that when he felt his departure from this world approaching, he should find someone worthy to whom to entrust this treasure. Many years passed. Finally this man became ill and during his illness, an evil force approached him and he became unconscious. In such a state he could not, of course, find anyone worthy to whom to entrust his treasure. But the Great Keepers are ever vigilant and alert. One of them from the high Ashram hurriedly started through the Gobi, remaining more than sixty hours without rest in the saddle. He reached the sick man in time to revive him and though only for a short time, it permitted him to find someone to whom he might transmit the message.’
Eagerly, Roerich asked another question that had never been far from his thoughts.
‘Lama, in Tourfan and in Turkestan they showed us caves with long, unexplored passages. Can one reach Shamballah through these routes? They told us that on some occasions, strangers came out of these caves and went to the cities. They wished to pay for things with strange, ancient coins, which are now no longer used.’
The slightest suggestion of a smile played around the eyes and mouth of the old lama. It was a moment or two before he answered.
‘Truly I say to you that the people of Shamballah at times emerge into the world. They meet the earthly co-workers of Shamballah. For the sake of humanity, they send out precious gifts, remarkable relics. I can tell you many stories of how wonderful gifts were received. Even Rigden-Jyepo himself appears at times in human body. Suddenly he shows himself in holy places, in monasteries and at times predestined, pronounces his prophecies.’
Not altogether satisfied with the reply, Roerich persisted on the same line of questioning.
‘Lama,’ he said, ‘how does it happen that Shamballah on earth is still undiscovered by travellers? On maps you see so many routes of expeditions. It appears that all heights are already marked and all valleys and rivers explored.’
The lama’s lined old face broke into a wide smile at this – the kind of smile that Roerich felt a wiser person might bestow on someone of lesser ability unable to comprehend a simple truth.
‘Verily, there is much gold in the earth, and many diamonds and rubies in the mountains, and everyone is so eager to possess them! And so many people try
to find them! But as yet these people have not found all things – so, let a man try to reach Shamballah without a call! You have heard about the poisonous streams which encircle the uplands. Perhaps you have even seen people dying from these gases when they come near them. Perhaps you have seen how animals and people begin to tremble when they approach certain localities. Many people try to reach Shamballah uncalled. Some of them have disappeared for ever. Only a few of them reach the holy place, and if their karma is ready …
‘It is dangerous to toy with fire – yet fire can be of the greatest use for humanity. You have probably heard how certain travellers attempted to penetrate into the forbidden territory and how guides refused to follow them. They said, “Better to kill us.” Even these simple folk understood that such exalted matters may be touched only with utmost reverence.’
Despite a feeling of slight embarrassment, Roerich dwelt on the subject of the location of Agharti and Shamballah. ‘Lama, can you tell me something of the three great monasteries near Lhasa – Sera, Ganden and Depung? Are there some hidden passages under them? And is there a subterranean lake under the chief temple?’
Again Tsa-Rinpoche grinned. ‘You know so many things that it seems to me you have been to Lhasa. I do not know when you have been there. But if you have seen this subterranean lake, you must have been either a very great lama, or a servant bearing a torch. But as a servant you could not know the many things which you have told me.’
Sensing that the old lama was not prepared to be drawn on the question of the tunnels beneath the monasteries, Roerich asked if he knew anything of the Azaras and the Kuthumpas, holy men who were traditionally supposed to know the secrets of Shamballah.
Once more, Tsa-Rinpoche started his reply evasively:
The Lost World of Agharti- the Mystery of Vril Power Page 8
