Nicholas Roerich. Mother of the World. The description of a picture. Masterpieces of Russian painting

Mother of the World. 1937. Tempera on canvas mounted on cardboard. 98 x 65,5. Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York, USA.

Mother of the World. 1924. Variant. Tempera on canvas. 117 x 89. Museum by name of Nicholas Roerich, ICR, Moscow, Russia.

Nicholas Roerich depicted the great female deities in such paintings as She Who Leads, Madonna Laboris, and The Mother of the World. This latter conception, equivalent to the Lakshmi and Kali of India, is one of Roerich's most inspiring images, rendered with majesty in deep tones of blue and violet.

Of course, the "Mother of the World" is at the head of the Great Hierarchy of Light of our planet. Read in the Cryptograms of the East the narrative about the Mother of the World, and accept it as the highest reality. Behind each symbol stands a High Individuality, and each symbol covers a great reality. Each Great Individuality has its deputies, or personifiers, who are nearest to its Ray, and sometimes one of these Great Individualities personally incarnates - hence, the concept of the Avatar.
Even so, the Mother of the Universe, or of the manifested Cosmos, can be accepted as one of the figures of the Holy Trinity. Indeed, there is no religion, except later ecclesiastical Christianity, in which the Feminine Element is not included among the Primates of Be-ness. Thus, the Gnostics also considered the Holy Ghost as a Feminine Element...
Only the profound ignorance of the Middle Ages could discard the Feminine Element from the construction of all Being. Verily, in their origin both Elements, Male and Female, are united, and one cannot exist without the other. The belittling of one is the belittling of the other.

Mother of Tourfan. 1924. Tempera on canvas. Private collection. Mother of Tourfan. Variant.

In the East, the cult of the Mother of the World, of the goddess Kali, or Durga, is widespread, and one may say that it is predominant in Hinduism. But even among other sects, one finds more worshipers of the Great Mother than of any other aspect of Divinity. In Mongolia and Tibet Dukkar, or the White Tara, and other Taras - Sisters - are greatly worshiped. In all the most ancient religions, the feminine deities were considered the most sacred. At the head of all, or rather, behind the veil is the "Eternal and Everlasting Breath of all Be-ness." But on the plane of the manifested reigns the eternal Feminine Principle, or the Great Mother of the World

And here are several dates:
In 1924 the rays of the luminary of the Mother of the World reached Earth, and in pouring upon it they awakened a new consciousness; the hearths of many women were kindled with aspiration toward new life
In 1924 N.K. (Nicholas Roerich) painted several variations of his painting "The Mother of the World." They were exhibited in the museum in New York and made a tremendous impression. The reproduction of one of these paintings, which was based partly on my vision, received very wide distribution
In 1924 N.K. wrote an article entitled "The Star of the Mother of the World," which was published in The Theosophist at Adyar

The star of the Mother of the World is the planet Venus. In 1924 this planet for a short time came unusually near to the Earth. Its rays were poured on Earth, and this created many new powerful and sacred combinations which will yield great results. Many feminine movements were kindled by these powerful rays.

In the East this epoch is noted as the epoch of Maitreya, the epoch of Great Compassion, and the epoch of the Mother of the World.

The New Epoch under the rays of Uranus will bring the renaissance of woman. The Epoch of Maitreya is the Epoch of the Mother of the World.

Star of the Mother of the World. 1924. Tempera on canvas. 89 x 117. Private collection, Moscow, Russia.

The great epoch of Woman is coming. Verily, woman has a two-fold task: to uplift herself and to uplift her eternal companion, man. All the Forces of Light are awaiting this great deed. The Star of the Mother of the World has indicated the great date. All Scriptures are confirming that woman will sever the head of the Dragon. Let the heart of the woman become aflame with this self-sacrificing deed. Let her fearlessly raise the shining but cleaving Sword of the Spirit.
At the destined hour we will call the burning hearts and the hands ready to raise the Chalice of Salvation of the World.
Let every day of our lives be spent in self-sacrificing service to the great task.
The Great Mother is approaching!

Yes, the New Epoch requires spiritual cognition. The New Epoch must manifest due respect to the Mother of the World, to the Feminine Element. "The bird of the spirit of Humanity cannot fly with only one wing" – these are words of Vivekananda, who meant to affirm the great significance of the Feminine Principle. Man does not willingly give full rights to woman. However, this opposition but intensifies the forces; and woman, fighting for her cosmic rights, will acquire the knowledge of her power.

How beautiful is the Image of the Mother of the World! So much beauty, self-renunciation and tragedy is in this majestic Image! Aspire in your heart to the Highest, and joy and exultation will enter your soul. The whole creativeness of man, all mystic exaltation, is the result of that same Love, be it expressed or concealed. And we should remember that for the pure, all is pure.
Some day, you will write beautiful hymns, dedicated to the Raiment of the Mother of the Universe, which flashes with all the colors of the rainbow and with all the joys of Be-ness and great creativeness. For there is no life, no expression of spirit, without the Mother of the Universe, the Great Matter of All-Being. The placing of spirit and matter into diametrically opposing positions bred in the ignorant consciousness a fanatical conception of matter as something inferior, whereas in reality spirit and matter are one. Spirit without matter is nothing, and matter is but the crystallization of spirit. The manifested Universe, visible and invisible, from the highest to the lowest, reveals to us the infinite aspects of Radiant Matter. Where there is no matter, there is no life.
Be aflame in your spirit and heart!

Madonna Laboris. 1933. Tempera on canvas mounted on cardboard. 30 x 43,5. Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York, USA. Madonna Laboris. The sketch. 1936. Tempera on cardboard. 31 х 46. Latvian State Museum of Art, Riga, Latvia. Kuan-yin. 1933. Tempera on canvas. 50 x 61. Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York, USA.

The Mother of the World. How much of that which is tremendously stirring and moving is blended in this sacred image of all ages and all peoples.

In cosmic waves this great conception moves toward the consciousness of man. In the spiral of accretion it appears sometimes as though receding, yet it is not a regression, it is only a phase of movement, inaccessible to our vision.

Teachings speak of the epoch of the Mother of the World which has now begun. The Mother of the World, Near-to-all-hearts, Revered-by-all-minds, again takes Her place at the great helm. And he, who understands this Visage of Evolution, shall be happy and protected.

In an impressive and stirring way Christianity has consecrated the following legend to the Mother of God:
The Apostle Peter, sacristan of Paradise, was disturbed. And he said to the Lord God: “All day long I watch the gates of Paradise; I do not let anyone in, yet in the morning there are newcomers in Paradise.”
And the Lord said: “Let us make the rounds at night, Peter.”
So they went in the night and they saw the Holy Virgin lowering along the wall Her snow-white scarf, up which souls were climbing.
Peter took this to heart and wanted to interfere, but the Lord whispered: “Sh ... let be…”

The Orient has consecrated the following hymn to the Mother of the World.
“Above Them is She Who veiled Her Face, She Who wove the Web of the far-off Worlds, She the Envoy of the Unutterable, the Ruler of the Intangible, the Bestower of the Unrepeatable.
“By Thy Command is the Ocean silenced and the Whirlwinds trace the Invisible Signs.
“And She Who Veiled Her Face shall stand Alone in Vigil, amid the Splendor of Her Signs.
“And none shall mount the Summit. None shall witness the Effulgence of the Dodecahedron, the Sign of Her Power.”

The cult of the Mother of the World has been discovered in the ancient city of Kish, and the oldest literature of China has greeted the Mother of the World in inspired hymns. She is the Quick-to-Aid, She-of-the-Hundred-Hands and Of-the-Thousand Eyes, She Who protects by Her Veil all those who come for help. She, the Mother of the World, whether in the image of Kwan-Yin or in the bright colored mantle of the Madonna.

“During the hard days of cosmic cataclysms of human disunion and disintegration, of the forgetfulness of all of the highest principles of existence which give true life and lead to the evolution of the world, a voice must rise which calls to the resurrection of the spirit and to the carrying of the fire of achievement into all actions of life. And of course, this voice should be the voice of Woman, who has drunk the chalice of suffering and humiliation and has become forged in the highest patience.
“Let Woman, Mother of the World, say, ‘Let There Be Light.’
“Then what will this light be, and in what will the fiery achievement consist? In the lifting of the banner of Spirit upon which will be inscribed ‘Life, Knowledge and Beauty.’
“Yes, only the heart of the Woman, the Mother, can gather under this banner the children of the whole world without difference of sex, race, nationality and religion.
“Woman, Mother and Wife, witness of the development of man’s genius, can appreciate all the great significance of the culture of thought and knowledge.
“Woman, the inspirer of beauty, knows all the power, all the synthetic might of Beauty.

“Humanity should realize the great Cosmic law, the law of Majesty, the law of greatness and equilibrium— of two as the basis of existence. All principles deprived of these two beginnings, call forth a lack of balance and destruction. But let the woman who has realized this law, and who is striving toward the equilibrium of the Beginnings, preserve all beauty of the Woman’s Image, let her not lose the tenderness of the heart, the finesse of feeling, the sacrifice and courage of patience.

The Mother of the World is the great creative force in our being.
"Thou hast abided in the cults of the ancients as earth, as sun, as fire, as air, as water.
Thou, the All-bestowing!
Thou the All-revealing!
Thou who hast made manifest to humanity the great and joyous realization of the Mother!
Thou who hast indicated achievement and who hast veiled thy Image!
Thou who hast manifested to us the Fire of Space!
Thou who hast taken upon thy shoulders the burden of human actions!
We beseech Thee, restore to us our lost smile! Grant us mastery of the sacred Fiery Might!"