The Nicholas Roerich Banner Of Peace On The Valaam

09.02.2010.
Reprint from the same booklet.
The edition of Fund of culture of Karelia.
Author T.L.Shevelev.
Petrozavodsk, 1990.
The Nicholas Roerich Banner Of Peace On The Valaam

Booklet "The Nicholas Roerich Banner Of Peace On The Valaam".

The Banner of Peace was displayed in the Nicholas Roerich room of the House of Culture on the Valaam on May 9, 1989. It marked the beginning of the Valaam Cultural Center.
Nicholas Roerich, a world-renowned artist, philosopher, public figure, and devotee for culture, created an international treaty, the Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace in 1929. The artist advanced an idea of the Banner of peace similar to that of the Red Cross. The Banner of Peace should fly over all historic monuments and educational, artistic institutions to indicate special protection and respect in times of war and peace, preventing vandalism and negligence all over the world. Three red spheres within the circle designate integration of the Past, Present and Future, the circle being Eternity.
The Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace found a broad response among the world community. A. Einstain, R. Rolland, Th. Mann, H. Wells, B. Shaw, supported the idea. On April 15, 1935 the Nicholas Roerich Pact was signed by twenty-one countries, and it became the international document. Only the World War II interrupted the broad motion. In 1954 in the Hague under the auspices of UNESCO on the basis of the Roerich Pact was signed the Conclusive Act of the International Convention for the protection of the cultural property in the event of armed conflict. Today the Convention has been ratified by the majority of the countries of the world, the Soviet Union including.
"And light shines in the dark, but the dark won't black it out. Let the Banner for protection of all, that is beautiful, shine. Let the Banner of Peace beams!
The visitors to the Nicholas Roerich room on the Valaam island can hear the above mentioned words which Roerich used to say. Here the atmosphere of lofty aspirations prevails. The Roerich room has some books, albums, journals with the reproductions from the pictures of Nicholas and Svetoslav Roerich's, the show-cases with the latest editions and the rare photographs; the post-cards from the Nicholas Roerich's paintings, printed by the Saint Eugenia charitable community while he was living in Petersburg. In addition to the exhibits, the room desplays the materials revealing the Roerich's contribution to the world culture.
Since 1916 till 1919 Nicholas Roerich and his family lived in the region of Priladojie (within the area of the Ladoga Lake). Nicholas Roerich suffered from pneumonia and his doctors recommended him to live in the country.
For that reason the family was there. They settled in the town of Serdobol now it is called - Sortavala, not far from the Valaam island. The Karelian environment had a profound influence upon the creation of the artist. One can see a photograph taken from the post-card on the desplay, the post-card had been sent by Roerich to his friend in Petersburg of 21-st of June, 1917. It represents the view of the "park" rock Kukha in Sortavala Serdobol) and the text: "Greetings from Sortavala. Now they have vacant rooms in the hotel. I like the land very much. The rocks, woods, lakes and moss - all belong to me. I feel the environment full of invigoration and plenty of real calls from the land is heard". And a year after in his verse "The Smile of Yours" Nicholas Roerich writes:
"On the island are we.
Ours is the old house.
We have got the temple key.
Ours is the cave.
Ours are both the rocks and pine-trees as well as the sea-gulls.
Ours is the moss. Ours are the stars above us.
Our island we shall walk along..."
Within the area the artist has created some two hundred paintings, among them being the Holy Island, the Karelia suite, the Cloud - the Messenger, A Message to Feodor Tiron, Ecstasy, Heavenly Sons, and the Heroic suite, the latter being the herald of the subsequent life of the Roeriches, and their lofty mission.
The suite Heroica includes seven paintings. These are: the Hidden Treasure, the Noida's Potion, the High Command, the Sacred Lights, Waiting, The Giants' End, The Treasure Winners.
The Hidden Treasure means the idea of the hidden Truth of life. The wicked sorceress - noida had blocked up all the approaches. But the High Command was given to the people the Hidden Treasure should be searched for. The Sacred Lights show them the way to the place. The people are Waiting patiently for the message denoting the way is cleared. Their way is full of jeopardy, but they were surmounted. The Giants' End - the evil demons - in the Scandinavian mythology - notifies the fact. The last painting in the suite - the Treasure Winners-depicts four figure carrying the fiery treasure from the gorges...
During the last period of life Nicholas Roerich, confirming the fact that the purpose which he had aimed at was realized, made the two versions of the former painting and the latter one from the suite Heroica. By this doing the artist says: The Teaching of Life - the Teaching of Living Ethics has been brought to the Humanity. (Thirteen volumes of Living Ethics were printed in 1924 - 1937 in the Russian language by the Latvian Roerich Society).
Among the materials that one can sec in the Roerich room are the Informative lists and the journals printed by the Latvian Roerich Society, the latter had resumed its activities in November, 1988. The Society printed some passages from the most valuable spiritual inheritance of Russia - the letters written by Yelena Roerich. Yelena Roerich was "a friend, a companion and an inspirer" for the outstanding artist. In her letter to the Latvian friends Yelena Roerich writes: "It is namely the time when one should call upon the feat. All the countries of the globe are involved in a terrible struggle in which only the strong spiritual human beings will be victors. Do not let deceive ourselves saying evrything will be settled. By no means, each country should realize that it might withstand only in the case when this country starts awakening the consciousness of the most advanced representatives of its society for the urgency of struggle against the forces of ignorance and forces of destruction. All the countries are challenged to take the testling, will some withstand it?"
It was in Priladojie that Nicholas Roerich had written his essay The Flame, the play - The Mercy - and a big portion of his verses, which were included into his book The Flowers of Moria.
It's a remarkable fact that many children were present at the opening of The Roerich room. It is our children who will witness the beginning of the Third Millenium. "The Planet accomplishes the Circle which moves all to its final. The Time approaches when each principle should reveal its potentiality... The final Circle awakes all energes, for all the forces of the Light and of the Dark will participate in the filal battle, the forces being the higest as well as the criminal and inert ones". The above mentioned quatation belongs to Yelena Roe-rich and truly these words correspond to the situation of our time - particularly - to the situation on the Valaam island. The devotees of Culture remind us of the responsibility: "The very destiny of the Planet is indeed in the hands of the humanity... Since it is the wicked thoughts and bad aspirations of human beings that create a horrible and stifling atmosphere not only within the globe but even in the lowest strata within the beyond world. The stifling atmosphere around the Earth promotes the junction of the Space fire and the underground flame. Only the fiery, pure spirits can discharge the atmosphere, as if they were lightning-rod. That is why the Age of Fire is so dangerous. It brings cleansing but it also brings terrible calamity, namely, the destruction of the entire infected areas by the underground flame, and also the spreading of the epidemic. Those who managed to cleanse sufficiently their aura and assimilated the space fire may withstand the epidemic.
In 1989 due to the public initiative the Karelian government decided to turn over the memorials of the former Valaam monastery to the Russian Orthodox Church: on November 14, 1989 the monks had arrived at the island and the divine services have begun in the Spaso-Preobragensky Cathedral, in the lower temple of St. Sergyi and German.
When the monastery returned to the island, it was time to realise the significance of the Banner of Peace flying over the island as a symbol of the unity of art, science and religion in the circle of Culture (Culture is the worshipping of Light).
"The Banner of Peace hadn't died, - Nikolai Konstanlinovich Roerich wrote. - ...an hour will come, when they will again turn on to care and protection of cultural values, to this real basis of the world. And it's not only cultural values which the Banner of Peace quivers about. It quivers about human heart..."
"Among the many emotional experiences as the sources of inspiration I clearly remember one situation that took place when I was a fourteen-year-old boy. It was a memorial service in the underground crypt of two great Russian saints, hold by all the hermits and anchorets, who left the places of their solitude for it. Here, in this temple, around the granite sarcophagus stood the elders retired from the world in their ceremonial garments. Their motionless, strict and kind faces were hidden behind the shelters of their schema dresses, and only grey beards could be seen. Their thin fingers were holding long wax candles. What can be more significant than the spiritual state when you are surrounded by hermits and can join your prayer to theirs? I can see it as clearly today as I had many years ago. Reminiscences like this don't pass by and don't grow dim, they radiate their Grace forever…" (S. N. Roerich. From the speech 'My source of inspiration' made at the Indian radio on May 7, 1980).
The propaganda of Russian spiritual culture and of the Rocrichs inheritance, the moral renewal of society and the unique world culture memorial on the island of Valaam - these are the aims of the 'Valaam' cultural centre. When the centre chairman met Svyatoslav Nikolayevich Roerich in Moscow, the artist gave his blessing to the new initiative:
"Dear Friends!
I was very glad to find about the new centre of Culture in your town, on the Valaam. The high spirit of Russian people is known all over the world, and no wonder that it's on the Valaam the most known focus of Russian culture that the new broad consiousness sprouts. I believe that the Banner of Peace, the Banner of Culture will bring happiness and flourishing to the Russian people. Let us always aspire to the beautiful!
Yours - Svyatoslav Roerich.
November 24, 1989.
Moscow."

© Public Domain