NOTE
The artist’s eye and philosopher’s spirit which are
Roerich’s, are
as a magnet.
Drawn by their power, there flows into Roerich’s being
a stream of experiences which he is able to transmute into beauty by
that spiritual alchemy which is possessed by the teachers of men.
In “Shambhala the Resplendent,” Roerich has recorded the way of his
journey through Central Asia and Tibet in the terms of spirit. It is
a record of legends, of parables, of notes - the very substance of
which the larger reality is composed, and all revealing different
facets of the theme of Shambhala. In this book - as in his other
books, “Altai-Himalaya” and “Heart of Asia,” one realizes that
Roerich’s vision is manifold.
Traveling on his way, he discerns all
the beauty of the natural spectacle through which he passes. And in
his works - as in his paintings - he records this panorama in
successive sparks which flow into a continuous pageantry.
But in
addition, Roerich perceives also that subtler manifestation of the
countries and peoples through which he journeys. He discerns their
thoughts; he perceives the pulsating, throbbing hopes and beliefs
that sweep like winds across space. And it is this record - so little
visible to the many of us - that becomes the vital force of Roerich’s
message.
One must remark the style of Roerich
- it has the unrepeatable quality
and synthesis of life. He transmits to us the essentials and we
discern that these fragments of seeming fantasy are weaving
themselves into a pattern of essential truth and essential beauty.
Roerich has named this book, “Shambhala, the Resplendent” advisedly.
Reading it, one realizes that Roe-rich has woven a wreath which he
has offered in full reverence to the great Principle which is Shambhala, the New Era; for truly it is the salutary wind of
people’s thought and faith which will aid the fires of Shambhala.
And once again, as in all the deeds of his inexhaustible creative
fervor, Roerich’s “Shambhala, the Resplendent” pronounces the
evocation of the fires of new human achievement and a new human
destiny.
