Nicholas K. Roerich (died December 13, 1947)

The Buddhist Wheel of Life keeps on turning, even after a ‘saintly’ person dies, despite what devotees may suggest: Nicholas K. Roerich did not become an Ascended Master…

Here is what his wife, Helena, wrote in a letter, soon after his death:

It is still difficult for me to write about his illness and last days. I will write later. But I would ask you to convey to all of his friends and admirers the statement that is both wonderful and very true: “The heart could not endure the amount of poison generated by a mad humanity.”

I never saw beauty as high and spiritual as was impressed on his face. We could not tear ourselves away from our contemplation of this heavenly goodness and the touching tenderness of his wonderful face. He was shining as if from some inner light, and even the white narcissi that surrounded him looked crude next to his luminous appearance.

Terrible pain wrings the heart when thinking about the loss. He was asleep when the call of the G.L. [Great Lord] came for him, at three o’clock in the morning on a most solemn day, by the Hindu calendar, of Shiva’s birthday. One week before his death, he saw Saint Sergius standing between our beds and saying, “My dear ones, why must you suffer here? Go with Me. Come to Me, now!” His spirit wanted to leave; he was grieved very much by the world’s chaotic happenings—though in secret we kept from him all the dreadful things going on in our valley and in immediate nearness to us. He was also very worried about the growing Russophobia in America, because he knew where this hatred would lead. His heart could not endure the pressures and the terrible pain of seeing the oppression of all that belongs to culture, all that brings salvation for the coming generation.

The only consolation in our sorrow is understanding that a better lot was given to him. Why prolong his suffering amid such ignorance and waste his best gifts on present generations that cannot accept or value them? He will return in a better time, to a purified soil, and will finish his sowing and service to his country and to all humanity. But the loss of such a leader is truly irreparable and will delay the progress of humanity for another century.

Roerich, Helena . At the Threshold of the New World: Dreams, Visions and Letters of Helena Roerich (p. 142). Kindle Edition.

I don’t think there could be a more apt ending to one man’s life than have Neptune rising with a Libra Ascendant. And that inconjunct linking Venus (opposite the Midheaven) and Pluto speaks volumes. The Sun @ 20° Sagittarius seems significant to me personally, with his ‘fatal’ Uranus opposite both the Sun and the Moon. Perhaps he ‘chose’ the correct time for leaving, in his sleep, in the middle of the night. (It’s the way I wish to go, some day.)

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