On April 15, 1935, an extremely important event for the whole world took place - in New York, in the presence of US President Roosevelt and representatives of all countries of South America, the Peace Pact (Roerich Pact) was signed - an agreement on the protection of cultural property during wars and armed conflicts. It is significant that this Pact, as well as its distinctive sign - the “Banner of Peace” - was proposed by the outstanding Russian artist, thinker, and public figure N.K. Roerich (1874-1947). “The proposed Banner,” said Roerich, “has three connected amaranth Spheres on a white background in a circle as a symbol of Eternity and Unity.”
In 1954, at the Hague Conference, the Roerich Pact was signed by representatives of 37 states, and in 1968 there were already 59 (including the Soviet Union).
N.K.ROERICH
Banner of Peace
They ask to collect where there are signs of our Banner of Peace. The sign of the trinity turned out to be spread throughout the world. Now they explain it differently. Some say that this is the past, present and future, united by the ring of Eternity. For others, the explanation is closer that this is religion, knowledge and art in the ring of Culture. Probably, among the numerous similar images in ancient times, there were also all sorts of explanations, but with all this variety of interpretations, the sign as such was established throughout the world.
Chintamani - India's oldest idea of the happiness of the world - contains this sign. In the Temple of Heaven in China you will find the same image. The Tibetan “Three Treasures” talk about the same thing. In the famous painting by Memling, the same sign is clearly visible on the chest of Christ. It is also present in the image of the Strasbourg Madonna. The same sign is on the shields of the Crusaders and on the coats of arms of the Templars * . Gurda, the famous Caucasian blades, bear the same sign. Can't we distinguish it in philosophical symbols? He is also in the images of Geser Khan and Rigden-Dzhapo. It’s also on Tamerlane’s Tamga. It was also on the Papal coat of arms. It can also be found in ancient Spanish paintings and in a painting by Titian. He is also on the ancient icon of St. Nicholas in Bar. The same sign on the ancient image of St. Sergius. He is also in the images of the Holy Trinity. It is also on the coat of arms of Samarkand. The sign is in both Ethiopia and Coptic antiquities. He is on the rocks of Mongolia. He is also on Tibetan rings. The Horse of Fortune on the Himalayan mountain passes bears the same sign, shining in the flame. He is also on the chest brooches of Lahaul, Ladakh and all the Himalayan highlands. It is also on Buddhist banners. Following into the depths of the Neolithic, we find the same sign in pottery ornaments.
That is why a sign was chosen for the All-Unifying Banner that has passed through many centuries - or rather, through millennia. Moreover, everywhere the sign was used not just as an ornamental decoration, but with a special meaning. If we collect together all the imprints of the same sign, then perhaps it will turn out to be the most widespread and oldest among human symbols. No one can claim that this sign belongs to only one belief or is based on one folklore. It can be especially valuable to look into the evolution of human consciousness in its most diverse manifestations.
Where all human treasures should be protected, there should be such an image that will open the hiding places of all human hearts. The prevalence of the sign of the Banner of Peace is so great and unexpected that people sincerely ask whether this sign was reliable or whether it was invented in later times. We had to see sincere amazement when we proved the prevalence of this sign since ancient times. Now humanity, in horror, is turning to troglodytic thinking and is planning to save its property in underground vaults and caves. But the Banner of Peace speaks precisely of the principle. It asserts that humanity must agree on the universality and nationality of the achievements of human genius. The banner says: “noli me tangere” - do not touch - do not offend the Treasure of the World with a destructive touch. **
* Members of the Catholic spiritual-knightly order, founded around 1118. Abolished in 1312.
** Roerich N.K. Diary sheets. M., 1995. T. 2. P. 206-207.
In the year of the anniversary of the Roerich Pact, we are trying anew to comprehend the symbol of the Banner of Peace. The Sign is so laconic in its form and multifaceted in meaning that it is impossible to give it a simple definition.
This is the explanation of the Sign for modern man. But there is no doubt that the interpretation of the Sign, which is closest to the idea of the Pact (religion, science and art, united by culture), is the most recent, since these concepts themselves arose in the European consciousness no earlier than the Renaissance, when the beginning of the opposition of the secular was laid and religious art; The final separation of religion, science and art occurred during the Enlightenment, and in subsequent centuries these three areas of human spiritual activity developed independently of each other, although not in isolation.
Moreover, the European opposition of religion, art and science is completely alien, for example, to the countries of Buddhism, where, until the stormy invasion of European civilization, there was cultural syncretism, that is, a unified development of all areas of human spiritual activity. If we turn to the history of the Sign, which goes back thousands of years for at least six thousand years, then, of course, in ancient cultures there could not be any opposition between art, religion and science!
It does not at all follow from this that such an interpretation of the sign is incorrect - no, it is only the latest, applicable to the Banner raised in Bruges, but not to the most ancient (and simply ancient) images of the Sign.
Oddly enough, the same must be said about the interpretation of the Sign as a trinity of times in the circle of Eternity. As A. Govinda wrote, the human mind first of all realizes the reality of space and much later - the reality of time; this is explained by the fact that the sense of space is associated with the movement of the body, while the sense of time is associated with the movement of the mind. Scientists have long proven that in ancient and archaic cultures time was either not recognized as a category (for example, in epic songs the hero is either forever young or forever old), or it was thought of as cyclical, moving in an annual (or perennial, or centuries-old) circle. So, for example, in the sacred lines of the ancient Indian Rigveda ("Book of Hymns", XII-X centuries BC), the victory of the thunder god over the serpent can be in the past, in the future or in the present, and the exploits of the gods of ancient Scandinavia generally take place outside time.
So, the concept of three times in the circle of eternity belongs only to highly developed civilizations; The sign of the Trinity is much older than these ideas. To penetrate its ancient symbolism, we need to turn to the universals of human thinking, that is, those ideas that are stored in our subconscious and pass through the entire history of mankind.
According to such outstanding scientists as K. Levi-Strauss, Vyach. Sun. Ivanov and V.N. Toporov, since ancient times, human thinking has been based on paired oppositions (male-female, tall-short, life-death, etc.). However, the most significant role is played by the intermediary (mediator) between two opposites; for example, in the opposition between people and animals, the mediator will be half-man and half-beast (the main character of ancient myths), and in the opposition between gods and people, the demigod is in the center (Greek Hercules and Achilles, Babylonian Gilgamesh, Indian Rama, Krishna, Mongolian Gesar, Russian Volkh, Scandinavian Sigurd and countless others). The paired opposition and its mediator form a triad in which the middle one has the qualities of two opposites. Such a triad can be symbolically represented either as three partially overlapping circles (as the Neoplatonists conveyed the idea of the interconnection of spirit, soul and body), or as three circles, with one above or below the other two. That is, in the form of the Sign chosen by Roerich. In modern language, the ancient meaning of this symbol is the union of opposites.
When discussing the mediator, we gave examples from myth-narratives. However, the subconscious ideas that underlie our thinking can be expressed not in the form of text, but in the form of a pictorial image. At the same time, universal structures manifest themselves not only and not so much through logical comprehension, but through emotional perception of the world, that is, a person (especially an ancient one) could depict a symbol of the unification of opposites unconsciously, obeying an internal impulse. This is precisely what explains the inclusion of the Sign in countless ornamental compositions, starting with Neolithic ceramics. However, in the most ancient agricultural cultures, a dot probably denoted a sprout, and three dots, respectively, could denote either seedlings or a half-blooming sprout. Thus, another ancient meaning of this symbol is nascent life. Once again it should be emphasized that the Neolithic artist, covering a vase with ornaments, rather followed his emotions and impulse; the logical explanation of the symbols comes much later and it is always secondary to the sign. In one form or another this runs through all cultures: three points arranged in a triangle, subconsciously are perceived as a good sign, they decorate household items - from Ancient Egypt and Homeric Greece to classical Japan.
It is difficult to interpret the symbolism of the Sign in pagan cultures, be it the Mongols, the peoples of the Caucasus, the Scythians, the Slavs or the Finno-Ugrians. One thing is certain: the three dots are not just an ornamental motif, they represent a sacred symbol, which can no longer be precisely defined. This also probably includes the image of a trefoil on the clothes of a priest from Mohenjo-Daro (pre-Aryan civilization in the Indus Valley, IV-II millennium BC); The shamrock also became a symbol of Ireland, and although legend connects the veneration of the shamrock with the preaching of St. Patrick, this plant was probably revered in Ireland even before Christianity.
In many mythologies and religions, the concept of the trinity develops in one way or another. Initially, it is associated with the category of space. Thus, in India, starting from Vedic times, the idea of the Three Worlds developed (initially: heaven, earth and air between them), which was then inherited by Buddhism, where the images of kamadhatu arose ("world of passions", which includes the earth, the underworld and the worlds gods bound by passions), rupadhatu ("world of forms", level of high consciousness) and arupadhatu, ("world without forms", level of the subtlest consciousness). In the archaic beliefs of the Altaians or Yakuts, there are three levels of the universe - earthly, heavenly and underground.
A number of successive convergences of archaeological data suggest another version of the interpretation of this symbol. The correlation between the rock paintings of Central Asia and the cult of fire goes back to Poppa; The Roerichs also pointed out this in their works. A well-known solar and fire symbol is the swastika, a cross with curved ends. However, this sign may not be four-pointed, but three-pointed; when the ends are rounded, three spirals appear, connected to each other - they retain the meaning of a fiery or solar sign. As a solar sign, they can be perceived as the sun in three positions (dawn, noon, sunset), a parallel to this is found in the wooden carvings of Russian huts; in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” the sun is called “triple-bright”.
Archaic thinking is alien to digital calculation, since archaic man has an extremely developed visual memory, no longer accessible to representatives of modern civilization. The absence of digital counting in ancient times is evident from the grammar of Indo-European languages, where there are three persons of the verb (the first is “I”, the second is “you”, the third is “he”), and in ancient times there were three grammatical numbers (singular, dual, plural ), that is, everything that is more than two was perceived as “three” and “many” at the same time. Hence tripling as a sign of multiplicity: the three-headed serpent in myths (= super-gluttony), three fairy-tale kingdoms (= the infinity of otherworldly space), three difficult tasks performed by the hero (= testing all possible qualities) and so on. Hence tripling as a sign of completeness: for example, a magic spell works if it is cast three times; in myths, the plot is built on the principle of three tests of the hero (preliminary, main, identification), and the battle between the hero and the monster consists of three stages.
Finally, the triad (later the trinity) becomes the basis of many religious and philosophical systems. In the Mediterranean, the veneration of the triad began in Egypt, where almost every major city had its own triad of gods, consisting of mother, father and son (the most famous are Isis, Osiris, Horus). In Athens under Pericles during the Great Dionysia, three tragic poets were required to present three tragedies each. Above we have already mentioned the Neoplatonist triad “spirit-soul-body”.
The ideogram of the Christian Trinity is the countless images of the Sign on sacred images, on the vestments of clergy and on knightly weapons. Three dots, as a symbol of the Trinity, protected the knight in his military and peaceful labors. It seems that the famous casements of Gothic windows, ending in three circles, are also connected with this; however, this may also be an ornamental motif.
Half a thousand years before Christ, the trinity became a sacred symbol of Buddhism. “Buddha-Dharma-Sangha”, that is, the Buddha, his Teaching and his Community received the name Triratna, “Three Jewels” and later began to be depicted as three precious stones, engulfed in the flame of a high spirit. Then, in philosophical Buddhism, the concept of Trikaya, the Three Bodies of Buddha arose: dharmakaya - the body of Law, the highest essence, beyond all form and color, it is like boundless space; Sambhogakaya - the semi-embodied body of bliss, defined as the endless manifestations of wisdom, the perfect Teacher, whom only a few can witness, and Nirmanakaya - the embodied body, the human form of the Enlightened Being, for example, Shakyamuni Buddha as a living person. At the level accessible to ordinary Buddhists, there is a triad of levels of knowledge: ignorance, logical knowledge and higher, intuitive superknowledge - they are iconographically conveyed as three lotus flowers (a bud, barely opened and blooming luxuriantly), held in the hands of Tara, the goddess of mercy.
The symbolism of this triple lotus is worth paying special attention to. Buddhist teaching, which largely coincides with Living Ethics, places logical understanding of the world at no more than an average level, while the highest knowledge is intuition, “knowledge of the heart.” The perception of an image is always richer, broader, more meaningful than any specific definition. That is why we will not look for an exact and simple answer to the question of what exactly the Sign symbolizes. Any of the definitions given in this article are correct - and any, being called only correct will turn into an error. In the words of N.K. himself. Roerich, “no one can claim that this sign belongs to only one belief or is based on only one folklore.”
“The sign of the Trinity turned out to be spread all over the world...” wrote Nicholas Roerich. Being not only an artist, philosopher, public figure, but also one of the most prominent archaeologists of his time, he knew very well how ancient and widespread the Sign he had chosen for the Banner of Peace was. The universality and transculturality of this Sign was the reason for his election. The most ancient sign of goodness, completeness, the union of opposites is close to all peoples - and is inherent in almost everyone.
All we can do is quote a quote that has become a classic. We will not comment on it, since this entire article is, in fact, a detailed explanation of the words of Nicholas Roerich: “Chintamani - India’s oldest idea of the happiness of the world - contains this sign. In the Temple of Heaven in China you will find the same image. Tibetan "Three Treasures" speaks of the same thing. In the famous painting by Memling, this sign is clearly visible on the chest of Christ. It is also present in the image of the Strasbourg Madonna. The same sign is on the shields of the Crusaders and on the coats of arms of the Templars. Gurda, the famous Caucasian blades, bear this same sign. Don't we distinguish it on philosophical symbols? It is also on the images of Geser Khan and Rigden Dzhapo. It is also on the tamga of Tamerlane. It was also on the papal coat of arms. It can also be found in ancient Spanish paintings and in the painting Titian. It is the same on the ancient icon of St. Nicholas in Bar. The same sign is on the ancient image of St. Sergius. It is also on the coat of arms of Samarkand. It is also in Ethiopia and on Coptic antiquities. It is also on the rocks of Mongolia. It is also on Tibetan rings. The horse of fortune on the Himalayan mountain passes bears the same sign, shining in the flame. He is also on the chest brooches of Lahul, Ladakh and all the Himalayan highlands. It is also on Buddhist banners. Following into the depths of the Neolithic, we find the same sign in pottery ornaments.
That is why the same sign was chosen for the all-unifying banner, which has passed through many centuries - or rather, through millennia."
We looked at three circles, but the symbolism of the Banner is richer; the circle and selection of colors were introduced into this ancient sign by Nicholas Roerich himself, who found a surprisingly accurate complement to the archaic image.
A circle in the archaic worldview means integrity, completeness. In a sense, the circle is a symbol of the universe, the Earth, which was once thought of as a disk. In many mythologies, the earth is surrounded by world waters, shaped like a river, where the Great Serpent lives. Such, for example, is the Scandinavian Jormungandr or the Mediterranean snake of eternity, biting its own tail. However, the circular boundary of the universe can be not only flat, but also spatial - for example, the Vedic hymns speak of the wall of the Great Waters (like a thousand columns), over which the world ruler Varuna rules. Even these few data (the scope of the article does not allow us to cite all possible parallels) is enough to assert that the circle in archaic mythology means not just the universe, but the border separating the world of people, the World of Order, from external Chaos.
This is the universal meaning of the circle on the Banner of Peace. However, there is another parallel that should not be forgotten. This is a circle in Buddhist iconography associated with the image of Maitreya.
There is no need to recall the importance that the cult of Maitreya achieved in the first half of the twentieth century. N.K. Roerich noted in many of his works that all of Asia was gripped by messianic aspirations associated with the Buddha of the Future. According to the sacred Buddhist texts, the bodhisattva Maitreya currently resides in the Tushita sky, from where he will descend to earth in due course. So what is the iconography of the Tushita sky?
The collection of the International Center of the Roerichs contains a beautiful thangka (Buddhist icon), which symbolically represents this high level of the universe. Without dwelling in detail on its symbolism, let us pay attention to the rainbow circle, which contains the image of the Tushita sky. The paradise of Sukhavati is depicted in a similar way. In the form of a sacred circle, Buddhist artists paint the sacred country of Shambhala, the iconography of which correlates with the image of the Wheel of the Law, that is, the symbol of the Buddha’s Teachings. The image of the Wheel of the Law has passed through two and a half thousand years; it was embodied on the famous Lion Capital of Ashoka's Column, which became the coat of arms of independent India.
Thus, in Buddhist art, the circle initially symbolizes the Teachings of the Buddha and the highest ideas about good, and not material, but spiritual good, achieved only by the person himself through tireless work on himself. There is not the slightest doubt that this symbolism was well known to N.K. Roerich and used by him consciously or intuitively.
The Banner of Peace is not only an ideogram, it is also colors: dark red on lily white. The color scheme is very simple, and the more powerful its symbolic meaning, the more subconscious associations it evokes.
White, red and black are the most ambivalent (two-valued) colors. They equally embody the image of both life-giving and otherworldly principles. We do not say “deadly”, because in the archaic worldview (preserved as the subconscious of modern man) there is no analogue to the modern tragic and catastrophic concept of death: existence is perceived as a cycle, where the end of one thing is followed by the beginning of another, and in particular, life in the world of people - life in another world.
No matter how many times we list the meanings of white and red, our list will not be complete. Therefore, from the whole variety of their meanings, we will select only those that seem to most clearly correlate with the Banner of Peace.
Books of the Teaching of Living Ethics
There can be no international agreement and mutual understanding without culture. The popular understanding cannot embrace all the needs of evolution without culture. Therefore, the Banner of Peace contains all the subtle concepts that will lead peoples to the concept of culture. Humanity does not know how to show respect for what is the immortality of the spirit. The Banner of Peace will give an understanding of this great meaning. Humanity cannot flourish without knowledge of the greatness of culture. The Banner of Peace will open the gates to a better future. When countries are on the path to destruction, even the least spiritual must understand what the ascent consists of. Truly, salvation is in culture. Thus, the Banner of Peace carries a better future.
Verily, the Banner of Peace will unite all cultural tasks and give the world the achievement that is so needed. Thus, those who carry an aspiring quest will respond to all statements. The nations will truly unite under this Banner.
The time when the Heat-Color is revealed cannot be easy. The Banner of Peace is not given at the bazaar. Thus, we will be united in a single invincible desire.
Therefore, the most terrible thing is apostasy and belittlement of the Teacher. Thus, when We implement a new statement, we must strive with all our spirit on the path of fulfilling the Higher Will. Therefore, when We affirm the great significance of the Banner of Peace, one must accept it in spirit. Truly, this is how the world’s salvation will come! The time is great, the time is so significant!
So in the Age of Fire, when Light fights darkness, the appearance of the Banner of Peace is the main sign that will give a new step to humanity. So under this sign Beauty, Knowledge, Art and all nations will unite. So only the highest measures are applicable to the Banner, truly!
It is difficult to separate the three basic natures within yourself. Of course, fiery fragments will be fragmentary. Should it be like this? Only descent into the darkness of chaos pushes back the integrity of the Fiery Image. The thought of the three fundamentals can enrich the concept of the three bodies, but it is one thing to begin to think, and quite another to continue and develop thinking.
Letters
Banner of Peace, Unity of Women in the name of a New Era of Culture there are two gigantic historical tasks
Now I just want to tell Radna that she wrote beautifully about the school and the museum, but in vain she pointed out that the main significance of the Banner of Peace is in saving lives. This value, I must say, is the smallest, and we, the Master’s disciples, should understand this! War is terrible not because of death, but because of the horrors of destruction and injury. In addition, many epidemics claim far more victims than wars. Didn't the Spanish influenza exceed the death rate from the last war? A busy and short life often gives the spirit much more advancement. How terrible it is to drag out a long old age, burdened with infirmities and aimless! Thus, death should not be seen as a disaster, but as a bright opportunity for new accumulation and advancement. Of course, I say this only for you, because many sentimental people see precisely only this goal of the Banner of Peace and, if their consciousness does not accommodate them, they should not be slandered, even if they support the great Banner from this angle. The main goal of the Banner of Peace is to unite the consciousnesses of the whole world on the understanding of cultural values, on the awareness of the self-sufficient and guiding significance of the creativity of the human spirit, leading to the awareness of the Hierarchy of Beauty and Knowledge. And there are other meanings that Oyana will tell you better.
Now all our thoughts and aspirations are directed to the Convention in Washington. Many fierce battles take place near the Banner, and the line between Light and darkness is clearly marked. We are told to mark everyone who is against the Banner, for this will be the true division of Light and darkness. And it is wonderful to see that all those who refused to participate in this Convention in one way or another are supporters of the recognition of atheists. But there are also many bright signs, and everything is shaping up as has long been indicated. Therefore, with a cheerful mind, we continue to advance our cultural cause and follow the planned milestones, which appear so timely and definitely at every turn.
The sign of this triad is found all over the World and can have several interpretations.
It can be accepted as a trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit; as a symbol of the past, present and future included in the ring of Eternity; as science, art and religion in a single circle of Culture; as Beauty, Love and action; as Fire, energy and Hierarchy; like three Worlds - Earthly, Subtle, Fiery; like three bodies - physical, subtle and Fiery. But no matter how the Sign was interpreted, it always had a universal character.
The oldest symbol of India - Chintamani - the Sign of Happiness, includes this triad. It can be seen in the Heavenly Temple in Beijing. This Sign is associated with the Three Treasures of Tibet. It appears in the famous painting by Memling (Netherlands painter, circa 1440-94) on the chest of Christ, on Our Lady of Strasbourg, on the shields of the Crusaders and on the coat of arms of the Knights Templar.
This sign is also on the swords of Caucasians, the so-called “gurds”. This symbol is associated with several philosophical systems. It appears on the images of Geser Khan and Rigden Dzhapo, on the “tamga” of Tamerlane and on the coat of arms of the popes. He is depicted in paintings by ancient Spanish artists and Titian, on ancient icons of St. Nicholas, St. Sergius and the Holy Trinity.
The sign of the Banner of Peace appears on the coat of arms of Samarkand, on the antiquities of Ethiopia and the Copts, on the rocks of Mongolia, on Tibetan rings and on breastplates in Lahol, Ladakh and almost all the Himalayan lands, as well as on Neolithic pottery. This sign is often found on Buddhist flags.
This symbol is of great antiquity and is found throughout the World, therefore it cannot be limited to any sect, organization, religion or tradition, as well as personal or group interests, for it represents the evolution of consciousness in all its phases.
The Sign of the Banner of Peace carries high, pure energy and, consciously accepted, is the best protection against many diseases, troubles and the influence of the forces of darkness.
This sign is a symbol of the coming New World and boundless, immortal Life.
Therefore, it is difficult to find a more suitable symbol that unites all peoples and races.
According to the thoughts of Nicholas Roerich (embodied in the international Pact), just as flags with the Red Cross protect hospitals and clinics, so the Banners of Peace should fly over museums, theaters, libraries and other cultural institutions in order to save them from destruction.
The Roerich Pact and the Banner of Peace attracted the attention of the wider world community. Romain Rolland, Bernard Shaw, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Rabindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru, Herbert Wales spoke in support of the Pact.
In 1954, in The Hague, on the basis of the Roerich Pact, the final act of the International Conference on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was signed. The Convention was ratified by many countries, including the USSR.
The human heart wants peace - many people on all continents understand the Call for Culture, for Bright cooperation, they strive to save and preserve cultural values, like all the best created by humanity.
And this Sacred Symbol, given from Above to all humanity, and dating back many thousands of years, was secretly registered by the dark forces in the Russian Patent and Trademark Agency as the “ICR trademark”! That is, Shaposhnikova committed a Cosmic crime - blasphemy, which, according to Cosmic Laws, is considered especially grave and is not forgiven (including to those who support this blasphemy). Thus, the leadership of the “international center of the Roerichs” and its followers finally exposed themselves as servants of darkness under the guise of Light and established a terrible future for themselves.
But the time is not far when the Sign of the Banner of Peace - a symbol of peace, a symbol of the New Cosmic Consciousness and cultural unification of humanity, will become the property of all people and will be established in every Bright human heart.
Truly, now, on the threshold of the most formidable Events in the entire history of the Earth, this Sign for humanity is a Symbol of the Battle for Light, for Salvation!
The Banner of Peace is an integral part of the Roerich Pact for the protection of cultural property in both war and peace.
It is a white cloth on which is depicted an amaranth circle, and inside it are three amaranth circles.
Each banner carries a certain symbolism. The Banner of Peace is no exception.
What does it mean? N.K. Roerich wrote in 1939: “They ask me to explain where the signs of our Banner of Peace are. Now they explain it differently: some say that it is the past, present and future, united by a ring of eternity. For others, the explanation is closer, a hundred religion, knowledge and art in the ring of eternity. Probably, among the numerous similar images in ancient times, there were also all sorts of explanations...”
Of course, this interpretation given by Nikolai Konstantinovich is unusually close to the meaning, to the content of the Roerich Pact.
It cannot be said that these signs arose only in eras close to our time. No, on the contrary, these signs lead to distant prehistoric (before the Nativity of Christ) time.
In ancient times, the very passage of time was thought of as cyclical. “After birth comes death, and after death comes birth again,” that is, the whole history repeats itself in time. Thus, in the hymns of the ancient Indian Rig Veda, the victory of the thunder god over the serpent can be in the past, in the future or in the present time.
Like many of us now, so in distant past times, the bipolarity of every manifested thing, every energy is clear to a developed person. But, in addition, there is a middle state between them or above them. And this concept was expressed by three dots: two in one row, and one above them.
In ancient agricultural cultures, the dot denoted seedlings, or a half-blooming sprout, that is, it was a symbol of nascent life. But in each sprout there is a root, a stem, a leaf, then again this is a designation of the trinity.
But it is possible that the three points are the trinity of life: father, mother and child.
This trinity includes the image of trefoils on the clothes of priests in the Indus Valley in the 15th - 11th millennia BC. The same shamrocks were on the clothes of priests in Ireland even before the advent of Christianity.
There is also an interpretation of this symbol relating to the three worlds. In ancient India, these three worlds were sky, earth and the air between them. And with the emergence of Buddhism, worlds were established: “the world of passions” - our earth, the underworld and the world of the gods; then the “world of forms” and the even higher “world without forms”, which was more subtle.
And in the Teaching of Living Ethics the worlds are noted: kama - passions, rupa - form and arupa - without form. They correspond to the Dense, Subtle and Fiery worlds.
Scientists offer another interpretation of the trinity - a solar sign: dawn, noon, sunset. This was reflected in the wooden carvings of Russian huts. And in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” the sun is called three-light.
And one more interpretation of the sign of the trinity. Scientists believe. That in ancient times primitive people did not have counting, but had a trinity - three grammatical numbers: singular, dual and plural. Hence the three-headed snake in fairy tales (super-gluttony), hence the saying: “Eats in three throats,” hence the three fairy-tale kingdoms, the hero’s three difficult tasks (testing all possible qualities). It was even believed that spells had to be cast three times.
The Trinity occurs in religious and philosophical systems. So in ancient Egypt there was a triad of gods: Mother, father, son. Examples are Isis, Osiris and Horus. In the Greek Great Dionysian Mysteries, three tragic poets were required to create three tragic poems.
And the Neoplatonists had a triad: spirit, soul and body.
And in Christianity there are many images of the Trinity on images, on icons, on the clothes of clergy, even on knightly weapons.
The symbolic meaning of the circle is also great. It means integrity, completeness. In the “Secret Doctrine” of H. P. Blavatsky, the first emergence of the Universe after Prolaya (fading) is presented in the form of a white circle on a black background.
In Buddhism, on tanhas (Buddhist icons), the Tushita sky (highest Heaven) is delimited by a rainbow circle. One can also recall the “Three Jewels” in Buddhism (Buddha, His Teachings and Community). You can also recall the three bodies of the Buddha, the three degrees of knowledge: ignorance, logical knowledge and the highest - intuitive. The latter, as the Teaching of Living Ethics tells us, is straight-knowledge of the heart.
It is noteworthy that the Banner of Peace is made in two colors: amaranth and white.
White color, as everyone knows, means purity. It is a symbol of Light, radiance and Beauty. He connects with the Higher World and the image of the Mother of the World. Red color (amaranth), the color of blood, symbolizes the lower world, the world of dense matter, the world of passions, the world of animal life. And the combination of these colors symbolizes the connection between the Higher World (the World of Spirit) and the lower (body).
The Banner of Peace has many meanings; many religions have used its symbolism. But its meaning is much deeper, it is sacred. And we cannot consider the full depth of the meaning of the symbols to be exhausted. N.K. Roerich said: “No one can claim that this sign belongs to only one belief or is based on only one folklore. And no one, no country, no organization, no religion has the right to consider it only theirs. It belongs to the whole world. “The Sign of the Trinity turned out to be spread throughout the World,” wrote N.K. Roerich.
And another quote from N.K. Roerich: “Chintamani - India’s oldest idea of the happiness of the world - contains this sign. In the Temple of Heaven in China you will find the same image. The Tibetan “Three Treasures” talk about the same thing. In the famous painting by Memling, this sign is clearly visible on the chest of Christ. It is also present in the image of the Strasbourg Madonna. The same sign is on the shields of the Crusaders and on the coats of arms of the Templars. Gurda, the famous Caucasian blades, bear the same sign. Can't we distinguish it in philosophical symbols? He is also in the images of Geser Khan and Rigden Dzhapo. It’s on Tamerlane’s tamga. It was also on the papal coat of arms. It can also be found in ancient Spanish paintings and in a painting by Titian. He is on the ancient icon of St. Nicholas in Bar. The same sign on the ancient image of St. Sergius. It is on the coat of arms of Samarkand. He is also in Ethiopia and in Coptic antiquities. He's on the rocks of Mongolia. He is on Tibetan rings. The horse of fortune on the Himalayan mountain passes bears the same sign, shining in the flame. He is also on the chest brooches of Lahul, Ladakh and all the Himalayan highlands. It is also on Buddhist banners. Following into the depths of the Neolithic, we find the same sign in pottery ornaments.
That is why the same sign was chosen for the banner of the all-unifying, which passed through many centuries - or rather, through millennia."
The work used material from the article by A.L. Barkova “Symbolism of Roerich’s Banner of Peace” from the site “Day of Culture”
and N.K. Roerich Banner of Peace" M. 1999
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We will also hear about the World Day of Culture, when all schools and educational societies will simultaneously devote a day to the awareness of national and world treasures.” (N.K. Roerich, GREETINGS TO THE CONFERENCE OF THE BANNER OF PEACE, Power of Light, 1931).
Recently, on June 24, 2019, the Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow considered in open court an administrative case on the administrative claim of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for Moscow against the International Public Organization League for the Defense of Culture (MLZK) for the liquidation of a non-profit organization, for recognition as having ceased its activities and its exclusion from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (USRLE).
