16.08.2023

To the 121st Birth Anniversary of George Roerich

“His beautiful image somehow especially glows. Such should be the great Teachers of the past. His whole life is a service to the Good, to mankind, and who will measure all the inexhaustible riches of His inner life”, - this is how Svetoslav Roerich wrote about his elder brother.

Brought up in the spiritual space of an extraordinary family, George Roerich knew from an early age his future path and with great dignity coped with the tasks set before him. Linguist, philologist, art historian, ethnographer, traveler and public figure, he was truly a creative personality. His fundamental research opens up new possibilities for understanding the history and culture of the peoples of the East.

In 1930-1940, George Roerich was the permanent director of the Urusvati Institute. Along with organizational work, he was engaged in the study of Tibetan culture, religion, dialects, published studies and translations. The “Urusvati” journal and the “Tibetica” series were published under his leadership. He worked on a “History of Central Asia” and a Tibetan-Russian-English dictionary with Sanskrit parallels.

His works “Animal Style among the Nomads of Northern Tibet”, “Problems of Tibetan Archaeology”, “The Tibetan Dialect of Lahul”, “To the Study of the Kalachakra” were published. “Ancient wisdom is the key with which the archaeologist and naturalist open the secrets of the culture of the East,” wrote George Roerich. - Once again the time is coming when Eastern knowledge penetrates our life and subordinates science”.

At present, museum exhibitions are open in the buildings of the Institute, but the time will come and the Urusvati Himalayan Research Institute will open its new laboratories for scientists and researchers. It is not by chance that on this solemn day of George Roerich's birth, the Banner of Peace, the Banner of Culture fluttered near the Urusvati Institute, calling everyone to creativity, to unity, to ascension.

The installation of the monument was the final stage of the Indo-Russian cultural project to immortalize the memory of all members of the Roerich family in their memorial estate in the Himalayan Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India. The author of the monuments was the famous sculptor Alexei Leonov.

On the birthday of the outstanding scientist, Russian and Indian employees and guests of the International Roerich Memorial Trust laid flowers at the bronze bust of George Roerich unveiled in October 2022 at the site next to the main building of the Urusvati Himalayan Research Institute. 

All the activities of the Urusvati Institute were based on the ideas of Living Ethics, or Agni Yoga, on the concept of synthesis of ancient knowledge of the East and modern discoveries of the West, meta-science and science. The Institute, headed by its Director, was ahead of its time, laying the foundation for future complex studies.