Mr. Ableev defines the term that he himself introduces - "orthodox religion". If it is applied not to the "artifact" created by him, but to religion as such, then this definition will not work. The shaman will not say "I believe"; He is more likely to say "I know" (I know that if you say such and such a spell, there will be such and such a result). In general, only a developed religion, capable of developed philosophical reflection and intellectual honesty, can define the object of its hope as faith, and not as indubitable "knowledge" or as a self-evident adherence to the "law" (it is no accident that in the first six books of the Old Testament there is no word "faith" at all). It is precisely primitive religious-magical practices that are incapable of taking this step...

In addition, there is much in the theosophical doctrines themselves that cannot be verified, clarified and confirmed according to the criteria by which in modern science a certain thesis is transferred from the category of believed "hypotheses" to the category of proven knowledge. How to characterize from the point of view of scientific methodology the statement that "The anthropoid type of apes originated from the copulation of man with female animals"259? There are also many demands for faith and obedience, rejection of all doubts in Roerich's texts:

"So, let us proceed to the transmutation of all our energies. Let us begin with the most stubborn energy of egoism, that fierce dragon of egoism with all its tail—self-conceit, selfishness, apprehension, doubt, and the like—and replace it with the wings of affirmation of unity, full solidarity with all co-workers, recognition of Hierarchy, joyful consolidation of deeds given, gratitude for just instructions, and let us conclude with trust to the end. All this transmutation is so facilitated when hearts burn with devotion and love for Him Who called us to build and showed us the way to the Towers!" 260. "And now I would like to ask, or rather I pray, all those close to you, in view of the terrible times, to be imbued with a feeling of great trust in the Great Lord, such a trust that does not admit of any deviations, any fleeting doubts and aspirations. By the way, let us also recall the feat of H. P. Blavatsky, who was an example of complete trust and loyalty. Her lion's heart knew neither fear nor doubt. She bravely bore her commission, and where something was unclear to her, she walked just as firmly, for a great unbreakable faith lived in her heart. Are there many disciples who have never allowed in the depths of their consciousness the stirring of a small snake of doubt or condemnation?" 261. "The corrosive worm of discontent must be expelled from every cooperative" (Brotherhood 1,544).

"Urusvati (this is the occult name of Helena Roerich, as she is called by the spirits conversing with her – A.K.) can calmly accept everything. As much as self-confidence in action is blessed, so much is self-conceit destructive. You have no conceit."262 "You will be told about terrible occult secrets, but you will approach simply, firm in yourself. We learn the unknown as we approach it. There is no need to talk about it in advance, because we do not even know its boundaries" (Signs of Agni Yoga, 303) zzzz.

In general, all occult, theosophical, yogic treatises are filled with advice of spiritual fearlessness: start experiments, enter the realm of spirits without looking back, and do not worry about anything. "Without miracles, without bowing, you will find a clear reality, and with the pickaxe of the tester you will open the closed depths" (Community, 121). This is a very interesting formulation of the problem: one must enter the world of the Highest, but "without bowing"; to enter the Temple — but not to venerate the Shrine... However, the spirits who met Helena Roerich made such an impression on her that she could not bow at all: she had a feeling of her own literal inflexibility. "After a certain step one must not bend, for like mercury in the glass of a thermometer, a column of energy rises" (Signs of Agni Yoga, 302)bbbbb.

In principle, "without bowing" is indeed the basis of scientific research. A psychologist who studies "altered states of consciousness" (even from his own experience) should keep records of his own experiences and analyze them in this way. Like a doctor who has inoculated himself with a disease, calmly and objectively notes the signs of its course ("fever. … a rash appeared... by morning there were nightmares..."). But if this doctor treats his nightmares as the source of the highest truth, if for him the visions he has experienced become the criterion of truth, then in this conviction he will cease to be a doctor, having already become a patient...

In principle, "without bowing" is indeed the basis of scientific research. A psychologist who studies "altered states of consciousness" (even from his own experience) should keep records of his own experiences and analyze them in this way. Like a doctor who has inoculated himself with a disease, calmly and objectively notes the signs of its course ("fever has risen... a rash appeared... by morning there were nightmares..."). But if this doctor treats his nightmares as the source of the highest truth, if for him the visions he has experienced become the criterion of truth, then in this conviction he will cease to be a doctor, becoming a patient...

I understand that here we are entering the space of the most intense philosophical discussions about what "reality" is, how "external reality" and "internal reality" relate to each other. Of course, "science" is a socially conditioned (and thus limited) institution, of course the "reality" that science investigates is the reality that has been modeled with the help of the thoughts and knowledge transmitted to us by the social group to which we belong.

But if Theosophy claims to be called a science, then it must accept the rules of the "game" that are accepted in science. If Theosophy wants to be called "culture," it must understand that the space of intracultural communication is a space generated by a certain set of conventionalisms. The alternative to this is autism, complete isolation from one's inner experience without any hope of communicating it and transmitting it to people. Or "LSD culture": a whimsical collage, a ligature of words that do not pretend to be perceived by anyone else according to the laws of classical logic.

But Roerich does not just communicate the structure of his inner reality in his own language. They insist that their personal inner reality is universally significant. They insist that the voices they hear and the visions they contemplate carry the truth necessary for all mankind.

This is the uniqueness of Roerichism. For the first time, perhaps, a certain group of people tried not only to build their personal lives on the basis of the experience gained in the "altered state of consciousness", but also presented it as the highest point in the development of science, culture and religion of mankind, and also offered this very experience as the basis for state and social construction (see below about the Roerichs' attempts to get in touch with contemporary state leaders).

Such a high self-assessment of one's own "spiritual experience" stemmed from the content of this experience. The Roerichs embarked on the path of "bowlessness" and rejected both scientific and Orthodox-ascetic discernment and distrust, because they took seriously the call "Call from the abyss of matter the bright messengers"! (Community, 145). Called, they come. Especially to those who cannot and do not want to protect themselves from their visits, who live without any consideration of church experience (remember: "I have always kept quite far from the Church and its representatives"263).

And although sometimes even Helena Roerich admits the existence of spiritual dangers ("When will people understand what terrible forces surround us!") 264, but on the whole her Theosophy offers no criteria for checking the quality of the "revelations" of the CCCC.

As Fr. Sergius Bulgakov quite rightly remarks about Theosophy, "there is no criticism here and every conjecture is taken as a direct revelation of the spiritual worlds."