Agni Yoga Series: Helena Roerich on Abortion 1933-1934

 

The ability to discern the real state of things and to see the true colors of people is the basic requirement to enter the Path. ~Helena Roerich

The value of human life in the womb is not, as noted before, a new concept or one embraced only by those of Christian or Orthodox religions.  Before Elizabeth Clare Prophet's teachings on abortion in the late 1900's, were those of Helena Roerich, wife of Nicholas Roerich*, (now the Ascended Master Nicholas Roerich), and the amanuensis for the Master Morya.

Below, are a few teachings on the topic of abortion that can be found in the Agni Yoga Series. Considering that they are just a decade shy of being a century old, if you did not know the date of their publication, you might think you were reading something from a contemporary spiritual or esoteric organization.

Letters of Helena Roerich I

Letters I, 19 June 1933

And now let us turn to the subject of abortion. To deal with this problem now is quite timely. There appear currently the most disgusting articles about it and some of them are written with the approval of the clergy. On this subject I shall quote some paragraphs from the Teaching:

“The spirit is connected with the embryo at the moment of conception. It begins to enter in the beginning of the fourth month when the first nerve and brain channels are being formed. The formation of the vertebral column brings in the next degree of possession of the body. Wonderful is the moment of birth, when the consciousness of the spirit flashes up brightly and then blends with matter. There are even cases when words are pronounced at birth. The final possession of the body takes place at the seventh year of a child’s life.” It is also said, “Even as hunger directs toward food, so the spirit is directed toward incarnation, as only matter can give the new impulses.”

Therefore, it is not hard to imagine how much suffering the spirit that is ready to incarnate endures from the forced interruption of life already begun, or from the averting of an incarnation even planned by karma. What a difficult karma the ignorant and criminal parents prepare for themselves!

Letters 1, 17 April 1934

3. You mentioned a most painful problem of today’s life—the question of the legality of abortion. Of course, there are no two opinions on this subject: abortion is most definitely murder. Therefore, only in cases where the mother’s life is in danger should it take place. But it is wrong to think that a woman who is guilty of abortion always attracts low spirits. The karma of the whole family should be taken into consideration. Often we can notice that in a family where one of the children is worthless the other children are not bad. Karma ties groups of people for long, long thousands of years. And often, even a high spirit has not unimpeachable, irreproachable parents. And it is significant that the dark forces are especially against the reincarnation of highly developed spirits, and they try their best to prevent the reincarnations that are dangerous for them. And, once more, it is not the purgatory of the Subtle World that prevents spirits from reincarnating, but only the crime of the parents. There is not a more powerful purgatory than the earthly life, if all the potentialities of the individuality are intensified. It is said in the Teaching, “As the one who hungers longs for food, even so, the spirit that is ready to incarnate longs for the new incarnation.” Therefore, one can imagine what suffering the spirit undergoes by reason of artificial prevention. The spirit is connected with the embryo at the moment of conception, and gradually enters the body in the fourth month when the nerve and brain channels are being formed. Therefore, abortion is permissible only in exceptional cases.

7. Certainly, I approve of the fight against abortion, but how will you fight this evil? There are no laws which can either preserve or forbid anything. That is why I, personally, think that first of all you must battle by uplifting the level of consciousness of the growing generations, directing it toward the right comprehension of the human cosmic mission in general and that of motherhood in particular. Thoughts should be directed toward creative work and broad problems of the General Good on a cosmic scale. It is important to establish the world’s scale. Again, we return to the same fundamental question: upbringing and education. As the Great Mind expressed it, “The source of all suffering is ignorance,” which is so true; and the history of humanity, with all its dark pages of persecution of the best representatives of knowledge, proves it.

*Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York City, New York Video Tour