On the mystical experience and creative method of Helena Ivanovna Roerich, and why we should use psychiatry in disputes on culture

The authors argue with their opponents (Prof. Vladimir Mendelevich and Dr. Joseph Zislin), paying attention to the debatable nature of the use of terminology inherent in various areas of scientific knowledge. In their earlier articles, the authors attempted to analyze published archival documents related to the activities of Helena Ivanovna Roerich and characterized the public reaction to the publication of these documents. The article that became the subject of this discussion generally aimed to clarify the fact of Natalia and Ivan Rokotov’s existence rather than to assess the state of Helena Roerich’s health, which was given in probabilistic form. The authors note that the published documents make it possible to clarify what formed Helena Roerich’s mystical experience. The comparison of the texts of the contactee with both her personal characteristics (level of education, circle of interests) and the state of the philosophical and scientific thought at the time she received the teaching is of great importance. A fragment of the autobiography of A.F. Yalovenko, who observed Helena Roerich and noticed the presence of the so-called “epileptic aura” in her, is given.