The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Initiation

[ 1 ] Initiation is the highest stage of esoteric training, about which a text can still offer hints that are generally understandable. Any communication regarding what lies beyond that is difficult to understand. However, anyone who has advanced through preparation, enlightenment, and initiation to the lower mysteries will also find the path to this.

[ 2 ] The knowledge and skills bestowed upon a person through initiation could, without such an initiation, only be acquired in the very distant future—after many incarnations—through a completely different path and in a completely different form. Those who are initiated today experience something that they would otherwise experience much later, under entirely different circumstances.

[ 3 ] A person can truly learn only as much about the mysteries of existence as corresponds to their level of maturity. This is the sole reason why there are obstacles to the higher levels of knowledge and skill. A person should not use a rifle until they have sufficient experience to ensure that its use does not cause harm. – If someone were to be initiated today without further ado, they would lack the experience they are yet to gain through future incarnations, until the corresponding mysteries are bestowed upon them in the regular course of their development. Therefore, at the threshold of initiation, these experiences must be replaced by something else. The first instructions given to the initiate thus consist of a substitute for future experiences. These are the so-called “tests” that he must undergo and that arise as a regular consequence of the life of the soul when exercises, such as those described in the preceding chapters, are correctly continued.

[ 4 ] These “tests” are, of course, often discussed in books. But it is only natural that such discussions generally give rise to completely false ideas about their nature. For anyone who has not undergone the process of preparation and enlightenment has never experienced any of these tests. Such a person cannot describe them accurately either.

[ 5 ] Certain things and facts belonging to the higher worlds must become apparent to the initiate. However, he can see and hear them only if he is able to perceive spiritual sensations such as figures, colors, sounds, and so on, which were described in the sections on “Preparation” and “Enlightenment.”

[ 6 ] The first “test” consists in his gaining a truer perception of the physical properties of inanimate objects, then of plants, animals, and human beings, than the average person possesses. However, this does not refer to what is today called scientific knowledge. For this is not a matter of science, but of perception. — As a rule, the process is such that the initiate learns to recognize how natural objects and living beings reveal themselves to the spiritual ear and the spiritual eye. In a certain sense, these things then stand unveiled—naked—before the observer. The qualities that are heard and seen there remain hidden from the physical eye and the physical ear. They are veiled, as it were, from this physical perception. The fact that this veil is lifted for the initiate is due to a process known as the “spiritual combustion process.” That is why this first test is called the “Trial by Fire.”

[ 7 ] For some people, ordinary life itself is already a more or less unconscious process of initiation through the trial by fire. These are the people who go through such rich experiences that their self-confidence, courage, and steadfastness grow in a healthy way, and that they learn to endure suffering, disappointment, and the failure of their endeavors with magnanimity and, above all, with calmness and unbroken strength. Anyone who has gone through experiences of this kind is often already, without clearly realizing it, an initiate; and then it takes only a few more to open his spiritual ears and eyes, so that he becomes a clairvoyant. For this must be noted: a true “trial by fire” is not about satisfying the candidate’s curiosity. Certainly, they come to know extraordinary realities of which other people have no inkling. But this discovery is not the goal, but merely the means to the goal. The goal, however, is for the candidate, through the knowledge of the higher worlds, to acquire greater and truer self-confidence, greater courage, and a wholly different kind of spiritual greatness and endurance than can generally be attained within the lower world.

[ 8 ] After the “trial by fire,” any candidate may still turn back. He will then continue his life strengthened both physically and spiritually, and will likely not continue his initiation until his next incarnation. In his present life, however, he will be a more useful member of human society than he was before. Whatever situation they may find themselves in, their steadfastness, their prudence, their positive influence on others, and their determination will have increased.

[ 9 ] If, after passing the trial by fire, the candidate wishes to continue the secret training, a specific writing system must now be revealed to him, as is customary in secret training. It is in these writing systems that the actual secret teachings are revealed. For that which is truly “hidden” (occult) in things can neither be directly expressed in the words of ordinary language nor recorded using ordinary writing systems. Those who have learned from the initiates translate the teachings of esoteric science into ordinary language as best they can. The occult script reveals itself to the soul once it has attained spiritual perception. For this script is always written in the spiritual world. One does not learn it in the same way one learns to read an artificial script. Rather, one grows in an appropriate manner toward clairvoyant knowledge, and during this growth, the power develops—like a spiritual faculty—that feels compelled to decipher the existing events and beings of the spiritual world as if they were the characters of a script. It may be that this power—and with it, the experience of the corresponding “test”—awakens of its own accord as the soul develops. Yet one reaches the goal more reliably by following the instructions of experienced occult researchers who are skilled in deciphering the occult script.

[ 10 ] The symbols of the secret script are not arbitrarily devised, but correspond to the forces at work in the world. Through these symbols, one learns the language of things. The candidate soon realizes that the symbols he is learning correspond to the figures, colors, tones, and so on that he has learned to perceive during his preparation and initiation. It becomes clear to him that everything that came before was merely a form of spelling. Only now does he begin to read in the higher world. Everything that was previously only an isolated figure, sound, or color now appears to him within a larger context. Only now does he gain true confidence in observing the higher worlds. Before, he could never know with certainty whether the things he had seen were indeed seen correctly. And only now can a structured communication take place between the candidate and the initiate in the realms of higher knowledge. For however the coexistence of an initiate with another human being may be shaped in ordinary life: regarding higher knowledge in its immediate form, the initiate can communicate only through the aforementioned sign language.

[ 11 ] Through this language, the initiate also becomes familiar with certain rules of conduct for life. He learns of certain duties of which he previously knew nothing. And once he has become familiar with these rules of conduct, he can accomplish things that have a significance that the deeds of an uninitiated person can never possess. He acts from the higher worlds. The instructions for such actions can only be understood in the text referred to.

[ 12 ] It must be emphasized, however, that there are people who are capable of performing such acts unconsciously, even though they have not undergone secret training. Such “helpers of the world and humanity” go through life bestowing blessings and doing good. For reasons that need not be discussed here, they have been endowed with gifts that appear supernatural. What distinguishes them from the initiate is merely that the latter acts with consciousness, with full insight into the entire context. Through training, the initiate attains what has been bestowed upon the former by higher powers for the good of the world. One may sincerely revere those blessed by God; but for that reason, one must not consider the work of training to be superfluous.

[ 13 ] Once the secret student has mastered the aforementioned symbolic script, he faces another “test.” This test is intended to determine whether he can move freely and confidently in the higher world. In ordinary life, a person is driven to act by external impulses. They do this or that because circumstances impose these or those duties upon them. – It hardly needs to be mentioned that the secret student must not neglect any of his duties in ordinary life, because he lives in higher worlds. No duty in a higher world can compel anyone to disregard a single one of his duties in the ordinary world. The family man remains just as good a family man, the mother just as good a mother; the civil servant is not hindered in any way, nor is the soldier or anyone else, when they become secret students. On the contrary: all the qualities that make a person capable in life are heightened in the secret student to a degree that the uninitiated cannot even conceive of. And even if this often—not always, indeed rarely—does not appear to be the case to the uninitiated, it stems solely from the fact that they are not always able to judge the initiate correctly. What the latter does is sometimes not immediately transparent to the other. But even that, as mentioned, is only noticeable in special cases.

[ 14 ] For those who have reached the aforementioned stage of initiation, there are now duties for which there is no external impetus. In these matters, they are not prompted by external circumstances, but only by those guidelines that are revealed to them in the “hidden” language. Now, through the second “test,” he must demonstrate that, guided by such a directive, he acts just as confidently and resolutely as, for example, a civil servant performs the duties incumbent upon him. — To this end, through the secret training, the candidate will feel compelled to undertake a specific task. He is to carry out an action based on perceptions he gains from what he has learned during the preparatory and enlightenment stages. And he must recognize what he is to do through the symbolic script he has mastered. If he recognizes his duty and acts correctly, then he has passed the test. Success is recognized by the change that takes place in the perceptions of the spiritual ears and eyes—perceived as figures, colors, and sounds—as a result of the action. The stages of the secret training specify very precisely what these figures and so on look like and how they are perceived after the action. And the candidate must know how to bring about such a change. – This test is called the “water test” because, when active in these higher realms, the individual lacks the support provided by external circumstances—just as one lacks support when moving in water whose bottom one cannot reach. – The process must be repeated as often as necessary until the candidate has complete confidence.

[ 15 ] This trial, too, involves the acquisition of a quality; and through experiences in the higher world, the human being develops this quality to such a high degree in a short time that, in the ordinary course of development, he would likely have to go through many incarnations to achieve it. What matters, in fact, is the following: In order to bring about the specified change in the higher realm of existence, the candidate must simply follow what arises for him on the basis of his higher perception and as a result of his reading of the hidden scripture. If, during the course of his action, he were to interject any of his desires, opinions, and so on—if for even a moment he were to follow not the laws he has recognized as correct, but his own whims—then something entirely different from what is intended would occur. In this case, the candidate would immediately lose sight of the goal of his action, and confusion would ensue. – Therefore, through this trial, a person has ample opportunity to develop his self-control. And that is what matters. Once again, this trial can therefore be passed more easily by those who, prior to initiation, have led a life that has enabled them to acquire self-control. Whoever has acquired the ability to follow high principles and ideals while setting aside personal whims and caprices, whoever understands how to fulfill one’s duty even when inclinations and sympathies are all too eager to divert one from that duty—such a person is unconsciously already an initiate in the midst of ordinary life. And only a little will be needed for them to pass the test described. Indeed, it must even be said that a certain degree of initiation—already attained unconsciously in life—will, as a rule, be absolutely necessary to pass the second test. For just as it is difficult for many people who did not learn to write properly in their youth to make up for this once they have reached full maturity, so too is it difficult to develop the necessary degree of self-control when gaining insight into the higher worlds if one has not already acquired a certain degree of it in everyday life. Things in the physical world do not change, no matter what we wish for, desire, or whatever inclinations we may have. In the higher worlds, however, our wishes, desires, and inclinations have an effect on things. If we wish to influence things there in an appropriate manner, we must have complete control over ourselves, must follow only the correct guidelines, and must not be subject to any caprice.

[ 16 ] A quality of the human being that is of particular importance at this stage of initiation is an absolutely sound and sure power of judgment. The development of such a faculty must already be cultivated at all earlier stages; and at this stage, it must become evident whether the candidate exercises it in a way that makes him suitable for the true path of knowledge. He can only progress if he is able to distinguish illusion, unfounded figments of the imagination, superstition, and all manner of deception from true reality. And at the higher stages of existence, this is initially more difficult than at the lower ones. There, every prejudice, every cherished opinion must fade away with regard to the matters that matter; and truth alone must be the guiding principle. There must be a complete willingness to immediately abandon a thought, a view, or a tendency whenever logical thinking demands it. Certainty in higher worlds can only be attained if one never spares one’s own opinion.

[ 17 ] People whose way of thinking tends toward fantasy and superstition cannot make any progress on the secret path. The secret disciple is meant to attain a precious treasure. All doubts about the higher worlds are removed from him. These worlds reveal themselves to him through their laws. But he cannot attain this treasure as long as he allows himself to be deceived by deceptions and illusions. It would be disastrous for him if his imagination and prejudices were to override his reason. Dreamers and fantasists are just as unsuited to the secret path as superstitious people. This cannot be emphasized enough. For in daydreaming, fantasy, and superstition lurk the worst enemies on the path to knowledge of higher worlds. Nor, however, should anyone believe that the initiate will lose the poetry of life or the capacity for enthusiasm, for above the gate leading to the second trial of initiation are inscribed the words: “All prejudices must fall away from you,” and because at the entrance to the first trial he must already read: “Without common sense, all your steps are in vain.”

[ 18 ] Once the candidate has progressed far enough in this manner, the third “test” awaits him. In this test, no goal is apparent to him. Everything is left up to him. He finds himself in a situation where nothing prompts him to act. He must find his own way entirely on his own. There are no things or people to move him to action. Nothing and no one can now give him the strength he needs—except himself. If he did not find this strength within himself, he would very soon find himself back where he started. Yet it must be said that only a few of those who have passed the previous trials will fail to find this strength here. Either one falls behind earlier, or one succeeds here as well. All that is necessary is to quickly come to terms with oneself. For here one must find one’s “higher self” in the truest sense of the word. One must quickly resolve to listen to the Spirit’s inspiration in all things. There is no longer any time here for any hesitations, doubts, and so on. Every minute of hesitation would only prove that one is not yet ready. Whatever prevents one from listening to the Spirit must be boldly overcome. What matters is to demonstrate presence of mind in this situation. And that is also the quality whose complete development is the goal at this stage of evolution. All temptations to act—and even to think—to which a person was previously accustomed come to an end. In order not to remain inactive, a person must not lose themselves. For only within themselves can they find the one firm point to which they can cling. No one reading this without further familiarity with the subject should feel any aversion to this being forced to rely on oneself. For it means the greatest bliss for a person when he passes the test described here.

[ 19 ] And just as in other cases, everyday life itself serves as a secret school for many people in this regard. For those who have reached the point where, when suddenly confronted with life’s challenges, they are capable of making a swift decision without hesitation or much deliberation, life is such a school. The appropriate situations are those in which successful action becomes immediately impossible unless the person intervenes swiftly. Whoever is quick to act when misfortune is in sight—where a few moments’ hesitation would have already caused the misfortune to occur—and whoever has made such swift decisiveness a permanent trait within themselves has unconsciously attained the maturity required for the third “test.” For what matters here is the development of unconditional presence of mind. In the secret schools, it is called the “Air Test,” because during it the candidate can rely neither on the solid ground of external circumstances nor on what arises from the colors, forms, and so on, which he has come to know through preparation and enlightenment, but exclusively on himself.

[ 20 ] If the secret disciple has passed this test, he is then permitted to enter the “Temple of Higher Knowledge.” – Anything further to be said about this can only be the most tentative hint. – What must now be accomplished is often expressed by saying that the initiate must take an “oath” not to “betray” anything of the secret teachings. Yet the terms “oath” and “betray” are by no means appropriate and are even misleading at first glance. This is not an “oath” in the ordinary sense of the word. Rather, at this stage of development, one undergoes a experience. One learns how to apply the secret teachings, how to place them in the service of humanity. One begins to truly understand the world. What matters here is not the “concealment” of the higher truths, but rather the right way, the appropriate tact, to represent them. What one learns to “keep silent” about is something entirely different. One acquires this wonderful quality, in fact, with regard to many things one previously spoke about—namely, the way in which one spoke. A poor initiate would be one who did not place the mysteries he has experienced in the service of the world, as well and to the extent that this is possible. There is no obstacle to communication in this realm other than a lack of understanding on the part of the one who is to receive it. The higher mysteries, however, are not suited to casual discussion. But nothing is “forbidden” to say for anyone who has attained the described stage of development. No other person and no being imposes such an “oath” upon him. Everything is placed under his own responsibility. What he learns is to determine, entirely on his own, what he must do in every situation. And the “oath” means nothing other than that the person has matured enough to bear such responsibility.

[ 21 ] Once the candidate has matured to the state described, he receives what is symbolically referred to as the “drink of forgetfulness.” For he is initiated into the mystery of how to act without being constantly disturbed by the lower memory. This is necessary for the initiate. For he must always have complete trust in the immediate present. He must be able to dispel the veils of memory that spread around a person at every moment of life. If I judge something I encounter today based on what I experienced yesterday, I am subject to numerous errors. Of course, this does not mean that one should deny the experience gained in life. One should always keep it in mind as best one can. But as an initiate, one must have the ability to judge every new experience from within oneself, to allow it to affect one unclouded by the past. At every moment, I must be prepared for the fact that any thing or being can bring me a completely new revelation. If I judge the new by the old, I am subject to error. It is precisely in this way that the memory of past experiences is most useful to me: by enabling me to see what is new. If I did not have a certain experience, I might not even see a quality of a thing or a being that comes before me. But experience should serve precisely to see the new, not to judge the new by the old. In this regard, the initiate acquires very specific abilities. Through them, many things are revealed to him that remain hidden from the uninitiated.

[ 22 ] The second “potion” administered to the initiate is the “potion of remembrance.” Through it, the initiate gains the ability to keep the higher mysteries constantly present in the mind. Ordinary memory would not suffice for this. One must become completely one with the higher truths. One must not only know them, but also handle them as a matter of course in living action, just as an ordinary person eats and drinks. They must become a matter of practice, habit, and inclination. One need not even think about them in the ordinary sense; they must present themselves through the person, flowing through him like the vital functions of his organism. In this way, he increasingly becomes, in a spiritual sense, what nature has made him to be in the physical sense.