The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Platonic Mystics and Docta Ignorantia II

[ 1 ] We have seen that medieval mysticism is based on the concept of the tripartite division of human nature and the entire universe. We have seen how the mystic conceived of the spirit, the body, and the soul. It is in the nature of mystical thinking that the mystic experiences within the spirit what exists outside in nature, that he recreates within himself what nature creates outside. In all knowledge, in all inner experience, he seeks a rebirth of the universe from the human soul. In the laws that govern the universe, he sees the great world thoughts, the world ideas. In this, he stands entirely on the ground of the Platonic worldview. Plato was the great mystic of antiquity, and all those who engaged in mystical contemplation during the Middle Ages were grounded in Platonism. When the mystic therefore perceives the creative thought—the cosmic thought—in nature, then every single thing surrounding the mystic becomes an expression of the spiritual. He distinguishes between: first, the great laws of the world, the creative thoughts; second, formless matter; third, the force into which matter is transformed through the activity of the spirit within it. Thus: first, law or the World Thought; second, matter; third, force. Force arises when the universal thought expresses itself in matter. Nothing could be perceived by the senses if the force did not press upon the senses and exert an effect on them. In the outer physical realm, there are thus three elements. In the soul, the outer world is recreated inwardly.

[ 2 ] In the mystical sense, we distinguish: first, the Father principle, the sum of all sensations and perceptions; second, that which receives the sensation in the soul—called the spiritual Mother; third, consciousness itself, in which the sensation comes to life—called the Son. This is the relationship between sensation, imagination, and thought.

[ 3 ] Within the soul itself, the mystic experiences the Spirit in its innermost being as Spirit directly, in three aspects: first, the Father Spirit, Aristotle’s Unmoved Mover; second, the longing for the Unmoved Mover that lived within the soul: the Word or Logos; third, the coming to life in the spiritual world: this is the Spirit.

[ 4 ] The soul can immerse itself within itself, seeing spiritually through inspiration or intuition. The mystic says: When I look out into nature, the force acts upon me, and I perceive the force acting upon me—called “energetics,” the life of force. — According to Aristotle’s principle, when the soul immerses itself in the external world, it must be animated by sensation. He says: If I wish to see the Unmoved Mover, I must be free from all external sensation. He calls this immersion into the soul “catharsis,” or purification. After catharsis, the soul unites with the spirit when it becomes intuitive, when it does not unite with sensation from the external world.

[ 5 ] Henosis—union—is immersion in the Spirit, union with the divine Primordial Spirit. This can only take place when the soul is purified of external sensation. The mystic calls this purified soul, free from external sensation, the virginal soul, which has not been fertilized by external sensation. Just as the soul is otherwise fertilized by the external world through sensation, so is it fertilized internally through the Idea. When the soul experiences the Idea within itself and allows itself to be virginaly fertilized by the Spirit, then for the mystic this conception is the Immaculate Conception: the Conceptio immaculata. The Idea will produce in the soul not only the Son who reflects the external world, but the Son who is the Spirit Himself. The mystic calls the awakening of the second principle of the Spirit—the Word or Logos—in the virginal soul the awakening of the Christ principle. Thus, the soul can be fertilized through sensation and allow Christ—who is buried in the external world—to rise within itself, or it can be fertilized by the Idea, and then the soul gives birth within itself to the spiritual Christ, the Word or Logos. For Meister Eckhart, in the higher sense, only the one who experiences Christ, the Logos, within himself is a true participant in the Christ principle. It does no good for a person to feel united with God if they regard God as an external reality; it is only beneficial when they allow the Christ principle to come alive within their soul. Master Eckhart’s teachings have time and again set hearts ablaze by showing people that they can become intoxicated when they experience this within themselves. The deepest birth of the spirit must be born from one’s own soul. The mystics have all understood this. Eckhart says that what matters is not the image that has become present, but rather that which is always present within the human being. God and I are one in knowledge. God became human so that I might become God. He further speaks of how, within every single person, the higher, inner human being—who leads upward toward the Spirit—comes to life. Within each person dwell two human beings: the worldly and the spiritual. The inner, spiritual human being follows his own path.

[ 6 ] The outer self can lead a life of its own; but the inner life takes its own course by allowing itself to be nourished from within by the Logos. Time and again, Eckhart reminded people of this through his powerful sermons. The little spark in the soul is what truly matters. The little spark is eternally one.

[ 7 ] When a person experiences the awakening of the little spark, he feels God Himself in his soul. Among mystics, there is an artistic expression: “The soul has settled into the foundation.” — This ties in with the image of the door and its hinge. Just as the hinge, upon which the door pivots, remains motionless, so too does the inner person remain motionless; within, he leads a life of his own. The inner experience of God is what comes about when the soul sinks into its depths. The mystic calls the awareness of the divine life within oneself “serene calm” (Angelus Silesius). The mystic experiences God within himself. Through this, God is present within the human being as if in a dwelling. The mystic sees himself as a mediator between God and the world; he carries out the commands of the Deity that have been imparted to the soul. He holds the belief that God needs human beings; this belief runs like a leitmotif through the entire mystical tradition of the Middle Ages. This is what constitutes the sacred nature of mysticism.

[ 8 ] Eckhart compares the world to a building, and human beings to its building blocks. As a building block, a human being should not withdraw from the universe. The mystic feels united with the primordial divine life: this is the state of being illuminated, which in mysticism is referred to as human self-knowledge. It shows that, just as the mathematician derives numbers, human beings can bring forth the Supreme from within themselves. Self-knowledge becomes immediate enthusiasm, because self-knowledge means devotion to the Divine.

[ 9 ] In Johannes Tauler, this evocative quality of the mystic comes to the fore throughout his entire life: his life was a manifestation of the divine life. He says that as long as I merely discuss and describe the highest divine wisdom, I have not attained what is truly right. I must disappear completely myself and let God speak through me. He says, “God beholds His own laws—through which He created the world—through me; my self is the Self-life: I must allow God to experience Himself within me.”

[ 10 ] Eckhart’s mysticism is a mystical insight; in Tauler we find a mystical way of life. From that time on, a distinctive artistic expression of the mystic emerges: the one who experiences God within himself is called a “friend of God.”

[ 11 ] An unknown figure appeared during Tauler’s sermon; he is called the “Friend of God from the Oberland.” He is never presented to us in any other way than as a mirror, so to speak, of the other figures who are influenced by him. In his Meisterbuch, Johannes Tauler describes how he shared his knowledge of God with others, but he was not yet able to let that life flow forth; then the Friend of God came and bestowed his enlightenment upon Johannes Tauler. The Original Source itself sprang to life within him. For a long time, he gave up preaching altogether and withdrew with the Unknown One from the Oberland to bring himself into the state of mind in which this spiritual life blossomed, so that he made himself a channel of divine wisdom, which then flowed through him into others. His speech gained fervor; he made the greatest impression; people were transformed by his words, which kindled the spark within them. The dying away of everything that lives in the outer world is the coming to life of the new human being: Johannes Tauler was now able to bring this about through the power of his word. Goethe says: “For as long as you do not have this—this dying and becoming—you are but a gloomy guest on this dark earth.” The experience of the Conceptio immaculata is this dying and becoming, in both the lower and higher senses. Those who listened to Tauler experienced the Unio mystica. Just as a person perceives all external beauties that come from without through the senses, so does the mystic perceive the beauty of the spiritual world through Christ, whom he experiences; it is an experience that intoxicates him: this is the true music of the spheres. Just as a person perceives sensual harmony in the world of the senses, so does the mystic perceive within the soul the interconnection of the great laws of the universe, the reign and the creative work of the Logos, of God Himself—the music of the spheres. Through the human soul, the eternal God expresses Himself in His Logos. Johannes Ruysbroek, the Belgian mystic, emphasizes this idea in a particularly intense way. In mysticism, the mystic understands the radiance of the divine source within his own soul. The mystic felt the divinity within himself, through self-knowledge. This is why he found such fiery words to describe it.