The Rudolf Steiner Archive

6. The So-Called Dangers of Initiation

[ 1 ] The accusation that esoteric science is fanciful and dreamy is not the only one leveled against it; many also believe that there are dangers associated with it for those who delve into this esoteric science or spiritual science. In certain circles, there are downright fanciful views regarding these so-called dangers of spiritual science. To begin with, people generally allude to such dangers without even attempting to characterize the alleged dangers in more detail or to specify what they consist of; for where there is sometimes so much talk of these dangers, there is just as often—one might say—a profound ignorance of what the esoteric science actually entails. People simply have a vague notion that it entails something dangerous. Nor do people go into detail about what they absolutely ought to address: whether it is the occult science itself that is dangerous, or rather the deeper penetration into it—through familiarizing oneself with the methods and exercises that lead a person into the spiritual world surrounding us, which is invisible and imperceptible to the ordinary senses but thoroughly perceptible to the higher senses. Anyone who wishes to speak of dangers in this field at all must, however, make this distinction. Yet, as I said, it is often not a matter of pointing to specific dangers at all; rather, it is merely said: “Oh, this esoteric science or this theosophy makes people out of touch with reality, distances them from what they should actually be concerned with in life, from what they should be interested in.” — And many groups find it immensely regrettable that this or that member is seemingly being torn away from them simply because they begin to take an interest in theosophy or the esoteric science on which it is based. This has likely also given rise to the oft-voiced judgment that theosophy makes people impractical, deters them from the immediate duties of life, and drives them toward asceticism and detachment from the world.

[ 2 ] Although this has already been mentioned here by one or two people, it may be worth pointing out once again that the most unfair and, at the same time, the most untenable accusation one can level against esoteric science and its work is that it somehow makes people unworldly or detached from the world, or leads them into asceticism. It must be emphasized time and again that, since our world of the senses our world of physical life is underlaid by a spiritual world with its beings and forces that continually influence our sensory world, anyone who pays no heed to the true and essential forces of existence and wishes to limit himself solely to the external world—to what the senses perceive and what they can enjoy—must be called unworldly and detached from the world. There is no question of Theosophy compelling its adherents to lead an ascetic life, to endure privations, or to be out of touch with the world. It is true, however, that anyone who develops an interest in what flows from the occult science—in what it has to offer—must have different desires, different sympathies, and different antipathies than many people do.

[ 3 ] In a large number of cases, however, it is not the case that those who come into contact with the occult science acquire this interest, these sympathies, and these antipathies only after joining an occult or theosophical circle. People generally bring these feelings with them; their interests draw them into theosophical circles, and what theosophy or the secret science seeks to offer them is nothing other than what they themselves desire. They are not driven away from the circles that say, “... they are becoming estranged from us,” because Theosophy takes them away, but because these circles themselves, with their apparent attachment to the world and their selfish interests, cause them to become more and more estranged. When such a circle laments that this or that member is being taken away from it, it should ask itself: Has Theosophy taken this member from me, or have we driven them away through boredom? If one compares life as it should be in a Theosophical circle with the life of a “worldly” circle that says one must not devote oneself to asceticism, that one must take life as it is, the answer is that the Theosophist does not withdraw from certain things because he wants to tear himself away from life or flee from it, but because he wants to enter into true, genuine life.

[ 4 ] There is no greater asceticism, no more terrible deprivation for those interested in spiritual science, than to devote oneself to the hustle and bustle that many circles simply call “life.” If one calls this “life”—getting up in the morning, reading the newspaper, going about this or that which one can see has practical value, participating in this or that trivial activity in the evening—if one calls this “life,” then there is indeed an “asceticism” for the theosophist, a terrible deprivation, namely, when one is forced to participate in this life. Therefore, if—despite all opposing forces—interest in Theosophy and in what may be publicly revealed from the Esoteric Science is growing ever greater today, this is merely proof that there are more and more people who wish to escape the “ascetic” life of ordinary pleasures and finally throw themselves into the arms of real life. People would have to realize this if they would only take a moment to reflect; for a life of wailing and moaning amid suffering and deprivation is certainly not what life in the Esoteric Science is all about. And the practice of this way of life is, after all, a topic that has already been discussed in the various lectures.

[ 5 ] If those who so often pride themselves on their practical approach to life were to say that theosophy, with its unworldly ideas, only puts strange notions into people’s heads, and that those who devote themselves to such things would never amount to anything in real life—that they merely cast a glance at the world and at what is, on the one hand, called practicality, on the other hand, impractical idealism—they might speak differently. It was a German philosopher, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, who uttered these beautiful words: “That ideals cannot be applied directly in life—idealists know this just as well as so-called practical people, perhaps even better.” But the fact that certain people cannot grasp that all life flows from the ideal of life—from that which is not yet here, that which is yet to come—only shows that, as Fichte puts it, they are not accounted for in the plan for the ennoblement of humanity. May the Deity therefore grant them, at the right time, rain and sunshine, nourishment, and, along with that, wise thoughts! — The Theosophist may take comfort from an objective view of life when the danger of so-called impracticality is pointed out. For example, that wise council of practical people in a region of southern Germany can be cited as an illustration of what practicality is. When plans were made in Germany to build the first railroad, they were asked whether it would be a good idea to construct this railroad. The group said—and anyone can verify that the document exists—that a railroad should not be built, because people would suffer severe damage to their nervous systems; but if there were people who still wanted to ride a railroad, and if it were to be built, then high wooden walls would have to be erected on both sides of it so that those it passed by would not suffer concussions. — That wasn’t so long ago! Nor was it so long ago that a man who was not a practitioner but an “impractical teacher” advised introducing the cheaper postcards instead of the expensive postage rates. It was Rowland Hill, the non-practical man. But there was a postmaster who said: “I can’t quite see how introducing postage in this way would be an advantage; for if traffic were to develop in such a manner, the post office building would no longer be large enough to accommodate and transport all the letters and mail.” — This is how some of the judgments made today by those who are hostile to “Theosophy” appear.

[ 6 ] The dangers described there are similar to those people have experienced with the railroad, now that they have been riding it for decades. The future will prove this. Just as the Bavarian Medical Council could not prevent the construction of the railroad, nor could the Postmaster General in London prevent the expansion of the postal service, so too can the spread of Theosophy—which has proven to be necessary in our time—not be halted by similar objections.

[ 7 ] However, many of these concerns are not directed at the general situation; people sense something specific. We may therefore speak publicly for once about what might be giving rise to such concerns and such talk of dangers. First of all, we must not forget one thing: something that is meant to have an effect, that is meant to have significance and power in the world, affects different people in different ways. It affects people in the way they allow themselves to be influenced and impressed by it. Now, Theosophy and the Esoteric Science are something like a purifying thunderstorm in our spiritual atmosphere and will increasingly become so. What, then, fills this spiritual atmosphere? It is filled with all manner of self-assured and confident judgments, which appear all the more self-assured the less deeply they penetrate into the essence of things. In particular, it is materialistic thinking and feeling—the materialistic mindset—that, with an immense sense of its own infallibility, with immense arrogance and conceit, regards itself today as the sole doctrine capable of bringing salvation and showers everything that seeks to point toward the spiritual world with scornful laughter, as if it were nothing more than fantasy.

[ 8 ] Of course, anyone who trains their thinking in the logic necessary to master the realms that lie beyond the sensory world is always in danger of being labeled “sick” by today’s materialists. The superficial judgments that are formed today—judgments that are commonplace and presented with an unparalleled sense of certainty and infallibility—are, however, sometimes very short-sighted, and when confronted by that logic which proceeds from concept to concept with the inner patience of a thinker—as is necessary when one cannot advance across the bridge of external sensory experiences but instead proceeds on the basis of having a secure foundation within oneself and an inner certainty—then their flimsiness becomes apparent very quickly. Already in this respect, thinking—as it flows from Esoteric Science into the present—must often appear to us as a purifying storm. It appears this way to the masses and also to the individual. Here we cannot help but emphasize that this is, after all, no danger. For the masses, the danger lies, at most, in the fact that it introduces uncertainty into judgments that are worthy of being presented as such.

[ 9 ] For the individual, the situation is even worse. There is something at work in the innermost recesses of the soul—a disharmony between a person’s feelings and their judgments. And this disharmony is greatest today among those who believe they are most secure in some materialistic creed. For a materialistic creed has the peculiarity that, in the final analysis, it can satisfy only the intellect, only abstract judgment. The deeper interests of the soul—all desires, all feelings, all sensations—are, in every human being, far truer and far deeper than their judgment often is. And while everyone remains stuck on the surface with their judgment, their materialistic concepts, and their materialistic mindset, deep within their soul—often entirely unconsciously to them—lives the urge and the longing for something spiritual. To keen observers of human nature, this sometimes becomes quite evident when one sees how much disharmony there is in people’s speech and utterances. There one can see that they do not actually feel in harmony with what they say. To a small extent, what a poet grotesquely expressed through the words he puts into the mouth of one of his characters applies to a large percentage of people today: “As surely as there is a God in heaven, I am an atheist.” — This is, expressed only in a radical and grotesque way, the emotional clinging to something traditional and established, and the persistence of superficial judgment in the face of a radical denial. In this radical form, it occurs today in only a few people. But for those who can observe more closely, almost every conversation offers example after example that people today live this way in their souls.

[ 10 ] Under what conditions can one live this way? One can live this way only if one remains superficial in one’s inner life. For no one who descends into the depths of their soul will be able to tolerate the kind of disharmony that is so prevalent today. For those accustomed to logic, this is evident throughout the entire body of materialistic—or, as it is more nobly termed, monistic—literature. Let us suppose a person who is embedded in the atmosphere of our time and does not strive to break free from it out of inner freedom or a strong inner urge: He remains embedded; he carries on living in a general, dull, yet contented way. But today it no longer depends on the things at which many wish to remain stuck whether a person can live so dully, whether it is possible for him to live so dully. For many people, this is no longer possible. And what popular literature—magazines, popular books, even newspapers—offers is by no means, for finer minds and deeper souls, anything resembling an answer to the great enigmatic questions of existence; rather, it serves only to generate new questions.

[ 11 ] Yes, even modern science itself, as it presents itself with its clinging to facts: it provides answers only for the superficial mind. For the person of deep sensibility, for the person of refined sensibility, this science is something entirely different. It is a collection of question marks. And where many believe they can be done once they’ve cobbled together a worldview from the facts of natural science, that is precisely where the questioning begins for many people. Only those who believe they are done don’t realize this. So today you see numerous people reaching for a book like Haeckel’s *The Riddles of the Universe* in order to have the world’s riddles solved for them. Once they have read this book, they only then begin to raise the great questions. For it is not solutions but questions that are raised there. Such minds and such personalities can then, in one way or another, eventually be led to theosophy.

[ 12 ] Now Theosophy and the Esoteric Science confront them with their rigorous, internally logical thinking, which, like mathematics, finds the source of certainty within itself; and they are confronted with a tremendous disharmony between what they have been accustomed to from the external world thus far and the demands suddenly placed upon them. Until now, they have clung to the surface of things; now they peer into abysses. They have often lost half their lives—or more. They worry whether the remainder of their lives will be enough to pour everything that confronts them into the holes in their souls that the world has torn open. Or perhaps they come from this or that social circle and cannot extricate themselves from it; in which case the most terrible obstacles arise for them. The most practical path, built on security, that could be open to them would be to engage in esoteric research; but a thousand threads pull them back. Then they are confronted by the disharmonies that are bound to arise when the profound—that which the soul yearns for—stands in opposition to the superficial, the external. A peculiar phenomenon emerges in some people, which we can best understand through a comparison. Imagine that a corner of a room has not been cleaned for weeks and is full of dirt—please forgive the analogy. Now, if there is no proper lighting in this room, those who look inside may believe that everything is clean. But once the room is properly lit, the disorder becomes apparent. It all depends on whether the room is properly lit.

[ 13 ] So it is with the soul. It is accustomed to following the usual, aimless course of life. It may be forced to be superficial among the superficial. But now it comes into contact with the light that illuminates this superficiality, that reveals this superficiality in all its inferiority. If this soul is sensitive, what then happens to it? If it is accustomed to superficial judgments, then the light that falls upon it must surely throw it into even greater confusion. Thus we see that numerous souls, upon coming into contact with the truths of esoteric science, may at first be thrown into some confusion—or even into something more than confusion. Is esoteric science to blame for this? Truly, anyone who thinks logically here will not blame esoteric science—which is the light—but rather the fact that the soul has surrendered itself so completely to superficial judgment.

[ 14 ] And it goes much further than that. We see people who are no longer at all equipped to cope with our complex culture; they are suffering because of our complex culture, and why? They can no longer find their bearings with their own judgment! Theosophy, or the secret science, is the means to find one’s way in our culture, and it can have a healing effect on those whom our culture has made ill. But couldn’t something else also happen? We can clarify this as well through a comparison. A meal may be healthy on the surface; yet a person may have a completely ruined stomach. Even if the meal is quite healthy for a healthy person, under certain circumstances the ruined stomach may be unable to tolerate precisely this healthy meal. And so it is in many cases when people with sick souls emerge from our culture into the cheerful and blissful atmosphere of the secret science. It may then happen that, with their sick souls, they are unable to tolerate the wholesome food. These, however, are exceptional cases.

[ 15 ] But it is the subject about which the most is written in the world. It is said: Theosophy is something that drives people crazy. — It cannot be denied that it can also have a disruptive effect on this or that soul, just as wholesome food can on a weakened stomach. But did the wholesome food spoil the stomach? Many so-called wayward souls are drawn to Theosophy; it is downright striking how many wayward souls are drawn to it. Anyone who is compelled to work within this movement could tell you many a sad story, could recount how cries for help come from here and there: “I can no longer find my way in the world; I no longer know how to satisfy the longing of my heart.”—The most pitiful cries for help come in ever-greater numbers every day. This is the result of our materialistic culture, our materialistic mindset, which has given people—forgive the trite expression—stones instead of bread. The superficiality of judgment could sometimes be satisfied. The desires and interests rooted in the soul, however, could not be satisfied. For a while, they can be suppressed and dulled, but then they push their way to the surface, and people come forward with their cries for help. It is—and this cannot be denied—too late for some by then.

[ 16 ] Today, however, spiritual science cannot be practiced in such a way that it is directed solely at a select few. These matters must be brought before the general public. No one can be denied access to the elementary basic concepts, and not even the initial stages of initiation, as hinted at in the last lecture, can be withheld from anyone today. If today certain individuals, ruined by contemporary culture, come into contact with Theosophy and—as souls that have gone off the rails—are initially thrown into even greater confusion by the purifying storm, should the remedy therefore be withheld from all souls simply because a few, due to their distorted way of thinking, have been led into spiritual misfortune? This is by no means the voice of fanaticism speaking today; it is the voice of experience in the realm of spiritual life in our time.

[ 17 ] Of course, on the other hand, there is a serious danger to the relationship between our contemporaries and the esoteric worldview. This danger arises from the fact that our contemporaries approach the esoteric worldview with their own worldview and with the kinds of characters that our era has produced. What a wealth of prejudices and superficial judgments they bring with them into this spiritual-scientific worldview! How great is the danger that, as a result of the currents of our time, esoteric science—and the theosophical worldview itself—will be corrupted here and there! Herein lies a danger. And specific points must be highlighted so that we can look deeper and deeper into the so-called and the real dangers of the pursuit of esoteric science.

[ 18 ] There are spiritual worlds surrounding human beings—as we have described in previous lectures, and we will delve ever deeper and deeper into these insights—worlds that relate to the ordinary sensory world in the same way that the world of color, radiance, and light relates to the world of touch for a blind person; and there is a world that is far higher than what the blind person experiences when he undergoes surgery and light and color begin to shine out to him from the darkness and desolation. This exists in the higher realms. These worlds are all around us. But these worlds are not merely worlds of paradise, not merely worlds of bliss—although paradise and bliss are found within them—but they are also worlds that can be terrifying to human beings, dangerous because of the realities and beings they contain. If a person wishes to gain knowledge of the greatness and bliss of these worlds, they cannot do so without also becoming acquainted with the danger and the terror they contain. One is not possible without the other.

[ 19 ] Now we need to consider exactly what the danger is here. Imagine a person who, without knowing it, is near a powder magazine. He has no idea. But suddenly they find out, and they are overcome with immense fear at the thought that they could be blown to pieces if the powder magazine explodes. Outwardly, nothing has changed; yet for them, life is different. The only thing that is different from before is that they now know about the danger. This knowledge distinguishes him from the one who knows nothing. So it is with the higher worlds as well. The danger, the horror contained within them, is always all around people. Indeed, immense dangers lurk for the human soul in worlds of which people have no idea. The only difference regarding these dangers and horrors between those who have never approached spiritual science and those who have is that the latter are aware of this danger and the former are not. And yet, perhaps it is not quite so, for the following reasons: We enter the spiritual world, in which the spiritual is active. A powder magazine does not become dangerous simply because you are afraid that the powder will explode; but your fear—that has significance in the spiritual world! It makes a difference whether you have it or not. To the spiritual world, the thoughts you harbor are incorporated as something real. A feeling of hatred that you direct toward a person is more real in the spiritual world—and, for those who see through it, far more potent—than a blow you strike the person with a stick. Even if the terrible event does not take place directly before your eyes, it is nonetheless true. Fear and anxiety—such negative feelings—are in fact something that, when they radiate from a person, can become disastrous as a result of that person coming into contact with the corresponding spiritual beings and forces. This anxiety and this fear are, in fact, something that places a person in a fateful relationship with the spiritual world; for there are beings in the spiritual world for whom the anxiety and fear radiating from a person are like welcome nourishment. If a person has no anxiety and no fear, then these beings go hungry. Those who have not yet delved deeper may take this as a comparison. But those who are familiar with this matter know that it is a reality. When a person radiates fear, dread, and panic, these beings find welcome nourishment, and they grow more and more powerful. These are hostile beings to humankind. Everything that feeds on negative emotions—on anxiety, fear, and superstition; on hopelessness and doubt—constitutes forces in the spiritual world that are hostile to human beings and launch cruel attacks against them when they are nourished by these emotions. Therefore, it is above all necessary for a person entering the spiritual world to first fortify themselves against fear, hopelessness, doubt, and anxiety. Yet these are precisely the feelings that are so characteristic of modern culture, and materialism is particularly suited—because it cuts people off from the spiritual world—to summon these forces hostile to humanity against them through hopelessness and fear of the unknown.

[ 20 ] To put it very clearly, I must say: The moment a person sees that gate through which one passes at death, he also sees numerous forces that hinder him—forces that even stand in his way in a way that is destructive to him. Most people, however, attract these forces through their fear of death. The greater the fear of death, the stronger their power. Fear of death, in general, is a part of the emotions of fear. These forces and powers appear like withered sacks when a person steels himself and knows that no fear of death can change the reality of death.

[ 21 ] A person can only achieve that overcoming of the fear of death—that bold act of looking death in the face—if they know that there is an immortal, eternal core within them, for which death is merely a transformation of life, a change in the form of life. As soon as a person finds this immortal core within themselves through esoteric science, they train themselves more and more to overcome all such feelings, and ultimately to overcome what is called the fear of death. The more materialistic a person becomes, however, the more they fear death. No esoteric science can protect a person from seeing the truth behind the scenes. It must show them how eternal life, how karma, brings about the great balance in spiritual life. This spiritual science must show them many things. It cannot show them the bliss behind the scenes of life without at the same time showing them the terrible powers, the enemies, that lurk behind them. That is certainly true. But it also shows him how he can overcome any fear of these enemies of his. It shows him how he can face all of this with a free, bold gaze. It teaches him to become objective and unbiased if he patiently submits to its guidance. However, many come to “Theosophy” with the ordinary sentiments of our current cultural currents. To them, what they hear there sometimes seems like something deeply oppressive, like something that terribly assails their souls, because, as a result of their materialistic way of thinking, they have an anxiety and fear of life. This is the immaturity that brings so many people into Theosophy and that can only be overcome gradually through the work of Theosophy itself. Again, it is not Theosophy or the Esoteric Science that is to blame for this. It does its part to avoid shocking people too much. For if it were to reveal the whole, full truth about certain matters very close to human experience—if it were to say how the fearful are separated from the fearless, and how great the number is on one side and on the other—then many would be shocked.

[ 22 ] But immature people also introduce other elements into the Theosophical Movement in an immature way by simply translating certain concepts—which are found in Theosophy and originate from the occult sciences—into today’s ordinary, trivial language. As strange as it may sound, this sometimes poses a great danger in the relationship between Theosophy and our contemporary society. Thus, immature Theosophists and those who approach Theosophy superficially repeatedly claim that the first requirement is to become selfless and to overcome all selfishness. Some people believe that when they want to say something truly theosophical, they can never emphasize enough: “Everything I do, want, and desire is meant entirely selflessly. I only want to work for the benefit of others.” — They usually have no idea how selfish this belief is. It is true that, through familiarity with the truths of the secret science, a person gradually comes to realize what is so beautifully expressed in Goethe’s words: “The person who overcomes himself frees himself from the power that binds all beings.” It is true, but almost everything that esoteric science has to offer—its highest and its deepest aspects—is necessary to achieve this ideal. It is best achieved when one speaks of it as little as possible and strives for it as directly as possible.

[ 23 ] Those who boast the most about selflessness are the least selfless, just as those who use the word “truly” in every third sentence are usually the most untruthful. This, too, is based on a profound law in occultism. First and foremost, it is a matter of delving deeper and deeper into the true truths and insights of the occult sciences, and not setting ideals for oneself such as: “You must overcome your ego.” — Such a phrase accomplishes absolutely nothing. It accomplishes nothing, for example, if there is a stove here and I say to it: “You must be a good stove; you must heat the room.” — You can stroke it and treat it lovingly, but that accomplishes nothing. Only when you feed the stove wood will it heat the room. Likewise, it does no good at all to preach virtue, selflessness, and freedom to the world. The right thing to do is to stoke the fire, to give people fuel; and that fuel is the truths of esoteric science. Just as wood and coal warm the stove, so do the true esoteric truths gradually make people selfless. And why? Because in many ways they divert attention away from that tiny point we call the “I.” The theosophical or esoteric truths are so vast, so powerful, and so significant—they demand so much of us—that we gradually come to see ourselves as individual personalities as utterly uninteresting. One first learns how uninteresting the individual personality is. This learning—how uninteresting the individual human personality is—this learning about oneself, when brought about by the fuel of esoteric truths, is what ultimately leads a person to liberation from egoism.

[ 24 ] If you look at things from the ground up, selfishness is by no means something that, from a higher perspective, is excluded from the divine world order. From a higher perspective, it is something very healthy. Just imagine if many people of our time—given the current stage of human development—did not refrain from doing this or that out of selfishness, if they did not refrain from doing one thing or another out of self-interest because they know, purely for selfish reasons, what the consequences would be—just imagine what a scourge that would be for human development! Truly, the wisdom of the worlds has implanted selfishness in human beings in order to lead them beyond a stage of development, to seize them by the self, so that they may make it as meaningful and valuable as they possibly can.

[ 25 ] It is a lofty truth on the one hand and a shocking cliché on the other when a person is told: “You must sacrifice your personality.” — I’ll use an example to illustrate how this can be something very lofty in one instance and something clichéd in another. Imagine you ask someone who has ten pfennigs in his pocket to sacrifice those ten pfennigs for some cause. He will make that sacrifice easily. If, on the other hand, you make the unreasonable demand of a person who happens to have twenty thousand marks on him—perhaps his entire fortune—that he sacrifice what he has, that is an entirely different matter. Asking someone who has not yet worked on themselves—who has not yet elevated their personality and cannot yet be called a personality—to renounce their personality is something entirely different from asking someone who has long worked on it to make it as capable as possible. One sacrifices a genius on the altar of human evolution; the other, a fool. It is not the act of sacrifice that matters, but what is sacrificed. In order to be able to rein in a personality for the sake of humanity, one must first develop that personality. Thus, in one instance, speaking of the sacrifice of personality is mere rhetoric; in another, it is a great and significant truth. Therefore, it is of no use whatsoever when Theosophical books call for the sacrifice of personality without simultaneously demanding: make the personality as strong and as comprehensive as possible.

[ 26 ] We learn this through genuine thinking that has its roots in the spiritual world. The kind of logic that does not posit one-sided laws, but knows that every proposition, like every coin, has two sides—perhaps even more—and teaches us to look from the outer to the inner: that is true theosophy, and what is superficially called theosophy today often does not teach this at all. And only that which is not merely a superficial danger but a real one is called a danger here.

[ 27 ] I was still very young when I once sat down with someone who had recently celebrated his fiftieth birthday in another country and who, at the time, shared my interests regarding my studies of Goethe. The man said at the time that he was worried about joining the ranks of writers. Although he was still relatively young back then, he was already older than many who are still writing today. He came up with the idea: “I won’t write reviews.” “I want to write something else, because reviews should only be written by those who have a wealth of life experience; in fact, only the elderly should critique.”—That was certainly a very good idea on the man’s part. For today, even in the broadest circles, there is no longer any consensus that maturity is a prerequisite for working in the intellectual realm. The further we move into the present, the younger the people who write “below the line,” so to speak, become; and since the reader generally doesn’t think about it and has no real way of finding out how young the person writing “below the line” actually is, he has no idea what he’s getting himself into. Anyone familiar with such matters knows that it is not difficult to write wittily today. Yet some people are still surprised that this or that person writes wittily. A person who has perhaps done nothing but read such material since the age of fifteen or sixteen—who has thus thoroughly mastered the craft—need only publish something, and he can make a tremendous impression through the radical or vague nature of his judgment. It is possible that such a person suffers from what can seriously be called mental deficiency. As strange as it sounds: today, someone can be mentally deficient and yet write in a way that strikes the world as witty, so that he can be admired as a witty writer. This scenario is entirely possible. Decades ago, it was already a valid observation when someone said: “In our time, it is not difficult to write a good poem; culture and language do the writing.” — Today this is even more true, to the point that even some schoolgirls can write newspaper articles. It is entirely different forces that pass judgment here, forces that use people for their own purposes. Humanity must increasingly come to demand maturity from those who are to form true judgments. True maturity is particularly essential for work in the field of spiritual science. For this reason, it is also necessary that those who lead so-called secret schools first work within their own circles and not step before the world to proclaim spiritual scientific truths until they are about thirty-five years of age. Before that, they may present judgments from the realm of philosophy to the world. But one becomes mature enough to draw from the spirit only at the moment when one no longer has to devote spiritual energy to the development of the body. As long as the body is growing, the forces from which a logical judgment is built must flow into the body. Therefore, it is possible for a poet to have written true poems before reaching middle age. But people so easily fail to recognize that, in order to truly penetrate to the depths—so that one not only understands something for one’s own satisfaction and personal development, but also comes to stand before humanity with full responsibility and advocate for spiritual scientific work—the highest maturity of life is required, a maturity that can only be attained at an advanced age. But to spout theosophical platitudes—that requires no maturity at all.

[ 28 ] This is what is peculiar about the highest things: if they are to be thoroughly explored, maturity is required. However, because they can easily become mere clichés—since many are not at all capable of grasping their depth but remain at the level of the cliché—they can also be treated as mere clichés. Everything that can be disseminated in theosophy can be serious and profound to the highest degree; it can be a life-giving force. But if it is turned into its opposite, it can become the most hollow of phrases. That is why we experience it so strongly in this very field: that phrase after phrase flourishes, and that it is precisely the immature—the most immature—that continues to exert its influence. In doing so, those who champion immaturity harm themselves even more than they harm the world. The world, in turn, will cast out what comes from this side. If you engage in this direction, you are placing yourself in the way of your own further development. You will not move forward. It is simply the case that those who work outwardly in the field of spiritual science make a sacrifice. It is one thing for spiritual science to be guarded as a secret within the virgin soul; it is quite another when it is cast out into the world. What is said of the treasure hunter applies here: he must be silent. If a single word is spoken, the treasure becomes unattainable. In the same way, the depths of the higher world are reached all the more effectively the more one is able to remain silent. For those who have grasped these things, there is no speaking at all unless they are compelled to do so, unless the world demands it of them. No one should speak unsolicited. The demand need not come from here or there; it may come from invisible, supersensible powers.

[ 29 ] So one might say: Because our age is so ill-suited to thinking correctly about maturity and immaturity, something like theosophy arises. It can be the highest truth; but when turned on its head, it becomes a distortion and a danger. This is not its fault. Little by little, it will replace the grotesquely false judgment with the correct one regarding maturity and immaturity. No one should be surprised that this is the case. If one were to be surprised, one should also be surprised that where there is great, strong light, there are also strong black shadows. Where the light is less intense, there are only faint shadows. Theosophy may cast black shadows under certain circumstances; this is merely proof that it is meant to be a strong light. Whenever people speak of so-called dangers, one must be clear that a protective barrier against the great danger exists simply because no true teacher in this field will expose people to this serious, great danger, and that everything that appears to be a danger does not come from Theosophy and the Esoteric Science, but from that which opposes them. Once one knows this, one will remain calm, even when seemingly bad and harmful effects arise. These, too, can occur. One may observe that, as long as people remain distant from theosophy, they are reasonably decent individuals. When they come to theosophy, they become vain, ambitious, and arrogant. Why? For a very simple reason. As long as a person rises only slightly above what their surroundings deem acceptable, they cannot be particularly good, but neither can they be particularly evil. But when they come into contact with the Primordial, the possibility of being good increases; yet the possibility of being evil also strikes from the other side.

[ 30 ] What already occurs here in the ordinary theosophist can occur all the more so in the student. In the student, the flaws inherent in his very nature emerge with great clarity when he must develop his own free judgment—and he must do so. But this is necessary. If someone wishes to develop more rapidly, a whole host of negative traits may surface in him overnight. These traits might otherwise have been spread out over sixty years. When something is dissolved in a large body of water, one sees nothing of its color; in a single drop, however, it may appear very vivid. So it is with the student. What is supposed to emerge in a few days becomes conspicuous. But if something has sixty years to play out, then one notices nothing of it. Indeed, even within the esoteric science itself, the demon of pride often rears its head. Very soon one had to observe that people who are not inherently proud would approach one with certain desires. They would come and say: “I want to begin as a student and become an adept as quickly as possible.”—One hears this quite often. It is a matter of experience that the demon of pride seizes hold of someone. They often become most arrogant in the presence of the Great One, and they then find it difficult to understand that this feeling is the greatest obstacle to their further development, and that the best path to further development lies in renouncing this feeling of arrogance. — But this is also connected to the fact that we are big laughers and also big talkers.

[ 31 ] So I have spoken about the dangers of occult science. I have not concealed from you that such cases exist; I have also tried to show where the more dangerous instances of such risks actually lie. We have seen precisely where these dangers lie in the course of this lecture series. Today, I would like to make only a general reference to what is found everywhere in “Theosophy” and in the esoteric science upon which it is based. Those who seek esoteric science will not be deterred from it by these dangers; rather, they will find salvation and the healing of the soul precisely within esoteric science. They know that it does not cause harm, that it does not bring dangers, but rather that it uncovers harm and reveals dangers where they otherwise exist—and where they would continue to take their toll if they were not channeled toward healing. Therefore, no one should allow this so-called danger to deter them from penetrating into the realms we must call the spiritual. As with all other considerations and perspectives, we are led here as well to realize more and more clearly that for the person who wishes to develop the powers and abilities slumbering within them, there is no obstacle to penetrating into nature. For what is material is a revelation of the spirit. And just as the beings that surround us—which we may perceive as terrifying when we look into them—are present in nature as well, so too are they in nature. It is only by closing their eyes that human beings shut themselves off from this fact. Those who have known something of esoteric science are also aware of this.

[ 32 ] Even in his youth, Goethe heard many objections to delving into the inner nature of things. He heard the words of the naturalist Haller, who said: “No creative spirit penetrates into the inner nature of things. Blessed is he to whom she reveals only her outer shell.” Goethe, who dared to look within, knew that human beings are capable of penetrating the essence of nature everywhere. That is why he was repeatedly compelled to say:

When observing nature
Always regard the one as the whole.
Nothing is inside, nothing is outside,
For what is inside is also outside...

[ 33 ] And in his own unique way, even in his old age, Goethe took issue with this statement, which limits human cognitive capacity. He protested against it with words that are particularly suited to drawing a soul’s attention to the practical, active aspect of the theosophical worldview. Goethe pointed this out by recalling Haller’s words in his old age:

HOWEVER

To the Physicist

“Into the Heart of Nature”
O you philistine! —
“No creative spirit penetrates.”
Me and my brothers and sisters
May you never
Recall such words!
We think: Place by place
We are within.
“Blessed is he to whom she shows
Only the outer shell!”
I’ve heard that repeated for sixty years,
I curse it, but secretly;
Tell me a thousand thousand times:
She gives everything abundantly and gladly;
Nature has neither core
Nor shell,
She is everything all at once.
Examine yourself above all else,
Whether you are core or shell.