The Rudolf Steiner Archive

69. The Future of Humanity and the Great Initiates

[ 1 ] Dr. Rudolf Steiner concluded his lecture series on the 7th of this month with a lecture on “The Future of Humanity and the Great Initiates.” Beginning with a description of the organs that serve as instruments for activity in the higher worlds, the speaker outlined the paths leading to the development of these organs. Complete purification of the soul is one of the primary conditions for this. Throughout history, there have been occult schools whose purpose was to elevate the individual above his contemporaries. The essence of the “initiates” lies in the fact that they already undergo in advance the development that is reserved for humanity in the future. The great Initiates are the teachers of humanity, without whom no progress would be possible. They form an unbroken chain and promote evolution by imparting the great spiritual impulses for progress to humanity through word and writing. This is the meaning underlying the work of all the great founders of religions.