The Rudolf Steiner Archive

14. Truths and Errors in Spiritual Research

[ 1 ] The science of the mind, by its very nature, deals with the most significant mysteries of life—not merely those of the individual sciences, but [with] mysteries that we encounter at every turn in life, which not only satisfy our thirst for knowledge but also have to do with the strength, certainty, and hope of our minds.

[ 2 ] [One] person [is]—at [his] birth—[this is a] fact—already condemned to misfortune from the cradle, [is] endowed with few abilities, [so] that he makes life difficult for himself in many ways. Then one sees [the] other, for whom caring hands make everything easier, who [will thus] be a useful member of society.

[ 3 ] Why is that? [We] don’t always dare to ask this “why” that lies deep within our souls. [But] when we [have to] act with certainty in life, this question does arise.

[ 4 ] And then there’s the other question: What happens to our thoughts, feelings, and desires when [we] pass through the gates of death? Is there nothing that offers us certainty? Perhaps the one who, with love and a desire to help, surveys the fate of humankind would say that he would gladly give up everything he has accomplished in life in exchange for clarity about death.

[ 5 ] But there is something in the depths and darkness of our souls that gives us a glimpse of this—sometimes like an avalanche. With a certain certainty, [we] feel that [what] we [have] conquered—the most intimate aspects of life—cannot be lost. Regardless of our personal wishes, this question can be answered, for the entire order of life would be thrown into uncertainty if everything we have attained were to vanish with death. Therefore, there are no questions more important than these two: the questions of individual destiny and immortality; these are the two poles of spiritual science.

[ 6 ] Everyone feels that they must venture into the realm of the supernatural if they wish to gain clarity on these questions. [However, there is] no more dangerous realm than this when relying on inaccurate sources. Therefore, [in this] field, it is important to [distinguish] between truths and errors. [It is important to] observe how truths and errors can affect the public. Answers [are found] by examining the sources. Where are they? [How does one enter the realm of the supernatural?]

[ 7 ] The soul itself must become the instrument. [One achieves its] transformation through a special kind of self-education, not through external measures. Various things [are necessary for this]: first, the contemplation of wakefulness and sleep, the sensation of how control over the senses fades, [how] the unconsciousness of sleep replaces the connection with the outside world. Thus, the soul can no longer make use of the body, its instrument. All feelings, etc., do not disappear; they are there, yet the soul is unaware of them.

[ 8 ] The soul needs the body if [it] is to be aware of its own states, if consciousness is to develop. The soul is simply too weak; it cannot summon its own powers into consciousness.

[ 9 ] Let’s [for the moment] assume this as a hypothesis: Let’s [assume] that there are ways to prevent this loss of consciousness in the soul. What the soul must do if it wishes to develop clairvoyant powers is what gives it the ability to prevent this loss of consciousness.

[ 10 ] [This] method is meditation. [One can] summon the will to experience all feelings and [all] sensory impressions. [Gap?]

[ 11 ] [For example, one can take a] paradoxical image [such as]: two glasses, one empty and one half-full [of] water. [It is] not a literal representation. Surrender to this image, let [it] come alive in the soul. [It] must be a symbolic image, even if [it also] recalls a moral truth—[namely] the peculiar nature of love: Its essence [is] unfathomable. Acts of true love [bring about]: [Love—or rather, the symbolically imagined glass]—does not become emptier, but rather fuller, richer; and the soul is thereby challenged, becoming an instrument of spiritual orientation.

[ 12 ] [The] state of sleep [does] bear a resemblance, however, to vivid images that rise from the depths of the soul. In abnormal states, the soul can experience these images and feel bliss. The true seeker of truth will cast this bliss aside. We know how difficult [it is] [when] one [tries] to dissuade a person who is given over to delusion from believing in their visions and hallucinations. The soul must become so strong that when a second world approaches it, it can say to itself: You must regard all of this as nothing more than [a] reflection of your own characteristics. [We must] resolve: [We] have nothing before us but self-knowledge.

[ 13 ] The next step [is] [to be able] to erase this entire world—something a sick soul cannot do, for it is haunted by it. The spiritual researcher commands these forces, which he himself has summoned.

[ 14 ] Then something happens: whatever ideas we ever had are forgotten. Thus, the researcher of the spirit must plunge these ideas into the depths of the soul; then everything is forgotten. The transformation of the soul is actually a transformation of the forces of the will within the soul. Only then do the images that one has cast aside reveal themselves as a real spiritual world—a manifold world of images—when the soul has made itself completely calm and empty. We then try to recognize what we see in them as ourselves, [and] push them back. The others are also us, but we do not know it. Now the images have been transformed when [they] reappear. Then we say: “That is you, after all, but different,” for we realize that these forces have to do with us, [that they] come from our past lives.

[ 15 ] Thus arises the firm conviction that our destiny is the result of past lives on Earth. [We must] feel the hardships and setbacks and rise to higher levels of existence.

[ 16 ] [As a] rebuttal [one might say]: [This] could [also] be mere suggestion; [one must] distinguish between imagination and reality. Facts must be verified in real life. – [Examples. A piece] of iron, hot: [an imagined piece of iron does not burn]; lemonade: [an] imagined one does not quench thirst.

[ 17 ] [The] findings of spiritual research [are] significant for everyone. Not everyone needs to become a spiritual researcher, just as not everyone becomes a chemist. A viewer will sense the truth of a painting [even] without being a painter. One can understand these truths through the ideas and concepts with which the spiritual researcher clothes them. [These are] accessible to all who are of good will. An open mind and common sense [are] simply necessary—[an] element that is becoming essential in our culture. [It] provides security and inner peace in the face of misfortune.

[ 18 ] The spiritual researcher gains nothing from seeing unless he communicates it to others [people] through concepts. No matter how high a spiritual realm he may ascend to, [he] derives no benefit for [his] inner peace of mind unless he can share it with others. Only in this way is the spiritual researcher an exemplary person, one who is inwardly happy, when [he] translates what he has seen into clear concepts. A person must carry sound logic—and, above all, morally true, genuine concepts—into the supersensible worlds. Otherwise, [he] may fall prey to errors of every kind. [He] must acquire all of this here in the physical world, in ordinary life. When [the situation] is dire, many want to become spiritual researchers. What matters is that a few people in the world become seers who have developed moral powers. Depending on what is true or false, one will develop the corresponding powers. There is a great lack of dissemination in spiritual science. [There is a] tendency among many people to regard someone as special simply because he is a spiritual researcher. [We] suffer in our time from the fact that people are too easily [satisfied], lacking objectivity, with insufficient judgment, and half-knowledge; spiritual researchers must be wary of such people. For whoever has not acquired a sense of truth or sound judgment in the physical world will see things and report untruths.

[ 19 ] A person [is] not more valuable than another [simply because] he [can] glimpse into the supersensible world, but [because] he [has] previously developed sound moral judgment and intellectual faculties. If people [refrain] from this infatuation with those who are regarded as spiritual researchers, [if they] let it go, much error in this regard will be dispelled. [There is] nothing worse than the delusion of authority. That is why charlatanism and humbug have always crept into the realms where true spiritual research is practiced, brought about by the delusion of authority.

[ 20 ] A clear line can be drawn between truth [and error]. All people, except [those who] will become black magicians in the future, will receive the Christ impulse. The recognition of the Christ impulse [is a] fact of spiritual science; [it] has nothing to do with religious belief.

[ 21 ] In the human astral body and I, the spiritual is like the rays of the sun. In magical work, a person [comes] to a kind of self-illumination, self-[radiation]. The [one] [who] learned [to pray] in youth [becomes] a radiant person in old age; [he had the] power to bless in times past.

Question and Answer

[Questions not recorded]

[ 22 ] Joking lies: Their appeal [lies] in the fact that the other person sees right through what you mean. April Fools’ jokes [follow] this pattern. The whole class. – How karma creeps up on you [is] palpable in playful lies. So this issue almost never stands alone. – If [it] doesn’t balance out right away, karmic forces will have to balance it out later. [It] can have internal consequences when vanity and ambition take their karmic revenge.

What are the [karmic] consequences of theft [or murder]?

[ 23 ] [In] the afterlife: The soul strengthens its powers when near the victim [of] theft or murder, because [it] thereby seizes opportunities to make karmic amends. It has often been shown that this also extends into physical life, for murderers often return to the scene of the crime as if compelled to do so.