The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Theosophy Based on the Gospel of John VI

[ 1 ] We concluded yesterday by attempting to shed light on the account in the Gospel of John regarding the wedding at Cana, and we emphasized as particularly important the statement that “the mother of Jesus was there.” John never refers to her by any other name here or in any other passage where he mentions the mother of Jesus; he never calls her Mary, just as he never calls himself John, but always refers to her as “the disciple whom the Lord loved.” We saw that the wedding in Galilee symbolizes the union of people with one another beyond the barriers of blood. Furthermore, where the crucifixion of Christ is described, it says: “Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother’s sister Mary—the wife of Clopas—and Mary Magdalene.” According to the account of the writer of the Gospel of John, therefore, the mother of Jesus was not named Mary; otherwise, two sisters would have borne the same name. Attention should also be drawn to the words: “Woman, behold, this is your son! Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, this is your mother!’ And from that hour on, the disciple took her into his home.” Today we want to lay the groundwork for a proper understanding of what follows. Let us recall once more that John—or rather, the author of the Gospel of John—was an initiate; that this Gospel was written by a true initiate, one who saw heaven opened and possessed precise knowledge of the astral and devachanic worlds. John also explains how one attains such a state: through meditation on the opening words. If one allows these to live in the soul again and again, they become magic words through which one gradually ascends to an understanding of the Gospel of John. John wants to tell us: If you wish to walk the Christian path, then you must, in the manner I describe here, elevate yourselves to Devachan, and then the deeds of Christ Jesus and everything connected with him and that happened to him will appear to you just as I present them to you. The Gospel of John aims to be a book of life that depicts experiences lived firsthand. We cannot understand the Gospel until we cease to view the events merely as historical facts, but rather as things that John perceived with his higher powers of vision and his higher senses. The wedding at Cana is indeed a real event, but the facts become symbols. The ordinary person views this wedding and its miracle of the wine differently than someone spiritually awakened like John. To him, it represents the prophetic foreshadowing of the entire future course of human development—everything that is to come to pass through Christ.

[ 2 ] We live today in the fifth subrace of the fifth main race. What took place in Palestine falls within the fourth subrace, the Greco-Latin subrace. The Jewish people emerged from the third sub-race; they prepared for their mission in Egypt and departed from there. Jesus was descended from them. The third main race now flows into the fourth, the fourth into the fifth, and the fifth into the sixth. Thus, we must distinguish between three epochs. In esoteric terminology, these are called the three days of creation.

[ 3 ] On the third day, however, there was a wedding at Cana: The writer of the Gospel of John sees here what will only happen in the future, in the sixth race: the marriage of Manas, as expressed in the Law, with Budhi—grace and joy—the great wedding of the entire Manasic element with Budhi. This can only come to pass when the task of Christianity has been fully accomplished. “Whoever does not leave father and mother and brother and sister for my sake cannot be my disciple”—that is to say, love must be drawn out of narrow communities and transformed into universal love for humanity; it must turn away from what is bound by blood toward what is bound by spirit. Thus, in the wedding at Cana, we have symbolized what is to happen one day. “And on the third day” is not a coincidence; rather, it is to be taken literally as the day of the world. Every number, every word—everything in the Gospel of John is highly significant.

[ 4 ] It is truly astonishing that most theologians refer to Jehovah as Christ’s “Father.” In Luke, it is stated plainly and clearly where the archangel Gabriel announces the birth of Jesus to Mary (Sophia): “Do not be afraid; you have found favor with God. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you…” and nowhere else does it say anything different. The Father of Christ, then, is the “Holy Spirit.” This corresponds not merely to the Gospel of John, but to an ancient tradition. Christ says, “I and the Father are one.” This means, “I and the Holy Spirit are one.”

[ 5 ] This raises the question: Who was the mother of Jesus? To answer this, we need an understanding of the nature of initiation. Only then will we clearly see that we are dealing here with processes in higher worlds. This will also prepare us to understand the Gospel of John, beginning with chapter 13.

[ 6 ] Here we will now present the doctrine of initiation in some detail. For we are concerned here not merely with the Gospel of John, but with theosophy. The doctrine of initiations reveals to us the “Mother of Jesus”—what she is and what the “Holy Spirit” is. Today, there is a widespread misconception that there is only one path to initiation. That is not correct. There is only one view from the mountain, but different paths can lead to the summit. The same is true of the truth. There are also different paths to it. Which path is most suitable for you depends on where you are standing at the foot of the mountain. The “mountain” has always been a symbol of the ascent—for example, the summit of the mountain in the feeding of the five thousand.

[ 7 ] There are three different paths to initiation, corresponding to the subraces of our main age. The subraces do not simply succeed one another chronologically, but continue to coexist for a long time. The difference is much greater internally than externally. For example: even today, an Indian can immerse himself far more easily than a European by directing his thoughts into his sympathetic nervous system. If a European—specifically a man—were to follow the Eastern path, he would need, merely to make the physical aspect possible, powerful means to loosen up his entire skeletal structure and physical constitution, which would not be without lasting damage. Thus, such an attempt is not at all advisable for a European, and achieving a good result in this way is nearly impossible. The initiation itself is nothing other than a complete transformation of one’s inner nature. For today’s European, the Rosicrucian path, which has been cultivated since the 14th and 15th centuries, is the best.

[ 8 ] The three paths of initiation are as follows: the Indian-Eastern path of yoga, the Christian-Gnostic path up to the 15th century, and the Christian Rosicrucian path since the 15th century. The first is not for Europeans. The second is suitable for people of the middle zone; it is a path we can follow, but the Rosicrucian path, which was taken starting in the 14th century, is more appropriate. Although the Christian-Gnostic path does bring truth to the individual, the student will not be able to consistently follow it within modern life and provide answers to the manifold objections raised by today’s science and culture, as he is able to do with the help of the Rosicrucian path.

[ 9 ] The Eastern path of yoga involves a series of stages for which one must first prepare. The seven stages can be practiced concurrently, but the individual must place himself strictly under the guidance of a so-called guru. The guru is fully aware of the state of the disciple’s inner development. The Indian path leads directly into the astral world. At the beginning, the student is very helpless there; hence the strict submission to the guru, because the student lacks the ability to correct his own errors when faced with facts that contradict one another sharply.

[ 10 ] The first stage is Yama, which means “abstention.” In the physical world, the physical world corrects the student in all his perceptions and assertions; reality corrects him. But this is no longer the case in the astral world. There, impressions rush toward him in images and colors, in forms and shapes that are in constant, undulating flux and ceaseless motion. Added to this is the fact that what one’s own soul thinks and wills also becomes entities, and the student is not yet able to distinguish between his own astral and that of others. That is why, in the astral world, he must have inner guidance in order to stand firm. For how does this world appear? In the case of a plant, for example, it rises like a purple flame. The qualities of things dissolve into colors, standing out from the things themselves; the astral space is filled with colors, qualities, and tones undulating back and forth. These colors and tones must flow toward the astral beings and fill them. An elemental spirit, for instance, may then appear to you in a brilliant yellow color. To be able to distinguish and know what it is, certainty is necessary. At moments when these elemental spirits seek to guide you toward something, powerful forces arise within the human nature: the person’s own soul expresses itself through them, and thus they drive him toward wherever the soul desires. To properly guide the helpless disciple, he must live within the Guru’s soul and see through the Guru’s eyes—hence the necessity of the Guru’s strict authority. In everything he undertakes—for example, even when buying a house—the disciple must consult the guru. — In practicing the yamas, one must practice abstention. One must abstain from: killing, stealing, lying, desire, the consumption of intoxicating beverages, and debauchery. These requirements are much harder for Europeans to fulfill than they appear, for under current conditions of time, life, and culture in Europe, it is hardly possible to know whether the disciple can meet these conditions. For example, he kills with every breath if he does not regulate his breathing. He has his assets deposited somewhere in a bank or invested in some company: how can he know what happens to them? The concept of “refraining” must be interpreted very strictly by the student, for the point is that absolutely no one should be harmed by us. The only way to partially comply with these conditions is to become increasingly free of needs.

[ 11 ] The second stage, Niyama, requires observance of the symbols of worship. Indian training strictly demands that the student participate in ceremonies and submit to ritual. In doing so, what one experiences inwardly must be reflected in the external ceremony. An example of such a ritual is found in the Catholic Mass, which, with its four parts, is the expression of what also took place in the ancient mysteries. It consists of the Gospel (the Proclamation), the sacrifice of the lower self, the transformation into the higher self, and Communion: union with the Divine. What truly happens on the astral plane takes place there in image on the physical plane. It is significant that one contemplates this in image. You take in the image, and one night the astral world can then take in the student, and it becomes a force within him. First, contemplate in images that which is to take place on the higher planes.

[ 12 ] The third stage, asana, is correct body posture. Today’s European, steeped in modern culture, has hardly any idea of the importance of correct body posture. Enormous currents constantly flow through the world and through the human body, and these etheric currents have a significant influence on human beings. This was known in ancient India, as was the extent to which the student’s development depends on correct body posture. Animals are positioned horizontally relative to the Earth’s axis, while plants are positioned vertically. If we draw a line from the flower through the root, we reach the center of the Earth. In the plant, we see a reflection of what is revealed to us in the structure of the human being, only in the opposite direction; what corresponds to the human head is located at the bottom in the root, while the reproductive organs are modestly turned toward the sun. The horizontal position of the animal and the upright position of humans and plants form a cross, hence Plato’s words: The world soul is crucified upon the world body. — Just as these lines run through the cosmos, so do the currents flow through all organs. The Indian yoga student had to position his limbs in a specific direction so that the world currents could work within him; this is not possible for the European human being.

[ 13 ] Fourth: Pranayama. This is the teaching of proper breathing. Through the process of breathing, humans are actually constantly killing. We inhale oxygen, mix it with blood, and exhale carbon dioxide, which is toxic to humans and animals. We would die if plants did not breathe in the carbon dioxide, retain the carbon, and exhale the oxygen again. This cycle is of paramount importance and is what makes the existence of humans and animals possible in the first place.

Human: Plant
Animal: exhales carbon dioxide, inhales
exhales carbon dioxide: carbon dioxide, and builds
inhales oxygen: carbon to build its body.

[ 14 ] Pranayama, the rhythmic breathing process, is intended to gradually overcome the process of death. Human beings will expand not only their consciousness but their entire lives. Carbon is present in the blood; when it combines with the inhaled oxygen, it burns to form carbon dioxide, which is then excreted; the plant separates the components; it exhales oxygen, and the human being inhales it. Thus the cycle begins anew. In the future, the human being will complete this cycle within himself. When the human being is able to build his own body from carbon, he will have attained his future state. Carbon, or coal, corresponds to what occult literature called the Philosopher’s Stone, lapis philosophorum. Anyone familiar with Rosicrucianism knows the meaning of the saying that humans will build a transparent body out of carbon, just as a diamond forms from coal. This will happen.

[ 15 ] In the future, humans will be able to transform their blue blood through the lymph glands—which will then play a very important role—and thereby shape their bodies, just as they do now with usable red blood. In the future, the pineal gland will serve as an internal mechanism for the process of converting spent blood into usable blood.

[ 16 ] Closely linked to this is the rhythmic regulation of breathing. The breathing process therefore holds the key to the future transformation of the human organism. At the very moment when a person works his way down into his lower bodies, he ascends to higher planes.

[ 17 ] Fifth: Pratyahara, which means right living. A person must become capable of living purely within the soul; he must be able to hold within himself thoughts that are entirely independent of the external world. The ideal of meditation is to be able to become blind and deaf to one’s surroundings.

[ 18 ] Sixth: Dharana, concentration of the mind, complete mastery of one’s inner world of imagination, so that a person experiences only those impressions that he chooses. If one can then select just one image from a series of images and dwell in it for a long, long time, this process—in which one remains at rest with one’s entire consciousness—is called Dhyana.

[ 19 ] Seventh: Once this has been achieved, one must also let go of this one thought, yet remain conscious with one’s entire soul. One retains the form of imagination, but without any content. With this, the student has reached the highest stage, samadhi—complete absorption in a single thought. Now the spiritual world can flow into him.

[ 20 ] Through Indian yoga training, one reaches the same level of occult development as through the Christian-Gnostic path. Even today, there are people who follow the Christian-Gnostic path. This path is divided into seven stages.

[ 21 ] First: The washing of the feet. The student must cultivate a very specific feeling over a long period of time, and this feeling must live within the soul: the law must become clear to him that no one can rise without another being pushed down. For every initiate, there are a certain number of sinners. When one attains greater knowledge and insight, it is therefore his first duty to stoop down and lift the others up. As it is with human beings, so it is in nature. The plant should speak to the earth: “O lifeless earth, in humility—this must be the student’s fundamental attitude—I bow down to you, for to you I owe my existence.” Christ himself sets an example for us in the washing of the feet, by revealing to us the feeling of innermost humility contained therein. If the student cultivates this feeling within himself, two experiences arise in him: an outer symptom and an inner astral experience. The outer symptom is this: the student has the very distinct sensation of water washing over his feet; he perceives the state of having his feet washed. Innerly, the Christian student experiences the image of this as a real vision.

[ 22 ] Second: The scourging. Pain and torment assail a person, seeking to crush him. He must tell himself: You must learn to endure all of this with dignity. Once this has been practiced long enough, two symptoms reappear. The external one: stabbing pains throughout the entire body, as if resulting from a scourging. This is proof that the practice has penetrated into the etheric body. The inner, astral experience is the image of the scourging.

[ 23 ] Third: The Crowning with Thorns. The student must learn to endure the scorn and mockery heaped upon his innermost being. Headaches lasting for weeks are the outward symptom of this; inwardly, it is the astral image of one’s own crowning with thorns.

[ 24 ] Fourth: The Carrying of the Cross and the Crucifixion. One’s own body becomes something foreign. It becomes like a piece of wood, like the cross that Christ bore. The personal must disappear completely. The disciple must become free from his body, completely free. Internally, he experiences the image of the crucifixion; externally, the stigmata appear at the sites of Christ’s wounds. The wound in the side appears on the right side of the chest.

[ 25 ] Fifth: Mystical death. This is a sublime experience, a very high stage; the experience is extremely significant. The realization dawns: the perception of things was all an illusion. Terrible darkness pours into the room; the whole world sinks into it. One comes to know only one thing: the true form of all evil, of all the torments and sufferings of this world. This is the descent into hell. Once one has gone through this exhaustively, the moment comes when the curtain is torn apart. One now sees a new form of the world; one sees the world from the other side.

[ 26 ] Sixth: Burial. Everything in the world becomes, for the disciple, as if it were part of his own body. He becomes one with the earth; the whole earth becomes the body he possesses. One is laid into the earth, and the earth covers one over.

[ 27 ] Seventh: Resurrection and Ascension. This ascension cannot be described in human language, and its glory can scarcely be imagined.

[ 28 ] Today we will limit ourselves to outlining the third type of initiation—the Christian-Rosicrucian training—which is the most suitable for modern people. Only when we have grasped this type as well can we understand what takes place within a person during initiation, and what John—or rather, the writer of the Gospel of John—describes. The Rosicrucian path also has seven stages:

First: Study.
Second: Imagination.
Third: Mastering the occult script.
Fourth: The rhythm of life.
Fifth: The correspondence between the microcosm and the macrocosm.
Sixth: Contemplation, inner religious contemplation within the macrocosm.
Seventh: Divinity.

[ 29 ] This is the third way to reach the mountaintop. A real event described in the Gospel of John is the descent of the Spirit upon Jesus in the form of a dove. This also refers to the higher birth, in which the One known as the Son of Man is conceived. The Gospel of John 1:18 contains another mystery: “No one has ever seen God with his eyes. The only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.” This is to be taken literally. The Gospel of John contains the manifestation of astral writing. As you know, on the astral plane everything appears reversed; therefore, you must learn to read in reverse.