The Rudolf Steiner Archive

1. The Origins of Spiritual Science

[ 1 ] Time and again, it becomes apparent how difficult it is for our contemporaries to understand theosophical life. For this reason, let us share a few general thoughts on the matter. Theosophy is something that anyone who feels drawn to it imagines must satisfy their deepest longings with regard to spiritual life. But if we hold before our soul the fundamental theosophical idea—as it is correctly understood today—and fill our entire consciousness with the thought that the spiritual is something real, then we must ultimately come to recognize the dignity of our neighbor as a person. We accept the personal, for as human beings with a sentient soul within us, we would not allow ourselves to intentionally violate the outward personality of our fellow human beings; we would not allow ourselves to infringe upon their personal freedom. But we are not yet—not by a long shot—at the point where we extend this tolerance to the innermost core of the human being, because we are still far from knowing—at most theoretically, but not yet practically—that feeling and thought, the spiritual in general, are real. That is surely clear to all of you. And it is also clear to everyone today that it is something highly real, highly tangible, when I strike someone with my hand. But people do not so readily believe that it is something real when I send a malicious thought toward someone. We must realize that the malicious thought with which I approach my fellow human being—the thought of antipathy, of hatred—is just as much a blow to that person’s soul as a blow to a person’s face. And a harmful feeling—a feeling of hatred and ill will—with which I confront my fellow human being is truly like the ordinary physical injury one inflicts on a person. Only when one is aware of this does one become a theosophist.

[ 2 ] If we fully imbue ourselves with this awareness—if we clearly realize that the spirit within us is a reality—then we have grasped the theosophical idea, and then something follows for us that is the true consequence, the important result of such a spiritual understanding. To begin with, people in a civilized society will not fight; they will not inflict physical harm on one another. But I need not tell you what thoughts and opinions the people of our civilized society hold as they sit side by side. You know it. The Theosophical Society has the task of raising awareness of sympathy and the inviolability of the person. In our time, when people are primarily concerned with having opinions and viewpoints, if seven fellow human beings sit together, they will have thirteen opinions, and as a result of those thirteen opinions, they would prefer to split into thirteen factions. This is the consequence of differences of opinion, and in place of these differences, the Theosophical Movement must instill, in the very depths of the soul, the idea of brotherhood. We will only fully comprehend Theosophy—this idea of brotherhood—when we are able to sit together in brotherhood despite the greatest possible diversity of our broader thoughts. We do not merely wish to respect and value our neighbor as a person and treat them in a way that acknowledges their fullest human dignity; rather, we wish to recognize our fellow brother as a soul deep within the innermost core of the soul. But then we must sit together with him and remain united, even when there is the greatest diversity of opinions. No one may leave the Theosophical Society or the Theosophical Brotherhood because of a difference of opinion. This is precisely the distinction of the Theosophists: that they remain united in brotherhood, even when they do not share the same opinion. Until we come together in brotherhood, we are not in a position to put a fundamental Theosophical idea into practice. Only then will it become possible for us to draw forth from our souls the deepest mysteries that slumber within them, the deepest abilities that lie dormant at the very core of our souls—provided we are clear that we can work together with our fellow human beings, even when our opinions differ fundamentally.

[ 3 ] It is not without reason, as I have often said, that the Theosophical Society was founded in the last third of the 19th century. The way in which it seeks the spiritual differs significantly from other endeavors that also aim to obtain proof of human immortality. There is a great difference between the search for the eternal as found in the Theosophical Society and the search for the eternal in other spiritually oriented movements. In truth, the Theosophical movement is nothing other than the popular manifestation of the occult brotherhoods of past millennia that secretly encompass the world. I have already mentioned that the most distinguished, the greatest brotherhood in Europe was founded in the 14th century as the Rosicrucian Brotherhood. This Rosicrucian Brotherhood is, in fact, the source, the point of origin for all other brotherhoods that European culture has preserved. Within these brotherhoods, occult wisdom was cultivated in strict secrecy. If I were to describe to you what the people united in these various brotherhoods sought to attain, I would have to say: those lofty and sublime teachings of wisdom and that work of wisdom which were cultivated in these occult brotherhoods, of which the Rosicrucian Brotherhood was the most outstanding. The teachings and practices cultivated there led people to become aware of their eternal inner core. They led people to find a connection with the higher world—with the worlds that lie above us—and to look to the guidance of our elder brothers, to the guidance of those who live among us and who have attained a level that you will all attain at a later time. We call them the elder brothers because, having gone ahead of general evolution, they attained this high level earlier: namely, the certainty of the eternal core of the being, the awakening of that core, so that a person can perceive the eternal just as an ordinary person perceives the sensory world. To achieve this, one must emulate the elder brothers who live among us everywhere. These elder brothers or Masters—the great guides of humanity—have themselves always been the supreme leaders and supreme guardians of the sublime occult wisdom through which human beings become conscious of their eternal core of being. Until the middle of the 19th century, those who wished to be admitted into such an occult brotherhood were subjected to rigorous examinations and trials. Only those whose character clearly guaranteed that the high teachings of wisdom could never be misused for base purposes were admitted into such a brotherhood. Furthermore, they had to demonstrate through their intelligence that they would understand what was imparted to them in the occult brotherhoods in the correct manner and in the proper sense. Only when someone fulfilled these conditions—when they provided a complete guarantee that they were capable and possessed the necessary disposition to receive the highest teachings of life—could they be admitted into such a brotherhood.

[ 4 ] As much as people may not want to believe it: Everything truly great that happened up to the French Revolution and well into the 19th century originated with these occult brotherhoods. People had no idea how they were being influenced by the currents emanating from these occult brotherhoods. Shall I describe a scene to illustrate how these brotherhoods worked in the world through occult means? Let’s consider the following scene. A highly gifted, important man suddenly receives a visit from a seemingly unknown person. This unknown person manages to strike up a conversation between himself and that important figure—perhaps a statesman. All of this takes place in the most natural way and entirely “by chance”—though “by chance” should be placed in quotation marks. The conversation is not merely about some random topic, for in the course of the conversation, things are said that, quite imperceptibly, take root in the mind and intellect of the person being visited. Such a conversation—which may last only three hours—then brings about a complete transformation in the person being visited. Thus—believe it or not—many great ideas that have had a significant impact on the world have been planted in people’s minds. Thus, Voltaire’s great ideas were inspired without him perhaps having the slightest inkling of who he was facing—a seemingly highly insignificant figure who nevertheless had something important to say to him. In the same way, some fundamental ideas received in this manner were set down by Rousseau; and by Lessing as well.

[ 5 ] This kind of influence, which emanated from occult brotherhoods, gradually faded away over the course of the 19th century. The 19th century was, by necessity, the century of materialism. The occult brotherhoods had withdrawn. The great masters of wisdom and harmony of the senses retreated—as the technical term goes—to the Orient. They ceased to exert their influence on the West. Now something particularly important took place in the West. Let us keep this in mind in order to understand the significance of the Theosophical World Movement.

[ 6 ] It was in the year 1841 that those who were members of the most secret society realized that something significant was about to take place in Europe. To stem the tide of materialism, it was necessary to channel a stream of spiritual life into humanity. It was then that a certain disagreement first arose even among the occultists themselves. Some said: Humanity is not yet ready to receive spiritual facts and experiences at this time; let us maintain the system of silence. — These were the conservative occultists. This system has much going for it, for the dissemination of occult truths carries great dangers. Others said: “The danger of materialism is too great; something must be done about it”—so that at least the most elementary truths might be communicated to humanity. But—in what form? Humanity had completely forgotten how to perceive the spirit in its true form, forgotten how to truly elevate itself to the higher worlds, and completely lost the very concept of them, so that such a world no longer exists for them at all. How can one teach such a humanity—which has only a sense for the material—that there is something spiritual? Why was it so necessary to instill in humanity an awareness of the spiritual world?

[ 7 ] Here we touch upon one of the important mysteries that lie dormant in our present age. I have already pointed out here and there why the Theosophical Movement actually exists and why it is necessary. Anyone who can glimpse into the spiritual world knows that everything that exists outwardly in the material realm has its spiritual origin; it stems from the spiritual. There is nothing material that did not originate in the spiritual. Thus, what people experience outwardly as health and illness also stems from their attitude and their thoughts. The proverb is absolutely true: What you think today is what you will be tomorrow. — You must realize that when an age is filled with bad, corrupt thoughts, the next generation and the next age will have to atone for this physically. This is the truth of the saying: “The sins of the fathers will be avenged in the nth generation.” The people of the nineteenth century did not go unpunished for having begun to think in such a crassly materialistic way, turning their minds away from all that is spiritual. What people thought back then will come to pass. And we are not so far removed from the point where strange diseases and epidemics will arise among humanity! What we call nervousness will take on dire forms within half a century at the latest. Just as there was once the plague and cholera, and leprosy in the Middle Ages, so there will be epidemics of the soul, diseases of the nervous system in epidemic form. These are the real consequences of the fact that human beings lack the spiritual core of life. Where there is an awareness of this core of life as the center, there the human being will be healthy under the influence of a healthy, true, and wise worldview. But materialism denies the soul, denies the spirit, hollows out the human being, and directs them toward their periphery, toward their outer circle. Health exists only when the innermost core of a person’s being is spiritual and true. The real illness that follows the hollowing out of the inner self is the spiritual epidemic we are facing.

[ 8 ] We have a Theosophical Society precisely to help people become aware of their spiritual essence. Its primary purpose is the healing of humanity, and not so that one person or another may know this or that. Whether you know that reincarnation and karma exist—I mean, whether you merely know this—is not what matters; what matters is that these ideas become, in their entirety, the very lifeblood of the soul, the spiritual core of one’s being, for they are wholesome. Whether we prove them or not, whether we can establish a science that explains reincarnation and karma strictly in a mathematical way—that is not what matters. There is only one proof for the teachings of spiritual science, and that is life. The teachings of spiritual science will prove to be true when a healthy life arises under their influence. This will be the true proof of the theosophical teachings. Anyone who wants proof of theosophy must experience theosophy; then it will prove to be true. Every step and every day must gradually bring us proof of the teachings of spiritual science.

[ 9 ] For this reason, the Theosophical Society was founded. But how could one teach the materialistic people of the 19th century that the spirit exists? This is how the spiritualist movement first arose. It arose precisely because people did not believe they could teach humanity that something spiritual exists; the spirit had to be shown, seen with the eyes. In Stuttgart, someone asked why Theosophy could not provide Haeckel with tangible proof that the spirit exists. You see, one is supposed to show tangibly what the spirit is! At first, this was attempted through spiritualism. This was attempted for decades, well into the 1960s and 1970s. But then a very fateful fact came to light. Let us bring this fact to mind. From it you can see the difference between the Theosophical way of ascending into the higher worlds and every other method. We are not speaking here, even for a moment, about the truth or falsity of the phenomena of spiritualism. It is clear that there are phenomena in which beings from other worlds call into our world, so that even for those who acknowledge only the physical realm, actual proof can be provided. We are past the folly of saying that there is a lot of fraud in spiritualism. After all, there is counterfeit money, but there is also genuine money.

[ 10 ] But let’s not dwell any further on the question of truth. What, then, has a person who participated in a spiritualist séance experienced? We assume—since all other possibilities are ruled out—that we are dealing with genuine revelations. If the apparition of a deceased person was shown to them, they have obtained clear proof of the immortality of the human soul. They have had tangible proof; they were able to convince themselves that the dead still exist in some world and that they can even be summoned into our world. But this precisely shows that knowledge is not what matters, that knowledge is not the main point. Let us suppose, for a moment, that you were all convinced in this way that we could bring a deceased person into this society through a spiritualist séance. You would then know that the human soul is immortal. But the question is this: Does such knowledge have any real significance, in a higher sense, for true, higher human life? That is what people initially believed. It was believed that people would be elevated to a higher level if they knew that immortality exists. But this is the point where the spiritual-scientific worldview most definitely diverges from one that merely provides clear, visible proof of immortality.

[ 11 ] Here’s a sort of comparison: I’ve often spoken about all kinds of higher worlds; I’ve described what the astral world and Devachan are like, and you know that after death, a person must first enter the astral world and then the world of Devachan. Now let’s suppose there are many here who say: “We can’t believe what he’s telling us—it’s too far-fetched!”—Those who don’t believe it, who walk away and don’t come back, would actually have to prove their point all on their own. But as for those who, even though they don’t believe it, come back—it doesn’t matter. To those who return, I would say: Don’t believe a word of what I say; you don’t have to believe anything—it doesn’t matter! You can even think it’s a hoax, or believe that I’m telling you something that comes from the most fantastical realm imaginable—but listen to it and take it in!—That is what matters. Imagine I were to draw you a map of Asia Minor. Someone might come along and say: “What he’s drawing there—all those rivers and mountains—is nonsense.”—To that I would say: “I don’t care at all that you don’t believe me. But take it in, look at it, and keep it in mind.” When you then come to Asia Minor, you will find that it is correct, and you will then know your way around. — That is the main thing—even for an astronomer—to go into the higher realms with the map in hand; that is the essential point that matters. The same is true of knowledge of a higher world: We can only enter this higher world if we take in something of the nature of that higher world within ourselves. When the astral world is described here, you must take in something of the character of that vibrating and dynamic astral world, and when Devachan is discussed, you must take in something of the nature of that world, which is so opposite to our own. If you simply connect with these thoughts and lift your consciousness up into these higher realms, you will gain a sense of the state of consciousness we experience when the astral world surrounds us, and of the state of consciousness when the Devachanic world surrounds us. If you experience the states that the seer has when he ascends into these worlds, then you have something more than if you simply had tangible proof that you can experience something. That is the difference between the spiritual-scientific method and all other ways of gaining certainty about the spiritual realm.

[ 12 ] Through theosophy, we seek to elevate ourselves into the higher worlds, to enable ourselves to perceive the spiritual directly, so that we may already sense a hint of the higher worlds while in the physical world. The spiritualist view, which I described earlier, seeks to bring the spiritual world down into the physical world, to present it to us as if it were material. The theosophist seeks to elevate the human world into the spiritual sphere. The spiritualist says: If the spirits are to be proven to me, they must come down to me. They must, so to speak, tickle me; then they will become perceptible to my sense of touch. The theosophist ascends to them; he seeks to draw near to them; he seeks to cultivate his soul in such a way that he can understand the spiritual.

[ 13 ] You can get an idea of this by making a simple comparison. Even with some higher spiritual beings who are incarnated in the flesh, it is difficult under the present circumstances to rise to their level. Just imagine what it would be like if Christ Jesus were to appear in our midst today! How many do you think there would be who would accept him? I won’t even go so far as to say that some would run to the police if someone were to appear claiming the same authority that Christ Jesus once claimed. But it depends on whether people are ready to see what lives right beside them.

[ 14 ] Here is yet another comparison: A singer had been invited to dinner, but she arrived a little late. Her seat had remained empty between two gentlemen. One was her friend Felix Mendelssohn; the other was a gentleman she did not know. She had a very pleasant conversation with Mendelssohn; the gentleman to her left was very polite to her and showed her all sorts of courtesies, which, however, she found distasteful. So she asked Mendelssohn, “Who is that stupid fellow sitting next to me?” “That’s the famous philosopher Hegel,” Mendelssohn replied. — If she had been invited to see Hegel, she would certainly have behaved differently. But as it was, sitting next to him without a clue, she thought he was a silly fellow.

[ 15 ] Believe me, it is entirely possible that a Master will cross your path and you will mistake him for a foolish fellow. When these higher individualities are incarnated in the flesh, a person can recognize them only if he has made himself capable of doing so. If Jesus Christ were to descend to us today and did not appear as people imagine him, they would not recognize him. This is what Theosophy seeks: it aims to develop and transform human beings, enabling them to perceive the higher worlds. And this presents a difficulty for our current cultural consciousness. The point is that what lives in the higher world should not descend to us, but rather that we should ascend to it. We must make ourselves capable of ascending to the higher worlds. Only this gives us the ability, when we pass away through death here, to reach the higher worlds in a worthy manner. One can truly be familiar with Asia Minor if one has the map—the map that has been formed out of life itself. Whoever has already become acquainted here with the things that await them there enters a familiar world; they know what is to be found there.

[ 16 ] The mere knowledge that such a world exists, however, does not really matter all that much. Here we stand on the threshold of a great mystery and another “fact of great importance,” and based on this fact, European and American occultists decided in the 1870s to abandon spiritualist tactics and launch the Theosophical Movement. The great occultists’ conference held in Vienna at that time provided the crucial impetus for this change in tactics.

[ 17 ] To launch the spiritualist movement, it was necessary to follow certain procedures. These procedures, which were carried out in developed countries, had originated with American occultists or lodges. In these lodges, the decision was made to pursue the spiritualist path. It consisted of offering certain circles the opportunity to provide tangible proof of immortality through a kind of “galvanization” of specific deceased individuals. That is to say, on the astral plane, the astral corpses of certain “deceased” individuals were first sent into the spiritualist circles in the physical world. They were intended to prove immortality. One might now ask: Is it the role of Earth’s occultists to cause the dead to appear? — Certainly, for those who work with the occult, there is no boundary between the dead and the living. They can seek out the deceased in the astral world and in Devachan. If they wish, they can indeed—as I have already recounted—provide proof of immortality in spiritualist circles. I ask you to take note of this fact and bear it in mind. For those who are not well-versed in these matters, it may not have been entirely understandable. For the occultists, however, it was different. It became apparent that this method of convincing oneself of immortality was not only worthless but, in a certain sense, extremely harmful. This method of obtaining tangible proof of immortality in the sensory world without the person becoming a better human being was not only worthless but actually quite harmful, for the following reasons.

[ 18 ] Consider that the people who had obtained proof of immortality in this way had strayed from the longing to ascend into the spiritual world; they had become materialists even with regard to the spiritual world. According to their knowledge, they were spiritualists; according to their habits of thought, they were nothing more than materialists. They believed in a spiritual world but thought it should be perceived through the senses rather than through spiritual means. Thus it turned out that those who arrived in Kamaloka with such materialistic habits of thought were even less accustomed to perceiving things on the other side than the materialists themselves. Materialists usually believe they are in a dream world; this is the typical state when one crosses over. The materialist believes he is dreaming, and he believes at every moment that he must wake up. In Kamaloka, a person sees himself: he is dreaming, he is sleeping, he wants to wake up.

[ 19 ] For someone who has laboriously convinced himself of the existence of the spiritual world and who now realizes that the spiritual world actually looks quite different, it is not merely that he finds himself in a dream world; rather, the difference between what he believed the spiritual world to be and how it now appears to him weighs on him like a leaden burden. Consider that when people come over to Kamaloka, they already have enough to endure, especially if they cannot satisfy their desires—such as gourmets, for whom such satisfaction is possible only if they have their tongues or their senses, and they no longer have those; then it is similar to having a burning thirst, or to being in a blazing furnace. It is a somewhat different sensation than that of burning thirst, but still quite similar. When you consider all that a person must experience over there and what must be endured, it can be summed up in these words: He must accustom himself to living without a body. — This is difficult for those who are strongly attached to the physical realm. For those who have torn themselves away from the physical realm, it is not nearly as difficult. Those who have done nothing to elevate their souls, who have done nothing to develop their souls to a higher level, perceive this difference between what is spiritual and what is physical as a difference in weight, like a lead weight hanging from them. It really is like a difference in weight. The spiritual requires a completely different mode of perception than the sensual, and yet the person in question expects the spiritual to be material and concrete once again; but there in the spiritual world, he finds that the astral realm is of a completely different nature. Then the difference strikes him as a weight that pulls him back into the physical world. And that is the worst part.

[ 20 ] For these reasons, the Masters of Wisdom have departed from the approach taken in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s, which sought to elevate the higher world to a state of certainty. The previous approach was abandoned, and the decision was made to follow the theosophical path of development as a means of accessing the spiritual world. Essentially, it boils down to two fundamental facts. The first is that, in the most eminent sense, it is necessary to form a spiritual core [other postscript: spiritual center] in order to protect humanity from the onset of spiritual epidemics. The other is to give humanity the opportunity to immerse itself in a higher world, to evolve upward, rather than seeking to pull the higher world down to itself. It is not the higher world that should be dragged down to us, but rather we should be lifted up into the higher world. Understood in this proper sense, this conveys an idea, a sense of the true purpose of the Theosophical Movement. In this sense, the Theosophical Movement sets before us the task of developing ever higher so that we may grow into the spiritual world. Then, I believe, the idea of brotherhood in the most exalted sense will flow to us of its own accord. We will then no longer drift apart. People drift apart only as long as they want to be entirely alone on this physical plane in a materialistic sense. In truth, we are separated only as long as we are on the physical plane. As soon as we rise into the higher world, we already perceive spiritual brotherhood; spiritual unity comes into our consciousness.

[ 21 ] I have often tried to present this spiritual brotherhood to you, at least in conceptual terms. It is so beautifully expressed in the words: “That is you.”—Let us imagine it before our soul. I have said before: If you cut off my hand, it will no longer be my hand in a short time. It can only be my hand as long as it is attached to my organism; otherwise, it is no longer a hand—it withers away. As a human being, you are such a hand attached to the Earth’s organism. Imagine yourself raised a few miles above the Earth: you cannot live there as a physical human being; you cease to live as a human being. You are merely a limb of our Earth, just as my hand is a limb of my body. The illusion that you are independent beings arises solely from the fact that you walk about on Earth while your hand is attached to it. But that doesn’t mean anything. Goethe meant something quite real when he spoke of the Earth Spirit. He meant that the Earth has a soul, of which we are the limbs. He speaks of something real when he has the Earth Spirit say:

In the floods of life, in the storm of deeds
I surge back and forth,
Weaving to and fro!
Birth and grave,
An eternal sea,
A shifting weave,
A blazing life,
Thus I create at the rushing loom of time
And weave a living garment for the Deity.

[ 22 ] Thus, even the physical human being is a link in the Earth organism and part of a whole. And now consider this in spiritual and psychological terms: it is exactly the same there. How often have I emphasized that humanity could not exist if it had not continued to develop on the basis of the other kingdoms? Likewise, the more highly developed human being cannot exist without the less highly developed. A spiritual being cannot exist without those who have remained behind, just as a human being cannot exist without animals having remained behind, just as an animal cannot exist without plants, and a plant cannot exist without minerals. This is most beautifully expressed in the Gospel of John after the washing of the feet: “I could not be without you…”—The disciples are a necessity for Jesus; they are his fertile soil. That is a great truth. If you look into a courtroom—a judge sits at the bench and feels superior to the defendant. But the judge could also reflect and tell himself that perhaps in a previous life he was with the defendant and failed in his duty toward him, which is why the defendant has become what he is. If his karma were examined, it might turn out that the judge is actually the one who should be sitting in the dock. After all, all of humanity is one organism. If you tear out a single soul, it cannot survive; it withers away. A single, unifying bond wraps itself around us all. This will become clear to us when we try to immerse ourselves in this higher world, to truly elevate ourselves, and to experience the spiritual core within us. If a spiritual core lives within us, it will lead us to the Brotherhood. It is already there on the higher planes. On Earth, there is only a reflection of this; the Brotherhood on our Earth is an image of what exists on the higher planes. We deny what is already within us when we fail to cultivate the Brotherhood among ourselves on Earth.

[ 23 ] This is the deeper meaning of the idea of brotherhood. Therefore, we must strive more and more to put theosophical ideas into practice in such a way that we understand our fellow human beings down to the depths of their souls, and that we live together in brotherhood even in the face of the greatest diversity of opinions. That is true unity, true brotherhood—not when we demand that others agree with us simply because they share our views, but when we grant every person the right to hold their own opinion. Then, through our cooperation, the pinnacle of wisdom will be attained. This is a deeper understanding of our first theosophical principle. Let us grasp our idea of brotherhood in such a way that we say to ourselves: We belong together under all circumstances, and no matter how different someone’s opinions may be from our own—differences of opinion can never be a reason to separate us. Only then do we truly understand one another when we fully accept one another. Admittedly, we are still far from this understanding of theosophical brotherhood, and it cannot take effect until the theosophical idea has taken root in this sense and in this spirit.