The Rudolf Steiner Archive

13. The Promise of the Spirit of Truth

[ 1 ] The truths of religious texts are drawn from the depths of wisdom. But then many people come and say: “You’re presenting us with something complicated; we want the Gospel to be simple and straightforward.” Great truths must not be complicated. — In a certain sense, these people are right, but not only simple thinking—wise thinking, too, must be able to discover the highest truths. The vantage point from which we view these things cannot be high enough. In the future, we must increasingly move away from the vantage point of convenience in order to penetrate the deepest insights with true seriousness.

[ 2 ] Today, let us seek to understand the promise of the Spirit of Truth. These words refer to a secret initiation.

[ 3 ] “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them—it is he who loves me,” says Christ. “To love” points to the intimate relationship between teacher and student, which is esoteric. The deepest secrets of the soul are conveyed from person to person, in a very intimate way. The words of the Bible that we wish to understand today read as follows:

[ 4 ] “Let your hearts be at peace. Believe in God and believe in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places …”

[ 5 ] “If you love me, keep my commandments! And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever: the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, for it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he abides with you and will be in you.”

[ 6 ] “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. But whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him. Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, why is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

[ 7 ] “Father”—that is the name of the soul’s innermost power. It is to be revealed to the inner circle of disciples. Judas asks: “Why is it that you wish to reveal yourself to us, the intimate disciples—and not to the world?” With this, Judas directly expresses that something is to be revealed to the intimate disciples within the Mystery.

[ 8 ] Jesus says, “We will make a home with the Father.” That was the most important aspect of the outpouring of the Spirit, which began with the words, “Let your hearts be at peace.” Christ goes to prepare a home for his closest disciples: “In my Father’s house there are many rooms.”

[ 9 ] Let us be clear about these words. Once a person has attained a certain level of consciousness, they can never lose it again. One must rid oneself of any other notion. People so often revel in the idea of “merging with universal consciousness” and believe that this is salvation. Such universal consciousness does not exist at all and never will. After all, human beings are acquiring the ability to say “I” right now. And the more they say “I” and work—from the perspective of the “I”—on the purification of their three lower bodies—the astral body, the etheric body, and the physical body—the more strongly they develop their “I” and evolve into the future. In this way, human beings can consciously become selfless because they choose to. One day, all human beings will have reached the pinnacle of “I” development. Yet they will still be able to grasp the spirit of community selflessly. We are sitting together here in this room, and the shared spirit within it is like a point from which everything radiates together. But this shared spirit can also radiate voluntarily from every heart and fill the room. Let us consider how the Divinity is reflected in the world. It has poured all its life into its reflection through the great sacrifice. Now let us imagine that we, too, could pour our lives into countless reflections, so that each individual reflection would say: “I and my origin are one.”—Thus, all human beings once emerged from the bosom of the Divinity as reflections of the Divinity. Ultimately, they become empty “I’s” with transformed astral, etheric, and physical bodies, and they step into the spiritual world and utter the deepest mystery of their being: “I and the Father are one!” The animal-men of the Lemurian era could never become spiritual of their own accord; only by receiving the divine drops. At the end of their evolution, purified and refined, they can say: “I and the Father are one.”

[ 10 ] We look back to distant times. There was still a great deal of volcanic activity on Earth during the Lemurian era. The beings that lived then were very different from those of today. It was then that human beings first received what they were to develop as their soul. If we go back even further, we see that the soul nature above and the physical nature below were still one and the same. Both were united in the common bosom of God. Then the physical current below was left to its own devices and developed into the animal-like human beings of the Lemurian era. The upper aspect developed soulfully and spiritually. “The body first had to be prepared below to receive the soul from above.”

[ 11 ] The Spirit that reigned over the common origin of both souls and bodies—that is the Father Spirit; that is the Father.

[ 12 ] The Spirit that reigned in the physical realm below when the spiritual realm above went its separate way—that is the Spirit of the Son; that is the Son.

[ 13 ] And the spirit that reigned in the spiritual realm until it was able to descend into the physical realm—that is the Holy Spirit.

[ 14 ] During the Lemurian era, at the soul’s first incarnation, there was an outpouring of the Spirit: “And God breathed into man the breath of life, and thus man became a living soul.”

[ 15 ] That was the first outpouring of the Spirit, an unconscious outpouring. At that time, humankind still lived in a dreamlike state for a long time. It was not until the second half of the Atlantean era that humans acquired the abilities to calculate, think logically, and correctly observe the external world in all its relationships. People in the first half of the Atlantean era saw another person as a colored cloud. The cloud appeared reddish-brown if the person was unsympathetic or an enemy. A violet-reddish cloud signaled a sympathetic being, a friend. Other things were perceived in the same way: if a golden-yellow cloud rose like a kind of misty formation between the astral and the physical, that was a sign that a useful metal lay there. A dull blue-red cloud with peculiar boundary lines—such as only a mineral can have—indicated a useless metal. Gradually, people became increasingly separated from one another; they confined their feelings within the skin, and external physical perception developed. Just as a fish or a snail does today—but not like a turtle or a crocodile—so did human beings of the early Atlantean period perceive their surroundings. This new perception began when human beings started to breathe through lungs. This was also connected to the formation of blood and the activity of the “I” within.

[ 16 ] A remnant of the ego’s effect on the blood still exists today when we turn pale with fear or blush with shame. This still reveals the ego’s direct activity. This is a vestige from a time when the ego exerted a powerful influence on the blood. Today, the inner power of the “I” manifests only in gestures, in blushing and turning pale. Today, people can gesticulate with their hands in enthusiasm; back then, the blood, driven by the impulse of the “I,” could shape organs out of the body: this is how, for example, the fingers came into being. At the end of the Atlantean epoch, the people of that time were already similar to those of today.

[ 17 ] In the past, blood ties were stronger than they are now. There was a much closer bond between blood relatives. The following example may serve to illustrate this point. Two writers of our time have portrayed peasants superbly in their works, but in very different ways. Anzengruber portrays them with sharp contours; they are figures that seem almost chiseled. Rosegger, on the other hand, combines many individual traits into a cohesive whole. He takes notes on his observations and then uses them. Rosegger wondered how Anzengruber could portray peasants at all, even though he had never lived among them or observed them. Anzengruber replied that he was able to portray farmers so well precisely because he did not know them: all his ancestors were farmers, and so the nature of farmers ran in his blood. Drawing from his own bloodline, he described the farmers whom his ancestors had known.

[ 18 ] In earlier times, humanity consisted of many small groups. When we read Tacitus’s Germania, we find it lists many small tribes related by blood, for whom this kinship held special significance. Among the patriarchs of the Old Testament, marriages always took place within the same tribe; the same blood always flowed through their veins; and the descendants’ memory reached all the way back to their ancestors. The descendant remembered the ancestors just as we remember our own childhood. Nine hundred years after Adam, the descendants still remembered Adam’s experiences. This explains the advanced ages recorded in the Bible. For as long as anyone could remember, the “self” that spanned the generations was called, for example, “Adam.” A shared self lives within the tribe, and it lives in the blood. That is why, when blood has been shed, atonement can only be made with blood. And the entire tribe avenges the blood of a single tribesman through blood vengeance.

[ 19 ] Gradually, the sense of closeness gives way more and more to broader connections, to a sense of distance. The tribes become international. The principle of pure humanity gains the upper hand.

[ 20 ] In the physical realm, in the love of kin bound by blood, the principle of sonship is at work. The soul, however, develops in an increasingly individual manner, so that the bond of blood extends into ever-wider circles, drifting further and further away from the tribal community.

[ 21 ] All ancient states were built on the principle of blood kinship. The Ten Commandments of the Jews are tribal commandments. What was characteristic of the Jewish people was not yet characteristic of all humanity. Then the Spirit of the Son appeared on earth in Christ, and His blood was shed. The blood that had previously created only close bonds was poured out. Through this, the dissolution of all narrow bonds into a brotherhood of all people was achieved. The narrowly defined sense of self—which cannot yet say, “Whoever does not forsake father, mother, wife, children, brother, and sister, and even his own life, cannot be my disciple”—such self-centeredness must flow from the wounds of the Redeemer. In the flowing blood of Christ, the capacity for love was attained—a love that transcends blood brotherhood, tribe, and nation. Had we been able to catch the drops of blood at the cross, we would have truly and in the fullest sense possessed the substance that so transformed humanity. The goal is for human beings to find a connection with all people—not only for brothers and sisters to love one another, but for every human being to love every other human being. The physical blood that flowed from Christ’s wounds is the embodiment of the principle of redemption; this blood is a significant symbol of redemption.

[ 22 ] Human beings are to rediscover the Spirit in its fullness. They once possessed it, but only in a dim, nebulous form. Then it took on the form of how human beings view the world today. But today, human beings see only this life, only one side. As if through a veil, this perspective cuts human beings off from spiritual life. Now, through the individual consciousness that made them into “I”s, they are to be led back out to world consciousness. That is why Christ’s blood was shed from the narrow tribe into the wide world. The cross was able to accomplish this. From the cross, the blood flowed out to all of humanity. But at the same time, the cross also developed the “I” more and more closely, more and more individually. Christianity brought us all of this.

[ 23 ] But when people are left so much to their own devices, without tribal ties and with a heightened sense of self, selfishness is bound to increase. Jesus Christ foresaw this. He saw the coming of materialism, and he established Christianity as a bulwark against it.

[ 24 ] In ancient times, everything was based on blood brotherhood. This is clearly demonstrated by the cult of ancestors. Many legends revolved around the figure of an ancestral hero, such as Theseus or Cadmus. This principle prevailed in law and commandment. But then external institutions became the determining factor in social life. However, this only took shape with the spread of Christianity. What does humanity find today in internationalism? A principle more powerful than the force of the state. The great powers that rule the world today are international. They are called: money, transportation, industry, and so on. This has nothing to do with the old blood brotherhood anymore. The flip side of this development is materialism. The selfish mind dwells within the machine. How different was the way the Greeks depicted their god in Zeus, remembering that the father principle underlies everything. Where do we find anything divine in our public life? Machines, railroads, and so on—everything serves selfishness. This will play an even more significant role in the future. In the war of all against all, it will escalate to the extreme.

[ 25 ] Although Christ created the bond of unity for all people, a second act must still be added to that of the Redeemer. Within those who feel drawn to Christ live the feelings that lead from person to person. His act is the great act of union that can reunite the spirit with the physical. Today, people still dominate the physical realm in the service of selfishness. One day, they are to use it in the service of the spirit. The spirit must unite with the Son so that both, united, may be absorbed into the Father!

[ 26 ] Christ says: “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Everyone should say: I am like the branch on the vine; Christ is my vine. - Then Christ overcomes the selfishness within the organisms of humanity. The Father Spirit—the Spirit of the common origin—must enter into each individual “I”; then the “I” creates according to the Father’s principle; then each “I” builds its own house, and yet they are all united through the Christ principle. “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places,” says Christ. This refers to the dwelling places that the “I’s” build for themselves. Christ, however, must prepare the site, the place of dwelling. But for this to happen, the Spirit that unites people must come: that is the Spirit of Truth.

[ 27 ] Theosophy is meant to teach people to understand what they have in common; it is meant to bring higher wisdom, the spirit of truth. People will continue to hold different opinions as long as they do not yet possess the highest knowledge. The Gnostics called mysticism “Mathesis,” for in mathematics no one can say that he disagrees with the others. Two scholars can never disagree about a mathematical theorem. Human desires do not matter there. When it comes to great wisdom, we must still free ourselves from our desires. Only those who wish to study the Spirit of Truth, entirely without their own desires, are ready to receive it. The highest knowledge unites people; there is no room for opinion or delusion. The Spirit of Truth must outshine humanity. Then, no matter how scattered they may be in their various dwellings, the Spirit of Truth will unite them. For the house that the “I” builds to fit into the spiritual realm, the common Spirit of Truth must govern the “I’s.” Christ promises the Spirit of Truth to his disciples on the Feast of Pentecost. Then the disciples speak in different tongues, and all nations learn to understand one another. Even if selfishness grows ever greater, every “I” will possess the spirit of community if it partakes of the Spirit of Truth. Whoever strives for this must live in the spirit of the Gospel of John. That is true theosophy. Just as all plants turn toward the sun, just as they all grow toward it wherever it may be, so will all “I’s” turn toward the sun of the Spirit, toward the spiritual light of truth!