The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Fourteenth Lecture

[ 1 ] Today we would like to discuss the principle of initiation or esoteric training. Specifically, we want to discuss the two methods of training that take into account, above all, what has been discussed here regarding the evolution of humanity; for one must realize that, in a certain sense, the truth is found by retracing one’s steps to earlier states of humanity.

[ 2 ] It has been said that the people of ancient Atlantis were able to perceive wisdom in everything around them. The further back we go into the distant past, the more we find states of consciousness through which people were able to perceive the creative forces that permeate the world and the spiritual beings that surround us. Everything that surrounds us has come into being through these creative beings, and to see them is precisely to recognize them.

[ 3 ] When humanity had evolved to our present state of consciousness—actually only during our fifth post-Atlantean epoch—it felt in its soul a longing to once again penetrate the spiritual realms. And I have told you how that deep longing originally lived within the ancient Indian people—to recognize the truly spiritual behind everything that surrounds us in the world—and how the insight arose among them: Everything that surrounds us is a dream, an illusion; our sole task is to develop ourselves upward toward the ancient wisdom that created and worked in times past. — The disciples of the ancient rishis sought to set out on the path that, through yoga, would lead them to look up into the realms from which they themselves had descended. Away from Maya, they strove upward into these spiritual realms.

[ 4 ] This is the one path that a person can follow. The newest path available for ascending to wisdom is the Rosicrucian path. This path does not lead people into the past, but into the future—into those states that humanity will once again experience. It teaches how to develop, through specific methods, the wisdom that is inherent in human beings. This is the path that was given by the founder of the Rosicrucian esoteric movement, known outwardly as Christian Rosenkreutz. This is not an unchristian path; it is simply a Christian path adapted to modern conditions, lying between the true Christian path and the path of yoga.

[ 5 ] This path had already been prepared in part long before the advent of Christianity. It took on a special form through that great initiate who, in Paul’s esoteric school in Athens—known as Dionysius the Areopagite—founded the training from which all later esoteric wisdom and instruction emerged.

[ 6 ] These are the two paths of esoteric training that are most suitable for the Western world. Everything connected with our culture and the life we lead—and must lead—is elevated and raised to the principle of initiation through Christian and Rosicrucian training. The purely Christian path is somewhat difficult for people today; therefore, the Rosicrucian path has been introduced for those who must live in the present. Anyone who wishes to follow the old, purely Christian path in the midst of modern life must have the opportunity to detach themselves from external life for a time, so that they may subsequently re-enter that life with all the more intensity. The Rosicrucian path, however, can be followed by anyone, regardless of their profession or sphere of life.

[ 7 ] We want to characterize the purely Christian path. In terms of method, it is prescribed in the most profound Christian book—one that is least understood by the representatives of Christian theology—the Gospel of John; and in terms of content, it is found in the Apocalypse, or the Book of Revelation.

[ 8 ] The Gospel of John is a wonderful book; one must live it, not merely read it. One can live it by realizing that what is written in it are guidelines for the inner life and that one must observe them in the proper way. The Christian path requires its disciple to regard the Gospel of John as a book of meditation. A fundamental prerequisite—one that is more or less dispensed with in Rosicrucian training—is that one have the most unwavering faith in the personality of Christ Jesus. One must at least carry within oneself the possibility of believing that this supreme Individuality—this Leader of the Fire Spirits of the Solar Age—was physically incarnated as Jesus of Nazareth; that he was not merely “the simple man from Nazareth,” nor an Individuality similar to Socrates, Plato, or Pythagoras. One must recognize his fundamental difference from all others. One must hold fast to the God-man of unique nature within him if one wishes to undergo a purely Christian training; otherwise, one lacks the proper fundamental feeling that stirs within the soul. Therefore, one must truly be able to believe in the opening words of the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God,” right up to the words: “And the Logos became flesh and dwelt among us.” Thus, the very same Spirit who was the ruler of the fire spirits, who was connected with the transformation of the Earth—the Spirit we also call the Spirit of the Earth—truly dwelt among us in a fleshly form; He was truly present within a physical body. This must be acknowledged. If one cannot do so, then one would do better to undergo a different form of training. But for those who, based on this fundamental premise, meditatively call the words of the Gospel of John to their soul every morning—up to the passage: “with devotion and truth”—every morning for weeks and months on end, in such a way that one not only understands them but lives within them—for such a person, these words will become an awakening force for the soul; for these are not ordinary words, but awakening forces that evoke other powers within the soul. The student must simply have the patience to call them to mind again and again, every day. Then the forces required for Christian training will be awakened through the stirring of very specific feelings. The Christian path is more of an inner one, whereas in Rosicrucian training, the feelings are kindled by the external world.

[ 9 ] The Christian path is a path that involves awakening emotions. There are seven stages of feelings that must be awakened. In addition, there are other exercises that are given only on a person-to-person basis and tailored to the individual’s character. It is, however, essential to experience the 13th chapter of the Gospel of John—to experience it in the way I am about to describe. The teacher says to the student: You must develop very specific feelings within yourself. Imagine this: A plant grows out of the earth. It is higher than the mineral soil from which it grows, but it needs that soil. The plant, being the higher entity, could not exist without the lower one. And if the plant could think, it would have to say to the earth: “Although I am higher than you, I cannot exist without you”—and it would have to bow toward the earth in gratitude. Likewise, the animal must do the same toward the plant, for without the plant it could not exist, and likewise the human being toward the animal. And when the human being has risen to a higher level, then he must say to himself: I could never stand at my level without the lower one. Gratefully, he must bow toward it, for it has made it possible for him to exist. No being in the world could exist without the lower, to which it must be grateful. Likewise, Christ, the Highest, could not exist without the Twelve, and the feeling of bowing gratefully toward them is powerfully depicted in the 13th chapter of the Gospel of John: He, the Highest, washes his disciples’ feet.

[ 10 ] If one imagines this as a fundamental feeling awakening in the human soul—when the student lives for weeks and months in reflections and contemplations that deepen this fundamental feeling in the soul—how gratefully the Higher must look down upon the Lower, which makes it possible for the student to live—then one awakens an initial fundamental feeling, and one has savored it fully at the moment when certain symptoms appear: an external symptom and an inner vision. The external symptom is that the person feels as if water were washing over their feet; in an inner vision, they see themselves as Christ washing the feet of the Twelve. This is the first stage, that of the washing of the feet. This is not merely a historical event; anyone can experience it—the event described in chapter 13 of the Gospel of John. It is an external, symptomatic expression of the fact that the person has ascended so far in their emotional world as to be able to experience this, and they cannot ascend so far in their emotional world without this symptom occurring.

[ 11 ] The second stage, the scourging, is experienced when you reflect deeply on the following: How will you fare when the pains and lashes of life come crashing down on you from all sides? You must stand firm, you must steel yourself against all the suffering life has to offer, and you must endure it. — This is the second fundamental feeling that must be experienced. The external sensation is an itching and twitching throughout the entire body, and a more internal expression is a vision in which one sees oneself being scourged—first in a dream, then in a vision.

[ 12 ] Then comes the third: the crowning with thorns. For weeks and months on end, one must endure the feeling: What will become of you when you are not only required to endure the sufferings and pains of life, but when even the most sacred part of you—your spiritual essence—is showered with scorn and ridicule? — And again, there must be no complaining; rather, it must be clear to the student that he must stand upright nonetheless. The development of his inner strength must enable him to stand upright despite scorn and mockery. Whatever threatens to destroy his soul, he stands upright! Then, in an inner astral vision, he sees himself wearing the crown of thorns and feels a physical pain in his head. This is the sign that he has progressed far enough in his emotional world to be allowed to have these experiences.

[ 13 ] The fourth is the crucifixion. Here, the student must once again develop a very specific feeling within himself. Today, people identify their body with their ego. Anyone who wishes to undergo Christian initiation must accustom themselves to carrying their body through the world as one would carry a foreign object, such as a table. Their body must become foreign to them. They carry it in through the door and out through the door as if it were a foreign object. When a person has progressed far enough in this fundamental feeling, what is called the “blood test” manifests itself. Certain rednesses of the skin appear in specific places in such a way that a person can evoke the stigmata of Christ on their hands, feet, and the right side of the chest. When a person, through the warmth of feeling, is able to develop the blood test within themselves—which is the external symptom—then the inner, astral aspect also emerges, causing the person to see themselves as crucified.

[ 14 ] The fifth is mystical death. Human beings rise higher and higher toward the feeling: I belong to the whole world. I am no more an independent being than the finger on my hand. — He feels embedded in the rest of the world, as if he were part of it. Then he experiences it as if everything around him were growing dark, as if a black darkness were enveloping him, like a curtain drawing tight around him. During this time, the Christian initiate comes to know all the suffering and pain, all the evil and all the misfortune that cling to the creature. This is the descent into hell; everyone must experience it. Then something happens, as if the curtain were tearing, and the person then looks into the spiritual worlds. This is called the tearing of the curtain.

[ 15 ] The sixth stage is burial and resurrection. When a person has reached this point, they must be able to say: I have already grown accustomed to viewing my body as something foreign, but now I regard everything in the world as being as close to me as my own body, which is, after all, made only of these same materials. Every flower, every stone is as close to me as my own body. — Then the person is buried in the Earth. This stage is necessarily connected with a new life, with the feeling of being united with the deepest soul of the planet, with the Christ Soul, which says: “Those who eat my bread trample me underfoot.”

[ 16 ] The seventh—the Ascension—cannot be described. One must have a soul that is no longer dependent on the brain as an instrument of thought. To perceive what the person in question experiences as what is called the Ascension, one must have a soul capable of experiencing this feeling.

[ 17 ] Passing through states of humble devotion constitutes the essence of Christian initiation. Whoever undergoes this process with such earnestness will experience his resurrection in the spiritual worlds. Not everyone can accomplish this today. Therefore, it is necessary that there be another method leading up to the higher worlds. This is the Rosicrucian method.

[ 18 ] From this, I would like to cite seven elements that are intended to give a picture of what this training entails. Some of these have already been described in Luzifer-Gnosis; others can only be conveyed from person to person within the training itself. Nevertheless, one must form an understanding of what the training offers the individual. It, in turn, has seven stages, though not necessarily in sequence; it depends on the individuality of the student. The teacher imparts what seems appropriate for his or her student, and much else is added that eludes external discussion.

The seven steps are as follows:

1. Study
2. Imaginative Insight
3. Inspired Insight or Reading of Occult Scriptures
4. Preparation of the Philosopher’s Stone
5. Correspondence Between the Macrocosm and the Microcosm
6. Living Within the Macrocosm
7. Godliness

[ 19 ] Study in the Rosicrucian sense is the ability to immerse oneself in a line of thought that is drawn not from physical reality but from the higher worlds; what is called life in pure thought. This is even denied by most of today’s philosophers; they say that all thinking must have a certain residue of sensory perception. But that is not the case, for no human being can, for example, see a real circle. One must see a circle in the mind; on the blackboard, it is merely an accumulation of small particles of chalk. One can attain a real circle only by setting aside all examples, all external reality. Thus, in mathematics, thinking is a supersensible act. But one must also learn to think supersensibly about other things in the world, and the Initiates have always held such a way of thinking regarding the nature of the human being. Rosicrucian theosophy is such a supersensible insight, and its study, as we have now pursued it, is the first step toward Rosicrucian training itself. I am not presenting Rosicrucian theosophy for some external reason, but because this is the first step of Rosicrucian initiation.

[ 20 ] People often think it is unnecessary to talk about the elements of human nature, the evolution of humanity, or the various stages of planetary development. They would rather cultivate beautiful feelings; they have no desire to study these topics seriously. Yet no matter how many beautiful feelings one cultivates in the soul, it is impossible to ascend to the higher worlds through them alone. Rosicrucian theosophy does not seek to arouse feelings, but rather to allow the feelings themselves to resonate through the mighty realities of the spiritual worlds. The Rosicrucian regards it as a kind of shamelessness to rush at people with feelings. He guides them into the history of humanity on the premise that feelings will then arise of their own accord. He makes the wandering planets in the cosmos appear before them, and when the soul experiences these realities, it is meant to be powerfully moved in its feelings. It is mere empty talk to say that one should appeal directly to the feelings. That is merely a matter of convenience. Rosicrucian theosophy lets the facts speak, and when these thoughts then flow into the emotions and overwhelm them, that is the right path. Only what a person feels from within can bring them bliss. The Rosicrucian lets the facts of the cosmos speak, for that is the most impersonal way to teach. It makes no difference who stands before you, for you are not to be moved by a personality, but by what that personality conveys to you from the facts of the world’s becoming. Therefore, in Rosicrucian training, all direct veneration of the teacher is eliminated. He does not demand it; he does not need it. He wishes to speak to the student about what exists independently of him.

[ 21 ] Anyone who then wishes to ascend into the higher worlds must accustom themselves to a way of thinking in which one thought springs from another. Such thinking is developed in my Philosophy of Freedom and Truth and Science. These books are not written in such a way that one could take a single thought and place it elsewhere; rather, they are written in the same way that an organism comes into being; in the same way, one thought grows out of another. These books have absolutely nothing to do with the person who wrote them. He surrendered himself to what the thoughts themselves worked out within him, as they organized themselves.

[ 22 ] Thus, for those who wish to pursue this course of study in a certain elementary way, it is a familiarization with the elementary facts of spiritual science itself, whereas for those who wish to go further, it is a deepening into a structure of thought that allows one thought to grow out of another, out of itself.

[ 23 ] The second stage is imaginative insight—the insight that builds upon what is conveyed to the individual through thinking during the course of study. This is the foundation; it must be further developed through one’s own imaginative insight. If you bring to light certain things I have hinted at in recent lectures, then you will, for example, perceive echoes of processes that were commonplace on Saturn. There is a way to view everything around us as the physiognomy of an inner spirituality. People walk across the Earth; to them, it is a conglomeration of rocks and stones; but human beings must learn to understand that everything around them is the true physical expression of the spirit of the Earth. Just as the body is animated by a soul, so the Earth is the outer expression of an inner spirit. Only when people view the Earth as they would a human being—with body and soul—will they have a concept of what Goethe meant when he said: “Everything transitory is but a parable.” ” When you see a tear rolling down a human face, do not examine, using the laws of physics, how fast or how slow the tear rolls down; rather, see it as an expression of the soul’s inner sadness, just as a smiling cheek is an expression of the soul’s inner joy. The student must rise to the point where, when walking across a meadow, he sees in every flower the outward expression of a living being—the expression of an inner earth spirit. Some flowers appear to him like rolling tears; others are to him the joyful expression of the spirit of the earth. Every stone, every plant, every flower—everything is to him the outward expression of the inner earth spirit, its physiognomy speaking to him. And everything transitory becomes to him a parable of the eternal, which expresses itself within him.

[ 24 ] This is how the Grail disciple and Rosicrucian must have felt. He was told: Look at the calyx of the flower, which receives the sunbeam. It evokes the pure, productive forces that lie dormant within the plant. That is why the sunbeam is called the “holy lance of love.” Now look at the human being. He stands higher than the plant. He possesses the same organs within himself, but in him, that which the plant holds within itself in perfect purity and chastity is permeated by unchaste lust and desire. — The future of human development lies in the fact that human beings will once again, through another organ—which will be their transformed productive organ—chaste and pure, project their own image out into the world. Chaste and pure, without instinct, without desire—just as the calyx of a flower turns chaste toward the sacred lance of love—so will be the human productive organ. It will turn toward the spiritual ray of wisdom, and that ray will fertilize it to bring forth a being in its own image. The larynx will be this organ. The Grail student was told: The plant, at its lowest stage, possesses this chaste calyx; man has lost it. He has degenerated into unchaste desire. From the spiritualized ray of the sun, he is to bring it into being once more. In chastity, he is to develop that which creates the Holy Grail of the future.

[ 25 ] This is how the student looks up to the great ideal. What takes place in the slow evolution of all humanity, the initiate experiences much earlier. He shows us the evolution of humanity in images, and these images have a very different effect than the abstract concepts produced by today’s materialistic age. When you imagine this development in such lofty and powerful images as that of the Grail, the effect is different from that of ordinary knowledge, which is unable to exert any profound influence on your organism. Imaginative knowledge works down into the etheric body and from there affects the blood; and the blood is the mediator that transforms the organism. Human beings are becoming increasingly capable of working on their organism through their etheric body. All imaginative insight that springs from the truth is at the same time restorative and healing; it restores the blood to health as it circulates. Imaginative insight is the best educator, provided that the individual is strong and devoted enough for it to take effect upon them.

[ 26 ] The third stage is the reading of the occult script, that is, not merely seeing individual images, but allowing the relationship between these various images to take effect upon oneself. This becomes what is called the occult script. One begins to organize the lines of force that flow creatively through the world into certain figures and color compositions through the power of imagination. One learns to sense an inner connection expressed in those figures: this acts as the spiritual tone, as the harmony of the spheres, for those figures are modeled after the true relationships of the world. Our script is a final, decadent remnant of this ancient occult script and is modeled after it.

[ 27 ] The fourth stage, “Preparation of the Philosopher’s Stone,” is attained through exercises in the breathing process. When a person breathes as nature intended, they need plants to breathe. If plants did not exist, they could not live, for plants provide them with oxygen and assimilate the carbon dioxide they exhale. Plants use this to build their own organisms and release oxygen back into the atmosphere, so that a person’s oxygen supply is constantly renewed by the plant world. Humanity could not survive on its own; remove the plant kingdom, and humanity would die out in a short time. You can see the cycle this way: You inhale the oxygen that the plant exhales. You exhale carbon, which the plant inhales and uses to build its own physical form. Thus, the plant belongs to me; it is the instrument that sustains my life. You can see how the plant builds its body from carbon in the form of coal, for coal is nothing other than the remains of plants.

[ 28 ] The Rosicrucian training guides the individual, through a strictly regulated breathing process, to develop the organ within himself that can effect the transformation of carbon into oxygen. What the plant does today in the external world will later be accomplished within the human being himself by an organ of the future—one that he is already developing within himself through this training. This is slowly taking shape. Through the regulated breathing process, the human being will carry within himself the instrument for producing oxygen. He will have become a being like the plant, whereas now he is mineral in nature. He retains carbon within himself and uses it to build his own body. Therefore, his body will later resemble that of a plant more closely; then he will be able to unite with the sacred lance of love. All of humanity will then possess within itself a consciousness such as the initiate acquires today when he ascends into the higher worlds. This is called the transformation of human substance into that substance whose foundation is carbon itself. This is the alchemy that leads to the human being building his own body in a manner similar to that of the plant today. This is called the preparation of the “Philosopher’s Stone,” and coal is its outward symbol. But it is only the “Philosopher’s Stone” when human beings are able to produce it themselves through their regulated breathing process. The teaching can be communicated only from person to person; it is shrouded in a deep mystery, and only after the student has been completely purified and cleansed can he receive this mystery. If it were to be made public today, people, in their selfishness, would use this highest secret to satisfy their basest needs.

[ 29 ] The fifth is the correspondence between the macrocosm and the microcosm. When we look at the history of humanity, we see that what is within human beings today has gradually been formed from the outside in; for example, the glands grew on the sun, just as sponges do today. Everything that is now incorporated into human skin was once outside the body. The human body is as if pieced together from what was spread out on the outside. Every limb of your physical body, etheric body, and astral body was once somewhere out there in the world. That is the macrocosm within the microcosm. Your soul itself was, after all, out there in the Godhead. What is within us corresponds to something that is outside, and we must experience these true correspondences within ourselves.

[ 30 ] You are familiar with the spot on the forehead, above the bridge of the nose; it signifies that something specific, which used to be outside, has entered the person. When you penetrate this organ meditatively, immersing yourself in it, this means more than merely brooding over this point; you then come to know the part of the outer world that corresponds to it. In this way, you also come to know the larynx and the forces that formed it. Thus, you come to know the macrocosm through immersion in your own body.

[ 31 ] This is not brooding within oneself. You must not say: “God is within; that is whom I seek!”—You would only find the little human being whom you yourself have elevated to the status of a god. Anyone who speaks only of this brooding within will never attain true knowledge. To arrive at this knowledge through the path of Rosicrucian theosophy is more arduous and requires concrete work. The world is full of splendor and grandeur. One must immerse oneself in it; one must know God in His details; only then can one find Him within oneself, and only then does one come to know God in His entirety. The world is like a great book. In the creations, we have the letters for it; we must read them from beginning to end: only then do we learn to read the Book of the Microcosm and the Book of the Macrocosm from beginning to end. And this is no longer mere understanding; it manifests itself in feelings, it fuses the human being with the entire world, and he perceives all things as the expression of the divine spirit of the earth. When a person has reached this stage, he acts entirely of his own accord out of the will of the entire cosmos, and that is godliness.

[ 32 ] If we are able to think in this way, then we are walking the Rosicrucian path. Christian training relies more on the feeling that is cultivated within; Rosicrucian training allows what is spread out in physical reality as the divinity of the Earth to take effect upon us, and allows it to resonate in our feelings. These are two paths that are accessible to everyone. If you think as people do today, then you can walk the Rosicrucian path, no matter how scientific you may be. Modern science is even a tool if you follow the development of the worlds not only through the letters but also by seeking what lies hidden behind them—just as when reading a book, one does not merely look at the letters but reads between the lines. You must seek the spirit behind science; then science will be for you merely the letter through which the spirit is revealed.

[ 33 ] All of this is not intended to be a comprehensive description of Rosicrucian training; it is meant only to offer hints that give a glimpse of what can be found within it. It is a path for people of the present; it enables them to influence the future. These are merely the elementary stages that characterize the path. In this way, we gain an understanding of how one can penetrate the higher mysteries through the Rosicrucian method itself.

[ 34 ] Spiritual science is necessary for humanity’s further progress. What must happen to transform humanity must be brought about by human beings themselves. Those who embrace the truth in this present incarnation will, in later incarnations, themselves shape the outer form for the deeper truths.

[ 35 ] This is how what we have discussed in this course comes together to form a whole. It is the instrument that is to be a creative force for the culture of the future. It is taught today because the people of the future need these teachings, because they must be introduced into the course of human development. Anyone who refuses to accept this truth of the future lives at the expense of others. But the one who accepts it lives for others, even if at first he is driven by a selfish longing for the higher worlds. If only the path is the right one, then it will of itself dispel that longing and be the best source of selflessness.

[ 36 ] Humanity now needs occult development, and it must be instilled in it. A serious, genuine quest for truth—one that goes from thing to thing—is the only path to true brotherhood; it is humanity’s greatest unifying force. This is to serve as the means to bring about humanity’s great ultimate goal—unity—and we will achieve this goal if we cultivate the means for it within ourselves, if we seek to develop these means in the noblest and most beautiful way, for what matters is the sanctification of humanity through these means.

[ 37 ] Thus, spiritual science appears to us not only as a great ideal, but as a force that permeates us, and from this force springs our knowledge. Spiritual science will become an increasingly popular endeavor; it will increasingly permeate all religious and practical aspects of life, just as the great law of existence permeates all beings; it is a factor in human evolution.

[ 38 ] It is in this sense that Rosicrucian theosophy has been presented here. If it has been understood—not merely in the abstract, but in such a way that it has brought about insights through the emotions—then it can have a direct effect on life. When these insights flow into all our faculties—from the head to the heart and from there to the hand—and into all our actions and creative work, then we have grasped the foundation of spiritual science. Then we have grasped the great cultural task that has been placed in our hands, and from these insights will also emerge the feelings that a person of easier disposition would prefer to develop directly.

[ 39 ] Rosicrucian theosophy does not seek to revel in emotions; rather, it seeks to present the facts of the spirit before your eyes. Human beings must cooperate; they must allow themselves to be inspired by the facts they have received through this description, and they must use these facts to awaken feelings and sensations within themselves. In this sense, Rosicrucian theosophy is meant to become a powerful impulse for the emotional world, but at the same time to be that which leads us directly into the realities of supersensible perceptions—that which first allows them to arise thoughtfully and then leads the seeker upward into the higher worlds.

[ 40 ] That should be the purpose of these lectures.