The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Eleventh Lecture

[ 1 ] If we are to focus all our reflections in this course on a deeper understanding of the Gospel of John, on the words “Father and Mother of Jesus,” and thereby to the very essence of Christianity as understood in the Gospel of John, then we must now acquire the necessary materials to understand the concepts of “mother” and “father” in their spiritual sense, as intended in the Gospel of John, and at the same time in their literal sense. For this is not a matter of allegorical or symbolic interpretations.

[ 2 ] Above all, we must understand what it means to unite with the higher spiritual worlds, to prepare ourselves to receive the higher worlds. In doing so, we must consider the essence of initiation, particularly in light of the Gospel of John. Who is an initiate?

[ 3 ] Throughout the entire post-Atlantean evolution of humanity, an initiate was one who could rise above the outer physical-sensory world and have personal experiences in the spiritual worlds—that is, one who experiences the spiritual world in the same way that a human being experiences the physical-sensory world through their outer senses: eyes, ears, and so on. Such an initiate is therefore a witness to the spiritual worlds and their truth. That is one aspect. But then there is something else entirely different that every initiate acquires as a special quality during initiation: namely, that he also rises above the feelings and sensations that are not only entirely justified but also deeply necessary within the physical world, yet cannot exist in the same way in the spiritual world.

[ 4 ] Do not misunderstand this, and do not interpret it to mean that someone who, as an initiate, is capable of experiencing not only the physical world but also the spiritual world, must now give up all other human feelings and sensations that have value here in the physical world, exchanging them for feelings related to the higher worlds. That is not the case. He does not exchange one for the other, but rather acquires one in addition to the other. If, on the one hand, a person must spiritualize his feelings, he must, on the other hand, possess all the more strongly those feelings that make him capable of working in the physical world. It is in this sense that the saying about the initiate must be understood: In a certain respect, he must become a homeless person. Not that he must become estranged in the slightest from his homeland and family as long as he lives in the physical world, but the phrase has something to do with this only insofar as, through the acquisition of the corresponding feelings in the spiritual world, his feelings for the physical world will undergo a finer, more beautiful development. What is a “homeless person”? Without this quality, no one can attain initiation in the true sense of the word. To be a “homeless person” means: A person must not develop any special affinities in the spiritual world that are similar to those special affinities a person has here in the physical world for individual specific regions and contexts. The individual in the physical world belongs to this or that people, to this or that family, to this or that nation; that is all well and good. He need not lose this; he needs it here. But if he were to apply these feelings in the spiritual world, he would bring a very harmful burden with him into the spiritual world. There, it is not a matter of developing any kind of sympathy for something, but rather of allowing everything to affect one objectively, according to the value inherent in the object. One could also say, if this were generally understood: An objective person in the full sense of the word must become the initiate.

[ 5 ] Now, it is precisely through its evolution on Earth that humanity has emerged from an earlier state of rootlessness associated with the old, twilight-like clairvoyant consciousness. We have seen, after all, how humanity descended from the spiritual spheres into the physical world. In the original spiritual spheres, there was no such thing as patriotism or the like. When human beings descended from the spiritual spheres, one group settled here on Earth, another group settled there; and thus the individual human groups in certain regions became a reflection of those regions. Do not think that the Black person became black merely for internal reasons; rather, he also became black through adaptation to his region on Earth, and the same is true of white people. And just as there are great differences in color and race, so too have the smaller differences in national characteristics arisen because human beings have adopted certain traits through their connection with their surroundings. But this, in turn, is also connected to the specialization of love on Earth. Because human beings have become dissimilar, love was first established within small communities. Only gradually, starting from these small communities, can human beings evolve into a great community of love—as will indeed come to pass through the implantation of the spiritual self. Thus, the initiate had to, as it were, anticipate what human evolution is once again striving toward: overcoming and bridging all barriers, and fostering great peace, great harmony, and brotherhood. In his state of homelessness, the initiate must, from the very beginning, always absorb the same seeds of this great brotherly love. This was symbolically indicated in ancient times by descriptions of all the journeys the initiate had undergone, for example, in the case of Pythagoras. Why was this described? So that, with the feelings cultivated within the inner community, he might become objective toward everything.

[ 6 ] Now it is the task of Christianity to teach all of humanity the impulse toward this brotherhood—that which the initiate has always experienced as an individual impulse. Let us consider for a moment that deepest idea of Christianity: that Christ is the Spirit of the Earth, and the Earth is the body or the garment of Christ. And let us take this literally; for we have said that we must weigh a text such as the Gospel of John on a gold scale, word by word. What do we learn regarding “the garment” of the Earth when we survey its development? We learn that, to begin with, this garment of the Earth—that is, the solid parts of the Earth—were separated. One took possession of one part, the other of another. One belonged to one, the other to the other. Possession—the expansion of the personality through the acquisition of property—is what, in a certain sense, the garment worn by Christ, the Spirit of the Earth, has been divided into over the course of time. Only one thing could not be divided but belonged to all: the atmosphere surrounding the Earth. And from this atmosphere, as the myth of Paradise suggests, the breath of life was breathed into humankind. This marks the first emergence of the “I” in the physical body. Air cannot be divided.

[ 7 ] Let’s see if the one who describes Christianity most profoundly in the Gospel of John hints at this in any way:

“And they tore his garment; but they did not tear his tunic.” (See 19:23–24)

[ 8 ] Here is the word that explains how the Earth as a whole, together with its atmosphere, is the body, or the tunic and the robe, of Christ. Christ’s tunic has been divided into continents and regions, but not His robe. The atmosphere has not been divided; it belongs to everyone in common. It is the outer, material symbol of the love that surrounds the globe, which will later be realized.

[ 9 ] And in many other respects, Christianity must lead people to embrace, as humanity, something of the ancient principle of initiation. If we are to understand this, we must first characterize initiation. It is sufficient for us to consider, in essence, the three main types of initiation: the ancient yogic initiation, the specifically Christian initiation, and the one that is absolutely most suitable for people today—the Christian-Rosicrucian initiation. And now let us describe how initiation generally proceeds in principle for all three forms of initiation, what it is, and what it represents.

[ 10 ] What enables a person to look into the spiritual worlds? Well, what has enabled you to perceive the physical world? The physical body has sensory organs for that. If you trace human evolution far back, you will find that in primeval times, human beings did not yet have eyes to see or ears to hear in the physical world, but that all of these were still “undifferentiated, indifferent organs,” as Goethe says. As proof of this, you can consider how certain lower animals still possess these indifferent organs today. Certain lower animals have simple sensory points through which they can distinguish only between light and darkness. And from these indifferent organs, the eye and the ear were gradually sculpted and shaped. This was worked into the plastic substance of the physical body. And as your eye was sculpted, the physical world of colors came into being for you; as your ear was sculpted, the physical world of sounds came into being.

[ 11 ] No one has the right to say that a world is not real; one may only say: “I do not perceive it.” For to see the world in the true sense means: “I have the senses to perceive it.” One may say, “I know only this or that world”; but one must not say, “I do not accept the world that others perceive.” For whoever speaks in this way demands that others, too, perceive nothing other than what he does; he authoritatively demands that only what he sees be considered valid. If someone were to come forward today and say, “This is anthroposophical ‘daydreaming’; there is no such thing as what the anthroposophists claim”—he would only prove that he and his kind do not perceive such worlds. We take the affirmative stance toward these matters. But anyone who accepts only what he perceives not only demands that we acknowledge what he knows, but also seeks to decide authoritatively on matters he does not know. There is no worse intolerance than that which official science directs toward spiritual science today, and this will develop into something far worse than it has ever been. It manifests itself in the most diverse forms. People are completely unaware that they are saying things they really ought not to say. At many gatherings of quite good Christians, one can hear it: The anthroposophists speak of some kind of Christian esoteric teaching, but Christianity has no need for esoteric teachings; for only what even the simple, unpretentious mind can perceive and understand may be considered valid! — which, of course, means nothing other than what he, the individual who is speaking at that moment, can perceive and understand. Thus, he demands that no one understand or perceive anything other than what he does. The infallibility of the Pope is rightly not acknowledged in such Christian gatherings. But the infallibility of one’s own personality is claimed today to the greatest extent, even among Christians, for one’s own person. Anthroposophy is opposed from the standpoint of the papacy, where everyone sets himself up as a sort of little pope.

[ 12 ] If we consider that the physical-sensory world exists for us because the individual organs have been incorporated into the physical body, then it will no longer seem surprising when it is said: Perception in a higher world is based on the fact that such higher organs are built into the higher members of the human being—the etheric body and the astral body. The physical body, with its organs, is already equipped in this way today; the etheric body and astral body are not yet; they must first be chiseled into them. Once they are there, what is called perception in the higher worlds comes into being.

[ 13 ] Let us now discuss how these organs are incorporated into the etheric and astral bodies. We said that in the person who strives for and receives initiation, the higher organs are shaped out. How is this done? It involves taking the human astral body where it can be found in its purest form. While the astral body is immersed in the physical body during waking hours, the forces of the physical body act upon the astral body; thus, it is not free at that time. It follows the will of the physical body, and one cannot, so to speak, do anything with it. One can only begin to shape it when it has emerged from the physical body during sleep. The only way for a person’s astral body to develop the higher sense organs is by chiseling them into it while it is outside the physical body, during sleep. However, one cannot tamper with a sleeping person. This would not be possible with modern humans if they were to perceive what is happening to them. If they are in an unconscious state, they cannot perceive it. Here a contradiction seems to arise, for the astral body is not aware of its connection to the physical body while the person is asleep. But this can be achieved indirectly by acting upon the physical body during waking hours, so that the impressions the physical body receives during the day remain in the astral body when it withdraws. Just as the impressions the astral body receives from the surrounding physical world are otherwise imprinted upon it, one must do something quite specific with the physical body so that this is imprinted upon the astral body and then developed in the corresponding way. This happens when a person does not simply go about their day as is usually the case, allowing impressions to come in from here and there, but rather takes control of their inner life in the manner prescribed by methodical training. This is called meditation, concentration, or contemplation. These are exercises that are just as strictly prescribed in the relevant schools as microscopy and so on are in laboratories. When a person performs such exercises, they have such an intense effect on him that the astral body, when it slips out during sleep, undergoes a plastic transformation. Just as this sponge, as long as I hold it in my hand, adapts to the shape of my hand, but as soon as I let it go, it reassumes the form determined by the forces within it—so it is with the astral body: when it steps out of the physical body during sleep, it follows the astral forces inherent within it. Thus, during waking hours, one must engage in those spiritual activities through which, during the night, the astral body takes on such a malleable form that it forms within itself the organs necessary for higher perception.

[ 14 ] Now, this meditation can be approached in three different ways. One can focus more on the material of thought—on what are called elements of wisdom, pure elements of thought—and this constitutes the yoga training, which works primarily with the element of thought, or contemplation. One can, however, also focus more on the emotions through their specific cultivation; this is the specifically Christian approach. And one can work by combining emotion and will; this is then the Christian-Rosicrucian method. To go into detail about yogic training would take us too far afield; it would also have no connection to the Gospel of John. Regarding the specifically Christian initiation, let us clarify what this initiation is based on. You must understand that a person in today’s social circles could hardly undergo this initiation. It requires a temporary isolation of the individual. But the Rosicrucian method exists precisely so that a person can work their way up into the higher worlds without neglecting their duties. And we can fully grasp this fundamental principle through the Christian initiation as well.

[ 15 ] This method of initiation works exclusively with feelings; specifically, I will describe to you seven emotional experiences—seven stages of feeling—which, when lived through, truly influence the astral body in such a way that it develops its organs during the night. Let us consider how the Christian disciple must live in order to pass through these stages.

[ 16 ] The first stage is what is called the “foot-washing.” Here, the teacher tells the student: Look at the plant. It is rooted in the soil; the mineral soil is a lower being than the plant. If the plant could reflect on its nature, it would have to say to the soil: ‘Though I am the higher being, without you I could not exist; for it is from you, the soil, that I draw most of my nourishment.’ And if the plant could translate this into feelings, it would have to bow down to the stone and say: ‘To you I bow, you lower being, stone, for I owe my existence to you.’ — — And if we ascend to the animal, the animal would likewise have to relate to the plant and say: “Although I am higher than the plant, I owe my existence to the lower kingdom.” — And if we continue ascending in this way and come to the human being, then everyone who stands somewhat higher on the social ladder would have to bow down to the lower level and say: “I owe my existence to the lower level!” — And so it continues upward all the way to Christ Jesus. The Twelve who surround him are one level lower than he is; but just as the plant develops out of the stone, so Christ Jesus grows out of the Twelve. He bends down toward the Twelve and says: “I owe my existence to you.”

[ 17 ] Once the teacher had explained this to the student, he told him: “For weeks on end, you must surrender yourself to this cosmic feeling—just as the higher must bow to the lower; and once you have thoroughly developed this within yourself, you will experience an inner and an outer symptom.” — But these are not the essential point; they merely indicate that the person in question has practiced sufficiently. When the physical body had been sufficiently influenced by the soul, this manifested to him in the external symptom of a sensation as if water were washing over his feet. This is a very real sensation. And another real sensation is that, in a powerful vision in the astral realm, they see before them the washing of the feet—the bending down of the higher self toward the lower self. There, in the astral realm, the person experiences what is described as a historical fact in the Gospel of John.

[ 18 ] The second step involves telling the student: You must develop yet another feeling within yourself. You must imagine what it would be like if all the pain and suffering in the world were to come at you—feel what it would be like if you were exposed to the onslaught of every possible obstacle—and you must put yourself in the mindset that you must stand tall, even if all the misery in the world were to come at you! Then, once the student has practiced this sufficiently, two symptoms arise again: one is a feeling as if he were being struck from all sides, and the second is that he sees the “flagellation” before him in an astral vision. — I am recounting something that hundreds of people have experienced, through which they have attained the ability to ascend into the spiritual worlds.

[ 19 ] Third, the student had to imagine that the most sacred thing he possesses—the thing he defends with his whole being—is being showered with scorn and derision. He had to tell himself: “No matter what may come, I must stand firm and defend what is sacred to me!” — Once he had become accustomed to this, he felt something like stinging sensations in his head, and he experienced the “Crowning with Thorns” as an astral vision. Again, it must be said: It is not the symptoms that matter, but they occur as a consequence of the exercises. And care is also taken to ensure that there can be no question of suggestion or autosuggestion.

[ 20 ] The fourth point is that the student’s own body must become as foreign to him, in his perception, as an external object—for example, a piece of wood—and that he must not refer to his body as “I.” This must become such a feeling for him that he says: I carry my body around with me, just as I carry my coat around with me! He no longer associates his “I” with his body. Then something occurs that is called the “blood test.” What in many cases can be a pathological condition is, in this case—because everything pathological must be eliminated—a consequence of the meditation. So-called bloodstains appear on the feet, hands, and right side of the chest; and as an inner symptom, he sees the “crucifixion” in an astral vision.

[ 21 ] We can only briefly describe the fifth, sixth, and seventh levels of emotion.

[ 22 ] The fifth stage consists of what is called the “mystical death.” Through the feelings that the student is led to experience at this stage, he experiences something that appears to him as if, in an instant, a black curtain were drawn over everything physically visible and as if everything were vanishing. This moment is significant for another reason as well—something one must experience if one truly wishes to attain Christian initiation in the truest sense of the word. One then experiences the ability to plunge down into the very depths of evil, pain, sorrow, and suffering. And one can fully experience all the evil that dwells at the bottom of the human soul when one descends into hell. This is the “descent into hell.” Once one has experienced this, it is as if the black curtain were torn apart—and one sees into the spiritual world.

[ 23 ] The sixth is what is called the “Burial and Resurrection.” This is the stage where the student feels at one with the entire earthly body; he feels as if he were placed within and is one with the entire Earth. His life has expanded into planetary life.

[ 24 ] The seventh sensation cannot be described in words. Only someone capable of thinking without the physical brain as an instrument could describe it; and there is no language for that, because our language has terms only for the physical plane. Therefore, one can only point to this level. It transcends everything else that human beings can otherwise conceive of. It is called the “Ascension” or complete absorption into the spiritual world.

[ 25 ] This concludes the scale of emotions into which the student must immerse himself during the morning vigil in a state of complete inner concentration. Once the student has surrendered to these experiences, they have such a powerful effect on the astral body that, during the night, the inner organs of perception develop and take on a tangible form. — In the Rosicrucian initiation, this sevenfold scale of emotions is not traversed, but the same effect we have just discussed is present.

[ 26 ] As you can see, the point of initiation is to influence the astral body—indirectly, through daily experiences—in such a way that, once it is completely free, it takes on a new, three-dimensional form of its own during the night. When a person has thus given themselves a three-dimensional form as an astral being, the astral body has in fact become a new component of the human being. It is then completely permeated by Manas, or the spiritual self.

[ 27 ] Now that the astral body is structured in this way, the task is to ensure that what has been formed so vividly within it is also brought into the etheric body. Just as when you press a seal into sealing wax and the name on the seal appears not only on the seal itself but also in the sealing wax, so the astral body must submerge itself into the etheric body and imprint what it now possesses onto the etheric body.

[ 28 ] The first process—the working with the astral body—is the same in all methods of initiation. It is only in the transition to the etheric body that the individual methods differ. We will discuss these differences tomorrow and show how the three methods of initiation—which have emerged as the deepest impulses for development in the post-Atlantean era—differ from one another, and what significance initiation holds for human development in general. Then those passages of the Gospel of John that we have not yet been able to discuss will also become completely clear to us.