The Rudolf Steiner Archive

21. On the Inauguration of the Breslau Branch

[ 1 ] In words spoken at the inauguration of a branch of work, the focus should be more on explaining the purpose and goal of spiritual scientific work than on revealing significant secrets of higher worlds. If we wish to grasp the significance of the spiritual-scientific worldview for the human soul, we must turn our gaze to and beyond various fields.

[ 2 ] Imagine a person living in the 13th or 14th century. He lived in an era when the art of printing had not yet been invented—an art that, in more recent times, has had such a powerful effect on the human soul. So imagine a person from that time and ask yourself what was going on in his soul when, for example, he turned his eyes toward the sky. He, whose perceptions were not yet influenced by accumulated knowledge and material scholarship—as those of a person living today are—saw the space around him illuminated by the sun during the day and bathed in starlight at night; and there his soul sensed the cosmos permeated by spiritual forces and spiritual beings. He felt them. Through the cultural influences of his time, ideas of divine-spiritual realities arose within him, and he felt them directly. And so it was when, in the spring, he saw the plants sprouting from the earth: his soul felt this nature illuminated and filled with divine-spiritual forces.

[ 3 ] This intuition, this direct perception of the spiritual forces of being, recedes more and more as we approach the present day. This is not meant to be a disparaging critique of the present day, for the receding of this intuition is accompanied by the emergence of another kind of understanding of nature—a more intellectual, external view of the world— and it is certainly true that through this, people have learned to master the forces of nature, to explore the microcosm with microscopes, and to track the stars as they travel through space with telescopes. It is true that, in a certain sense, people are proud to be able to further increase their mastery of the forces of nature, but at the same time we must also realize that, as a result, all of humanity’s impulses have changed.

[ 4 ] In the past, when people looked up at the stars, they would say to themselves: “I sense something divine and spiritual in the stars.” Today, however, they see only the physical bodies, and it is difficult for people today to imagine anything divine and spiritual. Humanity has truly lost the ability to perceive this divine and spiritual realm. Nevertheless, it is true that even today there are many souls who are deeply moved by the recognition of the divine-spiritual. Oh, the soul has a thirst to imagine how space is filled with the divine-spiritual, filled with a spiritual force, and it has a need to recognize this divine.

[ 5 ] Now, the material development described has progressed to such an extent that even the most serious and zealous seekers of truth have recently come to believe, little by little, that sensing something divine in the world can be nothing more than a childish notion, and that humanity has now entered a more mature age in which outdated viewpoints must be set aside. Even a child in school is exposed to a conflict that leads to the most profound consequences for life. On the one hand, the child is taught science in a purely materialistic manner; on the other hand, there is religious instruction. There is no bridge between the two, no connecting link. What will become of this in later life? One could say that all of humanity is thereby divided into two camps, depending on the consequences that arise from this dichotomy. On the one hand, there are those who have become indifferent and no longer care about anything; on the other hand, there are those who view it as a tragedy, who brood over it yet cannot find clarity, and who ultimately despair of ever solving life’s riddles. Thinking humanity does indeed break down into these two camps. Perhaps, in the end, it is only the simpler minds that have retained a certain sensitivity to the spiritual. Those who do not view everything merely from the outside know that it was precisely in the middle of the 19th century that the danger of humanity’s complete descent into materialistic life was greatest. The entire mood and state of mind of humanity had become one of materialistic feeling and perception. This posed a terrible danger to humanity. Do you know what would have happened if spiritual science had not intervened? The way of thinking would have sunk ever deeper into materialistic waters. Thought forms would have hardened more and more and become increasingly ossified; their boundaries would have grown ever sharper and more immutable, instead of adapting in a lively flow. No one would have been able to feel for another or with another, and each person would have felt justified only in their own perspective, despising and hating anyone who thought or felt differently. Thought would have taken on completely rigid forms, devoid of all love, and the spirit would eventually have been pushed so far into the background that a connection would have been made impossible forever, and the path to the spiritual world would have been lost. The Earth would have become a moon. For this reason, those who have insight into the higher spiritual worlds have brought spiritual science to humanity. From what sources, then, do these teachings flow, which are intended to save humanity from this great danger? Precisely on a day when a newly formed working group is to be initiated, it is fitting to say a few words about this. These sources are still hidden from most people, but they will gradually become more and more apparent. It was from these sources, however, that spiritual science was founded. What, then, does spiritual science say? It reveals many things that the ordinary person, with his ordinary senses, does not perceive. It says, for example, that the human being does not consist merely of the outwardly visible body, but that he is fourfold; that in addition to the visible body, he also possesses a life body or etheric body, invisible to ordinary people; furthermore, a feeling body or astral body; and fourthly, the “I,” which passes from one incarnation to the next in order to complete a progressive development over a long period of time. Spiritual science tells us even more. It tells us, for example, that the Earth itself also undergoes an evolution from incarnation to incarnation—an evolution of a cosmic nature. It further shows us that the Sun and the planets play the most important roles in this evolutionary process, and that the existence of all these celestial bodies and their processes is connected with the existence of spiritual beings.

[ 6 ] What is all this? Where are the sources of these truths? They come from the initiates. And who are the initiates? They are those whose spiritual eyes are open, and who speak of the spiritual world precisely because they know it. They are the seers among the blind. Fichte already alluded to this relationship, and indeed, for the seer, spiritual things are as real as physical ones—indeed, much more real—for to him the latter are merely the expression of the former. Of course, when a seer speaks of the etheric body, the sensory body, and so on, as well as of other manifestations of a spiritual nature, many people will say that he is a dreamer and a fantasist who mistakes theories and hypotheses for realities. The seer fully understands that those who do not see may raise such objections. In a society of physically blind people, no matter how much or how precisely one speaks of and about colors and light, for the blind person it remains theory; but the physically sighted person will not be able to reveal to the physically blind person the concept—the actual concept of reality—of color and light. For that, the blind would have to be able to see for themselves, and only to the blind person who has undergone a successful operation can the world of light be revealed.

[ 7 ] Let us try to visualize this relationship using another image. Let us imagine that we have a large vessel filled with water in front of us, and let us assume there is a person who, through his senses, cannot see, feel, or perceive water at all. To this person, the vessel would be empty. Now let us further assume that, by some means, cold currents could be directed at the water, causing it to freeze. At first, ice needles would form here and there, which could then clump together to form chunks. But because ice is a solid, that person, who has no sensation of water, would be able to perceive the forming ice particles. What does he perceive now? He perceives that ice is forming. But from what would it arise for him? From nothing. This is how the initiate stands in relation to other people. Where they see nothing, he sees. But now people say: How can I believe in something I cannot verify? And since I cannot do that, what purpose would it serve to concern myself with such things in the first place, to engage with them at all?—In this regard, the philosophical-monistic dogmatists in particular demand the following: first, that everything they themselves assert be accepted, and second, that no one be allowed to know more than they themselves know. They present themselves as infallible beings who can determine the limits of knowledge. The true initiate will never deny scientifically established facts, but will graciously acknowledge the truths and merits of science. However, he must refuse to concede that the scientific dogmatist is capable of determining the limits of knowledge. The scientist takes pride in knowledge, as opposed to faith. But when people speak of faith and non-faith, and the scientist believes that his research results are free of faith, he is mistaken. It is simply impossible to research and teach anything without believing. Take, for example, cell theory. In our textbooks, we have beautiful illustrations of cells, cell division, cellular life, and so on—clear and distinct, with every detail. But who among us has ever seen this with such clarity? We all believe that this is how it is. Even the university professors who teach such subjects have, in the rarest of cases, seen all of this for themselves, and yet they teach it. They have not been able to see it for themselves because it is so difficult and rare to observe that only a few individuals succeed in seeing it, and also because, in reality, it is not nearly as clear and distinct as the illustrations appear to be. Consider embryology. People believe they know exactly what the embryo looks like at every moment of pregnancy. But how extremely rare is it for a researcher to gain insight into this—for example, through a sudden death that occurs precisely at a certain moment during pregnancy? How many of these researchers have never actually seen what they teach. Until they themselves saw it, they had to believe—and others had to believe with them. And yet, when it comes to spiritual science, they demand that one should not believe, and that no one should know more than they do. The essence of the initiate lies in their ability to look into the spiritual world. For the initiates, the sources of spiritual scientific knowledge are

[ 8 ] Yes, but what good is this to those who lack this understanding? A parable will illustrate this. Look at this stove! Now imagine someone standing in front of this stove and saying to it: “O stove, you were made to provide warmth; remember your mission and warm the room!” - Will it do so? Will those words accomplish anything? No, the stove won’t budge. But instead of just talking, bring wood and coal and stoke the fire—then it will fulfill its mission.

[ 9 ] So it is with the communication of spiritual-scientific truths. They are the fuel for the human soul. For millennia, people have been preached to about morality and told: “Be good, love one another!”—But do they actually do it? Doesn’t the situation look rather dire, despite all the teachings of the Christian church? In a city in southern Germany, a pastor once said to me: “I have absolutely no objection to what you say about the Gospels, but what is the point of forming small spiritual science gatherings here and there, when the Church is already carrying out practical education on the largest scale?”—Yes, if this pastor were right, then there would be no point. But he is not right, for if the church were fulfilling its mission to the fullest extent, where would all the ongoing wickedness come from? Do all people even go to church? The church does not preach practical morality, but rather “armchair morality.” These days, there aren’t many people left who will improve simply by being persuaded. And now even the most capable people have turned away from the church. And if this were to continue, the church’s followers would become fewer and fewer, and materialism would spread ever wider, until one day there would be little left of the church. That is precisely why spiritual science has come; it has become necessary to provide the fuel. It is fuel, for the mere communication of facts from the spiritual worlds has an attractive and stimulating effect on the spiritual development of the individual—stimulating not only in relation to morality but also in relation to spiritual vision.

[ 10 ] Even among scholars of the humanities, there are those who believe that one should simply be good and noble and strive for perfection; then, they say, the spiritual eyes will eventually open on their own. At the same time, they believe that revelations of higher truths should be regarded as of little importance, and that one should simply wait until one can see for oneself, until the veil is lifted of its own accord. Those who think this way are mistaken. They fail to recognize the nature of such revelations in their role as fuel. What matters is to stir up vibrations in the soul that would not arise in any other way or on their own.

[ 11 ] But what is it that can—and should—shine forth within a human being when he understands and fosters his proper development, as spiritual science sets out to do? To answer this, we must go back a long way. We must go back to ancient Indian culture, which we refer to as the time of the seven Rishis. These were the initiates of that time who guided human development. When, through their spiritual vision, they brought news of the Highest to humanity, they said: High above all being, unknowable, unfathomable, lies a Cause, a Being whom we call Vishva-Karman, but whom we can only intuit. It is, as it were, too far removed from us to be recognized. However, long after our time, it will draw nearer to humanity. Then, in a much later cultural epoch, another initiate spoke of this Being. It was Zarathustra—not the historical figure, but a predecessor of his. When he spoke to the people in his ancient Persian sacred language, whose splendor can scarcely be conveyed today, he said: “I see the highest Being in the sun, around the sun. It is in the atmosphere of the sun!—And that is why he called it: Ahura Mazdao, the great aura, in contrast to the human being, the small aura. He recognized in the great aura a likeness or model for the small aura, the human being. Ahura Mazdao is the same as Ormuzd. And he preached that Ahura Mazdao would one day be revealed in human beings. He foresaw this. But he also saw that there are forces within human beings that hinder and keep them from the revelation of the supreme being within them. He designated these as Ahriman, the evil one.

[ 12 ] Even later, in another cultural epoch, we again have a great initiate. For him, this knowledge had come even closer. For the Rishis, the Supreme Being was, as it were, hidden at an immense distance in outer space; for Zarathustra, it had advanced as far as the sun; but for Moses, this knowledge had already come within reach. In the burning bush that spoke to Moses, we find the aura as a component of earthly elements. Moses recognized that the Supreme Being is present within the earth. For the initiate, the Being had descended from the sun to the earth. It now lived within the elements. And when Moses asked the Being what he should tell the people, it said to him: “I am the I-Am, Yahweh.” This explains that the Being had come to unfold within the human “I.” That was not yet the case at that time. At that time, human beings had not yet developed the consciousness of the Most High within themselves. Moses, however, knew that this was to happen.

[ 13 ] And even later, another person came who became clairvoyant: Paul. He knew that this supreme being was embodied in Jesus Christ. But he could not believe, could not comprehend, that that being had to die on the cross. Then he was initiated. He owed his ability to be initiated to the peculiar circumstance that he was born prematurely. A premature birth—a human being who was not carried to full term for nine months—is one who has not sunk so deeply into matter, which is why gaining insight into the spiritual world comes more easily to him. And when Paul became clairvoyant, he recognized that the highest Being dwelt in Christ. Now it had indeed come to life within a human being. That is why Christ says at the Last Supper: “The bread is my body; the wine is my blood.” Bread: earth; wine, plant sap: spirit.

[ 14 ] I wanted to guide you this far today so that you might feel what it means for such a being to have approached the Earth and descended into it. And that happened on Golgotha. Did this being truly flow over the Earth at Golgotha? To answer this, let us examine and compare the period, say, six hundred years before the birth of Christ with the period six hundred years after the birth of Christ. What happened during that time, and what is the difference?

[ 15 ] Six hundred years before Christ, the Buddha lived. He lived in a royal palace. Then he went out into the countryside and came to know old age, sickness, poverty, death, and corpses. He saw that the whole of human life is suffering: old age is suffering, illness is suffering, poverty is suffering, death is suffering, birth is suffering, living apart from those we love is suffering—in short, all existence is suffering. —So he told himself, and so he taught the people: You must unlearn the thirst for existence. —Therein lies the hopeless renunciation of creation.

[ 16 ] But six hundred years later came Golgotha. There we see, as a symbol, a cross erected and a human corpse on the cross. And people look up at the corpse and sense that there is a cure for all suffering. That is the difference. People no longer see death as a sign of suffering, but as a sign of the healing of suffering. They can become victors over what exists in this life. And that means: a fruit is carried over into the next life.

[ 17 ] If a person now understands that birth and life are not suffering, but rather offer the possibility of escaping suffering—since life provides the opportunity to develop the spiritual, which leads beyond all suffering—then old age is no longer suffering, but rather a drawing near to the fruit of life; death is no longer suffering, but redemption; separation from those we love is no longer suffering once one has united with the Christ-essence of Universal Love and enveloped all beings in all worlds in His love.

[ 18 ] All of this was felt six hundred years after Christ, and ever since then, human beings have been able to feel connected to Christ, the Spirit of the Sun, who is also the Spirit of the Earth—who, just as he permeates the Earth, also permeates each one of us, awakening gentleness, warmth, and love in our souls, awakening universal love, and transforming the Earth.

[ 19 ] And because the humanities, by communicating spiritual truths, do not lecture on morality but rather establish a foundation for practical morality, they will build a bridge for the most modern of people that leads into the spiritual world. It may be that those at the forefront of today’s culture—the leading figures in industry and academia, the trendsetters—may smile at these small spiritual science gatherings and at what is being explored there. Let them think what they will! There, too, was once a mighty Roman cultural world—that ancient imperial Rome whose ruins we still admire today. The vast Colosseum was the site where incense was burned to mask the rising stench of flesh from the Christians torn apart there by wild beasts. That was ancient Rome, up above in the light of day. And down below? Let’s descend into the catacombs! There we find the first confessors of Christianity, of the mystery of Golgotha, persecuted and despised. Hidden down there, they worship Christ; there they perform their symbolic rites; down there, the first Christian communities are founded. Though few in number and despised, they did not waver. Down there is a small group, despised and cast out; up there is a large group that sets the tone: a few centuries later, ancient Rome is no more, but those down there—the underworld—have risen up. So, too, spiritual science will rise above industry, scholarship, and today’s human relationships in a few centuries. But do not feel this as pride, rather with humility, when you compare yourselves in your small gatherings to those of underground Rome. And when you imagine that today’s glorious science will have crumbled before spiritual science, imagine it only with humility. If you carry this feeling with you from this moment onward, so that it remains ever alive within you, then you will contribute to the spread of universal love for humanity, and then you will immerse yourselves in a new culture.

[ 20 ] I call upon all the forces of goodness to watch over this newly established branch of work and to help you achieve your goal and make your work easier.