The Rudolf Steiner Archive

14. The Christian and Rosicrucian Training

[ 1 ] How different people are today from the ancient Indians! We are subject to entirely different influences than people were eight millennia ago! How literature has changed since the invention of printing! In the past, people relied solely on the spoken word; intellectual life consisted mainly of religious practices. Today, intellectual life has a thousand and a thousand channels. Popular science, newspapers, and so on—railroads, the telegraph—all of this changes the physical realm more than one can imagine. Around us is not only a physical world, but also an intellectual one. Even our country folk are exposed to the intellectual currents that currently prevail. Thus, everyone lives under the influences of the materialistic age; people must adapt to its necessities.

[ 2 ] It is necessary to arm oneself against the many harmful influences and to stand firm against all trials.

[ 3 ] In spiritual training, all circumstances must be taken into account. Christian self-discipline can only be carried out with great energy and perseverance. In the past, people withdrew from the world to discipline themselves; Christian self-discipline requires an almost inexhaustible energy and a strictly ascetic life. Nevertheless, it is necessary to speak of it in a few words;

[ 4 ] Christian esoteric instruction began during the time of the Apostle Paul. He possessed the power and authority of the Word to proclaim it to the world. His disciple Dionysius founded the esoteric school in Athens. Beginning in the sixth century, this fact came to be regarded as a myth. There are the “Pseudo-Dionysian” writings. In the past, people knew “Homer” by heart; they relied on memory, but then it became customary to write extensively. In the mystery schools, the Word was considered too sacred to be written down; the most worthy received it by word of mouth. And Dionysius himself was a hierophant; he taught the secret doctrine with power and fervor. The training continued after his death. The mystery teachers of this school were all named “Dionysius.”

[ 5 ] Unlike the other Gospels, the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation are to be understood in an occult sense. These are not books for mere contemplation; one must always read these writings patiently and allow the first fourteen sentences [of the Gospel of John] to sink in as material for meditation, year after year. In this way, powers that lie dormant within us are developed. Through the Book of Revelation, a person enters higher worlds; it is a description of spiritual processes. They have a profound effect on the mind.

[ 6 ] There are again seven stages in Christian initiation:

Washing of the Feet,
Flagellation,
Crowning with Thorns,
Crucifixion,
Mystical Death,
Entombment,
Resurrection, Ascension.

[ 7 ] The Christian disciples viewed all things with reverence and gratitude. Plants cannot live without the mineral kingdom, nor can animals live without the plant kingdom. Everything depends on one another; the lower is sacrificed for the higher. Therefore, the higher must stoop down to the lower. Jesus Christ set an example for the disciples by stooping down to them and washing their feet.

[ 8 ] [1. The Washing of the Feet:] The Gospel of John is a profound chapter; it is from this that the order of things was born. When we immerse ourselves in the feeling, “I owe my very existence to You,” the image of the Savior washing the disciples’ feet emerges before us. One can almost feel the water trickling around their feet.

[ 9 ] [2nd Scourging:] Through pure devotion, a person develops higher feelings. Whatever may come their way, it is necessary to remain steadfast without complaining. The scourging is the feeling of being strong in the face of all blows. It is as if one feels an itching and pain.

[ 10 ] [3. The Crowning with Thorns:] One’s emotional life must be strong enough to silently endure it when our most sacred things are treated with scorn and ridicule. One must find inner strength and not break down. One carries the feeling of the crowning with thorns in one’s mind.

[ 11 ] [4. Crucifixion:] The feeling must be: “This body you carry is not who you are. I carry my body here and there.” Then a person can gradually become capable of undergoing the blood test—the marks of the crucifixion on the hands and feet. - They are caused pathologically and involuntarily.

[ 12 ] [5. Mystical Death:] Mystical death is defined as looking behind the scenes of existence. One no longer knows the world. It is in this sense that we are to understand the tearing of the black curtain in the temple after the crucifixion.

[ 13 ] [6. Burial:] Being able to regard everything that exists as part of one’s own body; other beings are similar to oneself; feeling oneself to be a part of the earth.

[ 14 ] [7. Resurrection, Ascension:] It is the possibility of living in the Spirit, the ability to separate oneself from the body—that is liberation, that is the Ascension. There is a whole range of emotions that can be seen in the imagery beginning in the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of John. Through them, one can experience a great, incomparable event: the vision of the risen Christ.

[ 15 ] In vain will a person attempt to prove his existence through documents left behind; he can only be found spiritually—that is the path to the Christ who lives here. A Christ can never live within unless a historical Christ had lived. Likewise, no being would have light and life if the outer sun did not shine in life. Thus, the world owes the vision of the inner Christ to the Christ who appeared on earth. This is the fruit of the Gospel of John.

[ 16 ] [Presumably, from this point on, notes on the subsequent discussion]

[ 17 ] Theology seeks to recognize only the Synoptic Gospels. By focusing on the spiritual, humanity has lost sight of the meaning of the Gospel of John, but from it will spring forth an esoteric Christ who will shed new light on the world. The future of human development is contained in the Book of Revelation [of John]. Christian initiation has borne witness for centuries that the content of the Gospel is the true one.

[ 18 ] Theology would be able to understand this if it studied the documents properly; it is not a lack of clairvoyance that prevents theologians from finding the truth. One can also arrive at the correct understanding through reason and the mind. It is said that John [Scotus Eriugena] lived as a monk in Scotland; he was a prior and is said to have been killed by his monks with pins. [...]

[ 19 ] If we handle thinking, feeling, and willing correctly, thousands of truths will become accessible to us. Nurturing the powers of the soul depends largely on correct thinking, as well as on nutrition. We should not be thoughtless about food. Matter, in the gross sense of the word, is nonsense. Everything is condensed spirit. Matter is not an illusion. The fact that we mistake spirit for matter—that is the illusion. We should become aware that everything is a manifestation of spirit, one way or another.

[ 20 ] We must eat as someone who knows that, through matter, they are absorbing spirit. We have every reason to be fervently grateful to the divine forces, for we are eating divine power. We should eat in the highest spirit of reverent devotion, not thoughtlessly, for eating is not a mere earthly pleasure.

[ 21 ] When we eat what reaches toward the sun, we consume the sun’s energies along with it, and this gives us a sense of soaring; when we eat what grows downward into the earth, we become material. Meat draws us most deeply into the material world. Milk and its [products] are beneficial to us because they arise from the animal’s life process. The animal’s kama is present in meat; it is what is extracted as salt from the plant root—all of this hardens us. At a higher level, we should be aware of whether we are striving upward or downward. If we immerse ourselves in how nature grows, a spiritual understanding awakens within us; it grows within us.

[ 22 ] The teacher of the secret training will be a healer in the spiritual sense. If we live on milk for years, we gain the power in our hands to achieve magnetic healing. Living on milk for years spiritualizes a person. Thus, even in the seemingly most mundane tasks, spiritual connections are present.

[ 23 ] When an animal walks through a meadow, it can still perceive the spiritual aspect of things—the etheric body of the plant. Human beings have lost this ability through the development of the intellect. They must regain it through higher perception; only then will they enter into a secure relationship with all things in the world.

[ 24 ] Our age is one of physical self-care. The more one leaves one’s body at rest, the freer the spirit becomes to rise to higher levels; conversely, the spirit becomes a slave. To achieve this, walking for hours in the blazing sun and the like toughens one up more than sunbathing and health treatments, which take up all one’s time.

[ 25 ] Imagination influences our feelings, and our surroundings are very important. Centuries ago, all objects were crafted with devotion. The facades of houses, even the keys, had an inner connection to people. Our soul no longer has spiritual connections to objects outside of ourselves. It is the task of theosophy to reflect in all things what we feel. All action must be a reflection of theosophical feeling. Each age thus reflects its world in this way. Immortal artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael reflected Christianity in their paintings. In music, Christianity became sound. Images evoke mysterious feelings. There is a vast difference between poison seeping into the soul and feelings being nourished by images born of the spirit.

[ 26 ] The forms of Gothic architecture find expression in the era of Meister Eckhart and Johannes Tauler, who mystically elevated souls to God. It is the same in stone as what Christian sentiment was in the Middle Ages. The sunny outlook of this people is reflected in the Greek orders of columns. Our age has no style of its own. A style must be born from the feelings of a people. We have styles cobbled together from bits and pieces. The material age is evident in the department store. It is no coincidence that stone has become iron. We stand at a turning point. It is a spiritual practice of theosophy to take into our hearts everything that is capable of ennobling our feelings. The blood is purified and ennobled by good images. A theosophical session must have a blood-purifying and healing effect. A teacher has a liberating effect when he unfolds images that are healing to people. It is a remedy that not only acts externally but brings about the healing of the entire being.

[ 27 ] We must integrate our will into the laws of the world. Through practice, a person can subjectively align themselves with the will of the world; they experience it, even though their feelings are more negative.

[ 28 ] Nothing is more harmful to secret training than fear. It is necessary to systematically eliminate it. This is best achieved by setting out to perform actions that one carries out happily, without allowing oneself to be deterred by obstacles. If possible, divide one’s time into seven periods. Observe and reverse the method; in this way, one conforms to the laws of the world.

[ 29 ] When a person reaches the age of thirty-five, he or she comes of age and experiences a crisis in a particular relationship. Dante wrote the Divine Comedy when he was thirty-five years old. Divine truths are indicated by number, measure, and weight. Those who live by the laws develop a strong will; otherwise, they weaken themselves. What Goethe accomplished after the age of thirty-five is quite different from what he accomplished earlier. If so-called child prodigies are pushed too hard too early, they wither away.

[ 30 ] Patience and perseverance are among the exercises required of those who wish to develop dormant powers. Maturity brings joy to the teacher. One always finds him when one needs him. What awakens life carries people forward. Theosophy and life: Everyone has a mission to fulfill wherever they are. Theosophists must be the architects who give the world what it needs. The social question is not solved theoretically or dogmatically, but through understanding in the theosophical sense.

[ 31 ] Theosophy must become a spiritual sun that fertilizes all earthly things—something universal. In the thousands of lodges, there are enough people who do not possess even the basics of science. They are not the ones providing higher education, and yet it is from them that the upsurge must come. An image: Before me rise the catacombs. Beneath the earth, Rome’s new spiritual culture spread. Emperor Nero had people who were secretly Christians smeared with pitch and set on fire. They were persecuted when they came to the surface. And yet, through the uneducated beginners and preachers, nascent Christianity conquered the world; the others followed suit. Those who master life live in secret. Science still looks down on them. It will become theosophical when it has no other choice.

[ 32 ] Every era has its own mission; they are similar. There is something in the Middle Ages that will become individual branches of thought in the future; all life flows together into a spiritual pyramid.

[ 33 ] A painting in the Chapter Hall in Florence depicts the mission of spiritual life. The base consists of figures representing the individual branches of spiritual life. Above them stands the feminine figure, who inspires the soul. Higher still are the protectors of spiritual life: Job, David, Isaiah, Saul, and John. The whole is crowned by the group of virtues: Justice, Prudence, Temperance, Faith, Love, and Hope.

[ 34 ] In his work, Dante sought to bring all of time together as if around a single focal point. It is up to our time to bring these separate intellectual currents together.

[ 35 ] We implore the protection of the powers of the spiritual Trinity: the Spirit Itself, the Spirit of Life, and the Spiritual Human Being.

[ 36 ] The comprehensive Rosicrucian training program forms a center from which a unified spiritual truth is intended to permeate everything.

[ 37 ] The persecuted Christians of the catacombs radiated something that reached even into the highest spiritual realms. In many respects, we resemble the early Christians; a new surge of spiritual life is expected from us.

[ 38 ] What converges in our perception, what slowly takes shape, must flow upward toward the highest spiritual spheres.