The Rudolf Steiner Archive

15. The Christian Initiation

[ 1 ] Theosophy is an internalization in all areas of life. It serves as an impetus to reflect on religious matters and questions, which is of particular significance in our time, as science and ancient religious traditions come to the fore. These have given rise to the despondency, indifference, and tragedy of humanity today. Theosophy is a reconciliation of science and religion; it does not stem from a new form of religion, but encompasses everything we are capable of knowing about the supersensible worlds—knowledge derived from insight and from immersing ourselves in that world. Theosophy must gradually become a path to the realization of true life in all areas. Through theosophical teachings, the true and genuine foundations of Christianity can also be discovered. Esoteric Christianity no longer exists today. What, then, is esoteric Christianity?

[ 2 ] The Gospel of John is considered by many to be of lesser value than the other Gospels. The inner meaning of this document can be felt when one experiences it deeply. We must regard it as a guide, as a Christian offering of means that lead to participation in the spiritual world. This spiritual world exists around us and within us. Spiritual powers can be awakened within all of us. Throughout history, there have been enlightened individuals, and it was from them that the light emanated. These were the initiates. And they owed their greatest powers to the influence of the Gospel of John. There are various paths and stages that lead to initiation. But all initiation leads to the highest point: to the truth. The paths taken before Christianity were those of human strength and wisdom. Christian initiation is the one that rests almost exclusively on the elements of the soul: mind, feeling, and sensation. The fundamental conditions for Christian initiation, however, are: spiritual insight, study, and willpower.

[ 3 ] Human beings were aware of their physical bodies and had to learn to recognize that these are only one aspect of their human nature. Students were taught to distinguish between their physical bodies and their etheric or life bodies, and between these and their astral bodies.

[ 4 ] Furthermore, students are taught that the consciousness of the soul, or Manas, stands in contrast to physical consciousness. One’s gaze is directed toward the divine archetype of humanity, or Atma—and toward the living spirit, or Budhi.

[ 5 ] There is one thing that distinguishes human beings from minerals, plants, and animals, and which cannot be named; this is the “I Am,” which is the divinity within us. It is through sound and voice alone that we express this “I Am.” In earlier times, for example among the Israelites, there was still a sense of a collective national “I,” but this was later lost. Humanity must also learn to feel that “I and the Father are one.

[ 6 ] The student was then taught the seven stages of initiation, which are as follows: humility and compassion toward lower forms of life, for it is to them that he owes his existence. Christ demonstrated this humility toward his apostles during the washing of the feet.

[ 7 ] Through pain and suffering, the disciple learns to strengthen his inner being and to no longer feel suffering. That was the stage of the scourging. Then the disciple had to learn to endure scorn, mockery, and contempt for the Most Holy, and to find support only within himself. This was the stage of the crowning with thorns. The physical body had to become an instrument that he could relinquish without difficulty. That was the crucifixion. Through mystical death, he came to know all the depths of human pain and misery, and through this, spiritual light opened up before him, and he attained enlightenment and awakening. The “I” is now identical with spiritual consciousness. Through the burial, he learned that his body was a part of the Earth and that his body had to be reunited with the Earth. Then came the victory of life over death, the realization of the Eternal, and this was the Resurrection or the Christ Experience, and in the spiritual body, the Glorification or the Ascension.

[ 8 ] Christian initiation is, therefore, a matter of the heart, and now the time has come to speak of certain secret matters and to show people the path that leads to the spiritual foundations of the world.