The Rudolf Steiner Archive

First Lecture

[ 1 ] What we had, in fact, long been able to foresee has now rapidly come upon the world through all manner of events that have unfolded in recent times. We have thus become witnesses to grave events whose profound significance will only be fully appreciated in the future. And much of what lies beneath these grave events—even, I would say, merely their outward manifestations—is entirely beyond our comprehension today. For us, however, my dear friends, one thing above all should be significant in these grave times, which I would like to express in the following way: For years we have sought to deepen our spiritual understanding; we have sought to make the knowledge, feeling, and perception of the spiritual worlds our own, along with everything connected to this knowledge, feeling, and perception. But now we are indeed faced with the need, in a certain sense, to undergo a test to see whether we are capable—even under the weight of all the hardships that are now unfolding—of holding fast to the great ideals that have been set before us through our knowledge and feeling of the spiritual world. Where friends gather in our branches, united for the most part by a shared sense of feeling, it is certainly easier to hold fast to what spiritual science is meant to bring to humanity; yet we must never, anywhere, lose sight of the great ideals already expressed in our first principle. After all, we are not a society that seeks to expand within homogeneous ethnic groups; rather, we seek to spread the spirit of reconciliation throughout the entire world. This is why we are subjected to a certain test, for it is truly difficult in the times in which we now live to fully develop a sense of objectivity toward the Highest—namely, toward justice. ^{1Editor’s note: The transcript of this lecture cannot be considered entirely reliable. There are indications of an incomplete, if not erroneous, recording of the spoken words. The reader is referred to the notes at the end of the volume.}

[ 2 ] Precisely for the reasons that will become clear from my remarks today, the inhabitants of Central Europe—and above all the German people—currently find it, in a certain sense, easier than others to be objectively just. But even here, it is necessary not to rely solely on our immediate feelings; rather, as serious anthroposophists, we must strive to penetrate with understanding the language that must today guide justice in the spiritual sense.

[ 3 ] Not because I want to present this as something personal, but because the matter is symptomatic to me, I would like to mention the following: The first volume of my book The Riddles of Philosophy may be in the hands of some of you. The second volume had been printed up to page 204 in the second half of July. It ended right in the middle of a line. That very spot was, for me, the strange, symptomatic part. I had been tasked with characterizing the two French philosophers, Boutroux and Bergson. I tried to do so as objectively as possible. Then I had to make the transition to Preuß, an overlooked but formidable thinker. After presenting contemporary French philosophy, I was to move on to what had sprung up on this side of the Rhine—the ideas that had emerged in Germany. But the page was blank, for the war broke out just as I was about to fill it. I often found myself looking at the empty spaces of the thirteenth page.

[ 4 ] And at that time, various voices were heard from across the Rhine. You are, of course, well acquainted with those voices. They spoke of German barbarism and the like, and hurled the most vicious accusations and slanders at us. One might say it was distressing to witness what was happening there. Respected representatives of French intellectual life were stirring up hatred and passion among the people. And in this case, the personal experience may well be regarded as symptomatic: when, in a book on the history of the development of philosophy, one had to deal with French philosophy, when the soul strove to do it full justice, it could truly fill the soul with bitterness to witness—while striving with all one’s might to immerse oneself in the philosophy of the West with the greatest possible objectivity—that this philosophy then, regardless of all facts, cries out about the “barbaric ways beyond the Rhine.” It was all the more bitter because one of the worst attackers and haters of the German spirit was Maurice Maeterlinck.

[ 5 ] It is strange: the first work published by Maeterlinck—one that already fully expresses his essence and his distinctive character—is based entirely on Novalis, is entirely drawn from Novalis, and Maurice Maeterlinck would be nothing without Novalis. All of his later works sprang entirely from this first foundation, drawn from Novalis. This also sheds light on how our time understands the administration of justice. Today, it is by no means sufficient to listen to the voices spoken here and there under the influence of passion; rather, it is necessary that we bring the facts to mind. Letting the facts speak leads to objectivity. And such objectivity is not the same as indifference toward these matters.

[ 6 ] Great things are happening in our time—monstrous things. And a future era will need to draw upon significant events of the past—in the sense in which we speak of repetitions—to make sense of what is happening in our time. Not just one event, but many are converging to form a repetition, a composite repetition of significant historical events.

[ 7 ] Just as in the past, at the height of Greco-Roman culture, the Romans were forced to wage the Punic Wars against Carthage, and just as the memorable Battle of Mylae decided the fate of the Romans—who had to preserve their flourishing Greco- -Roman culture in the face of an onslaught from the Carthaginian Empire—which, though outwardly still powerful, was in decline—so we find at the outset of the present war something of a repetition of certain events. This may already be stated here today. A remarkable battle took place back then between the Romans and the Carthaginians. The Carthaginians had a mighty fleet, against which Rome, with its few ships, seemed powerless. Then the Romans came up with the unusual idea of constructing boarding bridges that led from ship to ship, effectively transforming the naval battle into a land battle, so that the Romans achieved a great victory on ground familiar to them. Just as something unheard-of for that time happened back then, something that very few people can even imagine took place in Liège—an event that bears a certain resemblance to the events described and which future generations will speak of as one of the very first events of its kind. I mention these things only because I wish to draw attention to the significance of the events in which we currently find ourselves.

[ 8 ] For it is precisely during these days that important decisions in the East and the West hang in the balance. It is enough to break one’s heart when one considers what stands in opposition to one another, and especially in these days, when the decision lies, so to speak, as something uncertain before people’s eyes, attention must be drawn to something else that is of immense importance to consider.

[ 9 ] I am able to speak about these things as I will because, in a sense, my karma has prepared me for it. I was, after all, born in the very realm said to have contributed so much to the Great War; but as I have grown up, I see that I was destined to be homeless even in childhood. I had no opportunity to experience for myself the unique feelings of connection with my countrymen and fellow citizens. Moreover, my childhood fell during a time when I myself became acquainted with hatred of Germans in Austria, when German-Austria was still under the influence of Prussia’s victories, and when even the Germans in Austria hated the Germans of the German Empire. There was no opportunity for a bias in favor of Germany to develop within me. This sense of homelessness, bestowed upon me by my karma, entitles me to speak objectively, fully aware that it is precisely here that the anthroposophical spirit can speak through my words. It is not fitting today to speak prophetic words. Therefore, let those who say, “Where victory may ultimately lie is doubtful,” remain unanswered. But a victory—an important victory—one that is also connected to a spiritual perspective, one that is indelible for all time to come—has already been won. What is this victory? It was won before the outbreak of the war. This victory can be characterized as follows: Was not the heart of Europe long connected to the East? We are certainly not speaking of the people who dwell in Eastern Europe. We are well informed about this people, and anyone who wishes to learn the truth about this people’s relationship to the development of nations should read the lecture series “The Mission of Individual National Souls in Connection with Germanic-Nordic Mythology.” This people in the East is one thing, and the trifolium that currently stands at the forefront there against German spirituality is another: Tsarism, Russian militarism—which has suffered a defeat—and the mendacious Pan-Slavism. There were threads running from the heart of Europe to this trifolium, though not quite to its very last leaf.

[ 10 ] On July 31 of this year, the declaration of war severed and swept away this thread connecting the leadership of Germany and Austria with Tsarism. That was a great victory... [The following is unclear. The meaning seems to be that the events unfolding at that time between the heart of Europe, the Western Powers, and Russia call for a reflection on world history. See also the footnote on page 13.]

[ 11 ] These are significant aspects of world history. One need not turn a blind eye to the unnatural nature of the alliance between Western and Northwestern Europe and the East if one stands on the anthroposophical ground of justice. Let us simply try, in these difficult times, to continue practicing what we have learned through spiritual science itself and through some of what has been forced upon us.

[ 12 ] When we were in a dispute with Mrs. Besant, it was actually an Indian scholar who, commenting on the way Mrs. Besant was clamouring for tolerance, said that Mrs. Besant was acting as if one were to shout at a person whose hand is being cut off—and who is resisting it—saying: ‘Be tolerant, or you’ll start the fight!’ — It shows a lack of thought not to realize that it is absurd to demand that the other person allow his hand to be cut off without resisting.

[ 13 ] I have heard it said often in recent weeks that if Austria had not started the war with Serbia, that would have been “tolerant.” — Exactly the same case! They shout at the one whose hand is about to be cut off: “Be tolerant!” — We have various ways of gaining objectivity through what is so painfully unfolding around us; but to do so, we must be able to think correctly. Learning to think is also a task of theosophy. There is that cycle on the national souls. But if, in these grave times, we were unable to understand it with the utmost seriousness, then all our previous engagement with this cycle would have been nothing more than a theoretical exercise. Only then have these things become second nature to us—when we know how to feel them deeply, especially when it comes to gaining the clarity that is now so necessary. In the penultimate lecture of the series, I attempted to illustrate that the various national souls relate to one another in the same way that I tried to depict in the final image of The Portal of Initiation with regard to the interplay of the three soul forces. The content of the speech—the words spoken by each of the three personalities there—must be spoken exactly as they are, since each of the personalities represents one of the three soul members of the human being.

[ 14 ] In the penultimate lecture of the “Souls of the Peoples” cycle, you are shown how, when we consider the peoples of Italy and Spain, echoes of the third post-Atlantean epoch are evident in our time: the national character is distinctly that of the feeling soul. In France, it is the intellectual soul; in England, the conscious soul; and in the heart of Europe, it is the “I.”

[ 15 ] Do we not know that there can be struggles within our own souls, that the individual parts of our being can be at odds with one another? This is brought to our attention in the second drama, The Trial of the Soul. We can gain a picture of what is unfolding in our time if we allow everything expressed there to take effect within us. And we must try to bring this picture into such clarity within our souls that we know how to seek the “I” at the heart of Europe. Thus, in the midst of days of peace, so to speak, through quiet spiritual work in that cycle, we have laid before our souls the foundations of something that today fills the world as a heavy fate. Fundamentally, much of what is happening now will become clear to us if we take into account everything that is expressed in the aforementioned cycle. Only then will we attain the necessary objectivity.

[ 16 ] In every war, one side has blamed the other. For us, my dear friends, it is not fitting to think that way; for us, something else is fitting. I will make this clear by means of a comparison.

[ 17 ] Suppose someone has grown old, and imagine a child standing next to him, full of vitality and strength. Would it be wise, then, for the old man to resent the child and say: “You, child, in your youthful vigor, you are to blame for the infirmities of old age that I bear!” It is no wiser, for example, to now accuse the Germans of being to blame for the war. We must realize: What happens is rooted in the karma of nations. In the life of nations, too, there is youth and old age; and just as in human life the fresh vigor of a child is not to blame for the fact that old age no longer possesses that vigor, so too is it foolish to level such a reproach in the life of nations.

[ 18 ] But we must not let all this talk blind us; we must focus on what is real, on what is objective. The deeper foundations of current events are still beyond discussion today—aside from the fact that such a discussion would cause ill will among some—but I can draw attention to what really matters in another way.

[ 19 ] As anthroposophists, we know: Europe’s “I” rests in the German spirit. — This is an objective occult fact. I would like to refer to a man who was not a Theosophist—he lived in the German spirit—to illustrate what the “I” mindset had brought about. I know that this is not the mindset of a single individual. It is that of Herman Grimm, who, in a spiritual sense, still had Goethe’s blood flowing through his veins. He speaks these wonderful words: “The solidarity of the moral convictions of all human beings is today the church that unites us all. We are searching more passionately than ever for a visible expression of this community. All truly serious aspirations of the masses know only this one goal. The division among nations no longer exists here. We feel that no national distinction prevails when it comes to the ethical worldview. We would all sacrifice ourselves for our fatherland; but we are far from longing for or bringing about the moment when this could happen through war. The assurance that maintaining peace is our most sacred wish is no lie. “Peace on earth and goodwill toward men” permeates us.”

[ 20 ] Consider, in response to this, what the anthroposophical teaching offers us. Our spiritual movement seeks to create the possibility of satisfying such a longing. And here are some more words from Herman Grimm: “Recognizing humanity as a totality, they regard themselves as subject to an invisible court of justice enthroned as if in the clouds; they consider it a misfortune not to be permitted to stand before it, and they seek to align their inner conflicts with its judicial proceedings.” With anxious striving, they seek justice here. How hard the French of today are striving to present the war against Germany that they are planning as a moral imperative, the recognition of which they demand from other nations—indeed, from the Germans themselves!”

[ 21 ] Let us take as a response to this image what anthroposophy says about the realms of the hierarchies. It is moving to see how the human spirit, in its finest and highest personalities, is filled with the deepest longing for what spiritual science seeks to offer, yet passes it by, fails to find it, and how people then seek their rightful place here with anxious striving.

[ 22 ] And here is another curious fact. Herman Grimm says: “How hard today’s French are trying to portray the war against Germany they are planning as a moral imperative, the acceptance of which they demand from other nations—indeed, from the Germans themselves!” That is all too well put. Can’t we see this effort to portray this war as a moral imperative in what is coming to us from the West today?

[ 23 ] And now I would like to read to you a third passage by Herman Grimm. Once again, you will find how it finds its fulfillment in what our movement brings about: “The inhabitants of our planet, taken as a whole, are imbued with a universally understood sensitivity that even the most primitive peoples sense, and which they are reluctant to violate. People today recognize the right of every individual to self-determination in spiritual matters. Even the most primitive human beings can be guided toward these ideas.” In saying this, however, Herman Grimm is expressing nothing other than the very first principle of our society.

[ 24 ] There you can see how our anthroposophy is a response to the call that the German spirit has sounded through the voices of the finest minds in its intellectual life. The heart of Europe harbors a deep longing for spirituality. This also sheds light on the fact that wherever Germans go, they adapt to local customs by sacrificing their previous way of life, surrendering not their spiritual culture but their nationality.

[ 25 ] All of this, my dear friends, serves, on the one hand, to help us be fair, while at the same time not turning a blind eye to what really needs to be taken into account.

[ 26 ] There have been surprises for the occultist as well in recent times; and I may say that during my course in Norrköping, I was able—or rather, had to—say a few words based on such a surprise. It is true: one could have foreseen for years that these events were bound to occur, and also that they were destined to happen this year. But at the beginning of July, all that could be said was that we would gather for the Munich cycle, and then, when we parted ways—as one might expect—we would be faced with significant events. Then came the assassination in Sarajevo. Although I have often emphasized how different things are here on the physical plane compared to the spiritual plane, and how often the opposite pattern emerges, it was nevertheless a surprise to me when I was able to compare the individuality that had undergone this assassination, both before and after death. Something peculiar happened there: this personality became a cosmic force. I mention this to draw attention to how things on the physical plane are symbols of the spiritual, and how, strictly speaking, all events on the physical plane can only be explained when one looks through them to the spiritual plane. Some of you are familiar with my earlier statement. I said: The terrible thing hovered in the astral world; it simply could not descend onto the physical plane because astral forces were gathered on the physical plane—forces of fear that counteracted it and prevented its descent. — It was on July 20 that I knew the forces of fear had now become forces of courage and boldness. An indescribably magnificent fact: the forces of fear became forces of courage. Then it was no longer inexplicable what was unfolding on the physical plane as such a unique phenomenon: that enthusiasm. This is a fact that was unique to me, and as far as I know, was unknown to any occultist before me.

[ 27 ] Well, you have all witnessed how, in just a few days, this enthusiasm has swept over people who were previously truly peace-loving, and how a wave of courage has washed over them.

[ 28 ] The time soon came when one heard with sorrow of the immense sacrifices this war was demanding. And when I was in Berlin in the first days of September, a deep sorrow gripped my soul as I realized what blossoms of the German spirit had to be sacrificed on the battlefield. I had to dwell on this pain, and it gave rise—not through any merit of my own—to occult research. In times of pain, the soul is granted occult knowledge. The anxious question stood before my soul: If, in particular, the finest leaders of the individual corps are swept away, what will become of us?

[ 29 ] And there one could see how it was the fallen who, after their death on the battlefield, helped those who had to fight after them. This was the finding of clairvoyant research. When the dead help the living, it is a comfort in the midst of pain. My dear friends, spiritual science must reach into life at those moments when all comfort seems impossible, when the right state of mind cannot be found. Even then, spiritual insight can provide the right state of mind; even then, it can still offer comfort. I know there will be souls in our community who will draw courage from such insight in the midst of these sad events.

[ 30 ] From the study of spiritual science, we know that spiritual beings are the guides and leaders of humanity’s journey. In the spiritual world, it is predetermined that, up to a certain point in time, one thing or another will happen. Let us assume that by the year 1950 or 1970, it is destined for humanity on Earth to attain a certain capacity for love in order to combat selfishness. Everything that constitutes spiritual science aims to generate this capacity for love. It does so in much the same way that wood generates heat in a stove. It can be generated through the word; and within our movement, we strive to generate it through the great teachings of anthroposophy. But if the receptivity of human souls to the word were insufficient, if things were to proceed too slowly, so that by the prescribed time the capacity for love and self-sacrifice were not sufficiently developed, then another teacher must step in.

[ 31 ] This was symbolically demonstrated in Dornach. The original intention was to have the building completed by early August. That did not happen; it was not destined by karma for the entire building to be finished by that time, looking down from its hilltop—which towers over the surrounding area—from the east and southeast as a spiritual landmark. Yet the columns with their domes rise into the vast landscape as spiritual watchtowers. In our building, the question of creating a space with good acoustics must also be resolved. I was able to confirm that the right acoustics have been achieved. The sound, as tested from a certain vantage point, confirmed that the acoustics are suitable for the building. But within this acoustic setting, our friends did not first hear the word of spiritual life; instead, they first heard the echo of cannon fire from the south of Alsace, and instead of light from the spiritual world, vast masses of light streamed into the building from the searchlight at Fort Istein and illuminated it. A peculiar symbolism! A symbolism that perhaps may be mentioned after all. Sometimes a different teacher is needed!

[ 32 ] Wasn’t he a tremendous teacher? Doesn’t he stand in powerful opposition to materialism? Just think of everything that has taken place in a single week! What a display of the fight against selfishness! What a display of self-sacrifice and love for humanity has emerged there!

[ 33 ] When I was recently driving back from Vienna, Karma slipped a newspaper into my hands. It contained an account of an Austrian soldier marching off to war. He first describes how, during the journey to the theater of war, the soldiers are showered with acts of kindness from all sides, and at the end there is a passage—the soldier has in all likelihood never had any exposure to theosophy—in which he says: “We who are marching off to the front are trying, with all our courage and with all that we have, to stand up for the just cause; but those who stay at home can also make a difference.” — Then come the grand words: “Let those whom God hears pray—and those who cannot pray should gather all their thoughts and powers of will into the fervent desire for victory...,” and in this way he makes his own contribution! — We have spoken for many years about the power of feeling. Thus, what we have nurtured through years of work now lives on in a simple soldier. Whatever the immediate outcome may be, this event will bring about one thing: spirituality in the human soul—a spirituality that would otherwise have taken much longer to emerge.

[ 34 ] These events are momentous. They can only be compared to great events of the past, which overlap cyclically. Just as the struggle of the Romans against the Carthaginians, and the wars of the Migration Period, were important and transformative for the emerging culture of the peoples, so too is the struggle in the midst of which we now stand no less significant. And perhaps one thought among the many I speak will take root in your hearts: that those who today shed their blood on the battlefield are offering this blood as a sacrifice for something that must happen. It must happen for the salvation of—humanity. And when we look upon the great sacrifices, upon the suffering, there is one thing that, while it may not fill us with joy, can nonetheless fill us inwardly with great satisfaction: that sacred blood is flowing, sanctified by the events; and those who have shed it will become the most important figures for times to come. Much will become clear to us if we can resolve to see in the flowing blood a blood sacrifice that has been sanctified. If we allow this truth to permeate our souls, then the Spirit will bear fruit within us. I may say this: it is precisely in the souls of our dear anthroposophical friends that what that simple soldier said can be fulfilled.

[ 35 ] The thoughts cherished as convictions in the anthroposophical soul will resonate particularly strongly; and this is necessary if the formula we set forth at the beginning of our remarks is to have an effect. Among the fighters, there are already those who serve with the right faith.

Spirits of your souls, watchful guardians,
May your wings carry
The imploring love of our souls
To the earthly people entrusted to your care,
So that, united with your power,
Our plea may shine forth in aid
To the souls it lovingly seeks.

[ 36 ] My dear friends! The purpose of my lecture today was for us to now apply the meaning of what we have learned to current events so that we may pass the test—to view these events and circumstances with a fair and balanced eye. Spirituality will indeed come, also through that great teacher who is now traveling through Europe. But human beings are born to freedom. Much depends on those who are united with us in the spiritual movement. If anthroposophical ideas are now truly present in your souls during this time of trial, then that space, which is now filled with conflicting passions, will be filled with brightly shining spiritual thoughts and with sacred, genuine feelings. Such feelings will live on forever.

[ 37 ] On many a night I pray that there may be many anthroposophists who send out such a radiant, luminous power of thought; and if we can also find the right will to do so, we will have the opportunity to fulfill our role in genuine service of love. Let us be mindful of wherever we may be called upon to actively bring love into the world. Our karma will ensure—whether we stand here or there—that this or that is required of us, for which we have been specifically chosen.

[ 38 ] It was only with tears in my eyes that I could read the letter from a young Austrian to his mother, who on July 26 heard the words spoken in Dornach—how what anthroposophy can offer in terms of spirit and strength lives in his heart and enables him to fulfill his duty wherever fate has placed him. And the same feelings and thoughts came to me from the letter of another young friend who had also attended that gathering in Dornach and then gone off to the front. It is such thoughts and feelings that must live in our souls today: wherever duty calls, we must seek to fulfill it, exercise our judgment, and be mindful of where our love is needed. Then one thing will come to pass in the future: When, one day, the peoples of Europe no longer face one another in battle, then among the thoughts we are now sending out, these will be the enduring ones; they will be the strongest; they will represent something eternal. What we feel now will be for the good if it is combined with the feeling that victory is inevitable: the victory of the spirit.

[ 39 ] A statesman in Germany spoke some remarkable words just this past spring. Commenting on our relationship with Russia, he said that Germany was on friendly terms with St. Petersburg, which was determined to pay no heed to media hype. And in July, it was said of England that détente was making progress, that negotiations with England were not yet concluded, but that they would continue in this spirit. This is how a prominent statesman was still able to speak in July. Read these words again now and try to imagine how human judgment stands in the face of the torrent of events. One thing, however, becomes clear from these words: We did not want the war! — Oh, one would like—understand me correctly!—to put it grotesquely, to be a non-German, so that these words might receive the attention they deserve, so that one might give them the emphasis they deserve.

[ 40 ] But the human soul needs something that endures, something that is not such that we speak of things today that will prove untenable tomorrow; it needs something that is true today and will remain true tomorrow. It will find such truth only when it unites itself with the Spirit. We may trust in the triumph of the Spirit. Whoever unites with the Spirit will find the right path to that wisdom which can arise only from union with the Spirit. Just in the week before the outbreak of war, I had to read sentences in a newspaper such as the following: “Despite Liebknecht’s rebuke, I maintain that in political life one need not speak the truth unless it would come to light or harm oneself.” — This statement is shaped by the materialism of our time, in which we would have been suffocated had it not been for this war, and which our movement is tasked with overcoming—a movement that, in contrast to the incredibility of such a statement, begins with the words: “Wisdom lies only in the truth.”

[ 41 ] This shows just how much we need the Spirit of Truth if we want to grasp things as they really are. For what is at stake is that we penetrate to that objectivity which can be attained only through the Spirit of Truth. Then we will be able to recognize even today what a later age will come to realize: that this war is a conspiracy against German spiritual life.

[ 42 ] The following saying, which appeals to the national spirit, can help us achieve such objectivity:

O Spirit of my earthly realm!
Reveal the light of your age
To the soul endowed with Christ,
So that, striving, it may find
In the choir of the spheres of peace
You, resounding with praise and power
Of the human spirit devoted to Christ!

[ 43 ] Much can emerge for our souls and for finding the right path when we vividly unite with this soul what such a saying can become for us. But then I know that something will happen, that an important link in what is to unfold will be present—something that will live within the anthroposophical soul and that will bring anthroposophy into the world—and that hopes will be fulfilled, which I would like to summarize with the words:

From the courage of the fighters,
From the blood of the battles,
From the suffering of the forsaken,
From the sacrifices of the people
The fruit of the spirit grows—
Guiding souls, spiritually aware,
Direct their minds toward the spirit realm.

[ 44 ] This, my dear friends, is what matters: let us practice active love and remain alert to the demands of the day. And then, free from prejudice and with a clear mind, let us examine the circumstances in order to attain the kind of objectivity that is necessary today—and which is so difficult for many to achieve. Perhaps those of our friends abroad who hear these words can also help shed light on the situation.

[ 45 ] If we attain such objectivity and such a willingness to love through service, then a power can arise from such striving that can be of use to those spirits who direct their influence into the destinies of nations and who, even in these grave and difficult times, stand by humanity, offering help and guidance.