The Rudolf Steiner Archive

First Lecture

[ 1 ] Let me first express my deep satisfaction at being able to be among you once again. This would have happened sooner had it not been for the urgent need to bring the work on the group—which has often been discussed here and is to be placed in the eastern part of the Dornach Building, depicting the representative of humanity in relation to the Ahrimanic and Luciferic forces—to a point where it can now continue without me. In the present time, it is indeed necessary to think ahead to the future in a certain way, and it seemed to me absolutely necessary, in view of the events that may lie ahead, to advance this group as far as has been possible up to now. Moreover, these very times should make it particularly clear to us that physical togetherness on the material plane cannot be the only thing that sustains us powerfully through the impulses of spiritual science, but rather that togetherness in thought and spirit—even if it is only spiritual, even if it can only exist in thought and mind—must carry us even if it can be only soul-level, even if it can exist only in thought and spirit, must carry us through this difficult time of trials and suffering, and how it is precisely through this that the strength of our spiritual scientific endeavors must be tested.

[ 2 ] Since we have not gathered here, we have, on the physical plane, had to mourn the loss of our dear Miss Motzkus and other dear friends, who have left the physical plane as a result of recent events. It is particularly painful, among those dear friends who have participated here for so many years in our spiritual scientific endeavors, to no longer see Miss Motzkus. She had, after all, been a part of our movement since we first began it. From the very first day, from the very first gathering in the smallest circle, and throughout the entire time, she was in our midst as a member deeply devoted to the very heart of our movement, who participated with heartfelt commitment in all phases and all the trials of our movement’s development; and above all, throughout all these events we have had to endure, she preserved—in the deepest sense of the word—an invincible loyalty to our cause, a loyalty through which Miss Motzkus was certainly an exemplar for those who truly wish to be devoted members of the spiritual science movement. And so we bid farewell to this dear, good soul as she ascends into the realms of spiritual life, preserving the bond of loyalty to her that has been nurtured and strengthened over many years, knowing that we remain connected to her soul forever. — Recently, Miss Motzkus herself had to mourn the loss of her faithful friend, whom she has now so soon reunited with in the spiritual world, and she accepted this blow in the way that one endures such a blow when one is conscious of a true understanding of the spiritual world. It was admirable to see the keen interest with which Miss Motzkus, right up until her final days, showed deep concern for the great events of our time. She told me repeatedly that she wished to live here on the physical plane until these significant events, in the midst of which we now stand, had been resolved. Now, with a clearer vision and a firmer sense of humanity’s evolution, she will be able to follow these events—to which she was so deeply attached and interested—in her present state. — And so let it be close to all our hearts that, wherever we can, we unite our thoughts and the active powers of our souls with this faithful spirit, with this faithful, beloved member of our movement, so that we may continue to feel at one with her, even as she remains among us in a different form than before, since she was connected to us on the physical plane in such an exemplary way.

[ 3 ] Well, the times in which we live are such that they can make us increasingly aware of the significance that the pursuit of spiritual knowledge must have for humanity today and in the near future. The events in which we find ourselves are, one might say, such that they still evoke a kind of stupor in many people today, even if this goes largely unnoticed. And to fully recognize what is actually happening—and just how profoundly the events unfolding here affect human development—the souls who survive this catastrophe of humanity here on the physical plane will likely only awaken to this after some time has passed. All the more reason, then, for us to make it our business to bring before our souls what we might call thoughts that shed light on the tasks and goals of this spiritual-scientific movement, which is so necessary for humanity. And since we are together again after such a long time, it may be particularly beneficial for us to bring to mind, with a few brief thoughts, the specific nature of our view of this spiritual science; or perhaps I should say, of the view that naturally arises from that spiritual science which we have been holding before our souls for many years now.

[ 4 ] It can certainly be observed that people everywhere today—at least in some of their representatives—are developing a longing to draw closer to the spiritual world, even though, regrettably, materialism is not on the decline. And it is precisely from some of the forms in which this longing for the spiritual manifests itself that the need may arise for us to bring the specific nature of our search for spiritual life to the forefront of our consciousness. In England at present, the search for the spiritual world undertaken by an outstanding scholar is making a profound impression on the widest circles of even the most educated people there. And it is, after all, an extraordinarily remarkable phenomenon that a man counted among the very foremost scientific minds there has written a comprehensive book on the connection between humanity here on Earth and the spiritual world—a book that takes a quite unusual form. Sir Oliver Lodge, who for years has indeed been striving in various ways to expand the scientific insights he has gained so that they might provide him with insights into the spiritual world, has written a thick book about a very special case of connections he claims to have established with the spiritual world. The matter stands as follows.

[ 5 ] Sir Oliver Lodge had a son, Raymond Lodge. In 1915, he fought on the British side in Flanders. While the Lodge parents still believed their son was on the battlefield, they received a strange message from America—a message that must certainly have been extraordinarily startling for, I might say, materialistically minded spiritualists. The message was worded in such a way as to suggest that the English psychologist Myers—who had died many years earlier and had devoted much of his work to the relationship between the physical world and the spiritual world, and who had thus been in the spiritual world for years—would soon take young Raymond Lodge under his wing. At first, it was unclear what this could refer to. However, this message reached Sir Oliver Lodge somewhat belatedly. It arrived after Raymond Lodge, the son, had already fallen in battle. I believe it was fourteen days later; I no longer remember exactly. So now the news of his death arrived, and furthermore, news came again from America—conveyed through mediums—that one should turn to English mediums. And lo and behold, they turned to English mediums, specifically to mediums toward whom Sir Oliver Lodge—one can say this; I will speak about the significance of the case shortly—was sufficiently critical. Sir Oliver Lodge is a scientist and is trained to examine such matters scientifically. In his view, he proceeded exactly as one would in a laboratory experiment. And what emerged was confirmed not by one, but by several mediums: Raymond Lodge’s soul sought to make its presence known to Sir Oliver Lodge’s family. All sorts of written and tapping messages were received—messages whose content was so surprising to the Lodge family that not only was Sir Oliver Lodge convinced of the truth of the matter, but so were the other family members, who had previously been extremely skeptical of such things. Among other things, Raymond Lodge’s spirit announced that Myers, who had long since passed away, was standing by her side to protect her; it also revealed various details about his final days before his death, as well as all sorts of other matters that were significant to her parents and siblings and made a great impression, particularly because various things that Raymond Lodge had the mediums convey were directly intended to reach the family and, in particular, Sir Oliver Lodge. The manner in which the séances were conducted was, strangely enough I must say, extremely surprising to the family, to Sir Oliver Lodge, and to much of the press—as far as I was able to follow. They cannot be surprising to anyone with experience in such matters, for, fundamentally, anyone even slightly familiar with the technique and procedure of such séances could have anticipated the nature and character of what was conveyed there by mediums on behalf of a deceased person. One fact, however, made a particularly deep impression in England. And this fact is probably the one most likely to inspire genuine conviction in the widest possible circles of the educated world in England—and indeed in the educated world in America—a conviction that was previously absent among very many people in our skeptical age, but which has now taken hold and will continue to take hold precisely because of this matter. The fact that has made a particularly strong impression on the Lodge family—on Sir Oliver Lodge in particular—and on the general public is the following:

[ 6 ] One of the mediums described photographs that had been taken during Raymond Lodge’s lifetime. They were described in such a way that Raymond Lodge himself communicated to the medium—who expressed himself through tapping sounds—what the photographs looked like. In this way, a group photograph was described; that is to say, the medium conveyed that the soul of Raymond Lodge wished to describe a group photograph that he had taken shortly before he passed through the gates of death. He says—speaking from the afterlife—that he had his picture taken with colleagues who were photographed in two groups one after the other; the arrangement was such and such, and he was sitting in that spot. He also indicated in this way that several photographs were taken, but one after the other, as photographers do. In fact, he specified exactly how these photographs, taken immediately one after the other, differed from one another. In every one, he is sitting in the same chair, with roughly the same head posture; only the position of his arm and such details have changed ever so slightly. He describes this in great detail. Now, the Lodge family knew nothing about these photographs; they did not know that such a photograph had been taken. So initially there was the fact that, through the medium, a group photograph had been described—one that was supposed to depict Raymond Lodge surrounded by his comrades. After some time—perhaps fourteen days—this photograph actually arrived from France at Sir Oliver Lodge’s residence, and it was exactly as it had been described by the medium based on the information provided by the soul of Raymond Lodge. This made a particularly strong impression. And anyone who is a layman in such matters—and it turned out that virtually everyone involved was a layman—could not help but be deeply impressed as well. It is a crucial test. We are dealing with a situation in which a soul from the beyond describes a photograph in several distinct images, which arrives at the family’s home only after about fourteen days and corresponds exactly to these descriptions. So one can say: There is no trace whatsoever that the medium or any member of the séance—and the members were the Lodge family—could have seen anything of this photograph. You see, we have a case here that deserves special attention: on the one hand, it must be examined scientifically; on the other hand, it must also be examined from a cultural-historical perspective. For not only can one assume that something like this would naturally make a great impression; it actually happened, and it made an immense impression. And as far as one could tell, it was precisely this description of the photograph—which, after all, could not have been based on telepathy—that was deeply convincing.

[ 7 ] For us, the main concern is to take a comprehensive view of the entire situation. For we must be clear about the following: When a human being passes through the gate of death, we are initially dealing with the fact that the human individuality is now, for a short time, enveloped by the astral body and the etheric body; that this etheric body, after a shorter or longer period of time, but in any case after a period of time—which, as we know, is measured in days—is transferred to the etheric world and undergoes its further destiny there, so that the individuality, together with the astral body, begins its further journey in the spiritual world. And just as the physical body here on Earth is separated from the individuality, so too is the human etheric body. Now we must be clear that in spiritualist séances—and the entire body of Sir Oliver Lodge’s work deals with spiritualist séances—only a thorough expert can distinguish whether the communication is with the actual individuality or merely with the discarded, remaining etheric corpse. This etheric corpse nevertheless remains in constant communication with the individuality. Now, when one establishes a connection with the spiritual world indirectly through a medium, one first establishes it with the etheric body, and one can never be certain whether, through this indirect route, one is truly reaching the individuality. It is certainly the aspiration of our time to find, even for spiritual existence, something akin to a laboratory experiment—something tangible, something immediately present in the material world before one’s eyes. Our materialistic age is reluctant to embrace the inner path along which the soul is meant to journey into the spiritual worlds—the path of pure spirituality. It wants the spirit, too, to manifest itself materially, for this spirit to descend into the material world. We are experiencing all phases of materialistic spiritualism, of the materialistic turning toward the spiritual world.

[ 8 ] It is entirely possible that the etheric body, once separated from the actual human individuality, exhibits a certain kind of life of its own that the layperson might easily confuse with the life of the individuality. For one must not believe that this etheric body, once it has been handed over to the etheric world, would merely display reminiscences, memories, or echoes of what the human being has experienced here; rather, it manifests itself as a truly enduring individuality. It can reveal and bring forth something entirely new. And yet, anyone who believes that through this connection with the etheric body they are in connection with the individuality is on the wrong track. This is particularly possible when, in a circle such as this one—composed of Sir Oliver Lodge’s family, all of whom were family members—people sit together who, in one way or another, directed their thoughts toward the deceased, as was natural in the soul of each of these members of the Lodge family. Thoughts of the deceased, manifold memories—these were conveyed to the etheric body indirectly through the medium’s psychic power, and the etheric body, in turn, sometimes gives back quite startling answers that certainly appear as if the individuality of the dead person were providing them. Nevertheless, one is dealing only with the discarded etheric corpse. And for those familiar with these matters, what actually takes place is that wherever it is described how, through the medium, this or that message from Raymond Lodge reaches the members of Sir Oliver Lodge’s family, it is in fact only the etheric corpse that speaks, without the individuality of Raymond Lodge having actually been in communication with the entire group. Therefore, as I said, for those who are well-versed in the course of such séances, none of these messages are particularly striking.

[ 9 ] The whole thing probably would not have made such a significant impression on a wide audience—nor would it continue to do so—if it weren’t for the story of the photograph. For this story of the photograph is, after all, something extraordinarily strange. For it is simply impossible that thoughts could have been transmitted from the circle—as is possible with all other phenomena that occurred during the séances—through the medium to the etheric body. After all, no one in England could have known anything about the photographs; they had not yet arrived when the messages were conveyed through the medium. Nevertheless, it is highly peculiar that someone who has been interested in these matters for so long—and who, moreover, is such a learned scientist as Sir Oliver Lodge—should not know how to interpret such a phenomenon. I have truly made an effort to examine this matter more closely, and that is quite possible precisely because Sir Oliver Lodge is a scholar and scientist, and therefore describes it in a way that can be relied upon; so that we are not dealing with some ordinary transcript of a spiritualist séance, but with the accounts of a man who describes the matter with the certainty of a scientist accustomed to exercising the scientific rigor that a chemist applies in laboratory experiments. From this account, which is exceptionally thorough, one can form a complete picture of what is at stake. One need only know what is at stake.

[ 10 ] It is very strange, then, that someone—driven by the extraordinary interest he has because his son is involved, someone who has, after all, been interested in these matters for many years— —that is, a learned man like Sir Oliver Lodge—knows nothing of what we have often described within our spiritual science when we have described the atavistic forms of clairvoyance as premonition, as deuteroscopy. For in this case, we are dealing with nothing other than a very special case of deuteroscopy. The situation is as follows: We are dealing with a medium. To this medium, in a certain sense—through atavistic forces, of course—the spiritual world is open; we know that. Such mediums bridge space in their vision. But not only do they bridge space through what is called “second sight,” they also bridge time. And let’s take a very simple case, one that has been described a hundred and a hundred times—you can read about such cases if you haven’t experienced something like this yourself or seen it happen to acquaintances—where someone with a particular predisposition sees, as if in a dream but in a half-vision, their own coffin or funeral procession as a future event. They will die in fourteen days. He has seen what will not happen for another fourteen days. One can see not only one’s own coffin or funeral procession, but also, for example, a stranger’s funeral procession—a completely unrelated event—for instance—I’m recounting a specific case—seeing how, after fourteen days or three weeks, one is called out to the countryside and falls from a horse. This actually happened. Someone saw it clearly and tried to take precautions; but those precautions turned out in such a way that the event happened anyway. Here we are dealing with a bridging of time. What Sir Oliver Lodge describes is nothing other than a bridging of time. Nothing else. His description is so precise that verification is entirely possible. Through his mediumistic power, the medium saw the future event. When the medium spoke, the photograph was not there, but it arrived in about fourteen days. It was shown around. This did not take place until some time later, but the medium foresaw it. It was a prophetic foresight, a deuteroscopy. We are dealing with a foresight; that is what explains the matter. So this has absolutely nothing to do with communication between someone who is here on the physical plane and someone who is in the spirit world.

[ 11 ] You can see how very one can be led astray by the pursuit of a materialistic interpretation of the spiritual conditions in the world, and how very one can be blind to what is truly real. Indeed, the very existence of such a premonition is no less proof of the reality of a world that lies beyond the ordinary sensory world. The case is interesting, but it cannot be used to establish the relationship between the living and the deceased. The deceased must be sought out—if they are to be and may be sought out—by a path that is truly spiritual. We will, of course, be making many further reflections on these matters in the near future, for I intend to discuss various chapters here in the coming days specifically on the question of the relationship between the living and the dead.

[ 12 ] Well, I have presented this essay by Sir Oliver Lodge on Raymond Lodge’s soul to you for the purpose of showing you the nature of that longing for the spiritual world—a longing that certainly exists, but which one might call a materialistic form of such longing. Oliver Lodge is, after all, a materialist scholar. Even though he strives toward the spiritual world, he still wants to understand it in the same way he understands the physical or chemical world. Just as he investigates the laws of chemistry in the laboratory, so too does he want to have before him, in a tangible way, whatever pertains to the spiritual world. And far removed from him is the path that we must recognize as the correct one—the path that the soul takes inwardly toward the spiritual world, a path we have described so often, just as we have described what the soul comes to know as primarily relevant to us today in the present and as underlying the world of the physical senses in which we live. It is precisely in the endeavors that approach the spiritual world in a materialistic way that one can recognize the entire materialistic character of our time. And if our movement is to have a purpose—that is, the purpose that must follow for it from the necessary law of human development—then it must emphatically stress the spiritual-inner, the truly spiritual, in contrast to this materialistic striving, that is, this absurd striving toward the spiritual world.

[ 13 ] And why must a way of life entirely different from the materialistic one—namely, a purely spiritual way of life—truly capture people’s hearts in the present day? We must consider this question in connection with a fact that we have pointed out frequently over the years, and which must be particularly close to our hearts, especially in these days—these days of suffering and trial. We have pointed out how this twentieth century must bring the vision of the etheric Christ to humanity. And just as—as we have often said—at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha the Christ walked physically among people at a specific place on Earth, so too will the etheric Christ walk among people across the entire Earth in the twentieth century. And if no sin is to be committed against the salvation of the Earth, humanity must not pass by this event inattentively; rather, it must pay the necessary attention so that a sufficient number of people will be prepared to truly behold the Christ who is to come and who must be beheld.

[ 14 ] Such an event does not come entirely suddenly—just as the event at Golgotha did not come suddenly, but was also foreshadowed over the course of thirty-three years. And the time is drawing near when something—but now on the spiritual plane—will take place that will have a significance for humanity similar to that of the event at Golgotha on the physical plane. Therefore, you will not find it implausible—if you generally acknowledge the fact mentioned above—when it is said that He is actually already present in the form in which He will be seen at the great moment of development in the twentieth century, and that this great moment is being prepared. You will not find it implausible when, in the very face of this great moment, it is said: “This moment is already being prepared.” Yes, one can say: As far as humanity, in its present actions, seems to be removed from being imbued with the Christ Spirit on the physical plane, so close is the Christ who is coming to the souls—if only they would open themselves. And the occultist can point out quite clearly how, since about 1909, what is to come has been preparing itself in a distinctly perceptible way; that since 1909 we have been living inwardly in a very special time. And today it is possible, if one only seeks it, to be very close to Christ, to find Christ in a completely different way than in earlier times.

[ 15 ] There is one thing that may strike you, which I must tell you—as simple as it may sound—out of a deep sense of time. Unfortunately, people usually do not form a thorough enough understanding of what has passed, particularly what happened to human souls in earlier centuries. We no longer have a true sense of the power of the impression made in the first Christian centuries—albeit on a smaller circle than later—perhaps not by the Gospels known today, but by what is contained in the Gospels known today; nor do we have a true sense of the infinitely powerful inner stirring of the soul. Indeed, as the centuries passed, the impact made by the inner essence of the Gospels did indeed grow ever weaker. And today, if one does not succumb to illusions, one can certainly say: The individual, if he possesses certain intuitions and certain powers of foreknowledge, can penetrate through the Word of the Gospels to a conception of what took place at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha; but the immense power of the Gospel message itself has diminished more and more, and today—if one is not under any illusions—it exerts only a faint influence even in the broadest circles of humanity. People no longer want to admit this fact to themselves; but it would be good—because it is the truth—if they were willing to acknowledge it. How did this come about?

[ 16 ] Now, just as it is true that what pulsates through the Gospels is not an earthly word but a cosmic word, a heavenly word, possesses an incomparably greater inner potential for power than anything else on earth, it is equally true that people have become estranged in their souls from the form in which this word is recorded in the Gospels—a form that emerged from the time of the Mystery of Golgotha. Just think about how incredibly difficult it is for you to understand a language—if it happens to come your way—in the form it took four or five centuries ago. A translation simply does not convey what is truly there. The Gospels, in the form in which people can access them today, are simply not the original Gospels; they do not possess the original power. One can penetrate them through a certain intuition, as I said; but they simply do not possess the same power. And Christ—he spoke the words that are meant to be deeply engraved in the human soul: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”—This is a truth; this is a reality. In various forms—in a form particularly close to the human soul—he will be present during the aforementioned period of the twentieth century.

[ 17 ] Well, from what I have said, you can gather that anyone who feels deeply involved in these matters as an occultist says: He is here! He is here in such a way that we know clearly that He now desires even more for His human children than He did in past centuries. Until now, the Gospels have spoken inwardly to people. They were meant to touch the souls. That is why one could be content with faith alone, without progressing to knowledge. That time is over; that time lies behind us. Christ has entirely different plans for his human children. His plan is for the Kingdom—of which he said, “My Kingdom is not of this world”—to truly take root in those parts of human existence that are not of this world themselves, that belong to another world. For within each of us lies the part of the human being that is not of this world. And that part of the human being that is not of this world must, in an intense way, seek precisely the kingdom of which Christ said it is not of this world.

[ 18 ] We are living in a time when this must be understood. And some such events in human development announce themselves precisely through the deepest contrast. And in our own time, too, something great and significant is heralded through contrast. For the time will come—with the coming Christ, with the Christ who is present—when people will learn to turn to Christ not only for their souls, but also for what they wish to establish through their immortal part here on earth. Christ is not merely a ruler of humanity; he is a brother to humanity who wishes to be consulted—especially in the times to come—regarding every detail of life. What people wish to establish is being established today through this contrast. Today, events seem to be unfolding in which people appear to be furthest removed from asking Christ a question. Who, we must ask ourselves, is asking Him—regarding what is happening today: What does Christ Jesus say about this?—Who is asking it? Some say they are asking it, but it would be blasphemous to believe that they are asking it—that the questions, as they are posed today, are truly being directed to Christ. And yet, the time must come—it cannot be far off—when the human soul, in its immortal part, will pose the question to Christ regarding what it seeks to justify: Shall it happen, or shall it not? — when the human soul sees Christ as a loving companion at its side in the specific circumstances of life, and receives not only comfort and strength from the Christ-essence, but also guidance regarding what is to come to pass. The Kingdom of Christ Jesus is not of this world, but it must work in this world, and human souls must become the instruments of the Kingdom that is not of this world. From this standpoint, we must look around and see how rarely the question is raised today that must be put to Christ regarding individual deeds and events. But humanity must learn to ask Christ.

[ 19 ] How is this to be achieved? It can only be achieved by learning his language. Those who grasp the deeper meaning of what our spiritual science aims to achieve do not see in it merely theoretical knowledge about all manner of human problems, about the elements of human nature, about reincarnation and karma; rather, they seek in it a very special language, a way of expressing themselves about spiritual matters. And the fact that we learn, through spiritual science, to speak inwardly in thought with the spiritual world is far more important than acquiring theoretical knowledge. For Christ is with us every day until the end of time. We are to learn His language. And through this language—however abstract it may seem—through which we hear of Saturn, the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth, and on Earth of various periods, different times, and various other mysteries of evolution, through this so-called teaching we teach ourselves a language into which we can pour the questions we ask of the spiritual world. And when we learn to speak inwardly in the language of this spiritual life, then, my dear friends, it will become evident that Christ stands beside us and gives us answers. This is something we should take up as a mindset from our spiritual scientific endeavors—as a sensation, as a feeling. Why do we engage in spiritual science? It is as if we were to learn the vocabulary of the language through which we can approach Christ. And whoever strives to learn to think about the world as spiritual science strives to do, whoever strives to exert their mind in such a way that they look into the mysteries of the world as spiritual science intends—to such a person, from the gloomy depths of the world’s mysteries, and will be the strong power in which he will live, standing fraternally by his side, so that he may be strong and vigorous in heart and soul, capable of meeting the challenges of humanity’s future development. Let us therefore seek to make spiritual science our own not merely as a doctrine, but as a language, and let us then wait until we find in this language the questions we may ask of Christ. He will answer—yes, he will answer! And abundant spiritual strength, spiritual fortification, and spiritual impulses will be gained by those who, from the gray depths of the spirit that lie within the development of humanity at this time, will hear the instruction from Christ, which He intends to give to those who seek it in the very near future.