The Karma of Materialism
GA 176
28 August 1917, Berlin
5. Christ and the Present
How can one approach the Christ impulse, how does one come near the Being of Christ? In one form or another this question is asked again and again—and rightly so. People feel a need to ask this all-important question which must be approached from many aspects as we have done in our anthroposophical studies. Just as a photograph of a tree taken from one angle does not convey its full shape, so one aspect or indeed several do not exhaust the many-sidedness of a spiritual reality. All we can hope is that we shall come near it by approaching it from as many aspects as possible.
It is essential to realize that seeking Christ is deeply connected with the nature of the human ‘I’ and is therefore something inward and intimate. The special nature of the human ‘I’ comes to expression in the way we use the word ‘I.’ All other words are applicable to other things whereas the word ‘I’ can never refer to anything except to the one who speaks it. Because of the inner relationship between the Being of Christ and the human ‘I’ the Christ Being has for us the same intimate character as our own ‘I.’ All the impulses of feeling and will which stir within us when we contemplate the Mystery of Christ are actual means by which we draw near the Christ. It is through feeling- and will-filled contemplation of Christ that we have reason to hope we may find Him. At present it is of particular importance to pay attention to mankind's historical evolution especially in relation to the Event of Christ. Historically, the present is a significant moment in time. Few are aware of its full implication; it is therefore all the more important to be mindful of man's historical development in relation to every issue of significance.
We know that man's inner development, the whole configuration of his soul life was different before and after the Mystery of Golgotha. Various aspects of this difference have already been described. Some fifty or sixty years ago there was more feeling for spiritual knowledge, more people concerned themselves with higher questions. The inclination to do so has since waned. To illustrate this we can turn to the writings of a psychologist such as Fortlage17Arnold Rudolf Karl Fortlage 1806–1881 German Philosopher who, up to the sixties of the 19th Century practiced in Jena and other cities. We still find in his writings a remarkable description of human consciousness to which, I may add, modern philosophers take great exception.
Fortlage said, in (1869), that human consciousness is related to death, to dying, and as we, in the course of life, develop consciousness we are actually slowly and gradually developing those forces which, at the moment of death, confront us all of a sudden. In other words Fortlage sees the moment of death as an immensely enhanced act of consciousness. One could say that he sees consciousness as life which gradually develops into death. It is not life as such which develops death, but the consciousness in man develops death forces and death itself is enhanced consciousness compressed into a moment. This statement by a psychologist—condemned as I said by modern philosophers as unscientific—is immensely significant.
It is important to realize that despite the significance of this statement in relation to man's present soul life, that is his present consciousness, it is not true for every period of man's evolution. If we go back thousands of years before the Mystery of Golgotha no one with deeper insight would have spoken like that. Our present consciousness, which is normally devoid of all former atavistic clairvoyance, does owe its existence to slow death. But this was not the case at the time of the ancient atavistic clairvoyant consciousness which disappeared as the time of the Mystery of Golgotha approached. Words are always inadequate for describing such matters. Nevertheless it can be said that this ancient consciousness was engendered by a surplus of spiritual life over man's organic life. Now we find ourselves within a surplus of organic life which is gradually dying. Our consciousness at present is due to the fact that, in returning to the body upon waking, we are overwhelmed by a body which is subject to death, which is progressively dying. The fact that we are overwhelmed by it enables us to develop our present day-consciousness which is an object consciousness.
In ancient times before the Mystery of Golgotha things were different. Man then had a surplus of spiritual life which was not altogether extinguished when, on waking, he returned to the body. This surplus of spiritual life expressed itself as atavistic clairvoyance. But as the time of the Mystery of Golgotha approached this surplus decreased ever more. At the time of the Mystery of Golgotha, in the case of most people, a balance had been reached between man's inner life of soul and the organic life of his body. After the Mystery of Golgotha the organic life gradually gained the upper hand. One can also express it by saying that before the Mystery of Golgotha man gained knowledge through the forces of birth; after the Mystery of Golgotha he gains knowledge through the forces of death. This again illustrates the significance of the Mystery of Golgotha as the turning point in human evolution.
The ancient clairvoyant consciousness; i.e., the consciousness related to birth began to wane. Slowly and gradually man lost the spiritual world from his consciousness. Whereas formerly everyone was able to experience the spiritual world a time began, about a thousand years before the Mystery of Golgotha, when gradually only those who were initiated in the Mysteries were able to do so. This explains a remark made by Plato, referred to in my book Christianity as Mystical Fact. Plato who knew of this secret, declared that only those initiated in the Mysteries were humans in the true sense, all others were souls submerged in mire.—Rather a horrible statement but not an arbitrary one: it refers to the situation I have just described which arose out of necessity in human evolution.
Let us for a moment imagine what would have happened had the Mystery of Golgotha not taken place: Evolution would have continued the way it was before, which means that more and more human beings on the earth would lose all direct connection with the spiritual world. Eventually humanity would no longer be able to incorporate the spirit; man's body would become larva-like consisting only of organic and etheric members. A long time ago men's souls would have been incapable of living in the bodies available; they would have hovered above them in the spiritual world. Only those souls who, in an earlier epoch had reached higher development, would be able to inspire their bodies from above. Consciousness of the spiritual world would have been possible only in the case of individuals receiving inspiration in the Mysteries. The human spirit itself would not inhabit the earth. In the mystery centers it would be possible to receive inspiration but Ahriman would battle against this. He would distort the inspirations thus preventing the larva-like human bodies from carrying out what was intended.
Because the human body, during its life between birth and death, overcomes a now comparatively weaker life of soul, it had to be made possible for the human soul to live again in a body which is subject to birth and death. This became possible only because a Being from the spiritual world, the Christ Being, united Himself with those earthly forces which came to dominate man's consciousness. What kind of forces are they? They are death forces, the very forces to which man now owes his consciousness! You will understand the far-reaching meaning of the Rosicrucian saying: In Christo Morimur, in Christ we die. These words express in a sense the very meaning of man's existence. They express what entered human evolution through the Mystery of Golgotha. They express what united itself with the death-bringing forces enabling them to become henceforth the basis for man's consciousness.
It may be asked why in these circumstances such a great number of people still do not acknowledge the Christ? All one can say about this is that so many and so far-reaching secrets are connected with this question that at present it is not yet possible to speak about them in a general way. But what I have just described is a fact of human evolution.
Let us now connect what has been said with the Mystery of Golgotha: Christ had incarnated in the body of Jesus of Nazareth; i.e., in a body subject to the same conditions as those to which human bodies in general were subject at that time. As a result of the pure hereditary conditions the body of Jesus of Nazareth was subject to conditions in which consciousness was gradually to emerge from the forces of death. What had to happen to give evolution so mighty a jolt that it would cause an equally mighty impulse to stream as a force into mankind's evolution, making consciousness arise from forces of death? The Christ-being, that lived for three years in and through the body of Jesus of Nazareth, spoke the secrets connected with human consciousness to this body. This could be done only at the moment of death, for it is only then that the entire secret connected with human consciousness is drawn together. Did not the Christ have to lead Jesus through death in order that this whole impulse of consciousness could stream into mankind? Indeed, it did! And death is also that moment when we too may hope to attain an intensified comprehension of Christ. This is because at that moment all the forces are present which have sustained our consciousness throughout life. We are adapted at the moment of death to absorb what is in fact the secret of our consciousness and to absorb with it the Christ Impulse. We are preparing ourselves to receive it when we seek not only to understand but to experience the reality of the Christ Impulse. However what meets us at death we can understand only when our organ for understanding is set free. That means that while the moment of death does indeed provide the condition for union with Christ, it is only when we are free of the etheric body that the astral body and ‘I’—the organization for understanding—can actually perceive this union.
Something else had to take place at the Mystery of Golgotha to bring about these conditions: After Christ had—in dying on Golgotha—entrusted to Jesus as it were the secrets of man's future consciousness, a momentous event had to occur: Jesus, in whom the Christ dwelt, rose to new life through the force of death. In other words, the Resurrection had to occur in order that we could understand that Resurrection when, a few days after death, we experience our ether body separating from us as explained by anthroposophical science. In this more inward death—i.e., the separation from the ether body a few days after death—we relive in a certain sense the Mystery of Golgotha. For it was life, that is, consciousness, which rose out of death: a living consciousness. At no time before the Mystery of Golgotha had this ever happened; life had always risen from life. Never before had there been a necessity to understand how life can come from death, only how life comes from life.—This is one of many approaches to the Mystery of Golgotha.
The fundamental issue of Christianity is the Resurrection. Anything calling itself by that name without having as its center a living concept of the Resurrection is no true Christianity. It is absolutely essential to understand that Christ, who united Himself with the forces of death, is the living Christ. Nothing else provides a true understanding of Christianity. Modern so-called Christianity which avoids the concept of the Resurrection is not Christianity. The essential need in mankind's evolution was the Death and Resurrection. The other events which took place at the Mystery of Golgotha are all an integral part of what has just been described.
One thought which is always problematic concerns the circumstances which led to the death of Christ Jesus.—I have often touched on this problem—on the one hand there is the feeling that the people must be condemned who brought death upon someone without sin, on the other there is the fact that if this death had not occurred Christianity would not exist. This means that Christianity with all its values has come into existence through a misdeed. The contradictory thought constantly forces itself upon man: If there had been no one criminal enough to put Christ to death there would be no Christianity. Yet we need Christianity!
Here we are touching on one of those issues in relation to which appeal must be made to understand what I recently termed “iron necessity.” During his earthly life man's thinking is adapted to the way he looks at things and he arranges life accordingly. All civic, political and other arrangements are based on human views. We live as a matter of course in conditions created by human beings, unconcerned as to whether the thoughts on which these arrangements are based come from God or from the devil. Whereas if we look back to conditions, as they generally were a long time before the Mystery of Golgotha, we find that in those ancient times man's thoughts, concerned with social arrangements, were received through atavistic clairvoyance. As we have seen, when the time of the Mystery of Golgotha drew near, man's body became more and more larva-like and as a consequence more and more accessible to ahrimanic influences. Therefore social and political institutions become more and more saturated with ahrimanic forces. It was inevitable for instance that the code of law should eventually become as it is now. It was also inevitable that an ahrimanic code of law should be particularly in evidence and concentrated, so to speak, at one particular spot on the earth at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha. Such circumstances did not prevail everywhere, but in one place the social structure was completely ahrimanic. Therefore the appearance of its very antithesis, the appearance of a God was for this society the most hateful thing that could happen, it had to be eliminated. This phenomenon, of necessity, accompanies all the others connected with the Mystery of Golgotha.
Two things in particular brought about this social structure. First, the kind of thoughts that had evolved out of Judaic law, were so saturated with ahrimanic forces that by means of them there was no possibility of grasping the fact that a God could come so close to man as was the case of Christ Jesus. This was something Judaic law had of necessity to reject. Secondly, the Romans were also responsible for the death of Christ Jesus; they were a powerful and efficient force in establishing the external side of the social structure. One cannot imagine a more powerful example than the social structure created by Roman Imperialism, particularly at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha. Yet at the moment the Mystery of Golgotha is enacted, Pilate, the representative of the strongest earthly power, proves a weakling when faced with spiritual power. He is incapable of coming to any insight or to make any decision about what is to happen.
So you see this is also a phenomenon connected with the Mystery of Golgotha—I have mentioned it before—that it took place at a time when mankind was least able to understand. In ancient times it would have been understood, but when it actually happened it was not. It must be realized that to understand this event a different approach is necessary.
One comes to realize that one must bring to the Mystery of Golgotha all the depths of one's thoughts and feelings; for example when one attempts to relate the Mystery of Golgotha to the secrets of human death and man's subsequent awakening in the astral body and ‘I.’ It is through thoughts, through contemplation that one draws near to this Mystery. It is of no use to express through empty words a general wish to reach union with Christ; what is needed is a concrete understanding of what the actual appearance of Christ in earth evolution means for one's own life. It is not without meaning that the same time span elapsed between the death and the resurrection of Christ Jesus as the one that elapses between our leaving the physical body and our leaving the ether body in death. There is an intimate bond between Christ's life on earth and the man of today living after the Mystery of Golgotha. It is now possible to say with greatest conviction: Christ came in order that man should not be lost to the earth. Had the Mystery of Golgotha not taken place man's body would have become larva-like, directed from above by his soul. Death would gradually have removed man from the earth altogether. Through the Mystery of Golgotha man's connection with the earth was restored. Through the Mystery of Golgotha the possibility of consciousness arising from death was created.
These things can be understood today, they are revealed to contemplation of the spiritual world; making them our own deepens our inner life. When we are faced with crucial events we are not helped by knowing in a general way that we are connected with something called “the Christ,” whereas our inner life is deepened and strengthened when we know quite concretely that we are intimately connected with that Being who actually experienced earthly life and went through the Mystery of Golgotha. In contemplating these things we feel our innermost being intimately connected with the historical events of Golgotha.
At the present time man is going through a crisis as far as understanding the Mystery of Golgotha is concerned. Last week I attempted to illustrate this crisis by means of a specific example. I wanted to show how a human being may make a thorough study of Christianity yet fail to find Christ. At present it is possible to belong to established Christian communities, perhaps to one which at present has an ever-increasing influence, without approaching Christ. This is a phenomenon which spiritual science must emphasize again and again. What must also be emphasized is that it is modern man's task to call up the inner forces of his soul which enables him to grasp spiritual-scientific thoughts. A certain power of soul must be called upon in order to make these thoughts inwardly living. Unless we do we shall make no progress, for it lies in the nature of present-day man that he should call upon this soul-force. A force which ought to be used, but is not, produces sickness in some form. Illness is caused not only through lack of something but also through overabundance of something. Numerous people who appear weak are in reality strong. Paradoxical as it may seem they are strong inwardly. Many who go about like weaklings dissatisfied with life, not knowing how to be—as they put it—“in tune with the infinite” are actually strong, but subconsciously. However, they are incapable of bringing their subconscious strength into consciousness because they have no inkling of what it is that clamours for recognition within them. As a consequence the subconscious rebels and causes instability. The aim of spiritual science is to make man conscious of what is stirring within him, of what is in fact striving to become conscious. A true and satisfying understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha is what above all wants to become conscious, a fact which often expresses itself in remarkable ways.
As I have pointed out there is on the one hand a need to understand the spiritual world and on the other a shrinking away from such knowledge. Many things show that the longing is there to find again the spirit, which however, cannot be found today without an understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha. That the longing is present is often emphasized by writers who are themselves as remote as possible from any real comprehension. In order to understand present-day life we must acquaint ourselves with these matters of which there are plenty of examples in everyday life. Those who have developed interest in spiritual science have the task to recognize the spiritual knowledge which should be impartial at present; they must also be able to recognize where there is a shrinking away from such knowledge. One must especially learn to recognize where there seemingly is a striving for the spirit—which indeed there is, though unconsciously—but in a spurious form while genuine spiritual science is not approached. That is why I do not hesitate to point to such obvious examples in present-day life.
Recently I was sent another article in which the writer describes just such an example of so-called spiritual striving. Someone the writer knew well told him—the way such things are usually conveyed these days—that he simply must hear Johannes Müller18Johannes Müller 1864–1949 German Philosopher speak. This gentleman felt that to hear Johannes Müller was an experience not to be missed. He further informed the writer that Johannes Muller is the principal of a psychiatric clinic and had founded what amounted to a new ethics, a new religion. However, at the word religion he suddenly plunged into a detailed Christology. At an incredible speed he developed his personal view of the life of Jesus after which he elaborated on liberal theology, the Warburg school of thought, and that of the Heidelburg school. He then went on to discuss Alexandrine poetry and Hegelianism and so on.—This is a prime example of the folly of many people who take an interest in whatever crops up and at the slightest opportunity reel it off at breakneck speed. The writer, listening to all this, thought no one could speak that fast except perhaps >Kainz19Josef Kainz 1858–1910 famous actor. and then only if he had to catch the last express train to Berlin after a theater performance. Nevertheless after this experience the writer goes to hear a lecture by Johannes Müller about the purpose of life.
Listening to this lecture the writer felt that Johannes Müller spoke about life's purpose as would a saint. The lecture dealt with how one ought to sacrifice oneself, how one should live for others, not for oneself and so on. Only one thing bothered the writer: the conversation he had with the fast-talking gentleman had led him to form a picture in his mind of Johannes Müller. He felt that if only Johannes Müller had looked like this mental picture he could have believed in him. However, Johannes Müller was nothing like what he had visualized. He describes his impression of Johannes Müller which I shall not spare you as it demonstrates how one sets about judging things nowadays. This is the writer's description: “On to the platform came a medium-sized, thick-set man with a short neck, bushy moustache, fresh complexion; the archetype of a thoroughly healthy citizen of a German provincial town. I could not avoid the idea that this man would be perfect as manager of some large toy factory in Nuremberg. The way he dealt with the audience reinforced this impression. His way of speaking was lucid, definite, friendly, calm, yet expressing strong inner participation in what he said. Everything was explained in simple terms with many repetitions and he never stopped till he had said all he wanted to say. He kept to his subject, spoke to the point and was obviously filled with earnest desire to serve the good. In short, ideally a town council should be composed of people like him. Similar things could be said about his subject; basically, Johannes Müller expressed what good German citizens would think about on special feast days.”
How does this impression compare with the writer's image of someone who spoke about self-sacrifice and living solely for others? He says: “The image I had formed of Johannes Müller had established itself so firmly in my mind that I was convinced he must be real. I had visualized someone with a pale face which he would support with a thin white hand, his sad brown eyes gazing into far distances. If this Johannes Müller had been on the platform saying in a soft voice: Believe me Ladies and Gentlemen, the purpose of life is sacrifice, then not only I, but everyone, would, at least for the moment, have had to agree.”
In other words if Johannes Müller had resembled the writer's preconceived notion the latter would have believed him. Very interesting! And why would the writer believe him? The reason is simple. This writer, unlike most people in the audience, has a critical mind. He judges with a certain shrewdness that a speaker with a pale face, liquid eyes and a melting look would have a right to speak about sacrifice. One would believe in him, for it would be clear that for such a man self-sacrifice would be the joy of his life; therefore no real sacrifice. The external appearance of Johannes Müller obviously suggested none of this. The writer said to himself: the way this man on the platform expresses himself, the way he looks makes it obvious that what he says has nothing to do with sacrifice on his part. He speaks as he does because he enjoys it, to him it is a joke.—This is of course a paradox; what the writer felt was that a man like the speaker would always do just what he wanted to do, what would give him pleasure. He would never say so, for if he did he would have to tell his audience that the purpose of life is to follow whatever impulse one happens to have, to do whatever one has an urge to do. In fact he would have to speak like Nietzsche. He does not for he would always say what is opposite to his actual inclinations.
Nowadays there is often a longing to say things which are opposite one's inclinations. Let us be quite clear about what this implies. There is no doubt that just those who are least inclined to sacrifice themselves for others are the very people who love to say that the purpose of life is self-sacrifice, to live solely for others. There is a definite wish to say what is in absolute contrast to reality.—What is that?
When life is observed with a sense for reality it is very recognizable that what people like to speak about are impulses in complete contrast to their own. They deceive themselves about it of course, but it is a most conspicuous feature of life today. There is a desire for the sensation of something which is in contrast to the reality. It must be remembered that there is at present no great understanding for these matters. There is also the fact that so many possibilities exist which help to avoid coming face to face with them. For instance someone hearing Johannes Müller say that the purpose of life is to sacrifice oneself for others might tell a lot of people how he has heard a marvelous speaker say something very illuminating: “The purpose of life is to sacrifice oneself for others” and announce that henceforth he will live by that principle according to the way he sees it. Living by such a rule the way one sees it is of course an easy way to avoid many of the more difficult demands made by life. At present it is a favorite way of doing just that; and confirms that for many people, indeed for most it is exciting to say the very opposite of what they are.
It is basically an expression of a longing many people have; they are dissatisfied with external life and want something different. There is a genuine longing to rise above external life but the longing finds unhealthy expression because people seek at all cost to avoid recognizing the reality of the spirit. Take the example of the writer I just mentioned; he will undoubtedly be suited better by Johannes Muller than by spiritual science—that is predictable. The reason is simple; Johannes Müller speaks of things like the purpose of life, of sacrificing oneself for others. This subject the writer can use for an article which he ends with the words: “What the great universal purpose of life is we shall never know, nor is it in the last resort necessary for us to know.”—Thus the writer manages to appear high-minded and worldly while remaining a thoroughly ordinary philistine.
This is impossible when one strives to attain a world view which does not rely on mere phrases but recognizes the reality of the spiritual world and what is demanded of the present age. The individual who sets out on this path will develop a sense for what the spiritual world at this moment wants from him. He will discover for himself how his development ought to progress and to what extent his particular destiny requires him to sacrifice himself for others. There is no need for any phrase to be bandied about; what is needed is the development of that inner strength which eventually leads to spiritual insight.
Nothing can be said against the meaning of a sentence such as: “The purpose of life is to sacrifice oneself for others,” but it remains a sterile phrase till one learns to bring spiritual reality into physical reality. That was the very reason why the Mystery of Golgotha was fulfilled. It entered evolution so that new life might spring from death. Or in other words, so that the living spirit might be born from our present death-related consciousness. In bringing to birth, within our death-related consciousness, the living spirit, we approach the Mystery of Golgotha.—There are indications which suggest that people are beginning to recognize the necessity of listening to what spiritual science has to say. We live in difficult times, fraught with problems and conflict. Everyone feels that it is essential to find a way out. However, it is inherent in the age that a way out can be found only through a real understanding of the spirit. All other attempts will prove illusory.
The first understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha came about through direct experience. At first people could speak of Christ because some had actually seen Him; later some had known others who had seen Him. There was still an echo of Christ's own words in those spoken by the first Apostles. Thus mankind's first experience of Christ was on the physical plane. Through the centuries this knowledge faded and had vanished altogether by the turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries. That the present situation should arise was therefore inevitable when there are people—as I described in the last lecture—who, though they want to be Christians, do not actually seek Christ. We must realize that we live in a time of crisis as far as understanding Christ is concerned. We can reach understanding appropriate to our age in no other way than through an ever-deeper understanding of spiritual science. Ahrimanic forces battle against this knowledge just because it is so essential in our time. However, this does not prevent those who recognize the task of spiritual science from seeing this task connected with the enormous world-historical events taking place in our time. The solution to today's great problems can only come from real knowledge of the present age. And it is not biased propaganda to say that only through spiritual science can a solution be found.
Fünfter Vortrag
Es kommt immer wieder vor — und mit Recht -, daß gefragt wird: Wie kommt man dem Christus-Impuls, dem Christus-Wesen überhaupt nahe? — oder daß die Frage in irgendeiner anderen Form gestellt wird. Man kann sich in verschiedener Weise der großen Frage nähern, die darinnen liegt, daß eben der Mensch solches Bedürfnis empfinder, und wir haben ja im Laufe unserer anthroposophischen Betrachtungen wirklich diese Frage von den verschiedensten Seiten her ins Auge gefaßt. Uns ist ja bekannt, daß die eine oder die andere Begriffsreihe, die eine oder die andere Summe von Vorstellungen ebensowenig die geistige Wirklichkeit erschöpfen, wie das Bild eines Baumes, das photographisch von einer Seite her aufgenommen wird, die ganze Form dieses Baumes erschöpfen kann, und so können wir nur hoffen, durch die Betrachtungen von den verschiedensten Seiten her, an das heranzukommen, was wir die Wirklichkeit auf dem Gebiete des geistigen Lebens nennen können.
Vor allen Dingen muß sich jeder darüber klar sein, daß das Auffinden des Christus etwas Intimes ist, und wir wissen ja, wie es zusammenhängt mit der Natur des menschlichen Ich. Wir wissen, daß diese Natur des menschlichen Ich schon in der Sprache dadurch sich ausdrückt, daß wir jedes andere Wort so anwenden können, daß wir etwas anderes damit bezeichnen können, niemals aber das Wort Ich so aussprechen können, daß es sich auf irgend etwas bezieht, was außer uns ist. Die innige Verbindung des durch Christus Wesenhaften mit diesem Ich, gibt für uns Menschen diesem Christus-Wesenhaften einen so intimen Charakter als das Ich selbst für uns hat. Deshalb sind alle die Betrachtungen, alle die Gefühlsimpulse, alle die sonstigen inneren Kräfte, welche wir in uns rege machen, wenn es sich um das ChristusProblem handelt, eben Wege zu dem Christus. Und hoffen können wir, und hoffen müssen wir, daß wir den Christus finden durch solche Betrachtungen, solche Empfindungen, Willensimpulse und dergleichen. Insbesondere ist es aber für die Gegenwart von ganz besonderer Wichtigkeit, den historischen Entwickelungsgang der Menschheit ins Auge zu fassen, auch bezüglich der Christus-Idee. Wir stehen in einem bedeutungsvollen historischen Augenblick, in einem so bedeutungsvollen historischen Augenblick, daß die Bedeutung vielleicht noch wenigen Menschen in ihrer vollen Tragweite aufgegangen ist. Schon darum geziemt es unserer Zeit, das historische Werden der Menschheit nicht außer acht zu lassen, wenn es sich um Wichtigstes handelt.
Nun wissen wir, daß das Werden der Menschenseele, der ganze Inhalt der Menschenseele ein anderer war vor dem Mysterium von Golgatha, daß er ein anderer ist nach demselben, und wir haben auch in der verschiedenen Weise geschildert, wie dieses Anderssein sich verhält. In der Zeit, in der noch mehr Gefühl in der Menschheit für die Bedeutung geistigen Erkennens vorhanden war, man kann sagen vor fünfzig bis sechzig Jahren, da haben auch mehr Menschen noch an den höchsten Problemen gerührt, und man findet immer wieder und wieder, wie in der Zeit vor fünfzig bis sechzig Jahren die Hinneigungen der Menschen, große Probleme in ihrer eigentlichen Tiefe aufzufassen, verschwinden. Wenn wir zum Beispiel die Schriften eines Seelenforschers wie Fortlage, der bis in die sechziger Jahre des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts hinein gewirkt hat, in dieHand nehmen, so finden wir noch eine merkwürdige Charakteristik des menschlichen Bewußtseins bei Fortlage, dem Psychologen, der in Jena und an anderen Stätten wirkte. Eine Definition des Bewußtseins erfahren wir bei ihm, welche, ich möchte sagen, die heutigen Philosophen schon sehr tadelnswert finden.
Er sagt nämlich einmal, es war 1869, das menschliche Bewußtsein sei verwandt. mit dem Tode, mit Sterben, und indem wir im Laufe des Lebens Bewußtsein entwickeln, entwickeln wir eigentlich in uns — langsam, nacheinander — die Kräfte, welche im Augenblicke des Todes auf einmal an uns herantreten. So ist für Fortlage der Augenblick des Sterbens ein unendlich vervielfältigter Bewußtseinsakt. Das Bewußtsein ist für ihn, man könnte sagen, ein langsames Leben vom Sterben. Nicht das Leben ist ein Leben vom Sterben, aber das Bewußtsein im Menschen ist ein Leben vom Sterben, und der Tod ist ein in einem Moment zusammengedrängtes Bewußtsein.
Es ist dies eine ungeheuer bedeutsame Bemerkung eines Psychologen. Es ist eine Bemerkung, wie gesagt, die der heutige Philosoph als unwissenschaftlich schon tadelt. Das ist ja auch geschehen.
Nun kann man sagen: so bedeutsam diese Bemerkung für die Verhältnisse des heutigen menschlichen Seelenlebens, des Bewußtseinslebens ist, ganz richtig ist sie nicht für jede Zeit der menschlichen Seelenentwickelung. Das ist wieder außerordentlich wichtig. Tausende von Jahren vor dem Mysterium von Golgatha hätte man so bei einer tieferen Erkenntnis nicht sprechen können. Unser heutiges Bewußtsein, das im gewöhnlichen Leben jeder früher vorhandenen atavistischen Hellseherkraft bar ist, lebt wirklich noch vom langsamen Sterben. Nicht so aber war es bei dem gegen das Mysterium von Golgatha allmählich hinschwindenden atavistischen Hellseherbewußtsein der alten Zeit. Obwohl natürlich Worte in solchem Falle immer sehr wenig das Richtige ausdrücken, so möchte man doch sagen: Dieses alte Bewußtsein war ein Überschuß von geistigem Leben über das organische Menschenleben, während wir uns jetzt in einem Überschusse des organischen Menschenlebens, das dem Sterben entgegengeht, über das geistige Leben befinden. Jetzt haben wir unser Bewußtsein dadurch, daß wir vom sterblichen Leibe überwältigt werden, wenn wir des Morgens beim Aufwachen in ihn zurückkommen; und dadurch, daß wir vom sterblichen Leibe überwältigt werden, kommen wir dazu, Bewußtsein zu entwickeln, in dem Sinne, wie das heutige Gegenstandsbewußtsein ist. Anders war das, wie gesagt, bei den alten Leuten vor dem Mysterium von Golgatha. Sie hatten einen Überschuß des geistigen Lebens. Der ging nicht ganz auf, wenn sie des Morgens in den physischen Leib zurückkehrten, und dieser Überschuß drückte sich in ihrem atavistischen Hellsehen aus. Aber gegen das Mysterium von Golgatha zu wurde dieser Überschuß immer weniger und weniger, und in der Zeit des Mysteriums von Golgatha war für die Mehrzahl der Menschen ein Gleichgewicht vorhanden zwischen dem seelischen inneren Leben und dem organischen Leben des Leibes. Und dann nahm das organische Leben des Leibes überhand. Man möchte sagen: die Menschen vor dem Mysterium von Golgatha wußten durch die Geburt, die Menschen nach dem Mysterium von Golgatha wissen durch den Tod. Dadurch sehen wir auch wiederum, welch ein bedeutsamer Einschnitt in die Menschenentwickelung das Mysterium von Golgatha eigentlich ist.
Nun geschah das Abnehmen des alten Hellseherbewußtseins, des bewußten Lebens vom Geborenwerden. Langsam und allmählich schwanden dem Menschen die seelischen Inhalte von einer geistigen Welt hin. Und eine Zeit kam, die fast ein Jahrtausend vor dem Mysterium von Golgatha währte, in der eigentlich nur diejenigen noch etwas von der geistigen Welt erfahren konnten, von der früher alle erfahren hatten, die in die Mysterien eingeweiht waren. Daraus kann man verstehen, was in meiner Schrift «Das Christentum als mystische Tatsache» angeführt wurde, daß Plato, der von diesem Geheimnis wußte, die Bemerkung macht: Nur diejenigen Menschen, welche in die Mysterien eingeweiht sind, sind im eigentlichen Sinne Menschen; die anderen leben mit ihren Seelen im Schlamm. — Eine eigentlich höchst grausame Bemerkung, die aber auf das zurückgeht, was ich jetzt ausgesprochen habe, und es entspricht nicht einer Willkür, sondern durchaus einer Notwendigkeit der menschlichen Entwickelung.
Nun stellen wir uns einmal für einen Augenblick vor, was dann geworden wäre, wenn das Mysterium von Golgatha nicht gekommen wäre. Wäre es nicht gekommen, so wäre die Entwickelung zunächst in derselben Weise fortgegangen; das heißt, es wären in der Außenwelt immer mehr und mehr Menschen gewesen, denen aller unmittelbare Zusammenhang mit der geistigen Welt hingeschwunden wäre, und zuletzt wäre es dahin gekommen, daß die Menschen überhaupt nicht mehr geisterfüllt, sondern nur Larven, nur eigentlich organische, ätherische und dergleichen Gliederungen wären. Wir wären längst in der Zeit, in _ welcher die Seelen der Menschen nicht fähig wären, in Leibern wirklich zu leben, wir wären längst in der Zeit, in welcher die Seelen nur in der geistigen Welt über ihren Leibern schwebten; wir wären längst in der Zeit, in der nur mehr möglich wäre, daß weiterentwickelte Seelen aus früheren Zeiten inspirierend von oben herunter in die Menschheit hineinwirkten. Nur dadurch könnte in dem Menschen noch ein Bewußtsein von der geistigen Welt auftreten, daß einzelne in den Mysterien inspiriert würden. Der Menschengeist würde selber gar nicht auf der Erde wohnen. Mysterienstätten wären diejenigen Stätten, in denen Inspirationen eintreten würden; nur würde Ahriman immer dagegen kämpfen, würde gegen die Inspirationen kämpfen, er würde immer die Menschenlarven abhalten, im Sinne der Inspirationen zu handeln beziehungsweise er würde die Absichten, welche ihnen inspiriert würden, ins Gegenteil verkehren.
Daher mußte es möglich gemacht werden, daß die menschliche Seele in dem menschlichen Leibe, der durch die Geburt entsteht und durch den Tod vergeht, wiederum, im allgemeinen, wohnen kann, weil dieser menschliche Leib in seinem Leben, das dem Tode entgegengeht, das schwächer gewordene Leben der Seele überwindet. Das wurde nur dadurch möglich, daß ein Wesen aus der geistigen Welt, eben das ChristusWesen, sich mit den irdischen Kräften verband, die jetzt für das Menschenbewußtsein die herrschenden wurden. Mit welchen Kräften also? Gerade mit den Kräften, von welchen man jetzt das Bewußtsein hat: mit den Todeskräften! Denken Sie, wie umfassend dadurch der Rosenkreuzer-Ausspruch wird: In Christo morimur, in Christus sterben wir! Er drückt ja gewissermaßen unser ganzes Wesen aus, er drückt dasjenige aus, was durch das Mysterium von Golgatha in die Entwickelung der Menschheit hineingekommen ist, was sich mit den todbringenden Kräften verbunden hat, damit diese todbringenden Kräfte das neuere Bewußtsein bilden können.
Mit der Frage, wie es denn unter solchen Umständen komme, daß so viele Menschen auf der Erde den Christus noch nicht anerkennen, hangen so viele Geheimnisse zusammen und so tiefe Geheimnisse, daß darüber eben in der Gegenwart im allgemeinen noch nicht gesprochen werden kann. Aber richtig für die Menschheitsentwickelung ist dieses, was ich eben ausgesprochen habe.
Denken Sie damit nun im Zusammenhange, wie das Mysterium von Golgatha sich vollzogen hat. Denken Sie damit im Zusammenhange, daß der Christus sich in dem Leibe des Jesus von Nazareth verkörpert hat, also in einem Leibe, der selbstverständlich dazumal denselben Bedingungen ausgesetzt war, denen die Leiber der Menschen überhaupt ausgesetzt waren. Nach den reinen Vererbungsmerkmalen war der Leib des Jesus von Nazareth denjenigen Bedingungen ausgesetzt, die sich allmählich dahin entwickelten, daß das Bewußtsein nun von dem Sterben des Leibes kommen soll. Was mußte denn geschehen, damit durch einen gewaltigen Ruck in die Entwickelung hinein ein entsprechender Impuls kam, als eine Kraft, die die Menschheitsentwickelung durchdrang von einem Bewußtsein, daß dem Tode verdankt ist zu leben? Es mußte das kommen, daß die Christus-Wesenheit, die drei Jahre hindurch in dem Leibe des Jesus von Nazareth lebte, diesem Leib etwas sagte, was aber nur im Augenblicke des Todes gesagt werden kann, denn nur im Augenblicke des Todes kann das alles zusammengedrängt werden, was Geheimnis des menschlichen Bewußtseins ist. Mußte also nicht, damit der gesamte Bewußtseinsimpuls, der da kommen mußte und in die Menschheit hineingedrängt werden konnte, mußte nicht der Christus den Jesus zum Sterben bringen? Das mußte er! Und wann sind wir selbst in jenem Augenblick, in dem wir hoffen können auf ein zusammengedrängtes Verständnis des Christus? Wir sind es in dem Augenblicke des Sterbens! Denn da sind alle diejenigen Kräfte im Augenblicke vorhanden, von denen unser Bewußtsein das ganze Leben hindurch erhalten wird. Im Moment des Sterbens sind wir geeignet, dasjenige aufzunehmen, was im Grunde genommen das Geheimnis unseres Bewußtseins ist, und damit aufzunehmen den Christus-Impuls. Wir bereiten uns also eigentlich, indem wir Verständnis, Gefühl und Empfindung suchen für den Christus-Impuls, zur Aufnahme des Christus-Impulses vor. Verständnis desjenigen, was uns im Tode trifft, können wir aber nur haben, wenn das Organ unseres Verständnisses befreit ist, das heißt, der Moment des Todes gibt uns zwar die Bedingungen, uns mit dem Christus zu vereinigen, aber erst wenn wir vom ätherischen Leibe befreit sind, ist auch unser Ich und unser astralischer Leib, welche die Verständnisorganisationen dazu sind, geeignet zu schauen, was sich da mit uns vereinigt hat.
Damit nun auch die Bedingungen geschaffen wurden, daß das so sein könne, mußte noch etwas anderes im Mysterium von Golgatha eintreten. Nachdem gewissermaßen der Christus dem Jesus im Sterben auf Golgatha das Geheimnis des kommenden menschlichen Bewußtseins anvertraut hatte, mußte die gewaltige Tatsache eintreten, daß der Jesus, der den Christus enthielt, sich zu einem neuen Leben erhob aus jener Kraft heraus, die der Tod ist, das heißt, es mußte die Auferstehung eintreten, damit wir die Auferstehung dann verstehen können, wenn einige Tage nach dem Tode unser Ätherleib im Sinne unserer anthroposophischen Wissenschaft sich von uns ablöst. In diesem inneren Vorgange des Sterbens, des Sichablösens des ätherischen Leibes einige Tage nach dem Tode, leben wir nach in einer gewissen Weise das Mysterium von Golgatha. Denn das mußte ja sein, daß aus dem Tode Leben, nämlich Bewußtsein hervorkam. Aber dieses Bewußtsein mußte selbst leben, also aus dem Tode mußte Leben entstehen. Das war vor dem Mysterium von Golgatha nicht gewesen. Nur aus.dem Leben war vorher Leben entstanden. Man brauchte früher nicht zu verstehen, wie aus dem Tode Leben hervorgeht, sondern man brauchte nur zu verstehen, wie aus dem Leben Leben hervorgeht. Daher - das ist wiederum einer von den vielen Gesichtspunkten, durch die wir uns diesen Geheimnissen nähern — nahm das Christentum seinen Ursprung von der Auferstehung und darum ist kein sich so nennendes Christentum ein wirkliches Christentum, das nicht den Auferstehungsgedanken in all seiner Lebendigkeit voll durchdringt: daß der Christus, der in die Todeskräfte einzieht, ein Lebendiger ist! Das muß verstanden werden. Alles übrige gibt kein wahres Verständnis des Christentums, und ein neueres Christentum, das ohne den Auferstehungsgedanken auskommen will, ist kein Christentum. Auch die Begleiterscheinungen sind solche, welche sich in harmonischer Weise an das anschließen, was eben in bezug auf das Mysterium von Golgatha gesagt worden ist. Was die Menschheit brauchte, war Tod und Auferstehung.
Nun bleibt aber unter denjenigen Gedanken, die man an das Mysterium von Golgatha anknüpfen kann, immer der Todesgedanke des Christus Jesus ein sehr, sehr fraglicher Gedanke, aus dem einfachen Grunde - ich habe ihn schon öfter hier angedeutet —, weil auf der einen Seite der Mensch eigentlich gezwungen ist, die Tatsache zu verurteilen, daß sich Menschen gefunden haben, die den Unschuldigen zu Tode brachten, und weil auf der anderen Seite wieder das vorliegt, daß, wenn dieser Tod nicht eingetreten wäre, die ganze Wohltat des Christentums nicht da wäre. Also durch ein Verbrechen ist die Wohltat des Christentums gekommen. Dieser fragwürdige Gedanke drängt sich ja immer mehr und mehr den Menschen auf. Sagen müssen sich die Menschen: hätte es damals diejenigen nicht gegeben, die damals so verbrecherisch waren, den Christus zu töten, dann gäbe es das Christentum nicht. Aber das Christentum will man doch haben.
Da liegt eben einer derjenigen Punkte vor, wo man an das appellieren muß, was ich in einer der letzten Betrachtungen die Notwendigkeit, die eherne Notwendigkeit genannt habe. Der Mensch denkt in seinem Erdenleben nach seinen Gedanken. Er richtet nach seinen Gedanken die soziale Struktur des Lebens ein. Was wir als Volks-, Staats- und so weiter -einrichtungen haben, ist ja der menschliche Gedanke. Wir leben so, wie es die Menschen gemacht haben, ganz selbstverständlich, und unbeschadet dessen, daß die menschlichen Gedanken, nach denen die soziale Struktur bewirkt wird, entweder von Gott oder von dem Teufel kommen können. Im allgemeinen aber blicken wir zurück in sehr weit hinter dem Mysterium von Golgatha zurückliegende Zeiten. Daher wird es ohne weiteres einleuchten, daß in jenen alten Zeiten die Menschen durch ihr atavistisches Hellsehen auch die Gedankeneingebungen zur Herstellung der sozialen Struktur empfangen haben, daß aber gerade aus den heute auseinandergesetzten Gesichtspunkten die Menschen in der Hinentwickelung zu dem Mysterium von Golgatha immer mehr und mehr Larven geworden sind, und dadurch den ahrimanischen Einflüssen immer zugänglicher wurden. Daher hat notwendigerweise in den Einrichtungen des Lebens immer mehr und mehr ahrimanisches da sein können. Es mußte zum Beispiel eine solche Auffassung des gesetzlichen Lebens kommen, wie wir sie jetzt haben, und es mußte sich gerade eine solche Auffassung des gesetzlichen Lebens, das ganz ahrimanisch durchsetzt war, an einem Erdenpunkte, ich möchte sagen, konzentrieren. Nicht überall, aber an einem Erdenpunkte konzentrierte sich das ganze ahrimanische Durchdringen der sozialen Struktur. Die Folge davon war, daß für diese soziale Struktur der Gegensatz, der göttliche Gegensatz des Hereinkommens eines Göttlichen nicht das Liebenswerteste, sondern das Hassenswerteste war, das, was ausgeschieden werden mußte. Das ist eine Begleiterscheinung, die notwendig damit verknüpft ist.
In zweifacher Weise sehen wir diese soziale Struktur herankommen. Auf der einen Seite sehen wir, wie aus dem jüdischen Gesetz heraus sich Formen gebildet haben, die nicht begreifen konnten, daß das Göttliche so nahe an die Menschen herankäme, wie es in dem Christus Jesus herangekommen ist, so daß dieses Gesetz notwendigerweise das nahe herangekommene Göttliche ausscheiden mußte, so sehr war es ahrimanisch durchsetzt worden. Die Römer hinwieder, die auch ihren Anteil an dem Tode des Christus Jesus hatten, waren in bezug auf alles Äußere in sozialer Strukturbildung stark. Man kann sich nichts Stärkeres denken in bezug auf soziale Strukturbildung wie das, was das Imperium Romanum gerade in der Zeit des Mysteriums von Golgatha schon zustandegebracht hatte. Aber wie ist Pilatus, der Vertreter der stärksten weltlichen Macht, im Augenblicke, da das Mysterium von Golgatha eintritt, gegenüber der geistigen Macht ein Schwächling! Denn als nichts anderes, denn als ein Schwächling erscheint hier Pilatus, der überhaupt keinen Standpunkt gewinnen kann gegenüber dem, was geschehen soll.
So sehen wir, wie sich auch in den Begleiterscheinungen dieses Ereignisses das zeigt, was ich in einer der letzten Betrachtungen hier angeführt habe: Als das Mysterium von Golgatha herankam, war die Menschheit am wenigsten geeignet, es zu verstehen. Sie hätte es verstanden in alter Zeit. Als es herankam, war sie am wenigsten geeignet, es zu verstehen, und erst auf anderen Wegen muß das Verständnis für dieses Ereignis kommen. Es ist wichtig, daß man das völlig ins Auge faßt.
Nun denken Sie einmal, wenn man das Geheimnis über den Menschentod und über das Aufwachen des Menschen aus seinem astralischen Leib und dem Ich heraus ins Auge zu fassen versucht und es in nahe Beziehung zu bringen versucht zu dem Mysterium von Golgatha, wie man da diesem Mysterium von Golgatha selbst, in seinem ganzen Gefühlsleben nahekommen muß. Durch Gedanken, durch Empfindungen kommt man diesem Mysterium nahe, nicht durch das allgemeine leere Wort: ich will den Christus in mir haben, — sondern durch die konkrete Erfassung desjenigen, was die konkrete Christus-Erscheinung in der Erdenentwickelung zu unserem eigenen Leben ist. Nicht umsonst vergeht gerade zwischen dem Tode und der Auferstehung des Christus Jesus so viel Zeit, wie bei uns zwischen dem Verlassen des physischen Leibes und dem Verlassen des Ätherleibes. Da ist für den heutigen Menschen nach dem Mysterium von Golgatha ein inniges Band zwischen ihm und dem Christus-Leben auf der Erde. Der Christus ist auf die Erde gekommen - können wir jetzt mit einer noch größeren Gewißheit sagen — aus dem Grunde, damit der Mensch der Erde nicht verlorengehe. Larven wären die Menschen geworden, deren Seelen von oben herunter die Menschen dirigiert hätten, wenn das Mysterium von Golgatha nicht gekommen wäre. Die Tode hätten allmählich die Menschen von der Erde weggebracht. Der Zusammenhang des Menschen mit der Erde wurde wiedergeschaffen durch das Mysterium von Golgatha. Die Möglichkeit des Bewußtseins, das aus dem Tode kommen muß, wurde geschaffen durch das Mysterium von Golgatha.
Diese Dinge kann man heute verstehen, sie ergeben sich heute schon aus der Betrachtung der geistigen Welt, und diese Dinge können heute etwas werden, was die Menschen in ihre Seelen aufnehmen, um ihr Gemüt zu vertiefen. Und man darf wirklich fragen: Wird denn nicht dieses Gemüt vertieft, wenn es sich in bezug auf wichtigste Lebensereignisse, die uns jede Stunde bevorstehen können, so innig verbunden weiß, nicht nur im allgemeinen mit etwas Christus-Genanntem, sondern mit etwas, was konkret auf der Erde gelebt und durch das Mysterium von Golgatha durchgegangen ist? Wird denn nicht ein Strom erzeugt von unserem eigentlichen Seelenleben zu den historischen Ereignissen von Golgatha, wenn wir die Sache so betrachten?
Da ist es denn notwendig, die Krisis zu betrachten, in der wir in der Gegenwart stehen. Vor acht Tagen habe ich an einem besonderen Beispiele diese Krisis klarmachen wollen. Ich habe zeigen wollen, wie ein Mensch, der sich bestrebt, wieder in das Leben des Christentums hineinzukommen, alles mögliche sucht — aber den Christus gerade nicht. Man kann eben heute einer durchaus anerkannten, vielleicht auch einflußreichen, und in der nächsten Zeit noch viel einflußreicher werdenden christlichen Gemeinschaft angehören, ohne den Christus zu suchen. Das ist das, was auf dem Boden der Geisteswissenschaft immer wieder und wieder betont werden muß. Und es muß weiter betont werden, daß es des heutigen Menschen Aufgabe ist, die inneren Kräfte der Seele nicht zu scheuen, um solche konkreten geisteswissenschaftlichen Gedanken zu finden. Es muß eine gewisse Kraft der Seele aufgewendet werden, um diese Gedanken innerlich lebendig zu machen. Aber ohne das Aufwenden dieser Kraft der Seele kommen wir nicht weiter, denn es liegt einfach in der Natur des gegenwärtigen Menschen, daß er eine solche Kraft anwende. Aber eine Kraft, die eigentlich angewendet werden soll und nicht angewendet wird, erzeugt etwas Krankhaftes. Nun wird man nicht nur aus einem Mangel krank, sondern man kann auch aus einem Überschuß krank werden. Zahlreiche Menschen, die heute schwach sind, sind in Wirklichkeit heute stark. Lassen Sie mich das Paradoxon aussprechen: Zahlreiche dieser Menschen sind heute innerlich stark. Manche Menschen, die ganz schwach herumgehen, unbefriedigt in ihrer Seele und nicht wissen, wie sie, sagen wir, «in Harmonie mit dem Unendlichen» kommen sollen, sind eigentlich unterbewußt stark; aber weil sie das, was unterbewußt stark in ihnen ist, nicht ins Bewußtsein heraufbringen können, weil sie nicht wissen, was da unten kraftet und strebt, so nimmt dieses Unterbewußte verkehrte Wege und führt sie zur Haltlosigkeit. Geisteswissenschaft will nichts anderes als das Zum-Bewußtsein-Bringen desjenigen, was in dem gegenwärtigen Menschen streben und kraften will, was ins Bewußtsein heraufkommen will. Und ins Bewußtsein heraufkommen will vor allen Dingen ein richtiges Verständnis, ein genügendes Verständnis für das Mysterium von Golgatha. Das tritt einem heute manchmal in merkwürdiger Art entgegen.
Ich habe schon hingewiesen auf der einen Seite auf die Notwendigkeit, solches Verständnis zu finden, wie ich es jetzt eben angedeutet habe, und auf der anderen Seite auf das Zurückbeben vor einem solchen Verständnis. Daß eine Sehnsucht vorhanden ist, das Geistige wieder zu finden, das heute nicht ohne das Verständnis für das Mysterium von Golgatha gefunden werden kann, das zeigt sich ja an sehr vielen Erscheinungen, und das wird auch genügend betont von allen möglichen, namentlich Schriftstellern, die aber von einem wirklichen Verständnis so weit wie nur irgend möglich entfernt sind. Und wir müssen uns auch bekannt machen mit dem, was man, ich möchte sagen, auf diesem Gebiete täglich sehen kann, wovon man täglich vernehmen kann, damit wir das Leben in der Gegenwart verstehen lernen. Auf der einen Seite muß es die Aufgabe desjenigen sein, welcher Interesse für die Geisteswissenschaft entwickelt, den Inhalt dessen, was sich aus dem Geiste heute mitteilen will, selbst zu erkennen und auf der anderen Seite auch das Leben, das sich heute vor dem Herankommen von Geisteswissenschaft scheut, kennenzulernen, es gerade da kennenzulernen, wo es in einer Pseudogestalt auftritt, wo es so auftritt, als ob ein Streben nach dem Geiste vorhanden wäre — es ist ja auch vorhanden, aber eben nur im Unterbewußtsein —, wo man aber doch die wirkliche Gestalt der Geisteswissenschaft nicht aufkommen lassen will. Deshalb halte ich nicht damit zurück, auf solche unmittelbaren Erscheinungen des heutigen Lebens hinzuweisen.
Da ist mir wieder gerade aus der heutigen Zeit heraus ein Aufsatz vor Augen gekommen, in welchem jemand erzählt, wie er auf ein solches heutiges Streben hingewiesen worden ist. Ein Schriftsteller — es sind ja zumeist Schriftsteller, die heute schreiben — wurde von einem Herrn, den er gut kennt, darauf hingewiesen, daß er einmal, wie man heute sagt, Johannes Müller unbedingt hören müsse. Was Johannes Müller ist, meinte der betreffende Herr, müsse man heute unbedingt erleben. Und er erzählt nun weiter: Als jener Herr den Namen Johannes Müller ausgesprochen hatte, fügte er sogleich hinzu, daß Johannes Müller Leiter eines Seelensanatoriums sei und so etwas wie eine neue Religion, eine Ethik begründet habe, aber bei dem Worte Religion war er auch schon augenblicklich wieder irgendwo anders, und mit einem Satze befanden sie sich auf dem Gebiete der ausführlichsten Christologie. Mit ungeheurer Schnelligkeit entwickelte der betreffende Herr seine Auffassung vom Leben Jesu, von da ging es zur liberalen Theologie, zur Marburger Schule, Heidelberger Schule und so weiter, dann zu den Alexandrinern, zu den Links-Hegelianern und so weiter. Man erlebt ja auf diesem Gebiete heute die Torheiten vieler Menschen, die gerade für das Interesse haben, was in der heutigen Zeit auftaucht, und was sie dann bei einer solchen Gelegenheit alles möglichst in einer Viertelstunde abraspeln. Und mit dem Ergebnis dieser Unterredung, die so schnell ablief, daß, so meint der betreffende Schriftsteller, seines Wissens nur noch Kainz so schnell sprechen konnte, und der auch nur, wenn er nach einer Gastspielvorstellung noch den letzten Eilzug nach Berlin erreichen wollte, mit diesem Ergebnis ging er nun zu einem Vortrage von Johannes Müller. Es war ein Vortrag über den Zweck des Lebens.
Nun findet er, daß Johannes Müller über den Zweck des Lebens so gesprochen hat, wie man das von richtigen Heiligen hört: man solle sich opfern, man solle nicht für sich leben, solle für die Allgemeinheit leben und so weiter. Aber, so erzählt er weiter, eines sei ein Malheur gewesen. Er hatte sich nämlich nach dem Bericht des Herrn, der so schnell sprach, ein gewisses Bild gemacht. Hätte das Bild zugetroffen, meint er, so hätte er geglaubt, was Johannes Müller sagte. Aber das Bild hatte gar nicht zugetroffen; er schildert dieses Bild, das er in Johannes Müller fand, in der folgenden Weise, die ich Ihnen nicht vorenthalten will, denn es ist wirklich etwas, was einen gründlich auf die Art und Weise aufmerksam machen kann, wie gegenwärtig heute verfahren wird. Er sagt:
«Auf das Podium trat jedoch ein mittelgroßer untersetzter Mann mit kurzem Hals, buschigem Schnurrbart, blühender Gesichtsfarbe, das Urbild eines kerngesunden deutschen Kleinstädters. Ich konnte während des ganzen Vortrages die Vorstellung nicht loswerden: dieser Mann würde einen prachtvollen Chef für eine große altrenommierte Nürnberger Spielwarenfabrik abgeben. Auch die Art, wie Johannes Müller mit dem Publikum verkehrt, stört dieses Bild durchaus nicht. Seine Redeweise ist klar, bestimmt, freundlich, ruhig und doch von starker innerer Anteilnahme getragen, er sagt alles in der verständlichsten Form und außerdem zwei- bis dreimal, er ruht nicht eher, als bis das, was er sagen will, restlos und eindeutig herausgekommen ist, er schweift nicht ab, spricht stets «zur Sache, ist von dem ehrlichsten und ernstesten Wunsche erfüllt, dem Guten zu dienen: kurz, aus solchen Persönlichkeiten müßte ein idealer deutscher Stadtrat zusammengesetzt sein. Und so verhält es sich auch mit den leitenden Hauptideen: was Johannes Müller vorbrachte, waren im Grunde genommen die Feiertagsgedanken des deutschen Bürgers.»
Wie hat sich nun der Betreffende aber vorgestellt, daß der sein sollte, der auf das Podium tritt und vom Sich-Opfern, vom Aufgehen in der Allgemeinheit spricht? Das sagt er auch:
«Wenn dieser Johannes Müller — dessen Bild sich mir nun einmal so fest in den Kopf gesetzt hat, daß ich überzeugt bin: er muß dennoch irgendwo wirklich existieren — sein müdes blasses Haupt in die schmale weiße Hand gestützt und, mit seinen traurigen braunen Augen irgendwohin, ganz irgendwo andershin blickend, mit sanfter klarer Stimme gesagt hätte: Ja, meine verehrten Anwesenden, glauben Sie mir: der Sinn des Lebens ist das Opfer, dann hätte nicht bloß ich, dann hätte jedermann, zumindest in diesem Augenblick, sich dasselbe sagen müssen.»
Das heißt: dann hätte der Betreffende ihm geglaubt. Ganz interessant. Warum hätte der Betreffende ihm geglaubt? Aus einem sehr einfachen Grunde: Der Betreffende ist ja nicht so wie die anderen Zuhörer, er ist im heutigen Sinne ein kritischer Kopf, der also immerhin mit einer gewissen Schlauheit, oder wie man für dasselbe Ding heute besser sagt, mit einer gewissen Schläue, manches durchschaut. Und so sagt er sich: wäre ein Mann mit blassem Gesicht und hinschmelzendem Blick aus verinnerlichten Augen gekommen, so hätte der vom Opfer sprechen können; man hätte ihm geglaubt, weil man ihm angesehen hätte, daß Sich-Opfern für diesen Mann eigentlich gar kein Opfer ist, daß dies die Freude seines Lebens ist, daß es ihn freut, Opfer zu bringen. Bei Johannes Müller trat das aber selbstverständlich aus dem äußeren Aussehen nicht sogleich hervor. Denn eigentlich trat dem Betreffenden nur vor Augen: Ja, so wie nun der sich ausdrückt, wie der sich offenbart, so ist es ihm ganz gewiß kein Opfer, so zu sprechen, sondern es freut ihn erst recht, so zu sprechen, er tut ganz das, was ihm gerade Spaß macht. — Das ist trivial ausgedrückt, etwas paradox natürlich auch. Er aber benennt es anders. Er meint: Dieser Mann will eigentlich immer das tun, was seinem Ich entspricht, was seinem Ich Freude macht, aber das sagt er nicht; denn sonst müßte er den Leuten sagen: Der Sinn des Lebens ist, immer das zu tun, wozu der Impuls vorhanden ist, wozu man getrieben ist, kurz, er müßte immer so ähnlich reden wie Nietzsche. Das tut er aber nicht; sondern er sagt immer das Gegenteil von dem, was ihm an der Stirn geschrieben ist.
Heute aber ist vielfach die Sehnsucht vorhanden, das Gegenteil von dem zu hören, was man eigentlich tut. Fassen wir diesen Satz einmal in seiner ganzen Tiefe ins Auge: Es ist, sagte ich, vielfach die Sehnsucht vorhanden, das Gegenteil von dem zu hören, was man eigentlich tut. Es ist ja ganz zweifellos, daß die, welche am wenigsten geneigt sind, irgendwie der Allgemeinheit sich anders hinzugeben, als es ihrem Ich entspricht, daß diese ganz besonders geneigt sind zu hören: Der Sinn des menschlichen Lebens ist, sich zu opfern, sich der Allgemeinheit hinzugeben. Man will etwas anderes hören, als was Wirklichkeit ist.
Was liegt denn da eigentlich vor?
Es ist schon so: Wer das Leben heute studiert, wer einen Sinn für das hat, was um uns herum vorgeht, der wird finden, wenn er darauf achtet, was die Menschen am liebsten sehen, am liebsten hören, daß sie eigentlich das vernehmen wollen, was nicht so ist, wie die innersten Impulse ihres Lebens. Man täuscht sich natürlich über diese Tatsache. Aber diese Tatsache ist die hervorstechendste für den, der im Leben der Gegenwart beobachten kann. Man will die Sensation des Gegenteils von dem, was eigentlich ist. Es ist allerdings heute nicht viel Verständnis vorhanden, um solche Dinge zu bemerken. Das muß man durchaus ins Auge fassen. Es gibt ja auch heute viele Mittel, um über ein scharfes Ins-Auge-Fassen einer Sache sich hinwegzuhelfen. Es könnte zum Beispiel jemand Johannes Müller hören, wie er sagt: Der Sinn des Lebens besteht darin, sich der Allgemeinheit hinzuopfern, — und er könnte fortgehen, in eine Gesellschaft, die sehr groß sein könnte, und dort sagen: Ich habe eben einen ausgezeichneten Redner gehört, der hat mir einen Satz gesagt, der mir ungemein einleuchtend ist, und nach dem ich mich durchaus verhalten will, den ich für die Allgemeinheit anerkennen werde: Der Sinn des Lebens besteht darin, sich der Allgemeinheit hinzuopfern, wie ich diesen Satz auffasse. - Durch einen solchen Zusatz ist es ja heute leicht, über manche scharfe Auffassung, welche die Wirklichkeit notwendig machen würde, sich hinwegzuhelfen, und die Menschheit ist heute sehr geneigt, auf derlei Dinge einzugehen. Aber dabei bleibt eben durchaus die Wahrheit bestehen, daß es heute für viele Menschen, für die Mehrzahl der Menschen, eine Sensation ist, etwas anderes zu hören als das, was Wirklichkeit ist. Woher kommt das?
Es kommt von der Sehnsucht, von der wirklich heute vorhandenen Sehnsucht vieler Menschen her, nicht befriedigt zu sein in der äußeren Wirklichkeit, sondern etwas haben zu wollen, was nicht in dieser Wirklichkeit aufgeht. Die Menschen wollen schon etwas, was sich in der äußeren Wirklichkeit nicht erschöpft, es ist ein durchaus wahrer Impuls, über die äußere Wirklichkeit hinaus zu wollen. Dieser Impuls lebt sich nur nicht in der gesunden Weise aus, das Hereinragen der geistigen Welt anzuerkennen, denn die Leute wollen überall einen Ausweg. Dem Manne zum Beispiel, dessen Schreiberei ich Ihnen vorhin vorgeführt habe, paßt selbstverständlich — so kann man wohl voraussetzen — Johannes Müller immer noch mehr als die Geisteswissenschaft, aus dem einfachen Grunde, weil Johannes Müller immer sagt: Der Sinn des Lebens ist, sich der Allgemeinheit hinzuopfern — und da kann er nun darüber einen Aufsatz schreiben, um dann mit dem Satze zu schließen: «Was aber der große allgemeine Zweck des Gesamtlebens ist, das werden wir niemals erfahren, und es ist schließlich auch gar nicht notwendig, daß wir es erfahren.» Es bleibt also immer noch die Möglichkeit, «geistvoll», «weltmännisch» zu sein und ein Philister, ein richtiger, ganz gewöhnlicher Philister. Diese Möglichkeit bleibt da doch auf diese Weise vorhanden.
Diese Möglichkeit bleibt aber nicht vorhanden, wenn man ein Verhältnis zu derjenigen Weltanschauung suchen soll, der gegenüber ein Satz wie der vom Aufgehen in der Allgemeinheit zur bloßen Phrase wird, wenn man in unserer Zeit das Hereinsprechen der geistigen Welt mit ihren Forderungen für die Gegenwart nicht verkennt. Die einzelne Seele wird finden, inwiefern sie selbst in ihrer Entwickelung vorwärtskommen soll, inwiefern sie sich aber auch der Allgemeinheit aufopfern soll an der Stelle, wo sie steht, wenn sie auf das hinhorcht, was die geistige Welt gerade in diesem Zeitpunkte von ihr will. Dann ist es nicht nötig, allgemeine Phrasen zu drechseln, dann ist es aber wohl nötig, jene Kraft in der Seele zu entwickeln, welche die konkreten geistigen Erscheinungen herbeiführt. Ein Satz wie der: Der Sinn des Lebens besteht darin, sich der Allgemeinheit zu opfern, — gegen dessen Richtigkeit selbstverständlich nichts eingewendet wird, der aber aus dem angeführten Grunde nie besonders fruchtbar werden kann, ein solcher Satz bleibt eben eine Phrase, wenn nicht das eintritt, daß wir die geistige Wirklichkeit heute in die physische Wirklichkeit hineinzutragen verstehen. Denn dazu hat sich das Mysterium von Golgatha vollzogen, daß aus dem Tode neues Leben sprießt, daß, mit anderen Worten, aus unserem jetzigen Bewußtsein heraus, welches todverwandt ist, der lebendige Geist geboren werde. Und in diesem lebendigen Geistgebären aus dem todverwandten Bewußtsein stehen wir dem Mysterium von Golgatha nahe. Aber da und dort treten eben doch schon allerlei Anzeichen auf, daß die Menschen die Notwendigkeit einzusehen beginnen, auf das Geisteswissenschaftliche hinzuhorchen. Wir leben in einer schweren Zeit, leben in einer Zeit der Fragen, in einer Zeit der Konflikte, und jeder fühlt, daß gesucht werden muß, aus diesen Konflikten herauszukommen. Aber in den Tiefen der Zeit liegt es begründet, daß aus diesen Konflikten in Wahrheit nur herausgekommen werden kann - alles übrige muß ein In-Schein-Herauskommen sein — durch die Erfassung des Geistes, weil jedes übrige nicht eine volle Wirklichkeit ist, wenn es den Geist nicht erfaßt.
Das Mysterium von Golgatha ist zuerst aus der unmittelbaren physischen Erfahrung heraus ergriffen worden. Ich habe das öfter dargestellt, wie die ersten Zeiten des Christentums von dem Christus sprachen, weil noch Leute da waren, welche den Christus gesehen hatten; wie dann wiederum von dem Christus gesprochen worden ist, weil Leute da waren, die solche gekannt hatten, die den Christus gesehen hatten. Ich habe auf konkrete Erscheinungen hingewiesen, wie zum Beispiel in der Sprache der ersten Apostel etwas nachlebte von der Sprache des Christus. So können wir finden, daß die erste ChristusErfahrung, welche die Menschheit gemacht hat, eine solche vom physischen Plane her war. Aber bis in unsere Tage herein ist das verglommen, und die Wende des neunzehnten zum zwanzigsten Jahrhundert war eine solche Zeit, in der eigentlich das Christus-Verständnis dahingegangen ist, so daß es ganz notwendig ist, daß heute derartige Erscheinungen hervortreten können wie die, auf welche ich das letzte Mal am Schlusse der Betrachtungen hingewiesen habe, die das Christentum suchen, aber gar nicht den Impuls in sich haben, den Christus selbst zu suchen. Und was heute geschieht, es geschieht zu gleicher Zeit als Ausdruck einer Krisis im Christus-Verständnis. Es ist wichtig, einzusehen, daß wir in der Zeit einer Krisis des Christus-Verständnisses leben, und ein neues Christus-Verständnis, das notwendig ist, kann auf keinem anderen Wege kommen als auf dem der geisteswissenschaftlichen Vertiefung. Vielleicht stürmen gerade ahrimanische Kräfte gegen diese geisteswissenschaftliche Vertiefung mit solcher Kraft an, weil sie so notwendig ist für die Gegenwart. Das aber kann nicht hindern, daß derjenige, der erkennt, was Aufgabe der Geisteswissenschaft ist, gerade diese Aufgabe in Zusammenhang denkt mit den großen weltgeschichtlichen Aufgaben der Gegenwart. Die Lösung der großen Fragen der Gegenwart — es ist wirklich nicht eine einseitige Propaganda-Idee für die Geisteswissenschaft, wenn das ausgesprochen wird — muß schon eine solche sein, bei der aus der Erkenntnis des Lebens der Gegenwart folgt: Lösung der wichtigsten Tatfragen der Gegenwart ist nur möglich, wenn in diese Lösung die Erkenntnis der Geisteswissenschaft eingeflossen ist.
Fifth Lecture
It happens again and again — and rightly so — that the question is asked: How can one come close to the Christ impulse, to the Christ being itself? — or that the question is posed in some other form. There are various ways of approaching the great question that lies within this, namely that human beings feel such a need, and in the course of our anthroposophical considerations we have indeed examined this question from many different angles. We know that one series of concepts or another, one set of ideas or another, cannot exhaust spiritual reality any more than just as a photograph of a tree taken from one side cannot exhaust the entire form of that tree. We can therefore only hope that by considering the question from a wide variety of angles, we will come closer to what we can call reality in the realm of spiritual life.
Above all, everyone must be clear that finding Christ is something intimate, and we know how this is connected with the nature of the human ego. We know that this nature of the human ego is already expressed in language by the fact that we can use every other word to mean something else, but we can never use the word “I” to refer to anything outside ourselves. The intimate connection between the Christ essence and this ego gives this Christ essence such an intimate character for us humans as the ego itself has for us. Therefore, all the reflections, all the emotional impulses, all the other inner forces that we activate within ourselves when it comes to the Christ problem are precisely paths to Christ. And we can hope, and we must hope, that we will find Christ through such reflections, such feelings, impulses of the will, and the like. However, it is particularly important for the present to consider the historical development of humanity, including with regard to the idea of Christ. We are at a significant historical moment, so significant that perhaps only a few people have yet grasped its full significance. For this reason alone, it is fitting for our time not to disregard the historical development of humanity when it comes to the most important matters.
Now we know that the development of the human soul, the entire content of the human soul, was different before the mystery of Golgotha, that it is different after it, and we have also described in various ways how this difference manifests itself. At a time when there was still more feeling in humanity for the significance of spiritual knowledge, say fifty to sixty years ago, more people were still concerned with the highest problems, and one finds again and again how, in the period before fifty to sixty years ago, people's inclination to grasp great problems in their actual depth disappeared. If we take, for example, the writings of a soul researcher such as Fortlage, who was active until the 1860s, we find a remarkable characteristic of human consciousness in Fortlage, the psychologist who worked in Jena and other places. He gives us a definition of consciousness which, I would say, today's philosophers find highly reprehensible.
He once said, in 1869, that human consciousness is related to death, to dying, and that as we develop consciousness in the course of our lives, we actually develop within ourselves — slowly, one after the other — the forces that suddenly come upon us at the moment of death. Thus, for him, the moment of death is an infinitely multiplied act of consciousness. Consciousness is, one might say, a slow life of dying. It is not life that is a life of dying, but consciousness in human beings is a life of dying, and death is consciousness compressed into a single moment.
This is an enormously significant remark by a psychologist. It is a remark which, as I have said, today's philosophers already criticize as unscientific. That is indeed what has happened.
Now one might say: as significant as this remark is for the conditions of today's human soul life, of conscious life, it is not entirely correct for every period of human soul development. This is again extremely important. Thousands of years before the Mystery of Golgotha, one could not have spoken in this way with a deeper understanding. Our present consciousness, which in ordinary life is devoid of any atavistic clairvoyant power that existed in the past, is really still living from its slow death. This was not the case with the atavistic clairvoyant consciousness of ancient times, which gradually faded away in the face of the Mystery of Golgotha. Although words can always express very little of what is meant in such cases, one might say that this ancient consciousness was an excess of spiritual life over organic human life, whereas we now find ourselves in an excess of organic human life, which is dying, over spiritual life. Now we have our consciousness because we are overwhelmed by the mortal body when we return to it in the morning upon awakening; and because we are overwhelmed by the mortal body, we come to develop consciousness in the sense of today's object consciousness. As I said, it was different for the people of old before the Mystery of Golgotha. They had a surplus of spiritual life. This did not disappear completely when they returned to their physical bodies in the morning, and this surplus expressed itself in their atavistic clairvoyance. But toward the Mystery of Golgotha, this surplus became less and less, and during the time of the Mystery of Golgotha, there was a balance for the majority of people between the inner soul life and the organic life of the body. And then the organic life of the body gained the upper hand. One might say: people before the mystery of Golgotha knew through birth, people after the mystery of Golgotha know through death. This shows us once again what a significant turning point in human development the mystery of Golgotha actually is.
Now the old clairvoyant consciousness, the conscious life from birth, began to decline. Slowly and gradually, the soul contents of a spiritual world faded away from human beings. And a time came, lasting almost a thousand years before the mystery of Golgotha, when only those who had been initiated into the mysteries could still experience something of the spiritual world that everyone had previously experienced. From this we can understand what I said in my book Christianity as Mystical Fact, that Plato, who knew this secret, remarked: Only those people who are initiated into the mysteries are human beings in the true sense; the others live with their souls in the mud. This is actually a very cruel remark, but it goes back to what I have just said, and it is not arbitrary, but rather a necessity of human development.
Now let us imagine for a moment what would have happened if the mystery of Golgotha had not come. If it had not come, development would have continued in the same way at first; that is, there would have been more and more people in the outer world who would have lost all direct connection with the spiritual world, and in the end it would have come to the point where human beings would no longer be filled with spirit at all, but would be only larvae, only organic, etheric, and similar structures. We would long since have reached the time when human souls would be incapable of truly living in bodies; we would long since have reached the time when souls would only float above their bodies in the spiritual world; we would long since have reached the time when it would only be possible for more highly developed souls from earlier times to inspire humanity from above. Only in this way could a consciousness of the spiritual world still arise in human beings, through the inspiration of individuals in the mysteries. The human spirit would not dwell on earth at all. Mystery centers would be the places where inspiration would enter; but Ahriman would always fight against this, he would fight against inspiration, he would always prevent human larvae from acting in accordance with inspiration, or he would turn the intentions that were inspired in them into their opposites.
Therefore, it had to be made possible for the human soul to dwell again in the human body, which comes into being through birth and passes away through death, because this human body, in its life that is coming to an end, overcomes the weakened life of the soul. This was only made possible by a being from the spiritual world, namely the Christ being, connecting itself with the earthly forces that now became dominant for human consciousness. With what forces, then? Precisely with the forces of which we are now conscious: with the forces of death! Think how comprehensive the Rosicrucian saying becomes: In Christ we die! It expresses, in a sense, our entire being; it expresses what entered into the development of humanity through the Mystery of Golgotha, what connected itself with the death forces so that these death forces could form the new consciousness.
The question of how it can be, under such circumstances, that so many people on earth do not yet recognize Christ is connected with so many mysteries, and such profound mysteries, that it cannot be discussed in general terms at the present time. But what I have just said is correct for the development of humanity.
Now think about this in connection with how the mystery of Golgotha took place. Think about this in connection with the fact that Christ incarnated in the body of Jesus of Nazareth, that is, in a body that was naturally subject to the same conditions as all human bodies at that time. According to pure hereditary characteristics, the body of Jesus of Nazareth was subject to conditions that gradually developed to the point where consciousness was to come from the death of the body. What had to happen in order for a corresponding impulse to come into the development through a powerful jolt, as a force that permeated human development with the awareness that life is owed to death? It had to be that the Christ Being, who lived for three years in the body of Jesus of Nazareth, said something to this body that could only be said at the moment of death, for only at the moment of death can everything that is the mystery of human consciousness be compressed. So, in order for the entire impulse of consciousness that had to come and be forced into humanity, did Christ not have to bring Jesus to death? He had to! And when are we ourselves in that moment when we can hope for a concentrated understanding of Christ? We are in that moment at the moment of death! For at that moment all the forces are present that will sustain our consciousness throughout our entire life. At the moment of death we are capable of taking in what is essentially the mystery of our consciousness, and thus of taking in the Christ impulse. So by seeking understanding, feeling, and sensation for the Christ impulse, we are actually preparing ourselves to receive the Christ impulse. However, we can only understand what happens to us in death when the organ of our understanding is freed. In other words, the moment of death gives us the conditions to unite with Christ, but only when we are freed from the etheric body are our ego and our astral body, which are the organs of understanding, able to see what has united with us.
In order for the conditions to be created for this to happen, something else had to occur in the mystery of Golgotha. After Christ had entrusted the secret of the coming human consciousness to Jesus in his dying moments on Golgotha, the tremendous event had to occur in which Jesus, who contained Christ, rose to a new life out of the power that is death, that is, the resurrection had to occur so that we could understand the resurrection when, a few days after death, our etheric body detaches itself from us in the sense of our anthroposophical science. In this inner process of dying, of the etheric body detaching itself a few days after death, we live in a certain way the mystery of Golgotha. For it had to be that life, namely consciousness, emerged from death. But this consciousness had to live itself, so life had to arise from death. This had not been the case before the mystery of Golgotha. Only from life had life arisen before. In the past, it was not necessary to understand how life arises from death, but only to understand how life arises from life. Therefore—and this is again one of the many perspectives through which we approach these mysteries—Christianity took its origin from the Resurrection, and therefore no so-called Christianity is a true Christianity that does not fully penetrate the idea of the Resurrection in all its liveliness: that the Christ who enters into the forces of death is a living being! This must be understood. Anything else does not give a true understanding of Christianity, and a newer Christianity that wants to do without the idea of the resurrection is not Christianity. The accompanying phenomena are also such that they follow harmoniously from what has just been said about the mystery of Golgotha. What humanity needed was death and resurrection.
Now, however, among the thoughts that can be linked to the mystery of Golgotha, the idea of the death of Christ Jesus always remains a very, very questionable idea, for the simple reason — I have already hinted at this several times here — that, on the one hand, human beings are actually compelled to condemn the fact that people were found who put the innocent one to death, and because, on the other hand, if this death had not occurred, the entire benefit of Christianity would not exist. So the benefits of Christianity came about through a crime. This questionable idea is becoming more and more pressing for people. People have to say to themselves: if there had not been those who were so criminal as to kill Christ at that time, Christianity would not exist. But people want Christianity.
This is precisely one of the points where we must appeal to what I called in one of my last reflections the necessity, the iron necessity. In his earthly life, man thinks according to his thoughts. He organizes the social structure of life according to his thoughts. What we have as institutions of the people, of the state, and so on, is indeed human thought. We live as human beings have made it, quite naturally, and regardless of whether the human thoughts that bring about the social structure come from God or from the devil. In general, however, we look back to times far beyond the mystery of Golgotha. It is therefore easy to understand that in those ancient times, people received the inspirations for creating the social structure through their atavistic clairvoyance, but that precisely from the points of view that are now at odds with each other, people in their evolution toward the mystery of Golgotha became more and more like larvae, and thus more and more accessible to the Ahrimanic influences. Therefore, it was inevitable that more and more of Ahriman would be present in the institutions of life. For example, a view of lawful life such as we now have had to come into being, and it was precisely such a view of lawful life, which was completely permeated by Ahriman, that had to concentrate at a point on Earth, I would say. Not everywhere, but at a point on earth, the entire Ahrimanic permeation of the social structure concentrated itself. The consequence of this was that for this social structure, the opposite, the divine opposite of the entry of something divine, was not the most lovable thing, but the most hateful thing, that which had to be eliminated. This is a concomitant phenomenon that is necessarily connected with it.
We see this social structure emerging in two ways. On the one hand, we see how forms arose out of Jewish law that could not comprehend that the divine could come so close to human beings as it did in Christ Jesus, so that this law, which had become so thoroughly permeated by Ahriman, necessarily had to eliminate the divine that had come so close. The Romans, on the other hand, who also had their share in the death of Christ Jesus, were strong in social structure in relation to everything external. One cannot imagine anything stronger in terms of social structure than what the Roman Empire had already achieved at the time of the Mystery of Golgotha. But how weak is Pilate, the representative of the strongest worldly power, in the face of spiritual power at the moment when the mystery of Golgotha occurs! For Pilate appears here as nothing else but a weakling, unable to gain any standpoint at all in relation to what is about to happen.
Thus we see how what I mentioned in one of the last reflections here is also evident in the accompanying events: When the Mystery of Golgotha approached, humanity was least suited to understand it. It would have understood it in ancient times. When it approached, it was least suited to understand it, and understanding of this event must come through other channels. It is important to fully grasp this.
Now think about it: when one tries to grasp the mystery of human death and of the awakening of the human being from his astral body and out of his ego, and tries to bring it into close relationship with the mystery of Golgotha, how one must approach this mystery of Golgotha itself, in its entire emotional life. You come close to this mystery through thoughts, through feelings, not through the general empty words: I want to have Christ in me — but through the concrete grasp of what the concrete appearance of Christ in the evolution of the earth means for our own life. It is not without reason that so much time passes between the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus as passes between the leaving of the physical body and the leaving of the etheric body. For people today, after the mystery of Golgotha, there is an intimate bond between them and the life of Christ on earth. Christ came to earth — we can now say with even greater certainty — so that human beings on earth would not be lost. Human beings would have become larvae, directed from above by their souls, if the mystery of Golgotha had not come. Death would have gradually taken human beings away from the earth. The connection between human beings and the earth was reestablished through the mystery of Golgotha. The possibility of consciousness, which must come out of death, was created through the mystery of Golgotha.
These things can be understood today; they already arise from contemplation of the spiritual world, and these things can become something that people take into their souls in order to deepen their minds. And one may truly ask: Is not this mind deepened when it knows itself to be so intimately connected, not only in a general way with something called Christ, but with something that lived concretely on earth and passed through the mystery of Golgotha, in relation to the most important events of life that can befall us every hour? Is not a stream generated from our actual soul life to the historical events of Golgotha when we look at things in this way?
It is therefore necessary to consider the crisis in which we find ourselves at present. Eight days ago, I tried to illustrate this crisis with a special example. I wanted to show how a person who strives to return to the life of Christianity seeks everything possible — but not Christ. Today, it is possible to belong to a thoroughly recognized, perhaps even influential Christian community, one that will become even more influential in the near future, without seeking Christ. This is what must be emphasized again and again on the basis of spiritual science. And it must also be emphasized that it is the task of people today not to shy away from the inner powers of the soul in order to find such concrete spiritual scientific ideas. A certain power of the soul must be exerted to make these thoughts alive within us. But without exerting this power of the soul, we cannot progress, for it is simply in the nature of the present human being to exert such power. But a power that is actually meant to be exerted and is not exerted produces something unhealthy. Now, one does not become ill only from a deficiency, but one can also become ill from an excess. Numerous people who are weak today are in reality strong today. Let me express the paradox: many of these people are inwardly strong today. Some people who walk around completely weak, dissatisfied in their souls and not knowing how to, let us say, “be in harmony with the infinite” , are actually subconsciously strong; but because they cannot bring what is subconsciously strong within them into consciousness, because they do not know what is stirring and striving down there, this subconscious takes the wrong path and leads them to instability. Spiritual science wants nothing more than to bring to consciousness that which strives and powers within the present human being, that which wants to rise up into consciousness. And what wants to rise up into consciousness above all else is a correct understanding, a sufficient understanding of the mystery of Golgotha. This sometimes confronts us today in a strange way.
I have already pointed out, on the one hand, the necessity of finding such an understanding as I have just indicated, and on the other hand, the recoil from such an understanding. That there is a longing to rediscover the spiritual, which today cannot be found without an understanding of the mystery of Golgotha, is evident in many phenomena, and this is also emphasized sufficiently by all kinds of people, especially writers, who are, however, as far removed from a real understanding as it is possible to be. And we must also familiarize ourselves with what, I would say, can be seen and heard every day in this field, so that we can learn to understand life in the present. On the one hand, it must be the task of those who develop an interest in spiritual science to recognize for themselves the content of what the spirit wants to communicate today, and on the other hand, to get to know the life that today shies away from spiritual science, to get to know it precisely where it appears in a pseudo-form, where it appears as if there were a striving for the spirit — which does exist, but only in the subconscious — but where one does not want to allow the real form of spiritual science to emerge. That is why I do not hesitate to point out such immediate manifestations of contemporary life.
An essay from the present day has just come to mind in which someone recounts how he was made aware of such a contemporary striving. A writer — it is mostly writers who write today — was told by a gentleman he knows well that he absolutely must hear Johannes Müller, as people say today. What Johannes Müller is, said the gentleman in question, is something that must be experienced today. And he goes on to say that when the gentleman mentioned the name Johannes Müller, he immediately added that Johannes Müller was the director of a sanatorium for the soul and had founded something like a new religion, an ethic, but at the word religion, he was instantly somewhere else, and in one sentence they were in the realm of the most detailed Christology. With tremendous speed, the gentleman in question developed his view of the life of Jesus, from there he moved on to liberal theology, the Marburg School, the Heidelberg School, and so on, then to the Alexandrians, the Left Hegelianists, and so on. In this field today, one experiences the follies of many people who are interested in whatever is happening at the moment and who then, on such an occasion, reel off everything they know in the space of a quarter of an hour. And with the result of this conversation, which took place so quickly that, according to the writer in question, only Kainz could speak that fast, and he only when he wanted to catch the last express train to Berlin after a guest performance, he went to a lecture by Johannes Müller. It was a lecture on the purpose of life.
Now he finds that Johannes Müller spoke about the purpose of life in the way one hears from true saints: one should sacrifice oneself, one should not live for oneself, one should live for the common good, and so on. But, he continues, there was one mishap. According to the report of the gentleman who spoke so quickly, he had formed a certain image. If the image had been accurate, he says, he would have believed what Johannes Müller said. But the image was not accurate at all; he describes this image he found in Johannes Müller in the following way, which I do not want to withhold from you, because it is really something that can make you thoroughly aware of the way things are done today. He says:
“However, a medium-sized, stocky man with a short neck, a bushy moustache, and a ruddy complexion stepped onto the podium, the archetype of a healthy German small-town resident. Throughout the entire speech, I couldn't shake the impression that this man would make a splendid boss for a large, long-established toy factory in Nuremberg. The way Johannes Müller interacts with the audience does not detract from this image in the slightest. His manner of speaking is clear, determined, friendly, calm, and yet carried by a strong inner compassion. He says everything in the most understandable way and repeats himself two or three times. He does not rest until what he wants to say has been said completely and unambiguously. He does not digress, always speaks to the point, and is filled with the most honest and sincere desire to serve the good. in short, such personalities should make up an ideal German city council. And this is also true of the main ideas: what Johannes Müller put forward were basically the holiday thoughts of the German citizen."
But how did the person in question imagine that he should be the one to step onto the podium and speak of self-sacrifice and losing oneself in the community? He says so himself:
"If this Johannes Müller—whose image is now so firmly fixed in my mind that I am convinced he must really exist somewhere—had rested his weary, pale head in his narrow white hand and, with his sad brown eyes looking somewhere, anywhere else, said in a gentle, clear voice: Yes, my esteemed audience, believe me: the meaning of life is sacrifice, then not only I, but everyone, at least at that moment, would have had to say the same thing to themselves."
That means: then the person concerned would have believed him. Very interesting. Why would the person concerned have believed him? For a very simple reason: the person concerned is not like the other listeners; he is, in today's sense, a critical thinker who, with a certain cleverness, or, as we would say today, with a certain shrewdness, sees through many things. And so he says to himself: if a man with a pale face and melting eyes had come, he could have spoken of sacrifice; people would have believed him because they could see that sacrifice was not really a sacrifice for this man, that it was the joy of his life, that it made him happy to make sacrifices. With Johannes Müller, however, this was not immediately apparent from his outward appearance. For all the person concerned could see was: Yes, the way he expresses himself, the way he reveals himself, it is certainly no sacrifice for him to speak like this, but rather it gives him pleasure to speak like this; he is doing exactly what he enjoys doing. — That is a trivial way of putting it, and somewhat paradoxical, of course. But he puts it differently. He means: This man actually always wants to do what corresponds to his ego, what gives his ego pleasure, but he doesn't say that; because otherwise he would have to tell people: The meaning of life is to always do what you feel like doing, what you are driven to do, in short, he would always have to talk like Nietzsche. But he doesn't do that; instead, he always says the opposite of what is written on his forehead.
Today, however, there is often a longing to hear the opposite of what one actually does. Let us consider this sentence in all its depth: I said that there is often a longing to hear the opposite of what one actually does. There is no doubt that those who are least inclined to devote themselves to the community in any way that does not correspond to their ego are particularly inclined to hear that the meaning of human life is to sacrifice oneself, to devote oneself to the community. People want to hear something other than what is real.
What is actually going on here?
It is indeed the case that anyone who studies life today, anyone who has a sense of what is going on around us, will find, if they pay attention to what people most like to see and hear, that what they actually want to hear is not what their innermost impulses tell them. Of course, people are mistaken about this fact. But this fact is the most striking for anyone who can observe contemporary life. People want the sensation of the opposite of what actually is. However, there is not much understanding today to notice such things. This must be taken into account. After all, there are many ways today to avoid seeing things clearly. For example, someone might hear Johannes Müller say: The meaning of life is to sacrifice oneself to the community — and he might go away, into a society that could be very large, and say there: I have just heard an excellent speaker who said something to me that makes perfect sense to me, and which I intend to follow and which I will accept for the community: The meaning of life is to sacrifice oneself for the common good, as I understand this sentence. With such an addition, it is easy today to get rid of some sharp opinions that reality would necessarily require, and humanity today is very inclined to go along with such things. But the truth remains that for many people today, for the majority of people, it is sensational to hear something other than what is reality. Where does this come from?
It comes from the longing, the real longing that many people have today, not to be satisfied with external reality, but to want something that is not part of this reality. People want something that is not exhausted in external reality; it is a thoroughly true impulse to want to go beyond external reality. However, this impulse is not expressed in a healthy way, namely by recognizing the importance of the spiritual world, because people everywhere want a way out. For example, the man whose writing I showed you earlier naturally prefers Johannes Müller to spiritual science, for the simple reason that Johannes Müller always says: The meaning of life is to sacrifice oneself to the community — and he can write an essay about that and then conclude with the sentence: “But what the great general purpose of life as a whole is, we will never know, and ultimately it is not necessary for us to know.” So there is still the possibility of being “spiritual,” “worldly,” and a philistine, a real, ordinary philistine. This possibility remains open in this way.
However, this possibility does not remain if one seeks a relationship with a worldview in which a sentence such as “merging into the general” becomes mere phraseology, if one does not misunderstand the voice of the spiritual world with its demands for the present in our time. The individual soul will find to what extent it should advance in its own development, but also to what extent it should sacrifice itself to the general good at the point where it stands, if it listens to what the spiritual world wants from it at this particular moment. Then it will not be necessary to twist general phrases, but it will be necessary to develop that power in the soul which brings about concrete spiritual phenomena. A statement such as: The meaning of life consists in sacrificing oneself to the community — against the truth of which nothing can of course be objected, but which for the reason stated can never be particularly fruitful — such a statement remains just a phrase unless we understand how to carry spiritual reality into physical reality today. For this is why the mystery of Golgotha took place, so that new life might spring from death, so that, in other words, the living spirit might be born out of our present consciousness, which is akin to death. And in this living spirit being born out of consciousness akin to death, we are close to the mystery of Golgotha. But here and there, all kinds of signs are already appearing that people are beginning to see the necessity of listening to spiritual science. We live in a difficult time, a time of questions, a time of conflicts, and everyone feels that we must seek a way out of these conflicts. But it is rooted in the depths of time that the only way out of these conflicts is through the grasping of the spirit, because everything else is only an appearance — everything else is not full reality if it does not grasp the spirit.
The mystery of Golgotha was first grasped out of immediate physical experience. I have often described how the early days of Christianity spoke of the Christ because there were still people who had seen the Christ; how then, again, people spoke of the Christ because there were people who had known those who had seen the Christ. I have pointed to concrete manifestations, such as the fact that something of the language of Christ lived on in the language of the first apostles. Thus we can see that the first experience of Christ that humanity had was one from the physical plane. But this has faded away in our time, and the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century was a time when in which the understanding of Christ actually disappeared, so that it is quite necessary today for such phenomena to emerge as those to which I referred last time at the end of my reflections, which seek Christianity but do not have the impulse within themselves to seek Christ Himself. And what is happening today is happening at the same time as an expression of a crisis in the understanding of Christ. It is important to realize that we are living in a time of crisis in the understanding of Christ, and that a new understanding of Christ, which is necessary, can come about in no other way than through spiritual scientific deepening. Perhaps it is precisely because this spiritual scientific deepening is so necessary for the present that Ahrimanic forces are attacking it with such force. But this cannot prevent those who recognize what the task of spiritual science is from thinking of this task in connection with the great world-historical tasks of the present. The solution to the great questions of the present—and this is really not a one-sided propaganda idea for spiritual science, when it is expressed in this way—must be one that follows from the knowledge of present-day life: the solution to the most important practical questions of the present is only possible if the knowledge of spiritual science has flowed into this solution.