The Rudolf Steiner Archive

3. Behind the Scenes of External Events I

[ 1 ] Years ago, I was in Berlin on business when, during a performance at a theater, the news arrived—and, one might say, was swept into the theater—that the Empress of Austria had been assassinated in Geneva by a “propagandist of action,” as they said. At the time, when this news had been “blown in” during an intermission of the performance, I was standing near a man who was a Berlin critic back then, who has since written philosophical books that have become famous, and who expressed his astonishment at this fact in a way that really sticks in one’s memory. He said: “One can understand many things in the world, even if one does not justify them, even if one does not agree with them; one can understand many things in the world, but that there should be any sense in killing a sick woman as part of a political movement—a woman whose continued life could not in any way bring about any significant change, and whose death, in any case, could have no apparent connection to any political idea—that is incomprehensible,” the man said at the time, “that cannot be understood; it certainly makes a senseless impression.”

[ 2 ] I believe that at that time this man expressed something that must be the general opinion of reasonable people—something that, in a sense, all reasonable people in today’s educated world must think. One could add the following thought to this: there are things that happen among people—things that occur in the course of what is called historical development—which, if one applies to them the judgments one can draw from life itself, seem senseless; things that, even if one tries to explain them as some kind of aberration, still seem senseless.

[ 3 ] But it is precisely in such events—and one could certainly add many, many others to this one—that one can see that what appears incomprehensible from the outside must indeed appear incomprehensible from the outside, because, if I may use the expression, behind the scenes of world-historical affairs, spiritual forces and spiritual deeds are at play in both a good and a bad sense; spiritual events, spiritual deeds that can only be understood if one can shed light on these realms—which lie behind the scenes of ordinary life, of life as it unfolds in the sensory world—through spiritual science; because such things happen that can only be understood through ideas drawn from the spiritual world, and which, if one considers them solely in their context within the sensory world, necessarily appear simply meaningless—in both a good and a bad sense. And when one has such an experience in a theater—precisely through what one might call chance, but which is perhaps only a symbolic manifestation of karmic matters—one is reminded of just how different what goes on behind the scenes looks from what takes place on stage.

[ 4 ] I have prefaced this remark because today I want to speak about a few things that will be expanded upon the next time we speak together here; about a few things that are important for people today to know regarding all sorts of matters that take place behind the scenes of events on the physical plane. These things can only be understood if one does not succumb to the tendency of people today to characterize matters in the spiritual world—and those that connect the spiritual world with human affairs here on Earth—as generally as possible, but rather delves as deeply as possible into the concrete, into the actual facts of the spiritual world.

[ 5 ] You know—and we have discussed this many times; there is much to read about it in the cycles—that we divide the evolution of humanity into certain periods: major periods, which we refer to as the Saturn, Sun, and Moon eras, and so on; and smaller periods, such as those we speak of as the Lemurian, Atlantean, and our post-Atlantean eras. And within these smaller periods—which, however, already span an immense expanse of time—we speak of certain cultural periods within our post-Atlantean era: the ancient Indian, the primordial Persian, the Egyptian-Chaldean, the Greco-Latin, and our current fifth post-Atlantean period.

[ 6 ] We speak of such periods because, as humanity as a whole progresses through the evolution of the Earth, its characteristics—in this case, specifically its spiritual characteristics—change quite significantly from one period to the next, precisely because humanity undergoes a real evolution during each such period. We are now speaking of the smallest of the periods described. In each such period, humanity is, so to speak, tasked with something it must go through, something to rejoice in, something to suffer through, something to comprehend, something from which to draw the impulses of will for its actions, and so on. The Egyptian-Chaldean cultural period had a different task, the Greek-Latin period had another, and our own time, too, has very specific tasks.

[ 7 ] This diversity of tasks in such successive periods of time, with regard to certain characteristics, can only be properly grasped namely those we wish to highlight today, can only be properly grasped when one attempts to draw upon those experiences derived from the entirety of human life as they relate to the external historical development described by the history of humanity—a development to which the materialistic mindset of our time prefers to limit itself. From these external experiences of human beings on the physical plane—which, after all, comprise only a part of the entirety of human life, which unfolds between birth and death and between death and a new birth—from this physical earthly life, one cannot derive a complete characterization of the successive epochs; for in what truly happens, there is always an interplay of forces descending from the realm in which the human being lives between death and a new birth, interacting with the forces unfolded by the human beings who are here on the physical plane. There is always an interplay between the forces that human beings unfold after death and the forces that are unfolded here on the physical plane.

[ 8 ] Even during the fourth post-Atlantean epoch—throughout this entire period, I might say—it was the case that people were kept in a kind of unawareness regarding certain things. Precisely those things about which people of the fourth post-Atlantean epoch—the Greco-Latin period—could still be kept in a state of unawareness must increasingly come into the consciousness of people in the fifth post-Atlantean epoch. This fifth post-Atlantean epoch will, in general, be one in which much that previously lay outside human consciousness must now enter into the consciousness of human souls.

[ 9 ] Such things develop according to a certain spiritual law, with a certain spiritual necessity. The human race is simply constituted in such a way that certain powers of comprehension, as well as certain powers of will, develop at a specific time. Humanity is becoming ripe for certain things in the fifth post-Atlantean epoch, just as it became ripe for other things in earlier periods. It is becoming ripe for them. One thing for which humanity is becoming ready in this fifth post-Atlantean epoch appears particularly paradoxical to people today, because a large part of today’s public opinion is striving toward the exact opposite, seeking, so to speak, to steer people in the opposite direction. But that will not help. The spiritual forces that have been, so to speak, instilled in humanity over the course of the fifth post-Atlantean period will be stronger than what certain people want, or than what public opinion dictates.

[ 10 ] One of these developments, which will assert itself with great force, will be that it will become possible to guide people according to more occult principles than ever before. It is in the general nature of evolution that, in this fifth post-Atlantean epoch, certain power structures and certain strong spheres of influence must shift to small groups of people who will wield great power over other, large masses.

[ 11 ] A certain segment of public opinion is actively opposing this today, but it will develop nonetheless. It will develop for the reason that, during this fifth post-Atlantean epoch, a large portion of humanity will—simply out of inner spiritual maturity and out of the necessities of human evolution—develop certain spiritual capacities and a certain natural insight into the spiritual world. This segment of humanity—which will indeed provide the best foundation for what is to come in the sixth post-Atlantean epoch, which follows our own—will, however, show little inclination during this fifth post-Atlantean epoch, in which it is preparing itself, to focus intensely on the affairs of the physical plane. It will, so to speak, show little interest in the affairs of the physical plane; it will be largely occupied with raising the life of the soul to a higher level and putting certain spiritual matters in order. As a result, others who are less suited to this spiritual life will be able to seize certain positions of power.

[ 12 ] This is something that arises out of a certain necessity. It is something that was much discussed throughout the last third of the 19th century in the circles of those knowledgeable about such matters, and it was always said that there was an urgent need to ensure that this possibility was steered not toward evil but toward good. Throughout the last third of the 19th century, especially as the turn of the 20th century approached, one could always hear occultists on all sides say: Precautions must be taken to ensure that those who gain access to certain impulses of power in this way are worthy. — Of course, with the exception of very few circles, everyone regarded as worthy those who were close to them due to this or that set of world circumstances—those who simply appeared to them to be worthy. But this was, I might say, the talk of the day among occultists and, in a certain sense, has remained so to this day.

[ 13 ] Well, other things will likewise come to light during the fifth post-Atlantean epoch—simply because, as they evolve, people will attain the maturity for them—and will become known to people and take root in their wills. These are things that go even further, so far that they must cause serious concern to all those familiar with these matters.

[ 14 ] Thus, in this fifth post-Atlantean epoch, the human physical thinking apparatus will simply mature to the point of being able to comprehend certain connections regarding diseases, certain healing processes, and the connections between natural processes and diseases. Those who are familiar with these matters are concerned about this for the following reason: it is a matter of ensuring that those who are destined to bring teachings and impulses regarding these matters to humanity do so in the proper and dignified manner. For there will be two possibilities: one can instruct people about these matters in a way that leads to the world’s ruin, or one can instruct them in a way that leads to the world’s salvation. For these matters—which are connected with the innermost nature of certain aspects of human reproduction and certain aspects of disease, as well as certain aspects relating to the onset of death—are, as they spread throughout humanity, weighty thoughts and impulses; they are matters of great significance. And this fifth post-Atlantean epoch exists to liberate human beings to such an extent that they may gain insight into certain things that until now have been held more in the subconscious of the human soul, and also gain mastery over them.

[ 15 ] Those who are knowledgeable about such matters have devoted considerable effort to exploring what might be considered or done in one direction or another. For everything that can be done in this way does indeed confer a certain power—it provides, so to speak, the opportunity to play a far-reaching role in shaping human affairs. This is something that, as mentioned, has played a major role within spiritual scientific movements from the 19th century to the present day, in light of the development of the fifth post-Atlantean epoch.

[ 16 ] Added to this is something else—a fact that, to those who become acquainted with it, appears to be of great significance, a significance that compels them to connect it with many other things. This fact is one of those I have spoken of from time to time in my cycles. When a person who has crossed the threshold into the spiritual world makes observations there, individual facts—always individual facts—present themselves to their soul. It turns out that facts which, I might say, at first glance appear to the spiritual eye to have nothing to do with one another, nevertheless, upon closer examination, are connected; they illuminate and clarify one another, so to speak, and thereby make it possible, in the most profound sense, to penetrate the essence of the spiritual world.

[ 17 ] As for the other fact—which, if I bring it up now, will at first not seem to you to have anything to do with what I just said—it turns out, however, that this other “fact” does in fact have a great deal, a very great deal, to do with what I have just presented. This other fact is this: When one turns to the souls of deceased people in the present, and—if I may put it this way—becomes acquainted with their life circumstances, one sees that there are some among them who express great concern about, after death, coming into contact with those human souls who, here on earth, have met a similar fate to that of the Empress of Austria in Geneva. One thus experiences that such people—those who have been led through the gate of death, so to speak, by propagandists of the deed—are a source of deep concern for certain individuals who have passed through the gate of death in the normal way and are now having their experiences in the spiritual world. One notices, as it were, that those who have passed through the gate of death in the normal way—and who may have the opportunity to interact with such human souls—fear this interaction as souls after death; they avoid it.

[ 18 ] I ask you not to dwell on the paradox that such a matter presents to the emotions. There are, of course, so many avenues of connection and interaction for souls that it would be inappropriate to immediately give in to the compassion that naturally arises from a justified and understandable impulse of the human soul in such a case. We must view the facts objectively in such a case. So the fact remains that souls who have passed through the gate of death in the normal way feel a certain aversion toward those souls who have been led through the gate of death by something like the “propaganda of the deed.”

[ 19 ] These two things—this latter fact and what I explained earlier—are now connected in a certain way. The connection is a very peculiar one. For—as becomes apparent upon closer inspection—these souls, who have passed through the gate of death in such a violent manner, know something in the spiritual world after death that the other souls should not learn from them prematurely, nor should they learn it sooner than is beneficial. These souls, who have passed through the gate of death in such a violent manner, retain—precisely because they lost their lives in this way here in the physical world—a certain ability to make use of the powers they possessed here, for example, their intellectual faculties. Thus, such souls can use the powers that were bound to the physical body here from the other side—from the spiritual side—and can do things with them that are entirely different from what one can “do” with such powers here in the physical body. This enables them to know certain things earlier than is actually beneficial in the course of human evolution.

[ 20 ] It is now very strange that, in this way, what had seemed senseless—a series of acts carried out by the “propagandists of action”—has now taken on a meaning, albeit a highly dubious one. To those who see through these things, these acts appear in a strange light. Here in the physical world, people spout all sorts of nonsensical nonsense that is supposed to make sense, but upon closer inspection, it makes no sense at all. Here in the physical world, people say: Such people, who as “propagandists of action” murder others, merely want to draw attention to the misery of the world; it is a means of stirring up agitation through their actions, and so on. But anyone who analyzes the matter and tries to reconcile it with social laws will immediately realize that all of this is—as they say—“wooden iron”—something that makes no sense. Yet it suddenly makes sense when one realizes that souls who are sent up into the spiritual world in this manner know things up there that they should not yet know—things that even souls who have died a natural death are afraid of.

[ 21 ] Now, of course, it stood to reason to investigate from an occult perspective the events that have occurred over time as assassinations, using documents such as the one just mentioned regarding the assassination of Empress Elisabeth of Austria; to see what becomes of these souls, who arrive in the spiritual world, so to speak, as guardians of certain secrets, and who lead to something we will discuss shortly. Anyone who looks only superficially at the series of assassinations that have occurred in this way might attribute the pattern to chance, so to speak; but if one analyzes the situation and looks at the people who have been driven to their deaths in this way, it becomes clear that these individuals seem to have been chosen—not from the perspective of this physical world, but from the perspective of the spiritual world. And yet, if one examines a large number of the well-known assassination attempts in this light, something very curious emerges. In the cases of Carnot, Empress Elisabeth, and a few others, something very peculiar becomes apparent: it turns out that while these assassinations were indeed linked to the possibility of achieving something along the lines of what I have described, in fact this was not achieved—not at all. It would have been possible if souls had been found who, so to speak, would have become their “recipients.” This would have led both groups into a transcendent, a supernatural guilt: those who would have died a natural death would have experienced things that would have driven them into paths of guilt, and those who would have died a violent death through assassination attempts would have incurred guilt by betraying something that cannot yet be betrayed.

[ 22 ] Higher spiritual beings and higher hierarchies prevented this because, from certain perspectives, the matter would have had consequences that had to be averted for the sake of a certain segment of humanity. In a sense, the harmful nature of what might have come to light in this way was prevented by the intervention of higher spiritual beings. Thus, what unfolded here was, I would say, an attempt using unsuitable means—or means that had been rendered ineffective—an attempt in the spiritual world, behind the scenes of the ordinary physical world.

[ 23 ] If one investigates the underlying reasons for such things, one can see where they originate, where the impulses for them come from. And for a large portion of the attacks that have come to your attention—those that have been discussed in Europe—the impulses—mind you, the spiritual impulses—were not original, but were, in a certain sense, derivative; they were, if I may use a trivial expression, defensive measures. The aim was to hold back something else. Through these acts, they sought to hold back or prevent other acts along the same lines—or, to put it more accurately, to prevent their effects.

[ 24 ] This is a very mysterious matter. And the whole thing only becomes understandable when one looks at what was supposed to be prevented—the very thing against which these defensive measures were, so to speak, taken. From a spiritual-scientific perspective, one looks into matters that are deeply connected to the impulses of present and future human life, but which are truly extraordinarily difficult to discuss because they run counter in every respect to certain naive—and indeed legitimate—human interests. The whole matter I have alluded to only becomes understandable when one considers that everything I have told you so far in this area—all these assassination attempts to which I have referred—were, in fact, amateurishly directed, amateurishly directed attempts—that they were not carried out with a thorough understanding of the occult connections, because they were born out of a kind of fear, as defensive measures, and because they were not directed in a unified manner. The matter becomes understandable when one looks precisely at what was intended to serve as a distraction. That was already pursued and staged using more sophisticated means.

[ 25 ] You see, even in the 19th century, there was a strange order in the Orient: “Thugs.” This order, which flourished in a part of Asia, did not arise from a mere desire to achieve its goals—a desire, for example, springing from the hearts of those who belonged to it. This order required its members to murder certain people who were designated by superiors who remained deeply, deeply hidden. It was a kind of order of assassins, an order whose task was to murder certain people. Its activity consisted of the fact that, from time to time, one would hear: “So-and-so has been murdered.” The murder, however, took place simply because a member of the Thugs order had been instructed by unknown superiors to target this or that person for assassination.

[ 26 ] At the relevant points where this was introduced, they already knew what their intention was. The intention behind first arranging the affairs of the physical plane in such a way that this murderous order could arise, and then staging the affairs of this murderous order in a corresponding manner, was as follows: The intention was that precisely those people should be forced to pass through the gate of death who were then endowed with the ability to know certain secrets after death. Those who arranged this, on the other hand, have now set up the corresponding “mirror events”—as they are called in occult life—here on the physical plane; specifically, they aim to set up corresponding “mirror events” here on the physical plane. In some cases—though few—such events have already been set up here on the physical plane. This is done as follows: Certain suitable individuals are trained as mediums, then brought into a mediumistic state, and through specific rituals, the currents from the spiritual world are directed toward the medium; so that the medium reveals certain secrets that cannot come to light in any other way than through a person who was violently killed in the other world using those powers here on Earth that have remained usable due to the violent death—that is, as a soul, they uncover certain secrets and then instill these secrets into the medium. Through this, those here on Earth who are interested in investigating these matters can, in turn, investigate precisely what such souls are instilling.

[ 27 ] The things that are explored in this way are, in a certain sense—if I may put it that way—spiritual premature births. The souls who have passed through the gate of death in the normal way and have the opportunity to come into contact with such things know that they must prepare themselves right now, and they demonstrate that they are in the midst of such preparation so that at a later time, when humanity has become ripe for it, they may bring down many things from the spiritual world to Earth through appropriate channels and instill them into the Earth here below. This is, in fact, an important task for a number of people who are now passing through the gate of death: once they have attained sufficient maturity for certain mysteries—which they do not gain through a shortened experience by utilizing the forces brought about by violent deaths—they will then use the normal forces. These people have the very task of gaining access to these forces and, in turn, inspiring people who are here on Earth—people who are not mediums, but who are to experience them in a normal, proper way, through inspiration. One would have to wait for this in normal life. Because these things—which are actually meant to come later—appear prematurely as spiritual “premature births” along the path I have indicated to you through occult criminality—this allows those who do not intend good for humanity, who are thus, in this sense, black or gray magicians, to take possession of such mysteries.

[ 28 ] And such things were taking place behind the scenes of the external events of our very own decades. The intention was, first of all, to place in the hands of a certain group of people the secret of how to control the masses, which I alluded to earlier. This is the secret of how precisely those masses—who care little about external affairs but possess spiritual aptitudes that are particularly suited to serving as a foundation for the sixth post-Atlantean epoch—can be controlled to a great extent, and how the power to control them can be placed in the hands of a select few.

[ 29 ] That was one thing. The other is something that will play a major role in the future: the secrets of acquiring the means to steer conditions related to disease processes—including the reproductive process—in a specific direction. This specifically concerns matters such as those I have already hinted at to a few friends. The materialistic age, driven by certain circles, strives to paralyze all spiritual development of humanity, to make it impossible; to lead people to reject—simply by virtue of their temperaments and characters—everything spiritual, viewing it as folly.

[ 30 ] Such a trend—already noticeable in some individuals today—will become increasingly entrenched. A longing will arise that will become the prevailing opinion: The spiritual, the intellectual, is folly, is madness! — People will try to achieve this by introducing “vaccines” against it; just as vaccines were developed to protect against diseases, they will now develop certain “vaccines” that influence the human body in such a way that it offers no refuge to the soul’s spiritual inclinations. People will be “vaccinated” against any predisposition toward spiritual ideas. At least that will be the aim: they will experiment with “vaccines” so that people lose the urge for spiritual life as early as childhood. But this is only one of the things connected with a deeper understanding that must emerge in this fifth post-Atlantean epoch regarding the relationship between these natural processes and remedies and the human organism. They will emerge among humanity in due time. The only question will be whether such an endeavor can succeed beforehand—as in the case of such spiritual premature births—in falling into the hands of individual people who pursue their own agendas with these endeavors, or whether the knowledge of these things will descend in the proper way, as it should serve the welfare of humanity, when the time is ripe.

[ 31 ] This organization, which was intended for such intellectual premature births and which worked in collaboration with the murderous Thugs, was not amateurish; it operated very systematically, albeit in a manner that is appalling to anyone who has humanity’s best interests at heart; it operated professionally, not amateurishly, with knowledge of the appropriate methods.

[ 32 ] Because this endeavor existed—to use the premature descent of certain forces from the spiritual world to place a portion of humanity in possession, in selfish possession, of that which must inevitably come in the course of humanity’s maturation during the fifth post-Atlantean epoch— when this occurred, it gave rise to a sense of anxious unease among others, who, in a sense—though amateurishly, since it was a child born of fear—staged the “propaganda of action” as a counterpoint, which was now intended to help them, but was for the time being merely an experiment using unsuitable means.

[ 33 ] What is taking place behind the scenes of external events is significant. And these matters would not be discussed here today either, were it not for the task of reaching those who are able to hear such things because they have a certain grounding in spiritual science—were it not for the imperative need to bring these matters to their attention. It is necessary for such matters to enter the consciousness of humanity in the fifth post-Atlantean epoch. For only when they enter the consciousness of humanity in the fifth post-Atlantean epoch can that which must become the goal of Earth’s evolution be achieved.

[ 34 ] It is essential that people take upon themselves the inconvenience of not merely thinking in the way that universities teach the so-called educated people of today; a time must come when a number of people are willing to embrace such an inconvenient worldview, one that draws its directions, concepts, and ideas from the spiritual world. For humanity must not remain in that state of slumber in which it wishes to remain, clinging to the abstract, general concepts toward which the materialistic age strives and which it then calls noble.

[ 35 ] So, if you consider what I have hinted at, there is a whole range of possibilities for using currents originating in the spiritual world to wreak havoc here on the physical Earth during the fifth post-Atlantean epoch; there is a whole series of possibilities for doing so. I have pointed out one such possibility to you today. And the fact that we must emphasize that it is necessary for certain souls to take such knowledge into their consciousness is connected to the very nature of our age. The second half of the 19th century, in particular, was a very important time. I have often pointed out in various circles among our friends how the year 1841 was a crisis, a decisive year. Of course, one does not realize this by merely looking at events here in the physical world, but only when one considers them in connection with what is taking place in the spiritual world. The year 1841 was indeed the crisis year marking the onset of the materialistic era, for at that time a very specific struggle began in the spiritual worlds—a struggle waged by certain spirits of darkness, so to speak, who belong to the hierarchy of the Angeloi. They waged this battle in the spiritual world until the fall of 1879. They sought to achieve certain things—a whole series of things—of which we wish to mention only one today. At that time, between the years 1841 and 1879, it was to be decided whether a certain body of spiritual wisdom could be brought to maturity in the spiritual world above, so that from the last third of the 19th century onward it would gradually trickle down to Earth—that is, enter into human souls and awaken spiritual knowledge within them, the very knowledge we now call spiritual science. Such knowledge has, after all, only become possible since the last third of the 19th century.

[ 36 ] To prevent what was meant to trickle down from maturing in the spiritual world—that was the intention of those angelic spirits between the years 1841 and 1879. But these spirits lost the war they waged against the spirits of light throughout those decades; they lost that battle. In fact, something took place on a smaller scale in 1879, just as such events have repeatedly occurred in the course of evolution and are always expressed through a specific symbol: the victory of Michael or Saint George over the dragon. There, too, in 1879, in a certain realm, the dragon was overcome. This dragon consists of the angelic beings who strove for—but were unable to achieve—what I have indicated. That is why, in 1879, they were cast down from the spiritual world into the realm of human beings. It was the fall of the angelic beings from the spiritual world into the human realm, and in the human realm they now walk among human beings. They are present there by sending their forces into people’s thoughts, feelings, and impulses of will, by instigating this or that. For they were unable to prevent—and this is precisely why they lost the battle—they were unable to prevent the time from coming when spiritual knowledge would trickle down. This spiritual knowledge is now here and will continue to develop further and further; human beings will be able to gain the ability to see through the spiritual world.

[ 37 ] But now these angelic beings have fallen to Earth and want to wreak havoc here by dripping down, want to steer this knowledge in the wrong direction, want to rob this knowledge of its good power and channel it into evil paths. In short, they want to achieve here—with the help of human beings—what they were unable to achieve with the help of the spirits on the other side, because they have been cast down since the year 1879. They want to destroy the good plan for the world, which consists of spreading—at the appropriate stages of maturity—the knowledge of how to govern the masses, the knowledge of birth, sickness, and death, and other matters among human beings. They want to spread it prematurely through spiritual “premature births.” In addition to other things these spirits intend to do, they are at work in what I have just indicated.

[ 38 ] The only thing that will help against the influence of these Ahrimanic beings is the awareness—I have repeatedly hinted at this in the Mystery Dramas; just recall the conclusion of the last one—that against certain things Ahriman desires, the only remedy is to see through him, to know that he is there. The fifth post-Atlantean epoch must develop in such a way that, in a sense, many people come to speak to the Ahrimanic powers and beings as Faust does: “In your nothingness I hope to find the universe.” This must become an attitude: to look into what the materialistic view sees as “nothingness” and to see the spiritual world there. So that Ahriman-Mephistopheles is compelled to speak to such people as he did to Faust when he sent him to the mothers: “I praise you, before you part from me, and I see well that you know the devil.” The other day I joked over in Dornach that Mephistopheles would not have made this remark to Woodrow Wilson! To him he would have said: “That little folk would never sense the devil, even if he had them by the collar.” The point is really this: it is a crucial fact that people must learn to look into the concrete processes of the spiritual world. And it is simply the case that when something of such particular necessity arises, the opposing forces are especially strong, so that people today resist these things.

[ 39 ] I ask you to take this into special consideration here in Zurich, now that you have this very commendable and most welcome aspiration to bring spiritual science to certain circles that are still very hostile to it today: do not give in to any illusions! One experiences many disappointments—and at first, only disappointments—when one tries to truly set in motion, in the right way, the things that must happen and therefore ought to happen. This must never deter us from setting these things in motion. One must be so seized by the impulse—which is the necessary impulse of the present—that one does what is meant to happen, regardless of whether the consequences in this particular case fall on one side or the other.

[ 40 ] And only if one has this mindset can one achieve anything. And one often achieves something in a direction that seemingly was not the intended one at all. One must—and I ask you to bear this in mind—do much more than is sometimes gratifying in light of the successes achieved. For the propaganda of spiritual science is of a different nature than all the other forms of propaganda carried out today in other fields. In other fields, after all, people are usually told about things they know just as well as the women in the church know what the pastor is preaching from the pulpit. Most organizations include in their programs things that come across to people as rather trivial. There, one usually remains in the realm of abstractions. Beautiful programs are created that have no connection to reality and cannot penetrate into reality either. If one wishes to cultivate the aspirations of spiritual life in the fifth post-Atlantean epoch, then one must regard them as something living. But look at what is alive: what is spiritually alive has its reflection in what is naturally alive. I ask you: Does the fish in the sea shy away from laying a certain number of eggs that will perish? Ask yourself, how many of the eggs laid will become sea fish? How many of them perish! So it is in life, and so it is in spiritual life as well. You can speak to large crowds time and again over many years—you must be content if, among these large crowds, there are always a few who are merely inspired: for this lies in the nature of what is alive. But you truly achieve something only when you do it yourself, just as nature—which is the reflection of the spirit—does. What would happen if nature were to be deterred from allowing living beings to lay eggs that are destined to perish, simply because it is observed in nature that in a given year so many eggs perish? The natural process continues, and it also shapes evolution. What matters is not the considerations we make—whether this or that can be achieved, or whether this appeals to one person or another—but rather that we see the impulse within the matter itself and that we simply cannot help but carry this impulse out into the world.

[ 41 ] And when we consider the reasons—some of which we have once again brought before our souls today—for why we are to carry this impulse into the world of the fifth post-Atlantean epoch: they are truly serious enough. And resistance will be greatest when the need is greatest. People will have to learn to view the events that are taking place—events that in our time, in our years, truly bear a cruel character—the events occurring here on the physical plane—in connection with the events unfolding behind the scenes. Only then can these things be understood. But people today—whether historians, sociologists, economists, or politicians—who derive their rules and laws solely from the physical plane—well, in the face of today’s real necessities, they are like those people who, for example, when they have a major task to perform, begin by lying down on a chaise longue and sleeping, because they think they will accomplish it in their ‘dreams.’ Indeed, this is how most of those who belong to the world of academia, to the world of the individual sciences, act today. They are people who dream away reality. For how do people write history, how do people write sociology? Just like someone who has no idea of the real forces behind what people dream of. This is precisely what gives rise to such profound, such momentous events as those of our time; it is as if the people who concern themselves with science today are to a room as a person who has never seen that room—someone you carried into it while asleep, who continues to sleep inside, and who comes to know this room only in his sleep. This is how purely materialistic science comes to know the world.

[ 42 ] What is described in my book *The Mystery of Man* as “contemplative consciousness” must, to a certain extent, reveal itself to humanity in the fifth post-Atlantean epoch; for certain mysteries must come to light, since otherwise they will be spread among people in an improper manner through means such as those I have described to you today. As I said, it is not easy to allude to these things in the present day; but there is a moral imperative to speak of them. For many things, one must acquire—I would say—a certain gift for observation that is different from the crude, clumsy powers of observation of people today.

[ 43 ] I would like to draw your attention to two things in connection with what has been said. First, people today already gain something when they try to take things that are otherwise regarded as coincidences so seriously that they see in them something like clues for deepening the soul. Let’s suppose you read that, here or there, at this or that moment, a particular person has just died. You can come to all sorts of insights when you ask yourself: What if that same person had died three months earlier or three months later? — a question that, of course, merely considers what might have been. But you can be sure that when you ask yourself such a question, it can unleash forces within you that enable you to perceive other things. — Or perhaps you’re riding on a train and have a very important conversation with someone that holds great significance for you, and so on. Naturally, the materialist regards such things as a fortunate coincidence. But the person who gradually wishes to gain insight into what lies behind the scenes of existence directs their gaze toward such things; they engage with such things—not by overanalyzing concepts, but by sensing something in them—because they are, as it were, given hints that forces are at work between the events that unfold, forces that cannot be derived solely from mechanics and mathematics. That is one aspect.

[ 44 ] The other thing I want to mention again and again is that, despite the materialism of our time, many things are revealed to people on a spiritual level. People today are simply embarrassed to talk much about their spiritual experiences when they have them. You may hear today, when someone opens up to you because they trust you: “This person did this, that person did that.” If they tell you truly honestly and sincerely why they founded this newspaper or did this or that, they are telling you about a dream—seemingly a dream—but they are describing it as an inspiration from the spiritual world. This happens all the time today; it happens much more often than one might think. Under spiritual impulses, much is put into action today—far more than one might think. People are simply embarrassed to admit these things because, for the most part, they are not taken seriously when they talk about them.

[ 45 ] In these two respects, it is good to deepen one’s soul: especially in our time, to truly be mindful that a hint might come from any direction when one experiences this or that, which prompts one to be attentive; and then to look into it, because one does have the opportunity to hear things here and there—such as how things are revealed to people from the spiritual world, in both a positive and a negative sense, and how they act under the influence and impulse of these revelations. This is even more the case today than one might think.

[ 46 ] These are the points I wanted to bring to your attention today. We’ll continue discussing these matters next Tuesday.