The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Tenth Lecture

[ 1 ] If we are to address the matters that must now concern us, it is necessary that we first clearly examine, from a certain perspective, the concept of human consciousness as it exists today. Let us bring to mind some of the characteristics of this consciousness that we have discussed in recent days and weeks. We know that this human consciousness is, to begin with, structured in such a way that it confines human beings, as they are at present, to the realm that we have, in a certain sense, delineated in recent days. This consciousness confines human beings within a realm that is bounded on one side by the veil that natural phenomena place before us—beyond which human consciousness cannot initially penetrate—and on the other side by the veil of our own soul experiences: our thinking, feeling, and willing. Our consciousness is now structured in such a way that, when we look inward, we are able to experience our thinking, feeling, and willing to a certain degree—to experience them consciously as human experiences. But we cannot penetrate beyond this veil. Behind it lies a real world. So we can say: If we set aside the veil of natural phenomena on one side and imagine objective reality lying behind it, then our consciousness is directed toward the veil, which, for the time being, is not to be penetrated. On the other side are the phenomena of the soul (see illustration on page 173); behind them lies subjective reality. We look into it, but we cannot simply pierce the veil. — Within these boundaries, within these two parallel lines, lies our present consciousness, to which, on the one hand, as it looks out through the sense organs, the natural world is given, and on the other hand, as it looks inward, the world of the soul is given; from the natural world, then, that which appears as a curtain; from the world of the soul, that which presents itself to immediate inner vision. This is precisely how our consciousness—which we possess as human beings at present—is structured.

[ 2 ] We know, of course, that this consciousness differs from the earlier consciousness, which still lingers as an old clairvoyant legacy; but we also know that these old clairvoyant legacies have increasingly been lost to humankind, and that now, when our consciousness functions normally on the physical plane, it is of the nature we have described.

[ 3 ] Now the question may be raised: Why do we, as human beings, currently possess this very particular kind of consciousness? The reason is that, during our present cycle of development—in addition to everything that has already been described—we must acquire the proper relationship that one human soul should have to another human soul in the universe. Thus, this form of consciousness has a very specific purpose.

[ 4 ] You know, we have previously passed through other states of consciousness during the Sun and Moon eras and so on, and we will later pass through other states of consciousness during the Jupiter and Venus eras. We are gradually preparing ourselves for these various states of consciousness. Now, in the current cycle of development, we are to develop this form of consciousness within ourselves through the way we live in the world; and in addition to everything else this form of consciousness is meant to cultivate in terms of morality, there is also the fact that through this form of consciousness we can attain the proper relationship between human soul and human soul—a relationship we did not yet possess before the beginning of the Earth era, and without which, if we have not acquired it during the Earth era, we will not be able to exist during the Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan eras.

[ 5 ] Let us consider the evolution that preceded our Earth era—the Saturn, Sun, and Moon eras. At that time, human beings were not yet in the proper relationship to one another in this sense. In a certain sense, they were too close to one another. Even during the Lunar Age—as you can gather from various descriptions I have given—if one person wanted something, it had a further effect on others. The other person, so to speak, sensed the will of the person next to them. And the spirits of the higher hierarchies ensured that this happened in the proper way.

[ 6 ] If this regulation by the spirits of the higher hierarchies were to continue, it would never allow human beings to attain complete freedom in the cosmos. This regulation had to come to an end at some point. Therefore, a form of consciousness had to emerge that made it possible for a certain boundary to exist, so to speak, between one human being and another. Because, on the one hand, we cannot see through nature, and on the other hand, we cannot see through the world of souls, the relationship between one soul and another is such that a certain boundary is created even between two souls. This boundary exists precisely because of our present form of consciousness. It is, after all, a distinctive, characteristic feature of our present form of consciousness that we actually perceive reflections. This naturally applies to our interactions with one another as well. Because, when we encounter another person, our current form of consciousness involves—in particular—a reflection of consciousness within ourselves, we cannot approach others so brutally as to pour the contents of our consciousness into their souls. Thus, if our consciousness is normally well-developed, it prevents us from encroaching too closely upon the consciousness of others. I could also say: our powers of consciousness and intelligence are arranged in such a way that we can neither exert too great an influence on another person, nor can another person exert too great an influence on us, because we are separated from the other person by the reflection of our consciousness.

[ 7 ] This is a very significant point that should be given serious consideration in order to understand human development. Whenever a defect occurs in normal consciousness, you can immediately see how things really are. Just imagine a person whose consciousness is not fully developed—someone who, let’s say, has a bit of what has perhaps been called, in recent weeks, with an irritating but sometimes quite accurate term, “mystical” or other forms of “eccentricity.” Let’s assume that this person’s consciousness is not entirely normal, but rather tends toward all sorts of fantasies supported by certain abnormal experiences of consciousness—abnormal by today’s standards: You will find time and again that such abnormal states of consciousness have a much greater influence on other souls than normal consciousness does. A person who—to put it somewhat bluntly—is a little crazy in some way has a much greater influence on those around him than a normal person; and the normal person must protect himself by strengthening his consciousness so as not to be influenced by the abnormal. As long as the abnormal person remains unrecognized, they always pose a certain danger to those around them, because they allow themselves to be influenced too strongly by that person, because they too easily regard them as something special. Precisely where the mirror of consciousness is somewhat perforated—where consciousness does not see clearly—an excessive influence passes through the hole in consciousness and affects the other person.

[ 8 ] So we acquire our consciousness during the present stage of development in order to establish the proper relationship between the human soul and

[ 9 ] Now we can say—as is clearly evident from what I have explained to you over the past few days—that there, beyond the veil of nature, lies the Ahrimanic world with all the beings I have described to you. There, beyond the veil of soul life, lies the Luciferic world with all the characteristics I have described to you. Human beings are thus, in a sense, enclosed between the Ahrimanic and Luciferic worlds. If they step even slightly beyond their consciousness toward nature, they cannot help but come into contact with the Ahrimanic world. If they step out with their consciousness toward the world of the soul, they cannot help but come into contact with the Luciferic world.

[ 10 ] We have now left behind a certain period in which people were protected from veering too strongly in one direction or the other. But we are now living once again in a transitional period in which it is inevitable that human souls will veer in one direction or the other. It is simply inevitable that such a movement toward one side or the other will occur. There is no other way; it must happen. This is once again what the course of history demands of people, for the situation is as follows.

[ 11 ] As you know, we are now in the stage of the development of the conscious soul and are moving toward the development of the Spirit-Self. Such a development takes a long time to prepare. Once this Spirit-Self has fully developed in the sixth post-Atlantean cultural epoch, human soul life will be different in many respects from what it is now. The human intellect will possess a much more objective power than it does now. It will function in a much more objective way. People are already moving toward this much more objective life of the intellect. This can be seen everywhere. I have described this time and again in various parts of my lectures. People are moving toward a soul life in which one can say that the intellect spreads among them like a kind of public authority; truly like a kind of public authority to which people are to submit, like a kind of objective power acting outside the human soul.

[ 12 ] We are still living in a time when a great many people protect themselves from this objective power through a certain strong expression of their individuality. But this will become less and less possible the closer we get to the sixth post-Atlantean epoch. A time will indeed come when phenomena that are only just beginning to emerge will manifest themselves much, much more strongly. Even now, if one is able to assess world events correctly in relation to this point, one can form some accurate judgments. For example, one can already observe how this or that is being written here and there. One knows quite precisely that the writers of certain journals are actually far from speaking only what springs from their own souls. They represent the intelligentsia of certain circles—an intelligentsia that proliferates so objectively and of which they are merely the mouthpiece. It is extraordinarily significant to bear this in mind, for this is a phenomenon that will become increasingly prevalent.

[ 13 ] But there is a very specific perspective here. When the intelligence of some people becomes objectified—and it has been doing so ever since public literature came into existence—then Ahriman gains more and more opportunity to take control of human intelligence. This is a perspective that Spiritual Science must bring to our attention, for Ahriman always has the most intense desire to deprive people of their individual intellect and to appropriate it for himself, so that, in Ahriman’s view, the human intellect should fall under Ahrimanic control. Ahriman actually—as I have told you regarding his servants, whose higher intellectual powers have a mysterious connection with their human powers—always strives to appropriate human reason and to prevent people from realizing the full extent of what their reason is capable of. Consider the final scene between Benedictus and Ahriman in the Mystery Drama *The Awakening of the Soul*. Before Ahriman disappears, he utters the words:

[ 14 ] It is now time for me to turn away from his circle
as quickly as possible; for as soon as his gaze
can conceive of me in my truth,
it soon creates within his mind
a part of the power that is slowly destroying me.

[ 15 ] Therein lies a profound mystery that anyone interested in Spiritual Science should come to recognize. People must strive, as they look toward the future, to learn to use their intellect individually—truly individually—and not to leave their intellect unguarded; indeed, indeed, never to leave their intellect unguarded. This is very necessary, and it is good to know in what beautiful, powerful, and rich words Ahriman approaches people and tries—even if people do not want to put up with it—to, as it were, pull their intellect out of their noses—forgive the expression—like worms.

[ 16 ] People will increasingly need to pay attention to such moments. For it is precisely such moments that Ahriman exploits for his purposes—moments when a person, while fully awake during the day, enters a kind of dizzying state, a kind of conscious twilight state, in which they do not quite feel at home in the physical world, in which they begin to surrender to the circular dance of the universe, in which they no longer wish to stand firmly on their own two feet as an individual. These are the moments when one must be on guard, for that is when Ahriman easily gains the upper hand in our surroundings.

[ 17 ] The best way to protect ourselves is by striving more and more to develop clear and precise thinking—to think as precisely as possible—rather than simply skimming over things in our thoughts, as is currently the social norm. We should not gloss over things, but think clearly. We should even go a step further: we should try to be increasingly careful not to use common phrases and words. For the moment we use common words—words that come not from thought but from linguistic habit—we become thoughtless, even if only for a brief moment. And these are particularly dangerous moments, because we do not pay attention to them. One should take care to avoid using such words without giving them sufficient thought. Anyone who takes the tasks of our time seriously should undertake this kind of self-discipline to a very high degree, especially in such intimate matters, and you will easily be able to piece together what is necessary for this based on what I have expressed in recent days.

[ 18 ] But Lucifer, too, strives to lead human beings, through his will, to act not out of well-considered, spiritually inspired impulses, but out of impulses that spring from mere temperament and mere inclinations. There, once again, Lucifer intervenes and makes us his prey. And he will find his prey most easily when as many people as possible develop impulses of inclination and temperament that swirl and take root in the dark depths of the soul’s life—impulses that do not belong to the individual sphere. If we allow temperamental impulses and other dark inclinations to be present within us—ones that connect us to groups of people, that is, groups characterized by the feeling of belonging to them—then we are immediately drawn into a vortex in which our individual volitional judgment is snatched away from us. And that must not be snatched away from us; otherwise, Lucifer gains too much power over us. We must strive to maintain objectivity in this regard.

[ 19 ] This, too, can create favorable moments for Lucifer, when the mind, so to speak, strays somewhat from the sphere of normal consciousness. These are then radical manifestations. But the more intimate manifestations are those in which we allow ourselves to be guided by obscure feelings of belonging and the like. The more conspicuous, more radical deviations of consciousness are those in which the will becomes defective, weakens in some way, and the person can do nothing but surrender to his or her inner life—I would say, with a partial suspension of the will.

[ 20 ] Modern physicians have even assigned specific terms to these particularly radical manifestations. For example, they already speak of obsessive thoughts. Such obsessive mental images occur in people who have not organized their consciousness in an orderly manner, as is appropriate for the physical plane. If there is not a sufficient measure of will in the consciousness, then mental images arise that the person cannot banish from their consciousness. Obsessive mental images, as they are called, arise. Let’s say, for example—I’ll cite an example that has been observed in clinics—a person once saw someone with facial cancer enter a house. He saw the tumor on the person’s face, and he is a person of weak will; his volitional impulses are not strong enough. Ever since he saw this person with facial cancer, he believes that cancerous cells are present everywhere, and he cannot help but suspect the presence of cancerous cells wherever he goes; that is, he lacks the willpower to push this mental image, which was aroused at that time, down into the subconscious. This is a specific case of an obsessive thought. But such phenomena occur in a wide variety of forms among people whose sphere of the will is not sufficiently developed. Then Lucifer easily gains power over them. Modern physicians have termed another distortion of consciousness “fear of touch,” which manifests in people whose sphere of the will is insufficiently developed recoiling from any contact with other people or objects—that is, they do not want to be touched by other people or objects. “Fear of touch” is a specific term in modern psychiatry.

[ 21 ] We could cite many more such aberrations of consciousness. These aberrations reveal precisely how our consciousness must normally be constituted for the physical plane. But we now find ourselves in a time when it is inevitable that certain beings will reveal themselves to us, both from the side beyond the veil of nature and from the side beyond the veil of the soul world. These things must reveal themselves to us, for if they do not, it will become dangerous for the further development of humanity. Precisely when Ahriman and Lucifer are not recognized in their connection to human development, this becomes a dangerous matter for humanity. For it is precisely when they go unnoticed that they are most effective. I want to illustrate this to you with regard to Ahrimanic activity through a little anecdote that is truer than true, for it is truly so.

[ 22 ] A stranger, who was an acquaintance of the mayor, once arrived in a village. He arrived on horseback and rode into the village. This was quite a sight for the villagers. People ran out into the street to watch the stranger go by. He stabled his horse in the mayor’s stable and stayed at the mayor’s house from Saturday through Sunday. On Monday, he wanted to leave and asked for his horse. Then the mayor said, “But you came on foot; you didn’t have a horse.” — The mayor answered all objections with the words, “But you didn’t have a horse.” — Finally, he said: “Then let’s ask the people in the village—they must have seen you when you rode into the village.” — So he summoned everyone in the village and asked them if they hadn’t seen the man arrive on foot, and they all said, “Yes.” — After everyone had made this admission, he said: “Now, all of you, swear to me that the man came on foot.” — And everyone swore that this man had come on foot. So he had to leave the village on foot, without a horse. After some time, the mayor rode after him and brought him his horse. The man then said, “What was the point of all this drama?” The mayor replied, “I just wanted to introduce you to my community!”

[ 23 ] Of course, Ahriman was at work here, and he acted as an objective force; he managed things quite well. The anecdote is truer than true, for it is constantly unfolding among us. The whole of human life tends to increase the number of people who swear that the horse does not exist.

[ 24 ] We must therefore take great care to ensure that we have the most concrete consciousness, because only that is a good, true consciousness for our earthly life at this time. If you take together everything you can glean from my *Outline of Esoteric Science*, from the eight meditations in *A Path to Self-Knowledge*, from the book *The Threshold of the Spiritual World*, from the book *How Does One Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds?* and from various lecture series, you will see that paths are outlined there for entering the corresponding realms. These paths are described so that people may, in the right way and well prepared, penetrate beyond nature and beyond the soul. The paths are described through which one can, in the right way, go behind the scenes of existence. But the tendency—the subjective striving—of very many people does not actually aim to reach where one ought to go, if I may put it that way, when faithfully following what is indicated in these writings. For these writings clearly indicate that one must actually step out of the normal form of consciousness if one wishes to enter the other world—that one must step out of these normal forms of consciousness and arrive at a different form of consciousness.

[ 25 ] This is important to know. For there is a tendency among most people—including many of our friends—not to step out of this form of consciousness, but to remain within it while nevertheless bringing the spiritual world into ordinary consciousness: that is, not to carry the “I” out, but to carry the spiritual world into the “I.” One should seek to bring the knowledge of the spiritual world into ordinary consciousness, not the spiritual world itself. If you now faithfully follow what is contained in the works mentioned, the process will unfold in such a way that you will be brought into states through which you experience the spiritual world, and through which you can bring experiences from this spiritual world into your normal consciousness. And then, while you are in a different state of consciousness, you do not experience what is at issue in your normal consciousness; rather, you may experience it there at a completely different time. But many do not want this; they simply want to experience what is at issue in normal consciousness. Yet it is meant to enter normal consciousness from a different state of consciousness. Many of our friends, however, aspire to have visions in their normal consciousness rather than something like a recollection of another state of consciousness. But if you have visions in your normal consciousness—that is, if you do not, in essence, wish to develop another state of consciousness but rather to retain your ordinary consciousness while still looking into the spiritual worlds—this means: you do not actually want to step seriously outside your own consciousness, but rather remain within it, and there you wish to see beings that actually look like beings in the sensory world. In other words, many people strive to see spirits or spiritual phenomena, but they do not want to see them any differently than they see physical objects. They want to see a spirit, but this spirit is supposed to be a man, a woman, or an animal—for example, a poodle. A poodle, a man, or a woman—these exist here in the physical world for physical consciousness. But in the other world, it is not the case that one sees a woman, a man, or a poodle. One must be clear about this: the actual process lies outside ordinary consciousness. What enters consciousness is, at most, an image—an afterimage that appears afterward. In short, one must not aspire to have, in the spiritual world, merely a kind of finer sensory world, as it were. On the other hand, one must not aspire to have, in the spiritual world, something that speaks just as human words do, only that they come from the spiritual world. Friends often wish simply to listen to the voices that speak to them; but these voices are supposed to be similar to those of the physical world—they, too, are supposed to be merely another version, a more subtle version, of the physical world. Thus, friends wish to enter the spiritual world through this ordinary consciousness that is intended solely for the physical world.

[ 26 ] Most of the visions or voices that people tell us about are indeed of the kind I have just described. But there is a certain fact here: When we have such visions or hear such voices, Lucifer and Ahriman always have an easy time with us; they take control of these things and claim them for themselves, because people tend to interpret all of this in the wrong way. If these things are interpreted correctly, then Lucifer and Ahriman gain nothing from them.

[ 27 ] As you can see, there are distinctions here that really must be taken into account. We must therefore remain fully aware of the possibility that as soon as we introduce anything else into ordinary consciousness—which is actually suited only for the physical world—we find ourselves caught between the Scylla and Charybdis of Ahriman and Lucifer. We must bring ourselves to recognize Ahriman and Lucifer as real forces in this regard. That is why such great emphasis was placed on the relationship between Ahriman and Lucifer, and why our statue was designed in such a way as to depict this relationship accurately.

[ 28 ] Now you might say: If that is the case, wouldn’t it really be wiser to do as the natural scientists do, who present things in such a way that, although Ahriman is indeed present in what they say, they nevertheless refuse to acknowledge Ahriman? Or to do as the ordinary spiritual guides of the various religious communities do, who present the matter in such a way that Lucifer is present everywhere, yet do not actually say so? They regard it as a bad thing when people learn that this is the gateway for Lucifer. — But anyone who speaks this way in our time is not speaking very wisely. For to say, “Then it is wiser to do as the natural philosophers and the spiritual leaders of the various religious communities do”—that would, in regard to spiritual matters, be tantamount to not telling someone who is to cross an abyss on a plank that is not very wide, and who must walk a considerable distance across that plank, that he is putting himself in danger. Yet saying this turns out to be a necessity. Otherwise, it would be like saying: “It is true that the man may be in danger, but it is wiser not to tell him about it.”—The fact that one knows about these things—and one will have to know about them—does not make the danger any greater or any smaller.

[ 29 ] A time will come when Ahriman will seek to take control of human reason and Lucifer of human will, and this can only be countered by recognizing these things; and they can only be recognized through a corresponding movement in Spiritual Science. It is very remarkable to see how Ahriman and Lucifer are at work, how they carry out actions through which they remain unnoticed. It is interesting to study modern psychiatry from this perspective. This modern psychiatry has indeed recognized many things that are factual, but which cannot be properly characterized because it does not take into account that these spiritual forces, which lie beyond the threshold, are approaching human beings. You see, I’d like to read you a passage—one that’s very interesting—from a book by Cullerre. Referring to a certain tendency in modern psychiatry, he says something quite remarkable. Isn’t it true that modern psychiatry tends to classify everything in a person that isn’t quite average or normal—anything that deviates from a certain standard in one direction or another—as bordering on insanity? Thus, there are numerous treatises that see in the Maid of Orleans nothing more than a hysterical personality. Now, little by little, there is also a growing number of such treatises that view Jesus Christ as a person who was not entirely normal. Cullerre therefore says: There are still people “who are beside themselves with indignation at the thought that science—which, after all, cannot desecrate anything it touches—believes itself capable of weighing out the element of folly that may be found mingled with the wisdom of a Socrates or the genius of a Pascal.” There are also treatises that demonstrate Goethe’s folly and the like.

[ 30 ] Here we have Ahrimanic science in its purest form—but false Ahrimanic science, a science that strives to show how Goethe, in a certain sense, is indeed a moral genius, but how he could only have attained this because a certain measure of folly was mixed into his nature. Socrates knew better: he spoke of his daemon; he knew that his soul was in contact with objective spiritual powers. That was clear to him. But the modern scholar, the modern psychiatrist, would characterize it as though folly were mixed in with Socrates or anyone else. Ahriman is to be concealed, and he wants to be concealed! And the same is true of Lucifer.

[ 31 ] The fact is this: If one were to simply adopt today what is regarded as secret knowledge in certain occult orders—with all its symbolism—one would very easily, as I explained yesterday, deliver into the hands of Ahriman what has hitherto been practiced as occultism. If one were to apply what has hitherto been practiced as mysticism to human life today, one would easily deliver mysticism into the hands of Lucifer. The ship of Spiritual Science must be steered between these two rocks. This is of the utmost importance. Spiritual Science must therefore be shaped in such a way that neither mystical nor occult aberrations can truly take hold.

[ 32 ] Now, I told you yesterday that when one pierces the veil of nature, one enters a realm where beings with a destructive nature appear. But this destructive impulse is closely related to the human intellect. I have described what a person can become if they fall prey to these beings. That must not happen. I have also described how a person can become fanatical in their spiritual pursuits if they succumb to false mysticism—that is, if they fall prey to certain religious evils. Neither of these things must happen. I said that the esotericists among the occultists have made a special effort to compel people to apply their intellect to the deciphering of symbols, so that they do not pass through those realms in an unwarranted manner and are not exploited by the forces that confront one so terribly in these border regions. One can ward off these beings by applying the intellect in the same way one does, for example, when deciphering symbols. This is what was done in the past. But it is simply not sufficient for the present time. It is actually not really applicable to the present time.

[ 33 ] And now you will find that the way in which our Spiritual Science presents itself to humanity helps to avoid straying into the realm of Ahriman in a different way. Here you must address a distinctive feature of our Society’s life, insofar as our Society seeks to pursue Spiritual Science. There is a very, very common phrase one encounters when Spiritual Science is presented to this or that person: “I cannot understand these things until I see them clairvoyantly for myself. I accept them on faith.” — I have often emphasized: Viewed from the correct perspective, this is not actually the case. People currently possess the degree of intellect through which everything that is presented can truly be recognized. The entire field of Spiritual Science, as it is presented, can be understood with the degree of intellect that currently exists among human beings. It cannot be discovered through it, but it can be understood. And how often is this intellect appealed to, my dear friends. This intellect is there; it can be mobilized; and anyone who refuses to admit this is mistaken. If what is presented in Spiritual Science is processed in such a way that the intellect is also applied, then it is applied in the right way. Then it is entirely impossible to enter the Ahrimanic realm in an improper manner. Through Spiritual Science, as it is presented, one cannot enter the Ahrimanic realm in an improper way. For there are only two possible cases. Either people make an effort to understand it—in which case they apply the intellect, which can be misused by the Ahrimanic spirits, to the understanding of Spiritual Science—and then it cannot be wrested from them. Ahriman can do whatever he wants: he cannot get hold of the intellect that people apply—whether in the present or the future—to the study of Spiritual Science. You can be certain of that. Or, if people do not set out to understand Spiritual Science, then they do not apply their intellect to it; in that case, however, Spiritual Science is not to blame for anything. Then the only thing to blame can be indifference toward Spiritual Science.

[ 34 ] You can see what kind of realm of destructive spirits one can enter there. This is most clearly evident when one observes a soul at the very moment it has passed through the gate of death. At that very moment, these spiritual entities swarm in with particular intensity. They are there in great numbers, and it is no surprise that they are there, for they are, after all, the spirits of destruction. Their regular activity is to work toward the destruction of the physical body. That is part of their trade. They just must not stay there too long.

[ 35 ] People, however, who have developed spiritual understanding within themselves, keep these beings at bay. But these spirits wield great power over materialistically minded souls—over those souls that refuse to acquire an understanding of the spiritual world. And those souls who, in their lifetime, have spurned the acquisition of spiritual understanding suffer greatly at the hands of Ahriman. Greek mythology has beautifully depicted this rejection of an understanding of the spiritual world in the figure of Tantalus. He is the one to whom the gods set food before him, but in such a way that he could not reach it, and then watched as he was forced to endure torment as a result.

[ 36 ] You can see many such Tantaluses today. These are all materialistic souls who do not wish to acquire an understanding of the spiritual world. They are all Tantaluses. They are so in the sense that after death, during the Kamaloka period—when they review their lives in reverse, one-third at a time, as you know—everything is snatched away from them. Then, as they look back on everything they have lived through, they are overcome by the feeling: Why did I do this or that? They see that one of the destructive spirits is about to come and snatch it away from them, so that they conclude: I actually did it for nothing!—This is, of course, an illusion, but they suffer the torments of Tantalus because the spirits of destruction are near them. Because they have not acquired any understanding, they cannot see that our entire earthly life, from birth to death, would indeed be meaningless if it were not permeated by the spirits of the higher hierarchies. But they cannot see these spirits of the higher hierarchies as they relive their lives, and so everything must seem meaningless to them.

[ 37 ] Our Spiritual Science avoids false occultism by truly utilizing the ever-increasing measure of intellect that is coming among human beings to establish a science that requires a greater measure of intellect than has been necessary up to now. Our science must be such that it requires more intellect than people have been accustomed to applying up to now. When people say that Spiritual Science cannot be understood, it is not because they lack sufficient intellect, but because they are unwilling to apply enough of it. People like to delude themselves about this. If one were to apply as much intellect as a person is already capable of mustering today, one would already understand Spiritual Science. And it must be the case that Spiritual Science counts on this intellect: in this way, our Spiritual Science avoids Scylla on the one hand; by mustering this much intellect, we overcome Scylla. The spiritual scientist knows why people are not inclined to engage with Spiritual Science. It is because they are unwilling to apply enough intellect—because they are sluggish. That is why I spoke of sluggishness earlier.

[ 38 ] On the other hand, one must also avoid the pitfall of false mysticism. This can be achieved by avoiding—I would say—this retreating into the mere human inner world. This constant habit of living and spinning only within one’s own soul, this constant “spinning” within one’s own soul, must be overcome. One’s own soul must step outside of itself and look lovingly at the deeper connections in external life.

[ 39 ] For this reason, an attempt was made to offer the opportunity to observe such connections, which can also be perceived from the outside; the Mystery Dramas were presented for this purpose. In them, inner soul processes are always revealed to you. By learning to understand what is happening, for example, within Capesius, and by seeing how Capesius moves from one event to the next, you engage your inner life through formative, creative, and plastic activity. And that is also the essence of our art. This underlies our entire structure: that souls detach themselves from themselves, that they do not fall into a false mysticism. It is necessary to keep this in mind, and in this way we will also avoid the Charybdis of false mysticism.

[ 40 ] Everything we do to interpret the hidden connections of human life outside of ourselves protects us from false mysticism. When we follow Capesius in this way, we live within the life and weaving of the soul, but we do not spin from our own soul life and weaving; we step outside of ourselves. We, too, arrive at what the mystic otherwise reaches. So the little boat of Spiritual Science must truly be steered in a purposeful manner between these two cliffs. It is precisely what avoids false occultism and false mysticism that must be provided.

[ 41 ] Thus, Spiritual Science truly lives in harmony with the needs and demands of our time. It is truly very important that we keep this in mind, and that is why I have often had to speak out against a misguided popularization of Spiritual Science—a popularization that would not require sufficiently rigorous thinking. And likewise, I have had to oppose everything that works toward a fervent, egotistical mysticism—that which merely floats in what can be described by the expression: “Within yourself you will find the real, the divine, and so on”—that which does not seek the divine in the outward course of life by lovingly following the phenomena.

[ 42 ] I recently told someone that Spiritual Science could be regarded as something very useful. I did not say this to highlight the merits of the Spiritual Science movement in any immodest way, but merely to show that the positive aspects of this movement could indeed be taken to heart. I said: Even if one takes only the positive aspects that one can acknowledge and sets aside everything else that does not interest one, our Spiritual Science could still be regarded as something extraordinarily useful. If you trace the way in which we have pursued our Spiritual Science over the past one and a half decades, you will see that, in addition to everything we have contributed in the realm of Spiritual Science—right at the heart of that Spiritual Science—we have also provided a great many scientific truths and truths regarding the history of art, a whole host of such things. Let us just hypothetically assume that we would offer nothing at all in the realm of Spiritual Science, but only what we contribute in terms of truths from the natural sciences and the history of art; even that alone could be regarded as something positive. But the fact that something positive is offered is, in turn, done intentionally and with careful consideration, for this is precisely what frees the human mind from such idle speculation. - And so every effort was made to shape our Spiritual Science movement in such a way that it would move forward in the right direction. Thus, this Spiritual Science movement was truly conceived as a kind of organism. And if we view it as an organism, then perhaps we can also think of it this way: it must grow just as an organism does—like a human organism that gets its second set of teeth around the age of seven. It must make use of its second set of teeth, its individual teeth, which it receives at that time.

[ 43 ] In earlier lectures, I have explained that we had to build upon the Theosophical Movement. In 1902, we founded the German Section and thereby linked ourselves to the Theosophical Movement. At first, we were able to move forward by developing entirely independently, as I have shown you, yet in such a way that we remained part of the Theosophical Movement. But then we had to stand on our own two feet. We desperately needed to. In 1909—1902 + 7 = 1909—it became necessary for us to stand on our own two feet. Remember that those were precisely the years when the Leadbeater affair threw everything into uncertainty. You see, it was already necessary then to gradually develop our own teeth. The year 1916 is not far off. By then we will have completed the second seven-year period. Once we have completed this second seven-year period and are seriously considering an organization, that organization must come of age. Now the Spiritual Science movement, if it is a true organism, must show that it has come of age. It must be truly mature, capable of accomplishing something of its own accord. After all that has been given, we should now be at a stage where we could continue to exist, endure, and be effective even without the teacher. Such a thing needed to be prepared for. I have often pointed out that this is necessary. And indeed, we must face the fact that this is necessary. I have said this before in Berlin as well: The Society for Theosophical Art and Culture should be something that detaches itself from me and leads a life of its own. — But this will become more and more necessary: detaching from me and leading a life of its own, at least in principle. We must overcome the danger that lies in the fact that things actually only go well to the extent that what I have established continues to flow in from week to week. We are now at the stage where the Society should demonstrate for itself that it can just as peacefully cultivate among its members everything that already exists—truly cultivate it—as if I were no longer there.

[ 44 ] That is a thoroughly necessary thought. The fact is that, since these things are now at work in people’s souls, many things could already be set in motion for which I am no longer needed. I do not mean to say that I will not remain involved. But the test of our existence lies in the fact that, in a sense, I am becoming more and more superfluous. We absolutely must overcome the danger that exists: that our members, as such, do not recognize one another—in a sense, one person in relation to another! For you need only pose the hypothesis and realize what a disservice would be done if everyone always lived in such a way that they said: “He’s the leader; we must follow him”—or: “He’s the leader; he’ll take care of things.” — That won’t work. Where would we end up if one day I were no longer here? The society would immediately fall apart. But we will only achieve what we are meant to achieve if, after fourteen years, we have truly reached the point where we possess a life of our own within us—one that can in turn give rise to another. And that is not impossible, if only we reflect on our own will. Certainly, some individual years are difficult right now; but we must also overcome such difficulties. And we’ll be able to make use of many things that I myself have to bring to you in a different way once what I’ve just hinted at has been realized. Many things are difficult right now. I’ll express what’s difficult—but must be pointed out—through a paradox: There are certain things—and this is simply the case—that one cannot say so readily, so that over the past four days I would have liked to have gathered a small, more intimate circle to say certain things that I cannot say before the entire audience. But I had to refrain from doing so again, because we live in a time when it is simply not possible to arrange something like that. It cannot be done.

[ 45 ] To see clearly, we must take a good, close look at precisely these things that I have been trying to examine these past few days. We must also try to hold the inner character of Spiritual Science clearly before our eyes; then we will come to understand why, on the one hand, we must have opponents among the natural scientists who wish to turn the study of nature into a worldview, and, on the other hand, among those spiritual guides who wish to keep completely veiled what lies behind ordinary spiritual life.

[ 46 ] We must hold fast to our teaching; we must also strive to penetrate deeply into its unique nature. Let us consider, for example, how we have placed the Mystery of Golgotha at the center of our endeavors and how we have had to emphasize that the Christ entered into the Jesus of Nazareth in the manner so often described—that is, from other spheres of consciousness directly into the sphere of consciousness that is appropriate for human physical life on Earth. But this already establishes that, while the Christ is indeed a cosmic power, the Christ Jesus is an earthly power that lives on in the earthly consciousness of human beings, and indeed in earthly events in general. Therefore, the New Testament cannot be a natural science, for that which lies beyond nature must, if it pertains to reality, be outside our consciousness; nor can it be a Spiritual Science, for that too requires crossing over to the other side. This is precisely what is so wonderfully great and significant about the New Testament: that it does not seek to be either a natural science or a Spiritual Science; therefore, it must not be used for polemics against Spiritual Science.

[ 47 ] But we also see hinted at here the reasons why, time and time again, it is precisely the representatives of this or that religious community who will rebel against Spiritual Science—and quite understandably so—because they simply never want to let people into the world they fear so terribly. They fear that human beings might enter that world and discover what truly lies within them as the eternal substance of the soul. They simply want to make it clear to people that what they already know about themselves lives eternally within them. You see, I already said yesterday: If a materialistic worldview were truly established, if it were the only one to exist and no Spiritual Science were to reach people, it would come to pass that people would have to drown in skepticism and doubt, for this would create something like a spiritual sea in which souls would have to drown. But what must be created if people are to be prevented from penetrating the veil of the soul worlds is ignorance. Ignorance in which human beings would ultimately suffocate would have to spread if those who today are often the representatives of the various religious communities were to prevail. If the natural scientists were to prevail, a sea of doubt would spread in which human beings would drown. If those who think of themselves, in the manner described, as the spiritual guardians of the various religious communities were to prevail, an atmosphere of ignorance would spread in which human souls would suffocate. Such is the gravity of the task facing Spiritual Science. And we must face up to the gravity of this task. We must, so to speak, see ourselves as people who, through their karma, can be led to Spiritual Science in order to make available—not to Spiritual Science itself, but to the general progress of humanity—both the intellect and the emotional sensitivity they possess. And the world needs this—it needs it very much indeed.

[ 48 ] Just look at how, on the one hand, a truly materialistic worldview is gaining ground, and how nothing that opposes it makes any difference! And look, on the other hand, at how efforts are being made to spread ignorance, how the facts of the spiritual world are being obscured more and more! Just look at how certain leaders of this or that religious community even pursue every positive message from the spiritual world with a certain hatred!

[ 49 ] I have given these lectures to point out the direction that Spiritual Science must take; to make you aware that we are coming to realize: we must oppose those natural scientists; but they cannot help it, for Ahriman has taken hold of them, and he wishes to conceal from them what drives their actions. And the others—yes, we must oppose them, but they, too, cannot help it, for Lucifer has taken hold of them. We truly strike the right path when we engage in a positive way with what Spiritual Science has to offer us. If only there were a number of people who would recognize this uniqueness of Spiritual Science, who would realize that Spiritual Science must not be confused with this or that—then that alone would truly suffice, my dear friends.

[ 50 ] One can also learn a great deal from errors and, from this perspective, engage with them. This is even more important than taking a critical stance toward these errors, which is, of course, sometimes necessary. I said: Put bluntly, Ahriman actually strives to rob people of their reason in the future. — But because his spirits, with their higher powers, are connected to the lower powers of human beings, he links this to something else: he seeks to forge an alliance between the higher and lower powers. Ahriman normally governs those things in the world that give rise to disease. We know that they must also exist, since they bring about death in the physical world. All destruction in the physical world is entrusted to him. But one must now recognize the connection. When one lifts what is in the lower spherical world up into the higher, one connects it with the beings behind it—with these destructive beings. Then, of one’s own accord, one hands over all manner of things to Ahriman and his spirits. And when one thus hands over various things to Ahriman and his spirits, one already notices that certain lower parts of the organism begin to act in the same way that higher parts of the organism would otherwise act.

[ 51 ] If one is reluctant to think with proper precision, yet still wishes to enter the spiritual world, this is what happens: One enters the spiritual world. Certainly, one can experience it objectively there; one truly lives in this spiritual realm where the destructive forces reside; one crosses the threshold. One then returns to one’s own body; one has formed an alliance with these destructive forces without even realizing it. One is not attuned to this realm if one has not properly developed one’s own intellect. Then it happens that one feels these destructive forces within oneself. And instead of thinking, instead of hearing with our ears and seeing with our eyes, all sorts of secret forces within our lower organism begin to see and hear. Our body is no longer given to us as it usually is. When we return to the body, we find it filled with all sorts of elements. It has become a new being to us.

[ 52 ] This unfamiliarity with one’s own body, this entering into the body as if into a separate being in which something unknown resides—this is something that can happen to anyone who does not faithfully adhere to the path. For Ahriman strives to establish himself in the human body and to transform certain organs into organs of cognition. But Lucifer, in turn, strives to have his spirits—those ardent spirits of the will—take certain things out of us in order to make them independent; so that when one crosses the threshold toward the Luciferic side and returns, one feels a sense of emptiness in certain areas, as if something had been taken away. Ahriman adds something to one because he enters into one; he fills one to the brim. Lucifer takes the organs away and makes independent what otherwise belongs to one.

[ 53 ] This is truly a Luciferic endeavor: to make independent what belongs to us. That is why, even in what I have called unjustified mysticism, it is so easy for such mystics—by transforming their free will into visionary clairvoyance—to prepare their knowledge for Lucifer, who can then extract it. It really is like this: there is the human being, and then Lucifer arrives, and something is taken out of the brain—the intellect. The intellect is taken out like a piece of etheric brain, or a piece of the etheric is taken out of the heart and becomes independent, and then one feels hollow there. It has a tendency to become independent, to separate itself from the person. This is truly a phenomenon observed in quite egotistical spirits who have attained a certain level of development. There one can see how certain parts of their powers become detached, existing then as if in the outside world. Lucifer robs human beings of certain powers, through which he then acts. That is his inclination. This must, of course, be prevented, and it is prevented by faithfully following the right path. But the Luciferic view remains that one can take something away from a human being and then utilize it as if it existed outside of them—for example, taking a teacher’s teaching away from them and utilizing it objectively in the world. Therein lies the realm in which these things are to be sought. One can learn a great deal from an error—namely, the error that the teaching can be separated from the teacher. By observing these facts, one can learn something entirely different from what one might learn through a certainly very justified critique. One can learn what danger lies in such a thing becoming more common in the future of human development. And this danger exists!

[ 54 ] On the other hand, humanity faces the danger that, as the Spirit-Self develops independently, Ahriman will take control of it. One can already see—if one has a sense for it—how people are becoming dependent, and how Ahriman is actually guiding their hand when they write this or that. That is one side of the matter; the other is that things are taken and exploited, and the belief persists that they can be separated from their creator. These two dangers exist.

[ 55 ] But this will be the true and only correct path for the guiding principles of Spiritual Science to be accepted by humanity: that, on the one hand, nature will be illuminated in such a way that, using the guiding principles of Spiritual Science, one pierces through nature, the veil of nature. Zoology, botany, and agriculture based on the guiding principles of Spiritual Science will have to flourish. Everything, including medicine, will have to be enriched by the guiding principles of Spiritual Science. But only those who do not shy away from penetrating the veil of nature—so that one enters the Ahrimanic world and must fight against the spirits of destruction—will be able to enrich medicine in the proper way through the guiding principles of Spiritual Science. To find what is healing for human beings, one must enter the realm of those spirits that dissolve all human life, that cause illness and death; for it is only there, where the deeper causes of death and illness lie, that remedies can be sought.

[ 56 ] Likewise, anyone who wishes to understand what takes root in the human soul must not shy away from engaging in the struggle with the Luciferic beings. They must maintain moral courage if they wish to cross the threshold; they must know that they are entering a realm of spiritual beings where every thought constantly seeks to lull them into a kind of gentle faintness—because that thought is to be snatched away from them, because the thought flits by so swiftly that one must grasp it quickly lest it slip away. One cannot enter this region without truly taking up the struggle, with complete composure, against everything that—if taken out of context—tempts human beings precisely toward one-sided, subjective mysticism.

[ 57 ] But Spiritual Science guides us in such a way that, when we understand it, we truly find the strength to combat the destructive forces of Ahriman in every situation. And when we apply Spiritual Science to the unfolding of human life, as we do in the Mystery Dramas, and to the unfolding of nature, as we do by exploring the forces of nature in our column and architrave forms, or explore the mysteries of world evolution by contrasting Christ with Lucifer and Ahriman in our sculptural group—when we approach things in such a way that the spiritual forces become concrete to us, so that they live in reality—then we find the strength that the one-sided mystic usually lacks: to fight against the Luciferic spirits.

[ 58 ] From this you can see that Spiritual Science simply had to be exactly as it has been presented to you, and that even what Spiritual Science creates alongside its theoretical framework—in one direction or another—necessarily belongs to it. Let us strive more and more to direct our thinking in the way that Spiritual Science thinking must be directed. For only when we free ourselves from the prejudices that prevail in the outer world can we truly stand within Spiritual Science.