Theosophy
GA 9
Introduction
[ 1 ] When Johann Gottlieb Fichte, in the autumn of 1813, gave to the world his Introduction to the Science of Knowledge, as the ripe fruit of a life wholly devoted to the service of truth, he spoke at the very outset as follows: “This doctrine presupposes an entirely new inner sense-organ or instrument, through which is revealed a new world which has no existence for the ordinary man.” And he showed by a simile how incomprehensible this doctrine of his must be when judged by conceptions of the ordinary senses: “Think of a world of people born blind, who therefore know only those objects and their relations which exist through the sense of touch. Go among them, and speak to them of colours and the other relations which exist only through light and for the sense of sight. You will convey nothing to their minds, and it is luckiest if they tell you so, for you will then quickly notice your mistake and, if unable to open their eyes, will cease talking to them in vain. ...” Anyone who speaks to people about such things as those Fichte is pointing to in this instance finds himself only too often in the position of a seeing man among those born blind. Yet these are things that relate to a man's true being and his highest aims, and to believe it necessary “to cease the useless speaking” would amount to despairing of humanity. Far rather, one should never despair of opening the eyes of everyone to these things, provided he has good will. It is on this supposition that all those have written and spoken who have felt that within them the growth of the “inner sense-instrument” by which they have become able to know the true nature and being of man, which is hidden from the outer senses. This is why from the most ancient times such a “Hidden Wisdom” has been spoken of again and again. Those who have grasped something of it feel just as sure of their possession as people with normal eyes feel sure that they possess the conception of colour. For them, therefore, this “Hidden Wisdom” requires no “proof.” They know also that this “Hidden Wisdom” requires no proof for any other person like themselves, in whom the “higher sense” has unfolded. To such a one they can speak as a traveller can speak about America to people who have not themselves seen that country, but who can form an idea of it, because they would see all that he has seen, if the opportunity presented itself to them.
[ 2 ] But it is not only to investigators into the spiritual world that the observer of the supersensible has to speak. He must address his words to all men. For he has to give an account of things that concern all men. Indeed he knows that without a knowledge of these things no one can, in the true sense of the word, be “man.” And he speaks to all men, because he knows that there are different grades of understanding for what he has to say. He knows that even those who are still far from the moment when first-hand spiritual investigation will be possible for them, can bring to meet him a measure of understanding. For the feeling for truth and the power of understanding it are inherent in every human being. And to this understanding, which can light up in every healthy soul, he addresses himself in the first place. He knows too that in this understanding there is a force which, little by little, must lead to the higher grades of knowledge. This feeling which, perhaps, at first sees nothing at all of what is related, is itself the magician which opens the “eye of the spirit.” In darkness this feeling stirs; the soul sees nothing, but through this feeling is seized by the power of the truth; and then the truth will gradually draw nearer to the soul and open in it the “higher sense.” In one person it may take a longer, in another a shorter time, but everyone who has patience and endurance reaches this goal.
For although not everyone born blind can be operated on, every spiritual eye can be opened, and when it will be opened is only a question of time.
[ 3 ] Erudition and scientific training are not pre-conditions for the unfolding of this “higher sense.” It can develop in the simple-minded person just as in the scientist of high standing. Indeed, what is often called at the present time “the only true science,” can, for the attainment of this goal, be frequently a hindrance rather than a help. For this science naturally allows only that to be considered “real,” which is accessible to the ordinary senses. And however great its merits are in regard to the knowledge of that reality, yet when it decrees that what is necessary and healthful for itself shall also apply to all human knowledge, then it creates at the same time a host of prejudices which close the approach to higher realities.
[ 4 ] Against what is said here, it is often objected that “insurmountable limits” have been once and forever set to man's knowledge, and that since he cannot overstep these limits, all knowledge must be rejected which does not observe them. And anyone who makes assertions about things that most people accept as lying beyond the limits of man's capacity for knowledge is looked upon as highly presumptuous. Such objections entirely disregard the fact that a development of the human powers of knowledge has to precede the higher knowledge. What lies beyond the limits of knowledge before such a development stands, after the awakening of faculties slumbering in each human being, entirely within the realm of knowledge. One point in this connection must, indeed, not be neglected. It might be said: “Of what use is it to speak to people about things for which their powers of knowledge are not yet awakened, and which are therefore still closed to them?” Yet that is the wrong way to look at it. Certain powers are required to find out the things referred to; but if, after having been discovered, they are made known, every man can understand them who is willing to bring to bear upon them unprejudiced logic and a healthy feeling for truth. In this book only those things will be made known which can fully produce the impression that through them the riddles of human life and the phenomena of the world can be satisfactorily approached. This impression will be produced upon everyone who permits thought, unclouded by prejudice, and feeling for truth, free and without reservation, to work within him. Put yourself for a moment in the position of asking, “If the things asserted here are true, do they afford a satisfying explanation of life?” and it will be found that the life of every human being supplies the confirmation.
[ 5 ] In order to be a “teacher” in these higher regions of existence, it is by no means sufficient that simply the sense for them has developed. For that purpose “science” is just as necessary, as it is necessary for the teacher's calling in the world of ordinary reality. “Higher seeing” makes a “knower” in the spiritual as little as healthy sense-organs make a “scholar” in regard to the realities of the senses. And because in truth all reality, the lower and the higher spiritual, are only two sides of one and the same fundamental being, anyone who is unlearned in the lower branches of knowledge will as a rule remain so in regard to the higher. This fact creates a feeling of immeasurable responsibility in one who, through a spiritual call, feels himself summoned to speak about the spiritual regions of existence. It imposes upon him humility and reserve. But it should deter no one from occupying himself with the higher truths—not even one whose other circumstances of life afford no opportunity for the study of ordinary science. For one can, indeed, fulfil one's task as man without understanding anything of botany, zoology, mathematics and other sciences; but one cannot, in the full sense of the word, be “man” without having, in some way or other, come nearer to an understanding of the nature and destination of man as revealed through the knowledge of the supersensible.
[ 6 ] The Highest a man is able to look up to he calls the “Divine.” And in some way or other he must think of his highest destination as being in connection with this Divinity. Therefore that wisdom which reaches out beyond the sensible and reveals to him his own being, and with it his final goal, may very well be called “divine wisdom” or theosophy. To the study of the spiritual processes in human life and in the cosmos, the term spiritual science may be given. When, as is the case in this book, one extracts from this spiritual science the particular results which have reference to the spiritual core of man's being, then the expression theosophy may be used for this domain, because it has been employed for centuries in this direction.
[ 7 ] From the point of view here indicated, there will be sketched in this book an outline of the theosophical conception of the universe. The writer of it will bring forward nothing that is not, for him, a fact in the same sense as an experience of the outer world is a fact for eyes and ears and the ordinary intelligence. For one is concerned with experiences which become accessible to every person who is determined to tread the “path of knowledge” described in a special section of this work. The right attitude towards the things of the supersensible world is to assume that sound thinking and feeling are capable of understanding everything in the way of true knowledge which can emerge from the higher worlds, and further that, when one starts from this understanding, and therewith lays a firm foundation, a great step onwards has been made towards seeing for oneself; even though, to attain to this, other things must be added also. But one locks and bolts the door to the true higher knowledge, when one despises this path and resolves to penetrate into the higher worlds only in some other way. The principle: only to recognise higher worlds when one has seen them, is a hindrance in the way of this very seeing. The will, first of all to understand through sound thinking what can later be seen, furthers that seeing. It conjures forth important powers of the soul which lead to this “seership.”
Einleitung
[ 1 ] Als Johann Gottlieb Fichte im Herbst 1813 seine «Lehre» als reife Frucht eines ganz dem Dienste der Wahrheit gewidmeten Lebens vortrug, da sprach er gleich im Anfange folgendes aus: «Diese Lehre setzt voraus ein ganz neues inneres Sinneswerkzeug, durch welches eine neue Welt gegeben wird, die für den gewöhnlichen Menschen gar nicht vorhanden ist.» Und dann zeigte er an einem Vergleich, wie unfasslich diese seine Lehre demjenigen sein muss, der sie mit den Vorstellungen der gewöhnlichen Sinne beurteilen will: «Denke man eine Welt von Blindgeborenen, denen darum allein die Dinge und ihre Verhältnisse bekannt sind, die durch den Sinn der Betastung existieren. Tretet unter diese und redet ihnen von Farben und den anderen Verhältnissen, die nur durch das Licht und für das Sehen vorhanden sind. Entweder ihr redet ihnen von Nichts, und dies ist das Glücklichere, wenn sie es sagen, denn auf diese Weise werdet ihr bald den Fehler merken und, falls ihr ihnen nicht die Augen zu öffnen vermögt, das vergebliche Reden einstellen.» Nun befindet sich allerdings derjenige, der von solchen Dingen zu Menschen spricht, auf welche Fichte in diesem Falle deutet, nur zu oft in einer Lage, welche der des Sehenden zwischen Blindgeborenen ähnlich ist. Aber diese Dinge sind doch diejenigen, die sich auf des Menschen wahres Wesen und höchstes Ziel beziehen. Und es müsste somit derjenige an der Menschheit verzweifeln, der glauben wollte, dass es nötig sei, «das vergebliche Reden einzustellen». Keinen Augenblick darf vielmehr daran gezweifelt werden, dass es in bezug auf diese Dinge möglich sei, jedem «die Augen zu öffnen», der den guten Willen dazu mitbringt. — Aus dieser Voraussetzung heraus haben daher alle diejenigen gesprochen und geschrieben, die in sich fühlten, dass ihnen selbst das «innere Sinneswerkzeug» erwachsen sei, durch das sie das den äußeren Sinnen verborgene wahre Wesen des Menschen zu erkennen vermochten. Seit den ältesten Zeiten wird daher immer wieder und wieder von solcher «verborgenen Weisheit» gesprochen. — Wer etwas von ihr ergriffen hat, fühlt den Besitz ebenso sicher, wie die, welche wohlgebildete Augen haben, den Besitz der Farbenvorstellungen fühlen. Für ihn bedarf daher diese «verborgene Weisheit» keines «Beweises». Und er weiß auch, dass sie für denjenigen keines Beweises bedürfen kann, dem sich gleich ihm der «höhere Sinn» erschlossen hat. Zu einem solchen kann er sprechen, wie ein Reisender über Amerika zu sprechen vermag zu denen, die zwar nicht selbst Amerika gesehen haben, die sich aber davon eine Vorstellung machen können, weil sie alles sehen würden, was er gesehen hat, wenn sich ihnen dazu die Gelegenheit böte.
[ 2 ] Aber nicht nur zu Erforschern der geistigen Welt soll der Beobachter des Übersinnlichen sprechen. Er muss seine Worte an alle Menschen richten. Denn er hat über Dinge zu berichten, die alle Menschen angehen; ja, er weiß, dass niemand ohne eine Kenntnis dieser Dinge im wahren Sinne des Wortes «Mensch» sein kann. Und er spricht zu allen Menschen, weil ihm bekannt ist, dass es verschiedene Grade des Verständnisses für das gibt, was er zu sagen hat. Er weiß, dass auch solche, die noch weit entfernt von dem Augenblicke sind, in dem ihnen die eigene geistige Forschung erschlossen wird, ihm Verständnis entgegen-bringen können. Denn das Gefühl und das Verständnis für die Wahrheit liegen in jedem Menschen. Und an dieses Verständnis, das in jeder gesunden Seele aufleuchten kann, wendet er sich zunächst. Er weiß auch, dass in diesem Verständnis eine Kraft ist, die allmählich zu den höheren Graden der Erkenntnis führen muss. Dieses Gefühl, das vielleicht anfangs gar nichts sieht von dem, wovon zu ihm gesprochen wird, es ist selbst der Zauberer, der das «Auge des Geistes» aufschließt. In der Dunkelheit regt sich dieses Gefühl. Die Seele sieht nicht; aber durch dieses Gefühl wird sie erfasst von der Macht der Wahrheit; und dann wird die Wahrheit nach und nach herankommen an die Seele und ihr den «höheren Sinn» öffnen. Für den einen mag es kürzer, für den andern länger dauern; wer Geduld und Ausdauer hat, der erreicht dieses Ziel. Denn wenn auch nicht jeder physisch Blindgeborene operiert werden kann: jedes geistige Auge kann geöffnet werden; und es ist nur eine Frage der Zeit, wann es geöffnet wird.
[ 3 ] Gelehrsamkeit und wissenschaftliche Bildung sind keine Vorbedingungen zur Eröffnung dieses «höheren Sinnes». Dem naiven Menschen kann er sich ebenso erschließen wie dem wissenschaftlich Hochstehenden. Was in gegenwärtiger Zeit oft die «alleinige» Wissenschaft genannt wird, kann für dieses Ziel oft sogar eher hinderlich als fördernd sein. Denn diese Wissenschaft lässt naturgemäß nur dasjenige als «wirklich» gelten, was den gewöhnlichen Sinnen zugänglich ist. Und so groß auch ihre Verdienste um die Erkenntnis dieser Wirklichkeit sind: sie schafft, wenn sie, was für ihre Wissenschaft notwendig und segenbringend ist, für alles menschliche Wissen als maßgebend erklärt, zugleich eine Fülle von Vorurteilen, die den Zugang zu höheren Wirklichkeiten verschließen.
[ 4 ] Gegen dasjenige, was hier gesagt ist, wird oft eingewendet: dem Menschen seien einmal «unübersteigliche Grenzen» seiner Erkenntnis gesetzt. Man könne diese Grenzen nicht überschreiten; deshalb müssen alle Erkenntnisse abgelehnt werden, welche solche «Grenzen» nicht beachten. Und man sieht wohl auch den als recht unbescheiden an, der etwas über Dinge behaupten will, von denen es vielen für ausgemacht gilt, dass sie jenseits der Grenzen menschlicher Erkenntnisfähigkeit liegen. Man lässt bei einem solchen Einwande völlig unberücksichtigt, dass der höheren Erkenntnis eben eine Entwicklung der menschlichen Erkenntniskräfte voranzugehen hat. Was vor einer solchen Entwicklung jenseits der Grenzen des Erkennens liegt, das liegt nach der Erweckung von Fähigkeiten, die in jedem Menschen schlummern, durchaus innerhalb des Erkenntnisgebietes. — Eines darf dabei allerdings nicht außer acht gelassen werden. Man könnte sagen: wozu nützt es, über Dinge zu Menschen zu sprechen, für welche ihre Erkenntniskräfte nicht erweckt sind, die ihnen also selbst doch verschlossen sind? So ist aber die Sache doch falsch beurteilt. Man braucht gewisse Fähigkeiten, um die Dinge, um die es sich handelt, aufzufinden: werden sie aber, nachdem sie aufgefunden sind, mitgeteilt, dann kann jeder Mensch sie verstehen, der unbefangene Logik und gesundes Wahrheitsgefühl anwenden will. In diesem Buche werden keine anderen Dinge mitgeteilt als solche, die auf jeden, der allseitiges, durch kein Vorurteil getrübtes Denken und rückhaltloses, freies Wahrheitsgefühl in sich wirken lässt, den Eindruck machen können, dass durch sie an die Rätsel des Menschenlebens und der Welterscheinungen auf eine befriedigende Art herangetreten werden kann. Man stelle sich nur einmal auf den Standpunkt der Frage: Gibt es eine befriedigende Erklärung des Lebens, wenn die Dinge wahr sind, die da behauptet werden? Und man wird finden, dass das Leben eines jeden Menschen die Bestätigung liefert.
[ 5 ] Um «Lehrer» auf diesen höheren Gebieten des Daseins zu sein, genügt es allerdings nicht, dass sich dem Menschen einfach der Sinn für sie erschlossen hat. Dazu gehört ebenso «Wissenschaft» auf ihnen, wie zum Lehrerberuf auf dem Gebiete der gewöhnlichen Wirklichkeit Wissenschaft gehört. «Höheres Schauen» macht ebenso wenig schon zum «Wissenden» im Geistigen, wie gesunde Sinne zum «Gelehrten» in der sinnlichen Wirklichkeit machen. Und da in Wahrheit alle Wirklichkeit, die niedere und die höhere geistige, nur zwei Seiten einer und derselben Grundwesenheit sind, so wird derjenige, der unwissend in den niederen Erkenntnissen ist, es wohl auch zumeist in höheren Dingen bleiben. Diese Tatsache erzeugt in dem, der sich — durch geistige Berufung — zum Aussprechen über die geistigen Gebiete des Daseins veranlasst fühlt, das Gefühl einer ins Unermessliche gehenden Verantwortung. Sie legt ihm Bescheidenheit und Zurückhaltung auf. Niemanden aber soll sie abhalten, sich mit den höheren Wahrheiten zu beschäftigen. Auch den nicht, dem sein übriges Leben keine Veranlassung gibt, sich mit den gewöhnlichen Wissenschaften zu befassen. Denn man kann wohl seine Aufgabe als Mensch erfüllen, ohne von Botanik, Zoologie, Mathematik und anderen Wissenschaften etwas zu verstehen; man kann aber nicht in vollem Sinne des Wortes «Mensch» sein, ohne der durch das Wissen vom Übersinnlichen enthüllten Wesenheit und Bestimmung des Menschen in irgendeiner Art nahegetreten zu sein.
[ 6 ] Das Höchste, zu dem der Mensch aufzublicken vermag, bezeichnet er als das «Göttliche». Und er muss seine höchste Bestimmung in irgendeiner Art mit diesem Göttlichen in Zusammenhang denken. Deshalb mag wohl auch die über das Sinnliche hinausgehende Weisheit, welche ihm sein Wesen und damit seine Bestimmung offenbart, «göttliche Weisheit» oder Theosophie genannt werden. Der Betrachtung der geistigen Vorgänge im Menschenleben und im Weltall kann man die Bezeichnung Geisteswissenschaft geben. Hebt man aus dieser, wie in diesem Buche geschehen ist, im besonderen diejenigen Ergebnisse heraus, welche auf den geistigen Wesenskern des Menschen sich beziehen, so kann für dieses Gebiet der Ausdruck «Theosophie» gebraucht werden, weil er durch Jahrhunderte hindurch in einer solchen Richtung angewendet worden ist.
[ 7 ] Aus der hiermit angedeuteten Gesinnung heraus wird in dieser Schrift eine Skizze theosophischer Weltanschauung entworfen. Der sie niedergeschrieben hat, will nichts darstellen, was für ihn nicht in einem ähnlichen Sinne Tatsache ist, wie ein Erlebnis der äußeren Welt Tatsache für Augen und Ohren und den gewöhnlichen Verstand ist. — Man hat es ja mit Erlebnissen zu tun, die jedem zugänglich werden, wenn er den in einem besonderen Abschnitt dieser Schrift vorgezeichneten «Erkenntnispfad» zu betreten entschlossen ist. Man stellt sich in der richtigen Art zu den Dingen der übersinnlichen Welt, wenn man voraussetzt, dass gesundes Denken und Empfinden alles zu verstehen vermag, was an wahren Erkenntnissen aus den höheren Welten fließen kann, und dass man, wenn man von diesem Verständnisse ausgeht und den festen Grund damit legt, auch einen gewichtigen Schritt zum eigenen Schauen gemacht hat; wenn auch, um dieses zu erlangen, anderes hinzukommen muss. Man verriegelt sich aber die Türe zu der wahren höheren Erkenntnis, wenn man diesen Weg verschmäht und nur auf andere Art in die höheren Welten dringen will. Der Grundsatz: erst höhere Welten anzuerkennen, wenn man sie geschaut hat, ist ein Hindernis für dieses Schauen selbst. Der Wille, durch gesundes Denken erst zu verstehen, was später geschaut werden kann, fördert dieses Schauen. Es zaubert wichtige Kräfte der Seele hervor, welche zu diesem Schauen des Sehers» führen.
Introduction
[ 1 ] When Johann Gottlieb Fichte presented his "Doctrine" in the fall of 1813 as the mature fruit of a life devoted entirely to the service of truth, he said the following right at the beginning: "This doctrine presupposes an entirely new inner sensory tool, through which a new world is given that does not exist at all for the ordinary person." And then he used a comparison to show how incomprehensible his teaching must be to those who want to judge it with the ideas of the ordinary senses: "Imagine a world of people born blind, who are therefore only aware of the things and their relationships that exist through the sense of touch. Go among them and speak to them of colors and other relationships that exist only through light and for sight. Either you speak to them of nothing, and this is the happier thing for them to say, for in this way you will soon realize the error and, if you are not able to open their eyes, you will cease to speak in vain." Now, the person who speaks of such things to people, to which Fichte points in this case, is all too often in a situation similar to that of the sighted between blind people. But these things are those which refer to man's true nature and highest goal. And so anyone who wanted to believe that it is necessary to "stop talking in vain" would have to despair of humanity. On the contrary, we must not doubt for a moment that it is possible to "open the eyes" of anyone with the good will to do so. - All those who felt within themselves that they themselves had developed the "inner sensory tool" through which they were able to recognize the true nature of man hidden from the outer senses have therefore spoken and written from this premise. Since the earliest times, such "hidden wisdom" has therefore been spoken of again and again. - Those who have grasped something of it feel its possession just as surely as those who have well-educated eyes feel the possession of color concepts. For him, therefore, this "hidden wisdom" needs no "proof". And he also knows that it can need no proof for those to whom the "higher sense" has opened up like him. He can speak to such a person just as a traveler can speak about America to those who have not seen America themselves, but who can form an idea of it because they would see everything he has seen if they had the opportunity to do so.
[ 2 ] But the observer of the supernatural should not only speak to explorers of the spiritual world. He must address his words to all people. For he has to report on things that concern all people; indeed, he knows that no one can be "human" in the true sense of the word without knowledge of these things. And he speaks to all men because he knows that there are different degrees of understanding for what he has to say. He knows that even those who are still far away from the moment when their own spiritual research is opened up to them can show him understanding. For the feeling and the understanding of the truth lie within every human being. And it is to this understanding, which can shine forth in every healthy soul, that he first turns. He also knows that there is a power in this understanding that must gradually lead to the higher degrees of knowledge. This feeling, which perhaps at first sees nothing at all of what is being spoken to it, is itself the magician who unlocks the "eye of the spirit". This feeling stirs in the darkness. The soul does not see; but through this feeling it is seized by the power of truth; and then the truth will gradually approach the soul and open its "higher sense". For some it may take a shorter time, for others a longer time; those who have patience and perseverance will reach this goal. Because even if not every person born physically blind can be operated on: every spiritual eye can be opened; and it is only a matter of time before it is opened.
[ 3 ] Academia and scientific education are not preconditions for the opening of this "higher sense". It is just as accessible to the naive person as it is to the scientifically advanced. What is often called "sole" science in the present day can often be more of a hindrance than a help to this goal. This is because this science naturally only accepts as "real" that which is accessible to the ordinary senses. And as great as its merits are for the recognition of this reality, when it declares what is necessary and beneficial for its science to be authoritative for all human knowledge, it also creates a wealth of prejudices that close off access to higher realities.
[ 4 ] There is often an objection to what is said here: man has "insurmountable limits" to his knowledge. These limits cannot be exceeded; therefore, all knowledge that does not observe such "limits" must be rejected. And anyone who wants to claim something about things that many consider to be beyond the limits of human cognition is probably also regarded as quite immodest. Such an objection completely ignores the fact that higher knowledge must be preceded by a development of human cognitive powers. What lies beyond the limits of cognition before such a development lies within the realm of cognition after the awakening of abilities that lie dormant in every human being. - However, one thing must not be ignored. One could say: what is the use of talking to people about things for which their powers of cognition have not been awakened, and which are therefore closed to them? But this is a wrong assessment of the matter. One needs certain abilities to find the things in question, but if they are communicated after they have been found, then every person can understand them who wants to apply unbiased logic and a healthy sense of truth. In this book no other things are communicated than those which can make the impression on anyone who allows all-round thinking, unclouded by prejudice, and an unreserved, free sense of truth to work in him, that through them the riddles of human life and world phenomena can be approached in a satisfactory way. Just take the standpoint of the question: Is there a satisfactory explanation of life if the things that are claimed are true? And you will find that the life of every human being provides the confirmation.
[ 5 ] In order to be a "teacher" in these higher areas of existence, however, it is not enough for a person simply to have made sense of them. This also requires "science" in them, just as science is part of the teaching profession in the field of ordinary reality. "Higher vision" does not make one a "knower" of the spiritual any more than healthy senses make one a "scholar" of sensory reality. And since in truth all reality, the lower and the higher spiritual, are but two sides of one and the same fundamental being, he who is ignorant in the lower realizations will probably remain so for the most part in higher things. This fact creates a feeling of immeasurable responsibility in those who - through spiritual vocation - feel compelled to speak about the spiritual realms of existence. It imposes modesty and restraint on him. But it should not prevent anyone from dealing with the higher truths. Not even those for whom the rest of their lives give them no reason to concern themselves with the ordinary sciences. For one can certainly fulfill his task as a human being without understanding anything about botany, zoology, mathematics and other sciences; but one cannot be "human" in the full sense of the word without having come close in some way to the nature and destiny of man revealed by the knowledge of the supernatural.[ 6 ] The highest that man is able to look up to is called the "divine". And he must think of his highest destiny in some way in connection with this divine. For this reason, the wisdom that transcends the sensual, which reveals to him his nature and thus his destiny, may well be called "divine wisdom" or theosophy. The observation of spiritual processes in human life and in the universe can be called spiritual science. If, as has been done in this book, those results which relate to the spiritual essence of man are singled out, then the term "theosophy" can be used for this field, because it has been applied in this direction for centuries.
[ 7 ] From the attitude indicated here, a sketch of theosophical worldview is sketched in this writing. He who has written it down does not want to represent anything that is not a fact for him in a similar sense as an experience of the outer world is a fact for eyes and ears and the ordinary mind. - After all, we are dealing with experiences that become accessible to everyone if they are determined to follow the "path of knowledge" outlined in a special section of this writing. One approaches the things of the supersensible world in the right way if one assumes that healthy thinking and feeling are capable of understanding everything that can flow in true knowledge from the higher worlds, and that if one starts from this understanding and lays the firm foundation with it, one has also taken an important step towards one's own vision; even if, in order to attain this, other things must be added. But one closes the door to true higher knowledge if one spurns this path and only wants to penetrate the higher worlds in other ways. The principle of not recognizing higher worlds until one has seen them is an obstacle to this seeing itself. The will to first understand through healthy thinking what can be seen later promotes this seeing. It conjures up important powers of the soul that lead to this "seeing of the seer".