The Way of Initiation
GA 10
II. How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds
[ 1 ] In every man there are latent faculties by means of which he can acquire for himself knowledge of the higher worlds. The mystic, theosophist, or gnostic speaks of a soul-world and a spirit-world, which are, for him, just as real as the world which we see with our physical eyes, or touch with our physical hands. At every moment his listener may say to himself: What he speaks about I too can learn, when I have developed within myself certain powers which today lie slumbering within me. There remains only the question as to how one has to commence in order to develop within oneself such faculties. For this only those can give advice who have already developed such powers within themselves. As: long as the human race has existed, there have always been schools in which those who possessed these higher faculties gave instruction to those who were in search of them. Such are called the occult schools, and the instruction which is imparted therein is called esoteric science, or occult teaching. Such a designation naturally awakens misunderstanding. He who hears it may be very easily misled into the belief that those who work in these, schools desire to represent a special, privileged class, which arbitrarily withholds its knowledge from its fellow-creatures. Indeed, he may even think that perhaps there is nothing really important behind such knowledge. For he is tempted to think that, if it were a true knowledge, there would then be no need to make a secret about it: one might then communicate it publicly and open up its advantages to all men.
[ 2 ] Those who have been initiated into the nature of the occult knowledge are not in the least surprised that the uninitiated should so think. Only he who has to a certain degree experienced this initiation into the higher secrets of being can understand the secret of that initiation. But it may be asked: How, then, shall the uninitiated, considering the circumstances, develop any interest at all in this so-called occult knowledge? How and why ought they to search for something of whose nature they can form no idea? But such a question is based upon an entirely erroneous conception of the real nature of occult knowledge. There is, in truth, no difference between occult knowledge and all the rest of man's knowledge and capacity. This occult knowledge is no more of a secret for the average man than writing is a secret to him who has never learned to read. And just as everyone who chooses the correct method may learn to write, so too can everyone who searches after the right way become a disciple, and even a teacher. In only one respect are the conditions here different from those that apply to external thought activities. The possibility of acquiring the art of writing may be withheld from someone through poverty, or through the state of civilisation into which he has been born; but for the attainment of knowledge in the higher worlds there is no obstacle for him who sincerely reaches for it.
[ 3 ] Many believe that one has to find, here or there, the Masters of the higher knowledge, in order to receive enlightenment from them. In the first place, he who strives earnestly after the higher knowledge need not be afraid of any difficulty or obstacle in his search for an Initiate who shall be able to lead him into the profounder secrets of the world. Everyone, on the contrary, may be certain that an Initiate will find him out, under any circumstances, if there is in him an earnest and worthy endeavour to attain this knowledge. For it is a strict law amongst all Initiates to withhold from no man the knowledge that is due to him. But there is an equally strict law which insists that no one shall receive any occult knowledge until he is worthy. And the more strictly he observes these two laws, the more perfect is an Initiate. The order which embraces all Initiates is surrounded, as it were, by a wall, and the two laws here mentioned form two strong principles by which the constituents of this wall are held together. You may live in close friendship with an Initiate, yet this wall will separate him from you just as long as you have not become an Initiate yourself. You may enjoy in the fullest sense the heart, the love of an Initiate, yet he will only impart to you his secret when you yourself are ready for it. You may flatter him; you may torture him; nothing will induce him to divulge to you anything which he knows ought not to be disclosed, inasmuch as you, at the present stage of your evolution, do not understand how rightly to receive the secret into your soul.
[ 4 ] The ways which prepare a man for the reception of a secret are clearly prescribed. They are indicated by the unfading, everlasting letters within the temples where the Initiates guard the hi4her secrets. In ancient times, anterior to “history,” these temples were outwardly visible; today, because our lives have become so unspiritual, they are mostly quite invisible to external sight. Yet they are present everywhere, and all who seek may find them.
[ 5 ] Only within his soul may a man discover the means which will open for him the lips of the Initiate. To a certain high degree he must develop within himself special faculties, and then the greatest treasures of the Spirit become his own.
[ 6 ] He must begin with a certain fundamental attitude of the soul: the student of Occultism calls it the Path of Devotion, of Veneration. Only he who maintains this attitude can, in Occultism, become a disciple. And he who has experience in these things is able to perceive even in the child the signs of approaching discipleship. There are children who look up with religious awe to those they venerate. For such people they have a respect which forbids them to admit even in the innermost sanctuary of the heart any thought of criticism or opposition. Such children grow up into young men and maidens who feel happy when they are able to look up to anything venerable. From the ranks of such children are recruited many disciples.
Have you ever paused outside the door of some venerated man, and have you, on this your first visit, felt a religious awe as you pressed the handle, in order to enter the room which for you is a holy place? Then there has been manifested in you an emotion which may be the germ of your future discipleship. It is a blessing for every developing person to have such emotions upon which to build. Only it must not be thought that such qualities are the germ of submissiveness and slavery. Experience teaches us that those can best hold their heads erect who have learnt to venerate where veneration is due. And veneration is always in its place when it rises from the depths of the heart.
[ 7 ] If we do not develop within ourselves this deeply-rooted feeling that there is something higher than ourselves, we shall never find enough strength to evolve to something higher. The Initiate has only acquired the power of lifting his intellect to the heights of knowledge by guiding his heart into the depths of veneration and devotion. The heights of the Spirit can only be reached by passing through the portals of humility. You can only acquire right knowledge when you have learnt to esteem it. Man has certainly the right to gaze upon the Reality, but he must first acquire this right. There are laws in the spiritual life, as in the physical life. Rub a glass rod with an appropriate material and it will become electric, that is to say, it will receive the power of attracting small bodies. This exemplifies natural law. And if one has learnt even a little of physics, one knows this. Similarly, if one is acquainted with the first principles of Occultism, one knows that every feeling of true devotion which opens out in the soul, develops a power which may, sooner or later, lead to the Path of Knowledge.
[ 8 ] He who possesses within himself this feeling of devotion, or who is fortunate enough to receive it from his education, brings a great deal along with him, when, later in life, he seeks an entrance to the higher knowledge. But he who brings no such preparation will find himself confronted with difficulties even upon the first step of the Path of Knowledge, unless he undertakes, by rigorous self-education, to create the devotional mood within himself. In our time it is especially important that full attention be given to this point. Our civilisation tends much more towards criticism, the giving of judgments, and so forth, than toward devotion, and a selfless veneration. Our children already criticise far more than they worship. But every judgment, every carping criticism, frustrates the powers of the soul for the attainment of the higher knowledge, in the same measure that all heartfelt devotion develops them. In this we do not wish to say anything against our civilisation. It is in no way a question of passing a criticism upon it. It is just to this critical faculty, this self-conscious human judgment, this “prove all things and hold fast the good,” that we owe the greatness of our civilisation. We could never have attained to the science, the commerce, the industry, the law of our time, had we not exercised our critical faculty everywhere, had we not everywhere applied the standard of our judgment. But what we have thereby gained in external culture we have had to pay for with a corresponding loss of the higher knowledge, of the spiritual life.
[ 9 ] Now the one thing that everyone must clearly understand is that for him who is right in the centre of the objective civilisation of our time, it is very difficult to advance to the knowledge of the higher worlds. He can only do so if he works energetically within himself. At a time when the conditions of outward life were simpler, spiritual exaltation was easier of attainment. That which ought to be venerated, that which ought to be kept holy, stood out in better relief from the ordinary things of the world. In a period of criticism these ideals are lowered; other emotions take the place of veneration, respect, prayer, and wonder. Our own age continually pushes these emotions further and further back, so that in the daily life of the people they play but a very small part. He who seeks for, higher knowledge must create it within himself; he must himself instil it into his soul. It cannot be done by study: it can only be done through life. He who wishes to become a disciple must therefore assiduously cultivate the devotional mood. Everywhere in his environment he must look for that which demands of him admiration and homage. Whenever his duties or circumstances permit, he should try to renounce entirely all criticism or judgment. If I meet a man and blame him for his weakness, I rob myself of power to win the higher knowledge; but if I try to enter lovingly into his merits, I then gather such power. The disciple must continually try to follow out this advice. Experienced occultists are aware how much they owe to the continual searching for the good in all things, and the withholding of all carping criticism. This must not remain only as an external rule of life; rather must it take possession of the innermost part of our souls. We have it in our power to perfect ourselves, and by and by to transform ourselves completely. But this transformation must take place in the innermost self, in the mental life. It is not enough that I show respect only in my outward bearing toward a person; I must have this respect in my thought. The disciple must begin by drawing this devotion into his thought-life, He must altogether banish from his consciousness all thoughts of disrespect, of criticism, and he must endeavour straightway to cultivate thoughts of devotion.
[ 10 ] Every moment in which we set ourselves to banish from our consciousness whatever remains in it of disparaging, suspicious judgment of our fellow-men, every such moment brings us nearer to the knowledge of higher things. And we rise rapidly when, in such moments, we fill our consciousness only with thoughts that evoke in us admiration, respect, and veneration for men and things. He who has experience in these matters will know that in every such moment powers are awakened in man which otherwise remain dormant. In this way the spiritual eyes of a man are opened. He begins to see things around him which hitherto he was unable to see. He begins to understand that hitherto he had only seen a part of the world around him. The man with whom he comes in contact now shows him quite a different aspect from what he showed before. Of course, he will not yet, through this rule of life alone, be able to see what has elsewhere been described as the human aura, because, for that, a still higher training is necessary. But he can rise to this higher training if he has previously gone through a thorough training in devotion. [In the last chapter of the book entitled Theosophie (Berlin, C. A. Schwetschke und Sohn), Dr. Rudolf Steiner fully describes this “Path of Knowledge;” here it is only intended to give some practical details.]
[ 11 ] Noiseless and unnoticed by the outer world is the treading of the “Path of Discipleship.” It is not necessary that anyone should notice a change in the disciple. He does his duties as hitherto; he attends to his business as before. The transformation goes on only in the inner part of the soul, hidden from outward sight. At first the entire soul-life of a man is flooded by this fundamental mood of devotion for everything which is truly venerable. His entire soul-life finds in this fundamental mood its pivot. Just as the sun, through its rays, will vivify everything living, so in the life of the disciple this reverence vivifies all the perceptions of the soul.
[ 12 ] At first it is not easy for people to believe that feelings like reverence, respect, and so forth, have anything to do with their perceptions. This comes from the fact that one is inclined to think of perception as a faculty quite by itself, one that stands in no relation to what otherwise happens in the soul. In so thinking, we do not remember that it is the soul which perceives. And feelings are for the soul what food is for the body. If we give the body stones in place of bread its activity will cease. It is the same with the soul. Veneration, homage, devotion, are as nutriment which makes it healthy and strong, and especially strong for the activity of perception. Disrespect, antipathy, and under-estimation, bring about the starvation and withering of this activity. For the occultist this fact is visible in the aura. A soul which harbours the feelings of devotion and reverence, brings about a change in its aura. Certain yellowish-red or brown-red tints will vanish, and tints of bluish-red will replace them. And then the organ of perception opens. It receives information of facts in its neighbourhood of which hitherto it had no knowledge. Reverence awakens a sympathetic power in the soul, and through this we attract similar qualities in the beings which surround us, which would otherwise remain hidden. [ 13 ] More effective still is that power which can be obtained by devotion when another feeling is added. One learns to give oneself up less and less to the impressions of the outer world, and to develop in its place a vivid inward life. He who darts from one impression of the outer world to another, constantly seeks dissipations, cannot find the way to Occultism. The disciple must not blunt himself to the outer world; but rich inner life will point out the direction in which he ought to lend himself to its impressions. When passing through a beautiful mountain district, the man with depth of soul and richness of emotion has different experiences from the man with few emotions. Only what we experience within ourselves opens up the beauties of the outer world. One man sails across the ocean, and only a few inward experiences pass through his soul: but another will then hear the eternal language of the World-Spirit, and for him are unveiled the mysteries of creation.
One must have learnt to control one's own feelings and ideas if one wishes to develop any intimate relationship with the outer world. Every phenomenon in that outer World is full of divine splendour, but one must have felt the Divine within oneself before one can hope to discover it without. The disciple is told to set apart certain moments of his daily life during which to withdraw into himself, quietly and alone. But at such time he ought not to occupy himself with his own personal affairs, for this would bring about the contrary of that which he is aiming at. During these moments he ought rather to listen in complete silence to the echoes of what he has experienced, of what the outward world has told him. Then, in these periods of quiet, every flower, every animal, every action will unveil to him secrets undreamed of, and thus he will prepare himself to receive new impressions of the external world, as if he viewed it with different eyes. For he who merely desires to enjoy impression after impression, only stultifies the perceptive faculty, while he who lets the enjoyment afterwards reveal something to him, thus enlarges and educates it. But he must be careful not merely to let the enjoyment reverberate, as it were; but, renouncing any further enjoyment, rather to work upon his pleasurable experiences with an inward activity. The danger at this point is very great. Instead of working within one self, it is easy to fall into the opposite habit of afterwards trying to completely exhaust the enjoyment. Let us not undervalue the unforeseen sources of error which here confront the disciple. He must of necessity pass through a host of temptations, each of which tends only to harden his Ego and to imprison it within itself. He ought to open it wide for the whole world. It is necessary that he should seek enjoyment, for in this way only can the outward world get at him; and if he blunts himself to enjoyment he becomes as a plant which cannot any longer draw nourishment from its environment. Yet, if he stops at the enjoyment, he is then shut up within himself, and will only be something to himself and nothing to the world. However much he may live within himself, however intensely he may cultivate his Ego, the world will exclude him. He is dead to the world. But the disciple considers enjoyment only as a means of ennobling himself for the world. Pleasure is to him as a scout who informs him concerning the world, and after having been taught by pleasure he passes on to work. He does not learn in order that he may accumulate learning as his own treasure, but in order that he may put his learning at the service of the world.
[ 14 ] In all forms of Occultism there is a fundamental principle which cannot be transgressed, if any goal at all is to be reached. Every occult teacher must impress it upon his pupils, and it runs as follows: Every branch of knowledge which you seek only to enrich your own learning, only to accumulate treasure for yourself, leads you away from the Path: but all knowledge which you seek for working in the service of humanity and for the uplifting of the world, brings you a step forward. This law must be rigidly observed; nor is one a genuine disciple until he has adopted it as the guide for his whole life. In many occult schools this truth is expressed in the following short sentences. Every idea which does not become an ideal for you, slays a power in your soul: every idea which becomes an ideal creates within you living powers.
Wie erlangt man Erkenntnisse der höheren Welten?
[ 1 ] Es schlummern in jedem Menschen Fähigkeiten, durch die er sich Erkenntnisse über höhere Welten erwerben kann. Der Mystiker, der Gnostiker, der Theosoph sprachen stets von einer Seelen- und einer Geisterwelt, die für sie ebenso vorhanden sind wie diejenige, die man mit physischen Augen sehen, mit physischen Händen betasten kann. Der Zuhörer darf sich in jedem Augenblicke sagen: wovon dieser spricht, kann ich auch erfahren, wenn ich gewisse Kräfte in mir entwickele, die heute noch in mir schlummern. Es kann sich nur darum handeln, wie man es anzufangen hat, um solche Fähigkeiten in sich zu entwickeln. Dazu können nur diejenigen Anleitung geben, die schon in sich solche Kräfte haben. Es hat, seit es ein Menschengeschlecht gibt, auch immer eine Schulung gegeben, durch die solche, die höhere Fähigkeiten hatten, denen Anleitung gaben, die ebensolche Fähigkeiten suchten. Man nennt solche Schulung Geheimschulung; und der Unterricht, welcher da empfangen wird, heißt geheimwissenschaftlicher oder okkulter Unterricht. Eine solche Bezeichnung erweckt naturgemäß Mißverständnis. Wer sie hört, kann leicht zu dem Glauben verführt werden, daß diejenigen, die für solche Schulung tätig sind, eine besonders bevorzugte Menschenklasse darstellen wollen, die willkürlich ihr Wissen den Mitmenschen vorenthält. Ja, man denkt wohl auch, daß vielleicht überhaupt nichts Erhebliches hinter solchem Wissen stecke. Denn, wenn es ein wahres Wissen wäre – so ist man versucht zu denken –, so brauchte man daraus kein Geheimnis zu machen: man könnte es öffentlich mitteilen und die Vorteile davon allen Menschen zugänglich machen.
[ 2 ] Diejenigen, welche in die Natur des Geheimwissens eingeweiht sind, wundern sich nicht im geringsten darüber, daß die Uneingeweihten so denken. Worin das Geheimnis der Einweihung besteht, kann nur derjenige verstehen, der selbst diese Einweihung in die höheren Geheimnisse des Daseins bis zu einem gewissen Grade erfahren hat. Nun kann man fragen: wie soll denn der Uneingeweihte überhaupt irgendein menschliches Interesse an dem sogenannten Geheimwissen unter solchen Umständen erlangen? Wie und warum soll er etwas suchen, von dessen Natur er sich doch gar keine Vorstellung machen kann? Aber schon einer solchen Frage liegt eine ganz irrtümliche Vorstellung von dem Wesen des Geheimwissens zugrunde. In Wahrheit verhält es sich mit dem Geheimwissen nämlich doch nicht anders als mit allem übrigen Wissen und Können des Menschen. Dieses Geheimwissen ist für den Durchschnittsmenschen in keiner anderen Beziehung ein Geheimnis, als warum das Schreiben für den ein Geheimnis ist, der es nicht gelernt hat. Und wie jeder schreiben lernen kann, der die rechten Wege dazu wählt, so kann jeder ein Geheimschüler, ja ein Geheimlehrer werden, der die entsprechenden Wege dazu sucht. Nur in einer Hinsicht liegen die Verhältnisse hier noch anders als beim äußeren Wissen und Können. Es kann jemandem durch Armut, durch die Kulturverhältnisse, in die er hineingeboren ist, die Möglichkeit fehlen, sich die Kunst des Schreibens anzueignen; für die Erlangung von Wissen und Können in den höheren Welten gibt es kein Hindernis für denjenigen, der diese ernstlich sucht.
[ 3 ] Viele glauben, man müsse die Meister des höheren Wissens da und dort aufsuchen, um von ihnen Aüfschlüsse zu erhalten. Aber zweierlei ist richtig. Erstens wird derjenige, der ernstlich nach höherem Wissen trachtet, keine Mühe, kein Hindernis scheuen, um einen Eingeweihten aufzusuchen, der ihn in die höheren Geheimnisse der Welt einführen kann. Aber andererseits kann auch jeder sich klar darüber sein, daß ihn die Einweihung unter allen Umständen finden wird, wenn ernstes und würdiges Streben nach Erkenntnis vorliegt. Denn es gibt ein natürliches Gesetz für alle Eingeweihten, das sie dazu veranlaßt, keinem suchenden Menschen ein ihm gebührendes Wissen vorzuenthalten. Aber es gibt ein ebenso natürliches Gesetz, welches besagt, daß niemandem irgend etwas von dem Geheimwissen ausgeliefert werden kann, zu dem er nicht berufen ist. Und ein Eingeweihter ist um so vollkommener, je strenger er diese beiden Gesetze beobachtet. Das geistige Band, das alle Eingeweihten umfaßt, ist kein äußeres, aber die beiden genannten Gesetze bilden feste Klammern, durch welche die Bestandteile dieses Bandes zusammengehalten werden. Du magst in intimer Freundschaft mit einem Eingeweihten leben: du bist doch so lange von seinem Wesen getrennt, bis du selbst ein Eingeweihter geworden bist. Du magst das Herz, die Liebe eines Eingeweihten im vollsten Sinne genießen: sein Geheimnis wird er dir erst anvertrauen, wenn du reif dazu bist. Du magst ihm schmeicheln, du magst ihn foltern: nichts kann ihn bestimmen, dir irgend etwas zu verraten, von dem er weiß, daß es dir nicht verraten werden darf, weil du auf der Stufe deiner Entwickelung dem Geheimnis noch nicht den rechten Empfang in deiner Seele zu bereiten verstehst.
[ 4 ] Die Wege, die den Menschen reif zum Empfange eines Geheimnisses machen, sind genau bestimmte. Ihre Richtung ist mit unauslöschbaren, ewigen Buchstaben vorgezeichnet in den Geisteswelten, in denen die Eingeweihten die höheren Geheimnisse behüten. In alten Zeiten, die vor unsrer «Geschichte» liegen, waren die Tempel des Geistes auch äußerlich sichtbare; heute, wo unser Leben so ungeistig geworden ist, sind sie nicht in der Welt vorhanden, die dem äußeren Auge sichtbar ist. Aber sie sind geistig überall vorhanden; und jeder, der sucht, kann sie finden.
[ 5 ] Nur in seiner eigenen Seele kann der Mensch die Mittel finden, die ihm den Mund der Eingeweihten öffnen. Gewisse Eigenschaften muß er in sich bis zu einem bestimmten hohen Grade entwickeln, dann können ihm die höchsten Geistesschätze zuteil werden.
[ 6 ] Eine gewisse Grundstimmung der Seele muß den Anfang bilden. Der Geheimforscher nennt diese Grundstimmung den Pfad der Verehrung, der Devotion gegenüber der Wahrheit und Erkenntnis. Nur wer diese Grundstimmung hat, kann Geheimschüler werden. Wer Erlebnisse auf diesem Gebiete hat, der weiß, welche Anlagen bei denen schon in der Kindheit zu bemerken sind, welche später Geheimschüler werden. Es gibt Kinder, die mit heiliger Scheu zu gewissen von ihnen verehrten Personen emporblicken. Sie haben eine Ehrfurcht vor ihnen, die ihnen im tiefsten Herzensgrunde verbietet, irgendeinen Gedanken aufkommen zu lassen von Kritik, von Opposition. Solche Kinder wachsen zu Jünglingen und Jungfrauen heran, denen es wohltut, wenn sie zu irgend etwas Verehrungsvollem aufsehen können. Aus den Reihen dieser Menschenkinder gehen viele Geheimschüler hervor. Hast du einmal vor der Türe eines verehrten Mannes gestanden und hast du bei diesem deinem ersten Besuche eine heilige Scheu empfunden, auf die Klinke zu drücken, um in das Zimmer zu treten, das für dich ein «Heiligtum» ist, so hat sich in dir ein Gefühl geäußert, das der Keim sein kann für deine spätere Geheimschülerschaft. Es ist ein Glück für jeden heranwachsenden Menschen, solche Gefühle als Anlagen in sich zu tragen. Man glaube nur ja nicht, daß solche Anlagen den Keim zur Unterwürfigkeit und Sklaverei bilden. Es wird später die erst kindliche Verehrung gegenüber Menschen zur Verehrung gegenüber Wahrheit und Erkenntnis. Die Erfahrung lehrt, daß diejenigen Menschen auch am besten verstehen, das Haupt frei zu tragen, die verehren gelernt haben da, wo Verehrung am Platze ist. Und am Platze ist sie überall da, wo sie aus den Tiefen des Herzens entspringt.
[ 7 ] Wenn wir nicht das tiefgründige Gefühl in uns entwickeln, daß es etwas Höheres gibt, als wir sind, werden wir auch nicht in uns die Kraft finden, uns zu einem Höheren hinaufzuentwickeln. Der Eingeweihte hat sich nur dadurch die Kraft errungen, sein Haupt zu den Höhen der Erkenntnis zu erheben, daß er sein Herz in die Tiefen der Ehrfurcht, der Devotion geführt hat. Höhe des Geistes kann nur erklommen werden, wenn durch das Tor der Demut geschritten wird. Ein rechtes Wissen kannst du nur erlangen, wenn du gelernt hast, dieses Wissen zu achten. Der Mensch hat gewiß das Recht, sein Auge dem Lichte entgegenzuhalten; aber er muß dieses Recht erwerben. Im geistigen Leben gibt es ebenso Gesetze wie im materiellen. Streiche eine Glasstange mit einem entsprechenden Stoffe, und sie wird elektrisch, das heißt: sie erhält die Kraft, kleine Körper anzuziehen. Dies entspricht einem Naturgesetz. Hat man ein wenig Physik gelernt, so weiß man dies. Und ebenso weiß man, wenn man die Anfangsgründe der Geheimwissenschaft kennt, daß jedes in der Seele entwickelte Gefühl von wahrer Devotion eine Kraft entwickelt, die in der Erkenntnis früher oder später weiter führen kann.
[ 8 ] Wer in seinen Anlagen die devotionellen Gefühle hat, oder wer das Glück hat, sie durch eine entsprechende Erziehung eingepflanzt zu erhalten, der bringt vieles mit, wenn er im späteren Leben den Zugang zu höheren Erkenntnissen sucht. Wer eine solche Vorbereitung nicht mitbringt, dem erwachsen schon auf der ersten Stufe des Erkenntnispfades Schwierigkeiten, wenn er nicht durch Selbsterziehung die devotionelle Stimmung energisch in sich zu erzeugen unternimmt. In unserer Zeit ist es ganz besonders wichtig, daß auf diesen Punkt die volle Aufmerksamkeit gelenkt wird. Unsere Zivilisation neigt mehr zur Kritik, zum Richten, zum Aburteilen und wenig zur Devotion, zur hingebungsvollen Verehrung. Unsere Kinder schon kritisieren viel mehr, als sie hingebungsvoll verehren. Aber jede Kritik, jedes richtende Urteil vertreiben ebensosehr die Kräfte der Seele zur höheren Erkenntnis, wie jede hingebungsvolle Ehrfurcht sie entwickelt. Damit soll gar nichts gegen unsere Zivilisation gesagt sein. Es handelt sich hier gar nicht darum, Kritik an dieser unserer Zivilisation zu üben. Gerade der Kritik, dem selbstbewußten menschlichen Urteil, dem «Prüfet alles und das Beste behaltet», verdanken wir die Größe unserer Kultur. Nimmermehr hätte der Mensch die Wissenschaft, die Industrie, den Verkehr, die Rechtsverhältnisse unserer Zeit erlangt, wenn er nicht überall Kritik geübt, überall den Maßstab seines Urteils angelegt hätte. Aber was wir dadurch an äußerer Kultur gewonnen haben, mußten wir mit einer entsprechenden Einbuße an höherer Erkenntnis, an spirituellem Leben bezahlen. Betont muß werden, daß es sich beim höheren Wissen nicht um Verehrung von Menschen, sondern um eine solche gegenüber Wahrheit und Erkenntnis handelt.
[ 9 ] Nur das eine muß freilich sich jeder klarmachen, daß derjenige, der ganz in der veräußerlichten Zivilisation unserer Tage darinnen steckt, es sehr schwer hat, zur Erkenntnis der höheren Welten vorzudringen. Er kann es nur, wenn er energisch an sich arbeitet. In einer Zeit, in der die Verhältnisse des materiellen Lebens einfache waren, war auch geistiger Aufschwung leichter zu erreichen. Das Verehrungswürdige, das Heiligzuhaltende hob sich mehr von den übrigen Weltverhältnissen ab. Die Ideale werden in einem kritischen Zeitalter herabgezogen. Andere Gefühle treten an die Stelle der Verehrung, der Ehrfurcht, der Anbetung und Bewunderung. Unser Zeitalter drängt diese Gefühle immer mehr zurück, so daß sie durch das alltägliche Leben dem Menschen nur noch in sehr geringem Grade zugeführt werden. Wer höhere Erkenntnis sucht, muß sie in sich erzeugen. Er muß sie selbst seiner Seele einflößen. Das kann man nicht durch Studium. Das kann man nur durch das Leben. Wer Geheimschüler werden will, muß sich daher energisch zur devotionellen Stimmung erziehen. Er muß überall in seiner Umgebung, in seinen Erlebnissen dasjenige aufsuchen, was ihm Bewunderung und Ehrerbietung abzwingen kann. Begegne ich einem Menschen und tadle ich seine Schwächen, so raube ich mir höhere Erkenntniskraft; suche ich liebevoll mich in seine Vorzüge zu vertiefen, so sammle ich solche Kraft. Der Geheimjünger muß fortwährend darauf bedacht sein, diese Anleitung zu befolgen. Erfahrene Geheimforscher wissen, was sie für eine Kraft dem Umstande verdanken, daß sie immer wieder allen Dingen gegenüber auf das Gute sehen und mit dem richtenden Urteile zurückhalten. Aber dies darf nicht eine äußerliche Lebensregel bleiben. Sondern es muß von dem Innersten unsrer Seele Besitz ergreifen. Der Mensch hat es in seiner Hand, sich selbst zu vervollkommnen, sich mit der Zeit ganz zu verwandeln. Aber es muß sich diese Umwandlung in seinem Innersten, in seinem Gedankenleben vollziehen. Es genügt nicht, daß ich äußerlich in meinem Verhalten Achtung gegenüber einem Wesen zeige. Ich muß diese Achtung in meinen Gedanken haben. Damit muß der Geheimschüler beginnen, daß er die Devotion in sein Gedankenleben aufnimmt. Er muß auf die Gedanken der Unehrerbietung, der abfälligen Kritik in seinem Bewußtsein achten. Und er muß geradezu suchen, in sich Gedanken der Devotion zu pflegen.
[ 10 ] Jeder Augenblick, in dem man sich hinsetzt, um gewahr zu werden in seinem Bewußtsein, was in einem steckt an abfälligen, richtenden, kritischen Urteilen über Welt und Leben: – jeder solcher Augenblick bringt uns der höheren Erkenntnis näher. Und wir steigen rasch auf, wenn wir in solchen Augenblicken unser Bewußtsein nur erfüllen mit Gedanken, die uns mit Bewunderung, Achtung, Verehrung gegenüber Welt und Leben erfüllen. Wer in diesen Dingen Erfahrung hat, der weiß, daß in jedem solchen Augenblicke Kräfte in dem Menschen erweckt werden, die sonst schlummernd bleiben. Es werden dadurch dem Menschen die geistigen Augen geöffnet. Er fängt dadurch an, Dinge um sich herum zu sehen, die er früher nicht hat sehen können. Er fängt an zu begreifen, daß er vorher nur einen Teil der ihn umgebenden Welt gesehen hat. Der Mensch, der ihm gegenübertritt, zeigt ihm jetzt eine ganz andere Gestalt als vorher. Zwar wird er durch diese Lebensregel noch nicht imstande sein, schon das zu sehen, was zum Beispiel als die menschliche Aura beschrieben wird. Denn dazu ist eine noch höhere Schulung nötig. Aber eben zu dieser höheren Schulung kann er aufsteigen, wenn er vorher eine energische Schulung in Devotion durchgemacht hat. 1In übersichtlicher Art findet man den «Pfad der Erkenntnis» im letzten Abschnitt meiner «Theosophie Einführung in ubersinnliche Weltanshauung und Menschenbestimmung». Hier sollen im einzelnen praktische Gesichtspunkte angegeben werden.
[ 11 ] Geräuschlos und unbemerkt von der äußeren Welt vollzieht sich das Betreten des «Erkenntnispfades» durch den Geheimschüler. Niemand braucht an ihm eine Veränderung wahrzunehmen. Er tut seine Pflichten wie vorher; er besorgt seine Geschäfte wie ehedem. Die Verwandlung geht lediglich mit der inneren Seite der Seele vor sich, die dem äußeren Auge entzogen ist. Zunächst überstrahlt das ganze Gemütsleben des Menschen die eine Grundstimmung der Devotion gegenüber allem wahrhaft Ehrwürdigen. In diesem einen Grundgefühle findet sein ganzes Seelenleben den Mittelpunkt. Wie die Sonne durch ihre Strahlen alles Lebendige belebt, so belebt beim Geheimschüler die Verehrung alle Empfindungen der Seele.
[ 12 ] Es wird dem Menschen anfangs nicht leicht, zu glauben, daß Gefühle wie Ehrerbietung, Achtung und so weiter etwas mit seiner Erkenntnis zu tun haben. Dies rührt davon her, daß man geneigt ist, die Erkenntnis als eine Fähigkeit für sich hinzustellen, die mit dem in keiner Verbindung steht, was sonst in der Seele vorgeht. Man bedenkt dabei aber nicht, daß die Seele es ist, welche erkennt. Und für die Seele sind Gefühle das, was für den Leib die Stoffe sind, welche seine Nahrung ausmachen. Wenn man dem Leibe Steine statt Brot gibt, so erstirbt seine Tätigkeit. Ähnlich ist es mit der Seele. Für sie sind Verehrung, Achtung, Devotion nährende Stoffe, die sie gesund, kräftig machen; vor allem kräftig zur Tätigkeit des Erkennens. Mißachtung, Antipathie, Unterschätzung des Anerkennenswerten bewirken Lähmung und Ersterben der erkennenden Tätigkeit. – Für den Geistesforscher ist diese Tatsache an der Aura ersichtlich. Eine Seele, die sich verehrende, devotionelle Gefühle aneignet, bewirkt eine Veränderung ihrer Aura. Gewisse als gelbrote, braunrote zu bezeichnende geistige Farbentöne verschwinden und werden durch blaurote ersetzt. Dadurch aber öffnet sich das Erkenntnisvermögen; es empfängt Kunde von Tatsachen in seiner Umgebung, von denen es vorher keine Ahnung hatte. Die Verehrung weckt eine sympathische Kraft in der Seele, und durch diese werden Eigenschaften der uns umgebenden Wesen von uns angezogen, die sonst verborgen bleiben.
[ 13 ] Wirksamer noch wird das, was durch die Devotion zu erreichen ist, wenn eine andere Gefühlsart hinzukommt. Sie besteht darinnen, daß der Mensch lernt, sich immer weniger den Eindrücken der Außenwelt hinzugeben, und dafür ein reges Innenleben entwickelt. Ein Mensch, der von einem Eindruck der Außenwelt zu dem andern jagt, der stets nach «Zerstreuung» sucht, findet nicht den Weg zur Geheimwissenschaft. Nicht abstumpfen soll sich der Geheimschüler für die Außenwelt; aber sein reiches Innenleben soll ihm die Richtung geben, in der er sich ihren Eindrücken hingibt. Wenn ein gefühlsreicher und gemütstiefer Mensch durch eine schöne Gebirgslandschaft geht, erlebt er anderes als ein gefühlsarmer. Erst was wir im Innern erleben, gibt uns den Schlüssel zu den Schönheiten der Außenwelt. Der eine fährt über das Meer, und nur wenig innere Erlebnisse ziehen durch seine Seele; der andere empfindet dabei die ewige Sprache des Weltgeistes; ihm enthüllen sich geheime Rätsel der Schöpfung. Man muß gelernt haben, mit seinen eigenen Gefühlen, Vorstellungen umzugehen, wenn man ein inhaltvolles Verhältnis zur Außenwelt entwickeln will. Die Außenwelt ist in allen ihren Erscheinungen erfüllt von göttlicher Herrlichkeit; aber man muß das Göttliche erst in seiner Seele selbst erlebt haben, wenn man es in der Umgebung finden will. – Der Geheimschüler wird darauf verwiesen, sich Augenblicke in seinem Leben zu schaffen, in denen er still und einsam sich in sich selbst versenkt. Nicht den Angelegenheiten seines eigenen Ich aber soll er sich in solchen Augenblicken hingeben. Das würde das Gegenteil von dem bewirken, was beabsichtigt ist. Er soll vielmehr in solchen Augenblicken in aller Stille nachklingen lassen, was er erlebt hat, was ihm die äußere Welt gesagt hat. Jede Blume, jedes Tier, jede Handlung wird ihm in solchen stillen Augenblicken ungeahnte Geheimnisse enthüllen. Und er wird vorbereitet dadurch, neue Eindrücke der Außenwelt mit ganz anderen Augen zu sehen als vorher. Wer nur Eindruck nach Eindruck genießen will, stumpft sein Erkenntnisvermögen ab. Wer, nach dem Genusse, sich von dem Genusse etwas offenbaren läßt, der pflegt und erzieht sein Erkenntnisvermögen. Er muß sich nur daran gewöhnen, nicht etwa nur den Genuß nachklingen zu lassen, sondern, mit Verzicht auf weiteren Genuß, das Genossene durch innere Tätigkeit zu verarbeiten. Die Klippe ist hier eine sehr große, die Gefahr bringt. Statt in sich zu arbeiten, kann man leicht in das Gegenteil verfallen und den Genuß nur hinterher noch völlig ausschöpfen wollen. Man unterschätze nicht, daß sich hier unabsehbare Quellen des Irrtums für den Geheimschüler eröffnen. Er muß ja hindurch zwischen einer Schar von Verführern seiner Seele. Sie alle wollen sein «Ich» verhärten, in sich selbst verschließen. Er aber soll es aufschließen für die Welt. Er muß ja den Genuß suchen; denn nur durch ihn kommt die Außenwelt an ihn heran. Stumpft er sich gegen den Genuß ab, so wird er wie eine Pflanze, die aus ihrer Umgebung keine Nahrungsstoffe mehr an sich ziehen kann. Bleibt er aber beim Genusse stehen, so verschließt er sich in sich selbst. Er wird nur etwas für sich, nichts für die Welt bedeuten. Mag er in sich dann noch so sehr leben, mag er sein «Ich» noch so stark pflegen: die Welt scheidet ihn aus. Für sie ist er tot. Der Geheimschüler betrachtet den Genuß nur als ein Mittel, um sich für die Welt zu veredeln. Der Genuß ist ihm ein Kundschafter, der ihn unterrichtet über die Welt; aber er schreitet nach dem Unterricht durch den Genuß zur Arbeit vorwärts. Er lernt nicht, um das Gelernte als seine Wissensschätze aufzuhäufen, sondern um das Gelernte in den Dienst der Welt zu stellen.
[ 14 ] Es ist ein Grundsatz in aller Geheimwissenschaft, der nicht übertreten werden darf, wenn irgendein Ziel erreicht werden soll. Jede Geheimschulung muß ihn dem Schüler einprägen. Er heißt: Jede Erkenntnis, die du suchst, nur um dein Wissen zu bereichern, nur um Schätze in dir anzuhäufen, führt dich ab von deinem Wege; jede Erkenntnis aber, die du suchst, um reifer zu werden auf dem Wege der Menschenveredelung und der Weltenentwickelung, die bringt dich einen Schritt vorwärts. Dieses Gesetz fordert unerbittlich seine Beobachtung. Und man ist nicht früher Geheimschüler, ehe man dieses Gesetz zur Richtschnur seines Lebens gemacht hat. Man kann diese Wahrheit der geistigen Schulung in den kurzen Satz zusammenfassen: Jede Idee, die dir nicht zum Ideal wird, ertötet in deiner Seele eine Kraft; jede Idee, die aber zum Ideal wird, erschafft in dir Lebenskräfte.
How to Gain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds
[ 1 ] There are dormant abilities in every human being through which he can acquire knowledge of higher worlds. The mystic, the gnostic, the theosophist always spoke of a soul world and a spirit world, which for them are just as present as the one that can be seen with physical eyes and touched with physical hands. The listener may say to himself at any moment: I can also experience what he is talking about if I develop certain powers in myself that are still dormant in me today. It can only be a question of how to begin to develop such abilities within oneself. Only those who already have such powers within them can give guidance. For as long as there has been a human race, there has always been a training through which those who had higher abilities gave guidance to those who sought such abilities. Such training is called secret training; and the instruction received is called secret scientific or occult instruction. Such a designation naturally arouses misunderstanding. Those who hear it can easily be misled into believing that those who are active in such training want to represent a particularly privileged class of people who arbitrarily withhold their knowledge from their fellow human beings. Indeed, one might even think that perhaps there is nothing significant behind such knowledge at all. For if it were true knowledge - one is tempted to think - there would be no need to make a secret of it: it could be shared publicly and the benefits made available to everyone.
[ 2 ] Those who are initiated into the nature of secret knowledge are not in the least surprised that the uninitiated think so. What the secret of initiation consists of can only be understood by those who have themselves experienced this initiation into the higher mysteries of existence to a certain degree. Now one can ask: how is the uninitiated supposed to gain any human interest at all in the so-called secret knowledge under such circumstances? How and why should he seek something of whose nature he has no idea at all? But even such a question is based on a completely erroneous idea of the nature of secret knowledge. In truth, secret knowledge is no different from all other knowledge and abilities of man. This secret knowledge is not a secret for the average person in any other respect than why writing is a secret for those who have not learned it. And just as anyone can learn to write who chooses the right ways to do so, so anyone can become a secret student, indeed a secret teacher, who seeks the right ways to do so. There is only one respect in which the situation is different from that of external knowledge and ability. Someone may lack the opportunity to acquire the art of writing through poverty, through the cultural conditions into which he was born; there is no obstacle to the attainment of knowledge and skill in the higher worlds for those who earnestly seek them.
[ 3 ] Many believe that one must seek out the masters of higher knowledge here and there in order to gain insights from them. But two things are true. Firstly, those who earnestly seek higher knowledge will spare no effort, no obstacle, to seek out an initiate who can introduce them to the higher mysteries of the world. But on the other hand, everyone can also be sure that initiation will find him under all circumstances if there is a serious and worthy striving for knowledge. For there is a natural law for all initiates which induces them not to withhold from any seeker a knowledge due to him. But there is an equally natural law which says that no one can be given any of the secret knowledge to which he is not called. And an initiate is all the more perfect the more strictly he observes these two laws. The spiritual bond that embraces all initiates is not an external one, but the two laws mentioned form firm clasps by which the components of this bond are held together. You may live in intimate friendship with an initiate: yet you are separated from his being until you yourself have become an initiate. You may enjoy the heart, the love of an initiate in the fullest sense: he will only confide his secret to you when you are ready. You may flatter him, you may torture him: nothing can determine him to reveal anything to you that he knows must not be revealed to you, because at the stage of your development you do not yet know how to give the secret the right reception in your soul.
[ 4 ] The paths that make man ripe to receive a secret are precisely defined. Their direction is marked out in indelible, eternal letters in the spiritual worlds in which the initiates guard the higher secrets. In ancient times, which lie before our "history", the temples of the spirit were also outwardly visible; today, when our life has become so unspiritual, they are not present in the world that is visible to the outer eye. But they are spiritually everywhere; and anyone who seeks can find them.
[ 5 ] Only in his own soul can man find the means to open the mouth of the Initiates. He must develop certain qualities in himself to a certain high degree, then the highest spiritual treasures can be bestowed upon him.
[ 6 ] A certain basic mood of the soul must form the beginning. The secret scientist calls this basic mood the path of reverence, of devotion to truth and knowledge. Only those who have this basic mood can become secret disciples. Those who have had experiences in this area know which dispositions are already noticeable in those in childhood who later become secret disciples. There are children who look up to certain people they admire with holy awe. They have a reverence for them that forbids them in the depths of their hearts to allow any thought of criticism or opposition to arise. Such children grow up to be young boys and virgins who feel good when they can look up to something revered. Many secret disciples emerge from the ranks of these human children. If you have ever stood at the door of a revered man and felt a holy shyness on your first visit to press the door handle to enter the room that is a "sanctuary" for you, a feeling has been expressed in you that may be the seed for your later secret discipleship. It is fortunate for every growing human being to carry such feelings within him as a disposition. Just don't think that such dispositions form the seed of submissiveness and slavery. Later, the first childlike reverence for people becomes reverence for truth and knowledge. Experience teaches that those people who have learned to worship where worship is appropriate know best how to carry their heads freely. And it is appropriate wherever it springs from the depths of the heart.
[ 7 ] If we do not develop the profound feeling within us that there is something higher than we are, we will not find within ourselves the strength to evolve upwards to something higher. The initiate has only acquired the power to raise his head to the heights of knowledge by leading his heart into the depths of reverence, of devotion. The heights of the spirit can only be scaled by passing through the gate of humility. You can only attain true knowledge if you have learned to respect this knowledge. Man certainly has the right to turn his eye to the light; but he must acquire this right. There are laws in spiritual life just as there are in material life. Paint a glass rod with a corresponding substance and it becomes electric, that is, it acquires the power to attract small bodies. This corresponds to a law of nature. If you have learned a little physics, you know this. And likewise, if you know the basics of the secret science, you know that every feeling of true devotion developed in the soul develops a force that can sooner or later lead further in knowledge.
[ 8 ] He who has the devotional feelings in his disposition, or who has the good fortune to have them implanted through an appropriate education, brings much with him when he seeks access to higher knowledge in later life. Those who are not prepared in this way will already encounter difficulties on the first stage of the path of knowledge if they do not energetically undertake to create the devotional mood within themselves through self-education. In our time it is particularly important that full attention be paid to this point. Our civilization tends more to criticism, to judging, to condemning and less to devotion, to devoted worship. Our children already criticize much more than they devoutly worship. But every criticism, every judging judgment drives away the soul's powers of higher knowledge just as much as every devotional reverence develops them. This is not to say anything against our civilization. It is not a question here of criticizing our civilization. We owe the greatness of our culture precisely to criticism, to self-confident human judgment, to "test everything and keep what is best". Man would never have attained the science, the industry, the traffic, the legal relations of our time if he had not exercised criticism everywhere, if he had not applied the standard of his judgment everywhere. But what we have gained in external culture as a result, we have had to pay for with a corresponding loss of higher knowledge, of spiritual life. It must be emphasized that higher knowledge is not a matter of worshipping people, but of worshipping truth and knowledge.
[ 9 ] Of course, there is only one thing that everyone must realize: that those who are completely immersed in the externalized civilization of our day find it very difficult to penetrate to the knowledge of the higher worlds. He can only do so if he works energetically on himself. At a time when the conditions of material life were simpler, spiritual advancement was also easier to achieve. That which was worthy of reverence, that which was to be held sacred, stood out more from the rest of the world. In a critical age, the ideals are pulled down. Other feelings take the place of reverence, awe, adoration and admiration. Our age pushes these feelings back more and more, so that they are only supplied to man to a very small degree by everyday life. He who seeks higher knowledge must generate it within himself. He must instill it into his soul himself. This cannot be done through study. It can only be done through life. Whoever wants to become a secret disciple must therefore energetically educate himself to the devotional mood. He must seek out everywhere in his surroundings, in his experiences, that which can compel his admiration and reverence. If I meet a person and reproach his weaknesses, I rob myself of a higher power of knowledge; if I lovingly seek to immerse myself in his merits, I gather such power. The secret disciple must always be careful to follow this instruction. Experienced secret-disciples know what strength they owe to the fact that they always look at the good in all things and withhold judgment. But this must not remain an external rule of life. Rather, it must take possession of the innermost part of our soul. Man has it in his power to perfect himself, to transform himself completely over time. But this transformation must take place in his innermost being, in his thought life. It is not enough that I outwardly show respect for a being in my behavior. I must have this respect in my thoughts. The secret disciple must begin by incorporating devotion into his thought life. He must pay attention to the thoughts of disrespect, of derogatory criticism in his consciousness. And he must seek to cultivate thoughts of devotion within himself.
[ 10 ] Every moment in which one sits down to become aware in one's consciousness of the derogatory, judgmental, critical judgments about the world and life - every such moment brings us closer to higher knowledge. And we rise quickly if in such moments we fill our consciousness only with thoughts that fill us with admiration, respect, reverence for the world and life. Whoever has experience in these things knows that in every such moment powers are awakened in man which otherwise remain dormant. Through this man's spiritual eyes are opened. He begins to see things around him that he could not see before. He begins to realize that he has previously only seen a part of the world around him. The person who confronts him now shows him a completely different form than before. It is true that through this rule of life he will not yet be able to see what is described as the human aura, for example. For this requires even higher training. But he can ascend to this higher training if he has previously undergone an energetic training in devotion. 1The "Path of Knowledge" can be found in a clear form in the last section of my "Theosophy - Introduction to the Supersensible Approach to the World and the Destiny of Man". Practical points of view will be given here in detail.
[ 11 ] The secret disciple enters the "path of knowledge" silently and unnoticed by the outside world. No one needs to notice any change in him. He does his duties as before; he goes about his business as before. The transformation only takes place with the inner side of the soul, which is hidden from the outer eye. At first, the whole emotional life of man is overshadowed by the one basic mood of devotion to all that is truly honorable. In this one basic feeling his whole soul life finds its center. Just as the sun enlivens all living things with its rays, so in the secret disciple devotion enlivens all the feelings of the soul.
[ 12 ] At first it is not easy for people to believe that feelings such as reverence, respect and so on have anything to do with their knowledge. This is due to the fact that we are inclined to regard cognition as a faculty in itself which has no connection with what else is going on in the soul. However, one does not consider that it is the soul that recognizes. And feelings are to the soul what substances are to the body, which make up its food. If you give the body stones instead of bread, its activity dies out. It is similar with the soul. For it, reverence, respect, devotion are nourishing substances that make it healthy, strong; above all, strong for the activity of cognition. Disregard, antipathy, underestimation of what is worthy of recognition cause paralysis and the death of cognitive activity. - For the spiritual researcher this fact is evident in the aura. A soul that acquires worshipful, devotional feelings causes a change in its aura. Certain spiritual colors, which can be described as yellow-red, brown-red, disappear and are replaced by blue-red. This, however, opens up the cognitive faculty; it receives knowledge of facts in its surroundings of which it previously had no idea. Worship awakens a sympathetic force in the soul, and through this we are attracted to the qualities of the beings around us that would otherwise remain hidden.
[ 13 ] What can be achieved through devotion becomes even more effective when another type of feeling is added. It consists in the fact that a person learns to give himself less and less to the impressions of the outside world and instead develops a lively inner life. A person who chases from one impression of the outside world to another, who is always looking for "distraction", will not find the path to the secret science. The student of the secret science should not become dull to the outside world; but his rich inner life should give him the direction in which he devotes himself to its impressions. When an emotional and cozy person walks through a beautiful mountain landscape, he experiences something different than an emotional person. Only what we experience inside gives us the key to the beauty of the outside world. One person travels across the sea and only a few inner experiences pass through his soul; the other feels the eternal language of the world spirit; secret riddles of creation are revealed to him. One must have learned to deal with one's own feelings and ideas if one wants to develop a meaningful relationship with the outside world. The outer world is filled with divine glory in all its manifestations; but one must first have experienced the divine in one's own soul if one wants to find it in one's surroundings. - The secret disciple is instructed to create moments in his life in which he immerses himself in himself in silence and solitude. However, he should not devote himself to the affairs of his own self in such moments. That would have the opposite effect of what is intended. Rather, in such moments, he should let what he has experienced, what the outer world has told him, resonate in silence. Every flower, every animal, every action will reveal unsuspected secrets to him in such quiet moments. And he will be prepared to see new impressions of the outside world with completely different eyes than before. He who only wants to enjoy impression after impression dulls his cognitive faculty. He who, after enjoyment, allows himself to reveal something of the enjoyment, cultivates and educates his cognitive faculty. He must only accustom himself not merely to let the pleasure linger, but, without further pleasure, to process what he has enjoyed through inner activity. The cliff here is a very large one that brings danger. Instead of working within oneself, one can easily fall into the opposite and only want to fully exhaust the pleasure afterwards. It should not be underestimated that incalculable sources of error open up here for the secret disciple. After all, he must pass between a host of seducers of his soul. They all want to harden his "I", to close it up within himself. But he is to open it up to the world. He must seek pleasure; for only through it does the outside world come to him. If he blunts himself against pleasure, he becomes like a plant that can no longer draw nourishment from its surroundings. But if he stops at pleasure, he closes in on himself. He will only mean something for himself and nothing for the world. No matter how much he lives within himself, no matter how much he cultivates his "I": the world excludes him. He is dead to it. The secret disciple regards enjoyment only as a means to ennoble himself for the world. Pleasure is a scout who teaches him about the world; but after being taught by pleasure, he advances to work. He does not learn in order to accumulate what he has learned as his treasures of knowledge, but in order to put what he has learned at the service of the world.
[ 14 ] It is a principle in all secret science that must not be transgressed if any goal is to be achieved. Every secret training must impress it upon the student. It says: Any knowledge which you seek only to enrich your knowledge, only to accumulate treasures within you, leads you astray from your path; but every knowledge which you seek in order to become more mature on the path of human ennoblement and world development, brings you one step forward. This law demands relentless observation. And one is not a secret disciple until one has made this law the guiding principle of one's life. This truth of spiritual training can be summarized in the short sentence: Every idea that does not become an ideal for you kills a force in your soul; but every idea that becomes an ideal creates life forces in you.