Knowledge of Higher Worlds and its Attainment
GA 10
I. How is Knowledge Of The Higher Worlds Attained?
Conditions
[ 1 ] There slumber in every human being faculties by means of which he can acquire for himself a knowledge of higher worlds. Mystics, Gnostics, Theosophists—all speak of a world of soul and spirit which for them is just as real as the world we see with our physical eyes and touch with our physical hands. At every moment the listener may say to himself: that, of which they speak, I too can learn, if I develop within myself certain powers which today still slumber within me. There remains only one question—how to set to work to develop such faculties. For this purpose, they only can give advice who already possess such powers. As long as the human race has existed there has always been a method of training, in the course of which individuals possessing these higher faculties gave instruction to others who were in search of them. Such a training is called occult (esoteric) training, and the instruction received therefrom is called occult (esoteric) teaching, or spiritual science. This designation naturally awakens misunderstanding. The one who hears it may very easily be misled into the belief that this training is the concern of a special, privileged class, withholding its knowledge arbitrarily from its fellow-creatures. He may even think that nothing of real importance lies behind such knowledge, for if it were a true knowledge—he is tempted to think—there would be no need of making a secret of it; it might be publicly imparted and its advantages made accessible to all. [ 2 ] Those who have been initiated into the nature of this higher knowledge are not in the least surprised that the uninitiated should so think, for the secret of initiation can only be understood by those who have to a certain degree experienced this initiation into the higher knowledge of existence. The question may be raised: how, then, under these circumstances, are the uninitiated to develop any human interest in this so-called esoteric knowledge? How and why are they to seek for something of whose nature they can form no idea? Such a question is based upon an entirely erroneous conception of the real nature of esoteric knowledge. There is, in truth, no difference between esoteric knowledge and all the rest of man's knowledge and proficiency. This esoteric knowledge is no more of a secret for the average human being than writing is a secret for those who have never learned it. And just as all can learn to write who choose the correct method, so, too, can all who seek the right way become esoteric students and even teachers. In one respect only do the conditions here differ from those that apply to external knowledge and proficiency. The possibility of acquiring the art of writing may be withheld from someone through poverty, or through the conditions of civilization into which he is born; but for the attainment of knowledge and proficiency in the higher worlds, there is no obstacle for those who earnestly seek them.
[ 3 ] Many believe that they must seek, at one place or another, the masters of higher knowledge in order to receive enlightenment. Now in the first place, whoever strives earnestly after higher knowledge will shun no exertion and fear no obstacle in his search for an initiate who can lead him to the higher knowledge of the world. On the other hand, everyone may be certain that initiation will find him under all circumstances if he gives proof of an earnest and worthy endeavor to attain this knowledge. It is a natural law among all initiates to withhold from no man the knowledge that is due him but there is an equally natural law which lays down that no word of esoteric knowledge shall be imparted to anyone not qualified to receive it. And the more strictly he observes these laws, the more perfect is an initiate. The bond of union embracing all initiates is spiritual and not external, but the two laws here mentioned form, as it were, strong clasps by which the component parts of this bond are held together. You may live in intimate friendship with an initiate, and yet a gap severs you from his essential self, so 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 confide his knowledge to you when you are ripe for it. You may flatter him; you may torture him; nothing can induce him to betray anything to you as long as you, at the present stage of your evolution, are not competent to receive it into your soul in the right way.
[ 4 ] The methods by which a student is prepared for the reception of higher knowledge are minutely prescribed. The direction he is to take is traced with unfading, everlasting letters in the worlds of the spirit where the initiates guard the higher secrets. In ancient times, anterior to our history, the temples of the spirit were also outwardly visible; today, because our life has become so unspiritual, they are not to be found in the world visible to external sight; yet they are present spiritually everywhere, and all who seek may find them.
[ 5 ] Only within his own soul can a man find the means to unseal the lips of an initiate. He must develop within himself certain faculties to a definite degree, and then the highest treasures of the spirit can become his own.
[ 6 ] He must begin with a certain fundamental attitude of soul. In spiritual science this fundamental attitude is called the path of veneration, of devotion to truth and knowledge. Without this attitude no one can become a student. The disposition shown in their childhood by subsequent students of higher knowledge is well known to the experienced in these matters. There are children who look up with religious awe to those whom they venerate. For such people they have a respect which forbids them, even in the deepest recess of their heart, to harbor any thought of criticism or opposition. Such children grow up into young men and women who feel happy when they are able to look up to anything that fills them with veneration. From the ranks of such children are recruited many students of higher knowledge. Have you ever paused outside the door of some venerated person, and have you, on this your first visit, felt a religious awe as you pressed on the handle to enter the room which for you is a holy place? If so, a feeling has been manifested within you which may be the germ of your future adherence to the path of knowledge. It is a blessing for every human being in process of development to have such feelings upon which to build. Only it must not be thought that this disposition leads to submissiveness and slavery. What was once a childlike veneration for persons becomes, later, a veneration for truth and knowledge. Experience teaches that they can best hold their heads erect who have learnt to venerate where veneration is due; and veneration is always fitting when it flows 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 the strength to evolve to something higher. The initiate has only acquired the strength to lift his head to the heights of knowledge by guiding his heart to the depths of veneration and devotion. The heights of the spirit can only be climbed 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 turn his eyes to the light, 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, it will receive the power of attracting small bodies. This is in keeping with a law of nature. It is known to all who have learnt a little physics. Similarly, acquaintance with the first principles of spiritual science shows that every feeling of true devotion harbored in the soul develops a power which may, sooner or later, lead further on the path of knowledge.
[ 8 ] The student who is gifted with this feeling, or who is fortunate enough to have had it inculcated in a suitable education, brings a great deal along with him when, later in life, he seeks admittance to higher knowledge. Failing such preparation, he will encounter difficulties at the very first step, unless he undertakes, by rigorous self-education, to create within himself this inner life of devotion. In our time it is especially important that full attention be paid to this point. Our civilization tends more toward critical judgment and condemnation than toward devotion and selfless veneration. Our children already criticize far more than they worship. But every criticism, every adverse judgment passed, disperses the powers of the soul for the attainment of higher knowledge in the same measure that all veneration and reverence develops them. In this we do not wish to say anything against our civilization. There is no question here of leveling criticism against it. To this critical faculty, this self-conscious human judgment, this “test all things and hold fast what is best,” we owe the greatness of our civilization. Man could never have attained to the science, the industry, the commerce, the rights relationships of our time, had he not applied to all things the standard of his critical judgment. But what we have thereby gained in external culture 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 concerned with the veneration of persons but the veneration of truth and knowledge.
[ 9 ] Now, the one thing that everyone must acknowledge is the difficulty for those involved in the external civilization of our time to advance to the knowledge of the higher worlds. They can only do so if they work energetically at themselves. At a time when the conditions of material life were simpler, the attainment of spiritual knowledge was also easier. Objects of veneration and worship stood out in clearer relief from the ordinary things of the world. In an epoch of criticism ideals are lowered; other feelings take the place of veneration, respect, adoration, and wonder. Our own age thrusts these feelings further and further into the background, so that they can only be conveyed to man through his every-day life in a very small degree. Whoever seeks higher knowledge must create it for himself. He must instill it into his soul. It cannot be done by study; it can only be done through life. Whoever, therefore, wishes to become a student of higher knowledge must assiduously cultivate this inner life of devotion. Everywhere in his environment and his experiences he must seek motives of admiration and homage. If I meet a man and blame him for his shortcomings, I rob myself of power to attain higher knowledge; but if I try to enter lovingly into his merits, I gather such power. The student must continually be intent upon following this advice. The spiritually experienced know how much they owe to the circumstance that in face of all things they ever again turn to the good, and withhold adverse judgement. But this must not remain an external rule of life; rather it must take possession of our innermost soul. Man has it in his power to perfect himself and, in time, completely to transform himself. But this transformation must take place in his innermost self, in his thought-life. It is not enough that I show respect only in my outward bearing; I must have this respect in my thoughts. The student must begin by absorbing this devotion into this thought-life. He must be wary of thoughts of disrespect, of adverse criticism, existing in his consciousness, and he must endeavor straightaway to cultivate thoughts of devotion.
[ 10 ] Every moment that we set ourselves to discover in our consciousness whatever there remains in it of adverse, disparaging and critical judgement of the world and of life; every such moment brings us nearer to higher knowledge. And we rise rapidly when we fill our consciousness in such moments with thoughts evoking in us admiration, respect and veneration for the world and for life. It is well known to those experienced in these matters that in every such moment powers are awakened which otherwise remain dormant. In this way the spiritual eyes of man are opened. He begins to see things around him which he could not have seen before. He begins to understand that hitherto he had only seen a part of the world around him. A human being standing before him now presents a new and different aspect. Of course, this rule of life alone will not yet enable him to see, for instance, what is described as the human aura, because for this still higher training is necessary. But he can rise to this higher training if he has previously undergone a rigorous training in devotion. (In the last chapter of his book Theosophy, the author describes fully the Path of Knowledge; here it is intended to give some practical details.)
[ 11 ] Noiseless and unnoticed by the outer world is the treading of the Path of Knowledge. No change need be noticed in the student. He performs 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 his entire inner life is flooded by this basic feeling of devotion for everything which is truly venerable. His entire soul-life finds in this fundamental feeling its pivot. Just as the sun's rays vivify everything living, so does reverence in the student vivify all feelings of the soul.
[ 12 ] It is not easy, at first, to believe that feelings like reverence and respect have anything to do with cognition. This is due to the fact that we are inclined to set cognition aside as a faculty by itself—one that stands in no relation to what otherwise occurs in the soul. In so thinking we do not bear in mind that it is the soul which exercises the faculty of cognition; 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 like nutriment making it healthy and strong, especially strong for the activity of cognition. Disrespect, antipathy, underestimation of what deserves recognition, all exert a paralyzing and withering effect on this faculty of cognition. For the spiritually experienced this fact is visible in the aura. A soul which harbors feelings of reverence and devotion produces a change in its aura. Certain spiritual colorings, as they may be called, yellow-red and brown-red in tone, vanish and are replaced by blue-red tints. Thereby the cognitional faculty is ripened; it receives intelligence of facts in its environment of which it had hitherto no idea. Reverence awakens in the soul a sympathetic power through which we attract qualities in the beings around us, which would otherwise remain concealed.
[ 13 ] The power obtained through devotion can be rendered still more effective when the life of feeling is enriched by yet another quality. This consists in giving oneself up less and less to impressions of the outer world, and to develop instead a vivid inner life. A person who darts from one impression of the outer world to another, who constantly seeks distraction, cannot find the way to higher knowledge. The student must not blunt himself to the outer world, but while lending himself to its impressions, he should be directed by his rich inner life. When passing through a beautiful mountain district, the traveler with depth of soul and wealth of feeling has different experiences from one who is poor in feeling. Only what we experience within ourselves unlocks for us the beauties of the outer world. One person sails across the ocean, and only a few inward experiences pass through his soul; another will hear the eternal language of the cosmic spirit; for him are unveiled the mysterious riddles of existence. We must learn to remain in touch with our own feelings and ideas if we wish to develop any intimate relationship with the outer world. The outer world with all its phenomena is filled with splendor, but we must have experienced the divine within ourselves before we can hope to discover it in our environment.
The student is told to set apart moments in his daily life in which to withdraw into himself, quietly and alone. He is not to occupy himself at such moments with the affairs of his own ego. This would result in the contrary of what is intended. He should rather let his experiences and the messages from the outer world re-echo within his own completely silent self. At such silent moments every flower, every animal, every action will unveil to him secrets undreamt of. And thus he will prepare himself to receive quite new impressions of the outer world through quite different eyes. The desire to enjoy impression after impression merely blunts the faculty of cognition; the latter, however, is nurtured and cultivated if the enjoyment once experienced is allowed to reveal its message. Thus the student must accustom himself not merely to let the enjoyment reverberate, as it were, but rather to renounce any further enjoyment, and work upon the past experience. The peril here is very great. Instead of working inwardly, it is very easy to fall into the opposite habit of trying to exploit the enjoyment. Let no one underestimate the fact that immense sources of error here confront the student. He must pass through a host of tempters of his soul. They would all harden his ego and imprison it within itself. He should rather open it wide to all the world. It is necessary that he should seek enjoyment, for only through enjoyment can the outer world reach him. If he blunts himself to enjoyment he is like a plant which cannot any longer draw nourishment from its environment. Yet if he stops short at the enjoyment he shuts himself up within himself. He 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 reject him. To the world he is dead. The student of higher knowledge considers enjoyment only as a means of ennobling himself for the world. Enjoyment is to him like a scout informing him about the world; but once instructed by enjoyment, he passes on to work. He does not learn in order to accumulate learning as his own treasure, but in order that he may devote his learning to the service of the world.
[ 15 ] In all spiritual science there is a fundamental principle which cannot be transgressed without sacrificing success, and it should be impressed on the student in every form of esoteric training. It runs as follows: All knowledge pursued merely for the enrichment of personal learning and the accumulation of personal treasure leads you away from the path; but all knowledge pursued for growth to ripeness within the process of human ennoblement and cosmic development brings you a step forward. This law must be strictly observed, and no student is genuine until he has adopted it as a guide for his whole life. This truth can be expressed in the following short sentence: Every idea which does not become your ideal slays a force in your soul; every idea which becomes your ideal creates within you life-forces.
Inner Tranquility
[ 15 ] At the very beginning of his course, the student is directed to the path of veneration and the development of the inner life. Spiritual science now also gives him practical rules by observing which he may tread that path and develop that inner life. These practical rules have no arbitrary origin. They rest upon ancient experience and ancient wisdom, and are given out in the same manner, wheresoever the ways to higher knowledge are indicated. All true teachers of the spiritual life are in agreement as to the substance of these rules, even though they do not always clothe them in the same words. This difference, which is of a minor character and is more apparent than real, is due to circumstances which need not be dwelt upon here.
[ 16 ] No teacher of the spiritual life wishes to establish a mastery over other persons by means of such rules. He would not tamper with anyone's independence. Indeed, none respect and cherish human independence more than the spiritually experienced. It was stated in the preceding pages that the bond of union embracing all initiates is spiritual, and that two laws form, as it were, clasps by which the component parts of this bond are held together. Whenever the initiate leaves his enclosed spiritual sphere and steps forth before the world, he must immediately take a third law into account. It is this: Adapt each one of your actions, and frame each one of your words in such a way that you infringe upon no one's free-will.
[ 17 ] The recognition that all true teachers of the spiritual life are permeated through and through with this principle will convince all who follow the practical rules proffered to them that they need sacrifice none of their independence.
[ 18 ] One of the first of these rules can be expressed somewhat in the following words of our language: Provide for yourself moments of inner tranquility, and in these moments learn to distinguish between the essential and the non-essential. It is said advisedly: “expressed in the words of our language.” Originally all rules and teachings of spiritual science were expressed in a symbolical sign-language, some understanding of which must be acquired before its whole meaning and scope can be realized. This understanding is dependent on the first steps toward higher knowledge, and these steps result from the exact observation of such rules as are here given. For all who earnestly will, the path stands open to tread.
[ 19 ] Simple, in truth, is the above rule concerning moments of inner tranquility; equally simple is its observation. But it only achieves its purpose when it is observed in as earnest and strict a manner as it is, in itself, simple. How this rule is to be observed will, therefore, be explained without digression.
[ 20 ] The student must set aside a small part of his daily life in which to concern himself with something quite different from the objects of his daily occupation. The way, also, in which he occupies himself at such a time must differ entirely from the way in which he performs the rest of his daily duties. But this does not mean that what he does in the time thus set apart has no connection with his daily work. On the contrary, he will soon find that just these secluded moments, when sought in the right way, give him full power to perform his daily task[s]. Nor must it be supposed that the observance of this rule will really encroach upon the time needed for the performance of his duties. Should anyone really have no more time at his disposal, five minutes a day will suffice. It all depends on the manner in which these five minutes are spent.
[ 21 ] During these periods the student should wrest himself entirely free from his work-a-day life. His thoughts and feelings should take on a different coloring. His joys and sorrows, his cares, experiences and actions must pass in review before his soul; and he must adopt such a position that he may regard all his sundry experiences from a higher point of view.
We need only bear in mind how, in ordinary life, we regard the experiences and actions of others quite differently from our own. This cannot be otherwise, for we are interwoven with our own actions and experiences, whereas those of others we only contemplate. Our aim in these moments of seclusion must be so to contemplate and judge our own actions and experiences as though they applied not to ourselves but to some other person. Suppose, for example, a heavy misfortune befalls us. How different would be our attitude toward a similar misfortune had it befallen our neighbor. This attitude cannot be blamed as unjustifiable; it is part of human nature, and applies equally to exceptional circumstances and to the daily affairs of life. The student must seek the power of confronting himself, at certain times, as a stranger. He must stand before himself with the inner tranquility of a judge. When this is attained, our own experiences present themselves in a new light. As long as we are interwoven with them and stand, as it were, within them, we cling to the non-essential just as much as to the essential. If we attain the calm inner survey, the essential is severed from the non-essential. Sorrow and joy, every thought, every resolve, appear different when we confront ourselves in this way. It is as though we had spent the whole day in a place where we beheld the smallest objects at the same close range as the largest, and in the evening climbed a neighboring hill and surveyed the whole scene at a glance. Then the various parts appear related to each other in different proportions from those they bore when seen from within. This exercise will not and need not succeed with present occurrences of destiny, but it should be attempted by the student in connection with the events of destiny already experienced in the past. The value of such inner tranquil self-contemplation depends far less on what is actually contemplated than on our finding within ourselves the power which such inner tranquility develops.
[ 22 ] For every human being bears a higher man within himself besides what we may call the work-a-day man. This higher man remains hidden until he is awakened. And each human being can himself alone awaken this higher being within himself. As long as this higher being is not awakened, the higher faculties slumbering in every human being, and leading to supersensible knowledge, will remain concealed. [ 23 ] The student must resolve to persevere in the strict and earnest observation of the rule here given, so long as he does not feel within himself the fruits of this inner tranquility. To all who thus persevere the day will come when spiritual light will envelop them, and a new world will be revealed to an organ of sight of whose presence within them they were never aware.
[ 24 ] And no change need take place in the outward life of the student in consequence of this new rule. He performs his duties and, at first, feels the same joys, sorrows, and experiences as before. In no way can it estrange him from life; he can rather devote himself the more thoroughly to this life for the remainder of the day, having gained a higher life in the moments set apart. Little by little this higher life will make its influence felt on his ordinary life. The tranquility of the moments set apart will also affect everyday existence. In his whole being he will grow calmer; he will attain firm assurance in all his actions, and cease to be put out of countenance by all manner of incidents. By thus advancing he will gradually become more and more his own guide, and allow himself less and less to be led by circumstances and external influences. He will soon discover how great a source of strength is available to him in these moments thus set apart. He will begin no longer to get angry at things which formerly annoyed him; countless things he formerly feared cease to alarm him. He acquires a new outlook on life. Formerly he may have approached some occupation in a fainthearted way. He would say: “Oh, I lack the power to do this as well as I could wish.” Now this thought does not occur to him, but rather a quite different thought. Henceforth he says to himself: “I will summon all my strength to do my work as well as I possibly can.” And he suppresses the thought which makes him faint-hearted; for he knows that this very thought might be the cause of a worse performance on his part, and that in any case it cannot contribute to the improvement of his work. And thus thought after thought, each fraught with advantage to his whole life, flows into the student's outlook. They take the place of those that had a hampering, weakening effect. He begins to steer his own ship on a secure course through the waves of life, whereas it was formerly battered to and fro by these waves.
[ 25 ] This calm and serenity react on the whole being. They assist the growth of the inner man, and, with the inner man, those faculties also grow which lead to higher knowledge. For it is by his progress in this direction that the student gradually reaches the point where he himself determines the manner in which the impressions of the outer world shall affect him. Thus he may hear a word spoken with the object of wounding or vexing him. Formerly it would indeed have wounded or vexed him, but now that he treads the path to higher knowledge, he is able—before the word has found its way to his inner self—to take from it the sting which gives it the power to wound or vex. Take another example. We easily become impatient when we are kept waiting, but—if we tread the path to higher knowledge—we so steep ourselves in our moments of calm with the feeling of the uselessness of impatience that henceforth, on every occasion of impatience, this feeling is immediately present within us. The impatience that was about to make itself felt vanishes, and an interval which would otherwise have been wasted in expressions of impatience will be filled by useful observations, which can be made while waiting.
[ 26 ] Now, the scope and significance of these facts must be realized. We must bear in mind that the higher man within us is in constant development. But only the state of calm and serenity here described renders an orderly development possible. The waves of outward life constrain the inner man from all sides if, instead of mastering this outward life, it masters him. Such a man is like a plant which tries to expand in a cleft in the rock and is stunted in growth until new space is given it. No outward forces can supply space to the inner man. It can only be supplied by the inner calm which man himself gives to his soul. Outward circumstances can only alter the course of his outward life; they can never awaken the inner spiritual man. The student must himself give birth to a new and higher man within himself.
[ 27 ] This higher man now becomes the inner ruler who directs the circumstances of the outer man with sure guidance. As long as the outer man has the upper hand and control, this inner man is his slave and therefore cannot unfold his powers. If it depends on something other than myself whether I should get angry or not, I am not master of myself, or, to put it better, I have not yet found the ruler within myself. I must develop the faculty of letting the impressions of the outer world approach me only in the way in which I myself determine; then only do I become in the real sense a student. And only in as far as the student earnestly seeks this power can he reach the goal. It is of no importance how far anyone can go in a given time; the point is that he should earnestly seek. Many have striven for years without noticing any appreciable progress; but many of those who did not despair, but remained unshaken, have then quite suddenly achieved the inner victory.
[ 28 ] No doubt a great effort is required in many stations of life to provide these moments of inner calm; but the greater the effort needed, the more important is the achievement. In spiritual science everything depends upon energy, inward truthfulness, and uncompromising sincerity with which we confront our own selves, with all our deeds and actions, as a complete stranger.
[ 29 ] But only one side of the student's inner activity is characterized by this birth of his own higher being. Something else is needed in addition. Even if he confronts himself as a stranger it is only himself that he contemplates; he looks on those experiences and actions with which he is connected through his particular station of life. He must now disengage himself from it and rise beyond to a purely human level, which no longer has anything to do with his own special situation. He must pass on to the contemplation of those things which would concern him as a human being, even if he lived under quite different circumstances and in quite a different situation. In this way something begins to live within him which ranges above the purely personal. His gaze is directed to worlds higher than those with which every-day life connects him. And thus he begins to feel and realize, as an inner experience, that he belongs to those higher worlds. These are worlds concerning which his senses and his daily occupation can tell him nothing. Thus he now shifts the central point of his being to the inner part of his nature. He listens to the voices within him which speak to him in his moments of tranquility; he cultivates an intercourse with the spiritual world. He is removed from the every-day world. Its noise is silenced. All around him there is silence. He puts away everything that reminds him of such impressions from without. Calm inward contemplation and converse with the purely spiritual world fill his soul.—Such tranquil contemplation must become a natural necessity in the life of the student. He is now plunged in a world of thought. He must develop a living feeling for this silent thought-activity. He must learn to love what the spirit pours into him. He will soon cease to feel that this thought-world is less real than the every-day things which surround him. He begins to deal with his thoughts as with things in space, and the moment approaches when he begins to feel that which reveals itself in the silent inward thought-work to be much higher, much more real, than the things in space. He discovers that something living expresses itself in this thought-world. He sees that his thoughts do not merely harbor shadow-pictures, but that through them hidden beings speak to him. Out of the silence, speech becomes audible to him. Formerly sound only reached him through his ear; now it resounds through his soul. An inner language, an inner word is revealed to him. This moment, when first experienced, is one of greatest rapture for the student. An inner light is shed over the whole external world, and a second life begins for him. Through his being there pours a divine stream from a world of divine rapture.
[ 30 ] This life of the soul in thought, which gradually widens into a life in spiritual being, is called by Gnosis, and by Spiritual Science, Meditation (contemplative reflection). This meditation is the means to supersensible knowledge. But the student in such moments must not merely indulge in feelings; he must not have indefinite sensations in his soul. That would only hinder him from reaching true spiritual knowledge. His thoughts must be clear, sharp and definite, and he will be helped in this if he does not cling blindly to the thoughts that rise within him. Rather must he permeate himself with the lofty thoughts by which men already advanced and possessed of the spirit were inspired at such moments. He should start with the writings which themselves had their origin in just such revelation during meditation. In the mystic, gnostic and spiritual scientific literature of today the student will find such writings, and in them the material for his meditation. The seekers of the spirit have themselves set down in such writings the thoughts of the divine science which the Spirit has directed his messengers to proclaim to the world.
[ 31 ] Through such meditation a complete transformation takes place in the student. He begins to form quite new conceptions of reality. All things acquire a fresh value for him. It cannot be repeated too often that this transformation does not alienate him from the world. He will in no way be estranged from his daily tasks and duties, for he comes to realize that the most insignificant action he has to accomplish, the most insignificant experience which offers itself to him, stands in connection with cosmic beings and cosmic events. When once this connection is revealed to him in his moments of contemplation, he comes to his daily activities with a new, fuller power. For now he knows that his labor and his suffering are given and endured for the sake of a great, spiritual, cosmic whole. Not weariness, but strength to live springs from meditation.
[ 32 ] With firm step the student passes through life. No matter what it may bring him, he goes forward erect. In the past he knew not why he labored and suffered, but now he knows. It is obvious that such meditation leads more surely to the goal if conducted under the direction of experienced persons who know of themselves how everything may best be done; and their advice and guidance should be sought. Truly, no one loses his freedom thereby. What would otherwise be mere uncertain groping in the dark becomes under this direction purposeful work. All who apply to those possessing knowledge and experience in these matters will never apply in vain, only they must realize that what they seek is the advice of a friend, not the domination of a would-be ruler. It will always be found that they who really know are the most modest of men, and that nothing is further from their nature than what is called the lust for power.
[ 33 ] When, by means of meditation, a man rises to union with the spirit, he brings to life the eternal in him, which is limited by neither birth nor death. The existence of this eternal being can only be doubted by those who have not themselves experienced it. Thus meditation is the way which also leads man to the knowledge, to the contemplation of his eternal, indestructible, essential being; and it is only through meditation that man can attain to such knowledge. Gnosis and Spiritual Science tell of the eternal nature of this being and of its reincarnation. The question is often asked: Why does a man know nothing of his experiences beyond the borders of life and death? Not thus should we ask, but rather: How can we attain such knowledge? In right meditation the path is opened. This alone can revive the memory of experiences beyond the border of life and death. Everyone can attain this knowledge; in each one of us lies the faculty of recognizing and contemplating for ourselves what genuine Mysticism, Spiritual Science, Anthroposophy, and Gnosis teach. Only the right means must be chosen. Only a being with ears and eyes can apprehend sounds and colors; nor can the eye perceive if the light which makes things visible is wanting. Spiritual Science gives the means of developing the spiritual ears and eyes, and of kindling the spiritual light; and this method of spiritual training: (1) Preparation; this develops the spiritual senses. (2) Enlightenment; this kindles the spiritual light. (3) Initiation; this establishes intercourse with the higher spiritual beings.
Wie erlangt man Erkenntnisse der höheren Welten?
Bedingungen
[ 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.
Innere Ruhe
[ 15 ] Auf den Pfad der Verehrung und auf die Entwickelung des inneren Lebens wird der Geheimschüler im Anfange seiner Laufbahn gewiesen. Die Geisteswissenschaft gibt nun auch praktische Regeln an die Hand, durch deren Beobachtung der Pfad betreten, das innere Leben entwickelt werden kann. Diese praktischen Regeln entstammen nicht der Willkür. Sie beruhen auf uralten Erfahrungen und uraltem Wissen. Sie werden überall in der gleichen Art gegeben, wo die Wege zur höheren Erkenntnis gewiesen werden. Alle wahren Lehrer des geistigen Lebens stimmen in bezug auf den Inhalt dieser Regeln überein, wenn sie dieselben auch nicht immer in die gleichen Worte kleiden. Die untergeordnete, eigentlich nur scheinbare Verschiedenheit rührt von Tatsachen her, welche hier nicht zu besprechen sind.
[ 16 ] Kein Lehrer des Geisteslebens will durch solche Regeln eine Herrschaft über andere Menschen ausüben. Er will niemand in seiner Selbständigkeit beeinträchtigen. Denn es gibt keine besseren Schätzer und Hüter der menschlichen Selbständigkeit als die Geheimforscher. Es ist (im vorigen Kapitel) gesagt worden, das Band, das alle Eingeweihten umfaßt, sei ein geistiges, und zwei naturgemäße Gesetze bilden die Klammern, welche die Bestandteile dieses Bandes zusammenhalten. Tritt nun der Eingeweihte aus seinem umschlossenen Geistgebiet heraus, vor die Öffentlichkeit: dann kommt für ihn sogleich ein drittes Gesetz in Betracht. Es ist dieses: Richte jede deiner Taten, jedes deiner Worte so ein, daß durch dich in keines Menschen freien Willensentschluß eingegriffen wird.
[ 17 ] Wer durchschaut hat, daß ein wahrer Lehrer des Geisteslebens ganz von dieser Gesinnung durchdrungen ist, der kann auch wissen, daß er nichts von seiner Selbständigkeit einbüßt. wenn er den praktischen Regeln folgt, die ihm geboten werden.
[ 18 ] Eine der ersten dieser Regeln kann nun etwa in die folgenden Worte der Sprache gekleidet werden: «Schaffe dir Augenblicke innerer Ruhe und lerne in diesen Augenblicken das Wesentliche von dem Unwesentlichen unterscheiden.» – Es wird hier gesagt, diese praktische Regel laute so in «Worte der Sprache gefaßt». Ursprünglich werden nämlich alle Regeln und Lehren der Geisteswissenschaft in einer sinnbildlichen Zeichensprache gegeben. Und wer ihre ganze Bedeutung und Tragweite kennenlernen will, der muß erst diese sinnbildliche Sprache sich zum Verständnis bringen. Dieses Verständnis ist davon abhängig, daß der Betreffende bereits die ersten Schritte in der Geheimwissenschaft getan hat. Diese Schritte aber kann er durch die genaue Beobachtung solcher Regeln gehen, wie sie hier gegeben werden. Jedem steht der Weg offen, der ernstliches Wollen hat.
[ 19 ] Einfach ist die obige Regel bezüglich der Augenblicke der inneren Ruhe. Und einfach ist auch ihre Befolgung. Aber zum Ziele führt sie nur, wenn sie ebenso ernst und streng angefaßt wird, wie sie einfach ist. – Ohne Umschweife soll daher hier auch gesagt werden, wie diese Regel zu befolgen ist.
[ 20 ] Der Geheimschüler hat sich eine kurze Zeit von seinem täglichen Leben auszusondern, um sich in dieser Zeit mit etwas ganz anderem zu befassen, als die Gegenstände seiner täglichen Beschäftigung sind. Und auch die Art seiner Beschäftigung muß eine ganz andere sein als diejenige, mit der er den übrigen Tag ausfüllt. Das ist aber nicht so zu verstehen, als ob dasjenige, was er in dieser ausgesonderten Zeit vollbringt, nichts zu tun habe mit dem Inhalt seiner täglichen Arbeit. Im Gegenteil: der Mensch, der solche abgesonderten Augenblicke in der rechten Art sucht, wird bald bemerken, daß er durch sie erst die volle Kraft zu seiner Tagesaufgabe erhält. Auch darf nicht geglaubt werden, daß die Beobachtung dieser Regel jemandem wirklich Zeit von seiner Pflichtenleistung entziehen könne. Wenn jemand wirklich nicht mehr Zeit zur Verfügung haben sollte, so genügen fünf Minuten jeden Tag. Es kommt darauf an, wie diese fünf Minuten angewendet werden.
[ 21 ] In dieser Zeit soll der Mensch sich vollständig herausreißen aus seinem Alltagsleben. Sein Gedanken-, sein Gefühlsleben soll da eine andere Färbung erhalten, als sie sonst haben. Er soll seine Freuden, seine Leiden, seine Sorgen, seine Erfahrungen, seine Taten vor seiner Seele vorbeiziehen lassen. Und er soll sich dabei so stellen, daß er alles das, was er sonst erlebt, von einem höheren Gesichtspunkte aus ansieht. Man denke nur einmal daran, wie man im gewöhnlichen Leben etwas ganz anders ansieht, was ein anderer erlebt oder getan hat, als was man selbst erlebt oder getan hat. Das kann nicht anders sein. Denn mit dem, was man selbst erlebt oder tut, ist man verwoben; das Erlebnis oder die Tat eines anderen betrachtet man nur. Was man in den ausgesonderten Augenblicken anzustreben hat, ist nun, die eigenen Erlebnisse und Taten so anzuschauen, so zu beurteilen, als ob man sie nicht selbst, sondern als ob sie ein anderer erlebt oder getan hätte. Man stelle sich einmal vor: jemand habe einen schweren Schicksalsschlag erlebt. Wie anders steht er dem gegenüber als einem ganz gleichen Schicksalsschlage bei seinem Mitmenschen? Niemand kann das für unberechtigt halten. Es liegt in der menschlichen Natur. Und ähnlich wie in solchen außergewöhnlichen Fällen ist es in den alltäglichen Angelegenheiten des Lebens. Der Geheimschüler muß die Kraft suchen, sich selbst in gewissen Zeiten wie ein Fremder gegenüberzustehen. Mit der inneren Ruhe des Beurteilers muß er sich selbst entgegentreten. Erreicht man das, dann zeigen sich einem die eigenen Erlebnisse in einem neuen Lichte. Solange man in sie verwoben ist, solange man in ihnen steht, hängt man mit dem Unwesentlichen ebenso zusammen wie mit dem Wesentlichen. Kommt man zur inneren Ruhe des Überblicks, dann sondert sich das Wesentliche von dem Unwesentlichen. Kummer und Freude, jeder Gedanke, jeder Entschluß erscheinen anders, wenn man sich so selbst gegenübersteht. Es ist, wie wenn man den ganzen Tag hindurch in einem Orte sich aufgehalten hat und das Kleinste ebenso nahe gesehen hat wie das Größte; dann des Abends auf einen benachbarten Hügel steigt und den ganzen Ort auf einmal überschaut. Da erscheinen die Teile dieses Ortes in anderen gegenseitigen Verhältnissen, als wenn man darinnen ist. Mit gegenwärtig erlebten Schicksalsfügungen wird und braucht dies nicht zu gelingen; mit länger vergangenen muß es vom Schüler des Geisteslebens erstrebt werden. – Der Wert solcher inneren, ruhigen Selbstschau hängt viel weniger davon ab, was man dabei erschaut, als vielmehr davon, daß man in sich die Kraft findet, die solche innere Ruhe entwickelt.
[ 22 ] Denn jeder Mensch trägt neben seinem – wir wollen ihn so nennen – Alltagsmenschen in seinem Innern noch einen höheren Menschen. Dieser höhere Mensch bleibt so lange verborgen, bis er geweckt wird. Und jeder kann diesen höheren Menschen nur selbst in sich erwecken. Solange aber dieser höhere Mensch nicht erweckt ist, so lange bleiben auch die in jedem Menschen schlummernden höheren Fähigkeiten verborgen, die zu übersinnlichen Erkenntnissen führen.
[ 23 ] Solange jemand die Frucht der inneren Ruhe nicht fühlt, muß er sich eben sagen, daß er in der ernsten strengen Befolgung der angeführten Regel fortfahren muß. Für jeden, der so verfährt, kommt der Tag, wo es um ihn herum geistig hell wird, wo sich einem Auge, das er bis dahin in sich nicht gekannt hat, eine ganz neue Welt erschließen wird.
[ 24 ] Und nichts braucht sich im äußeren Leben des Geheimschülers zu ändern dadurch, daß er anfängt, diese Regel zu befolgen. Er geht seinen Pflichten nach wie vorher; er duldet dieselben Leiden und erlebt dieselben Freuden zunächst wie vorher. In keiner Weise kann er dadurch dem «Leben» entfremdet werden. Ja, er kann um so voller den übrigen Tag hindurch diesem «Leben» nachgehen, weil er in seinen ausgesonderten Augenblicken ein«höheres Leben» sich aneignet. Nach und nach wird dieses «höhere Leben» schon seinen Einfluß auf das gewöhnliche geltend machen. Die Ruhe der ausgesonderten Augenblicke wird ihre Wirkung auch auf den Alltag haben. Der ganze Mensch wird ruhiger werden, wird Sicherheit bei seinen Handlungen gewinnen, wird nicht mehr aus der Fassung gebracht werden können durch alle möglichen Zwischenfälle. Allmählich wird sich solch angehender Geheimschüler sozusagen immer mehr selbst leiten und weniger von den Umständen und äußeren Einflüssen leiten lassen. Ein solcher Mensch wird bald bemerken, was für eine Kraftquelle solche ausgesonderte Zeitabschnitte für ihn sind. Er wird anfangen, sich über Dinge nicht mehr zu ärgern, über die er sich vorher geärgert hat, unzählige Dinge, die er vorher gefürchtet hat, hören auf, ihm Befürchtungen zu machen. Eine ganz neue Lebensauffassung eignet er sich an. Vorher ging er vielleicht zaghaft an diese oder jene Verrichtung. Er sagte sich: Oh, meine Kraft reicht nicht aus, dies so zu machen, wie ich es gerne gemacht hätte. Jetzt kommt ihm nicht mehr dieser Gedanke, sondern vielmehr ein ganz anderer. Nunmehr sagt er sich nämlich: Ich will alle Kraft zusammennehmen, um meine Sache so gut zu machen, als ich nur irgend kann. Und den Gedanken, der ihn zaghaft machen könnte, unterdrückt er. Denn er weiß, daß ihn eben die Zaghaftigkeit zu einer schlechten Leistung veranlassen könnte, daß jedenfalls diese Zaghaftigkeit nichts beitragen kann zur Verbesserung dessen, was ihm obliegt. Und so ziehen Gedanke nach Gedanke in die Lebensauffassung des Geheimschülers ein, die fruchtbar, förderlich sind für sein Leben. Sie treten an die Stelle von solchen, die ihm hinderlich, schwächend waren. Er fängt an, sein Lebensschiff einen sicheren, festen Gang zu führen innerhalb der Wogen des Lebens, während es vorher von diesen Wogen hin und her geschlagen worden ist.
[ 25 ] Und solche Ruhe und Sicherheit wirken auch auf das ganze menschliche Wesen zurück. Der innere Mensch wächst dadurch. Und mit ihm wachsen jene inneren Fähigkeiten, welche zu den höheren Erkenntnissen führen. Denn durch seine in dieser Richtung gemachten Fortschritte gelangt der Geheimschüler allmählich dahin, daß er selbst bestimmt, wie die Eindrücke der Außenwelt auf ihn einwirken dürfen. Er hört zum Beispiel ein Wort, durch das ein anderer ihn verletzen oder ärgern will. Vor seiner Geheimschülerschaft wäre er auch verletzt worden oder hätte sich geärgert. Da er nun den Pfad der Geheimschülerschaft betreten hat, ist er imstande, dem Worte seinen verletzenden oder ärgerlichen Stachel zu nehmen, bevor es den Weg zu seinem Inneren gefunden hat. Oder ein anderes Beispiel. Ein Mensch wird leicht ungeduldig, wenn er warten soll. Er betritt den Pfad des Geheimschülers. Er durchdringt sich in seinen Augenblicken der Ruhe so sehr mit dem Gefühl von der Zwecklosigkeit vieler Ungeduld, daß er fortan bei jeder erlebten Ungeduld sofort dieses Gefühl gegenwärtig hat. Die Ungeduld, die sich schon einstellen wollte, verschwindet, und eine Zeit, die sonst verlorengegangen wäre unter den Vorstellungen der Ungeduld, wird vielleicht ausgefüllt von einer nützlichen Beobachtung, die während des Wartens gemacht werden kann.
[ 26 ] Nun muß man sich nur die Tragweite von alledem vergegenwärtigen. Man bedenke, daß der «höhere Mensch» im Menschen in fortwährender Entwickelung ist. Durch die beschriebene Ruhe und Sicherheit wird ihm aber allein eine gesetzmäßige Entwickelung ermöglicht. Die Wogen des äußeren Lebens zwängen den inneren Menschen von allen Seiten ein, wenn der Mensch nicht dieses Leben beherrscht, sondern von ihm beherrscht wird. Ein solcher Mensch ist wie eine Pflanze, die sich in einer Felsspalte entwickeln soll. Sie verkümmert so lange, bis man ihr Raum schafft. Dem inneren Menschen können keine äußeren Kräfte Raum schaffen. Das vermag nur die innere Ruhe, die er seiner Seele schafft. Äußere Verhältnisse können nur seine äußere Lebenslage ändern; den «geistigen Menschen» in ihm können sie nie und nimmer erwecken. – In sich selbst muß der Geheimschüler einen neuen, einen höheren Menschen gebären.
[ 27 ] Dieser «höhere Mensch» wird dann der «innere Herrscher», der mit sicherer Hand die Verhältnisse des äußeren Menschen führt. Solange der äußere Mensch die Oberhand und Leitung hat, ist dieser «innere» sein Sklave und kann daher seine Kräfte nicht entfalten. Hängt es von etwas anderem als von mir ab, ob ich mich ärgere oder nicht, so bin ich nicht Herr meiner selbst, oder noch besser gesagt : ich habe den «Herrscher in mir» noch nicht gefunden. Ich muß in mir die Fähigkeit entwickeln, die Eindrücke der Außenwelt nur in einer durch mich selbst bestimmten Weise an mich herankommen zu lassen; dann kann ich erst Geheimschüler werden. Und nur insoweit der Geheimschüler ernstlich nach dieser Kraft sucht, kann er zum Ziel kommen. Es kommt nicht darauf an, wie weit es einer in einer bestimmten Zeit bringt; sondern allein darauf, daß er ernstlich sucht. Schon manchen hat es gegeben, der jahrelang sich angestrengt hat, ohne an sich einen merklichen Fortschritt zu bemerken; viele von denen aber, die nicht verzweifelt, sondern unerschütterlich geblieben sind, haben dann ganz plötzlich den «inneren Sieg» errungen.
[ 28 ] Es gehört gewiß in mancher Lebenslage eine große Kraft dazu, sich Augenblicke innerer Ruhe zu schaffen. Aber je größer die notwendige Kraft, desto bedeutender ist auch das, was erreicht wird. Alles hängt in bezug auf die Geheimschülerschaft davon ab, daß man energisch, mit innerer Wahrheit und rückhaltloser Aufrichtigkeit sich selbst, mit allen seinen Handlungen und Taten, als ein völlig Fremder gegenüberstehen kann.
[ 29 ] Aber nur eine Seite der inneren Tätigkeit des Geheimschülers ist durch diese Geburt des eigenen höheren Menschen gekennzeichnet. Es muß dazu noch etwas anderes kommen. Wenn sich nämlich der Mensch auch selbst als ein Fremder gegenübersteht, so betrachtet er doch nur sich selbst; er sieht auf diejenigen Erlebnisse und Handlungen, mit denen er durch seine besondere Lebenslage verwachsen ist. Er muß darüber hinauskommen. Er muß sich erheben zu einem rein Menschlichen, das nichts mehr mit seiner besonderen Lage zu tun hat. Er muß zu einer Betrachtung derjenigen Dinge übergehen, die ihn als Mensch etwas angingen, auch wenn er unter ganz anderen Verhältnissen, in einer ganz anderen Lage lebte. Dadurch lebt in ihm etwas auf, was über das Persönliche hinausragt. Er richtet damit den Blick in höhere Welten, als diejenigen sind, mit denen ihn der Alltag zusammenführt. Und damit beginnt der Mensch zu fühlen, zu erleben, daß er solchen höheren Welten angehört. Es sind das Welten, über die ihm seine Sinne, seine alltägliche Beschäftigung nichts sagen können. So erst verlegt er den Mittelpunkt seines Wesens in sein Inneres. Er hört auf die Stimmen in seinem Innern, die in den Augenblicken der Ruhe zu ihm sprechen; er pflegt im Innern Umgang mit der geistigen Welt. Er ist dem Alltag entrückt. Der Lärm dieses Alltags ist für ihn verstummt. Es ist um ihn herum still geworden. Er weist alles ab, was ihn an solche Eindrücke von außen erinnert. Die ruhige Beschaulichkeit im Innern, die Zwiesprache mit der rein geistigen Welt füllt seine ganze Seele aus. – Ein natürliches Lebensbedürfnis muß dem Geheimschüler solche stille Beschaulichkeit werden. Er ist zunächst ganz in eine Gedankenwelt versenkt. Er muß für diese stille Gedankentätigkeit ein lebendiges Gefühl entwickeln. Er muß lieben lernen, was ihm der Geist da zuströmt. Bald hört er dann auch auf, diese Gedankenwelt als etwas zu empfinden, was unwirklicher sei als die Dinge des Alltags, die ihn umgeben. Er fängt an, mit seinen Gedanken umzugehen wie mit den Dingen im Raume. Und dann naht für ihn auch der Augenblick, indem er das, was sich ihm in der Stille innerer Gedankenarbeit offenbart, als viel höher, wirklicher zu fühlen beginnt als die Dinge im Raume. Er erfährt, daß sich Leben in dieser Gedankenwelt ausspricht. Er sieht ein, daß sich in Gedanken nicht bloße Schattenbilder ausleben, sondern, daß durch sie verborgene Wesenheiten zu ihm sprechen. Es fängt an, aus der Stille heraus zu ihm zu sprechen. Vorher hat es nur durch sein Ohr zu ihm getönt; jetzt tönt es durch seine Seele. Eine innere Sprache – ein inneres Wort – hat sich ihm erschlossen. Beseligt im höchsten Grade fühlt sich der Geheimschüler, wenn er diesen Augenblick zum ersten Male erlebt. Über seine ganze äußere Welt ergießt sich ein inneres Licht. Ein zweites Leben beginnt für ihn. Der Strom einer göttlichen, einer gottbeseligenden Welt ergießt sich durch ihn.
[ 30 ] Solches Leben der Seele in Gedanken, das sich immer mehr erweitert zu einem Leben in geistiger Wesenheit, nennt die Gnosis, die Geisteswissenschaft Meditation (beschauliches Nachdenken). Diese Meditation ist das Mittel zu übersinnlicher Erkenntnis. – Aber nicht schwelgen in Gefühlen soll der Geheimschüler in solchen Augenblicken. Er soll nicht unbestimmte Empfindungen in seiner Seele haben. Das würde ihn nur hindern, zu wahrer geistiger Erkenntnis zu kommen. Klar, scharf, bestimmt sollen sich seine Gedanken gestalten. Dazu wird er einen Anhalt finden, wenn er sich nicht blind an die Gedanken hält, die ihm aufsteigen. Er soll sich vielmehr mit den hohen Gedanken durchdringen, welche vorgeschrittene, schon vom Geist erfaßte Menschen in solchen Augenblicken gedacht haben. Er soll zum Ausgangspunkte die Schriften nehmen, die selbst solcher Offenbarung in der Meditation entsprossen sind. In der mystischen, in der gnostischen, in der geisteswissenschaftlichen Literatur von heute findet der Geheimschüler solche Schriften. Da ergeben sich ihm die Stoffe zu seiner Meditation. Die Geistsucher haben selbst in solchen Schriften die Gedanken der göttlichen Wissenschaft niedergelegt; der Geist hat durch seine Boten sie der Welt verkündigen lassen.
[ 31 ] Durch solche Meditation geht eine völlige Verwandlung mit dem Geheimschüler vor. Er fängt an, über die Wirklichkeit ganz neue Vorstellungen sich zu bilden. Alle Dinge erhalten für ihn einen anderen Wert. Immer wieder muß es gesagt werden: nicht weltfremd wird der Geheimschüler durch solche Wandlung. Er wird auf keinen Fall seinem alltäglichen Pflichtenkreis entfremdet. Denn er lernt einsehen, daß die geringste Handlung, die er zu vollbringen hat, das geringste Erlebnis, das sich ihm darbietet, im Zusammenhang stehen mit den großen Weltwesenheiten und Weltereignissen. Wird ihm dieser Zusammenhang durch seine beschaulichen Augenblicke erst klar, dann geht er mit neuer vollerer Kraft in seinen täglichen Wirkungskreis. Denn jetzt weiß er: was er arbeitet, was er leidet, das arbeitet, leidet er um eines großen, geistigen Weltzusammenhanges willen. Kraft zum Leben, nicht Lässigkeit quillt aus der Meditation.
[ 32 ] Mit sicherem Schritt geht der Geheimschüler durch das Leben. Was es ihm auch bringen mag, läßt ihn aufrecht schreiten. Vorher hat er nicht gewußt, warum er arbeitet, warum er leidet: jetzt weiß er dies. Einzusehen ist, daß solche Meditationstätigkeit besser zum Ziele führt, wenn sie unter Anleitung erfahrener Menschen geschieht. Solchen Menschen, die von sich aus wissen, wie alles am besten zu machen ist. Man sehe daher den Rat, die Anweisung solcher Menschen sich an. Man verliert dadurch wahrlich nicht seine Freiheit. Was sonst nur unsicheres Tappen sein kann, wird durch solche Anleitung zum zielsicheren Arbeiten. Wer sich um solche kümmert, die in dieser Richtung Wissen, Erfahrung haben, wird niemals vergeblich anklopfen. Er sei sich nur bewußt, daß er nichts anderes sucht als den Rat eines Freundes, nicht die Übermacht eines solchen, der herrschen will. Man wird immer finden, daß diejenigen, die wirklich wissen, die bescheidensten Menschen sind, und daß ihnen nichts ferner liegt als dasjenige, was die Menschen Machtgelüste nennen.
[ 33 ] Wer sich durch die Meditation erhebt zu dem, was den Menschen mit dem Geist verbindet, der beginnt in sich das zu beleben, was ewig in ihm ist, was nicht durch Geburt und Tod begrenzt ist. Nur diejenigen können zweifeln an einem solchen Ewigen, die es nicht selbst erlebt haben. So ist die Meditation der Weg, der den Menschen auch zur Erkenntnis, zur Anschauung seines ewigen, unzerstörbaren Wesenskernes führt. Und nur durch sie kann der Mensch zu solcher Anschauung kommen. Gnosis, Geisteswissenschaft sprechen von der Ewigkeit dieses Wesenskernes, von der Wiederverkörperung desselben. Oft wird gefragt, warum weiß der Mensch nichts von seinen Erlebnissen, die jenseits von Geburt und Tod liegen? Aber nicht so sollte gefragt werden. Sondern vielmehr so: wie gelangt man zu solchem Wissen? In der richtigen Meditation eröffnet sich der Weg. Durch sie lebt die Erinnerung auf an Erlebnisse, die jenseits von Geburt und Tod liegen. Jeder kann dieses Wissen erwerben; in jedem liegen die Fähigkeiten, selbst zu erkennen, selbst zu schauen, was echte Mystik, Geisteswissenschaft, Anthroposophie und Gnosis lehren. Er muß nur die richtigen Mittel wählen. Nur ein Wesen, das Ohren und Augen hat, kann Töne und Farben wahrnehmen. Und auch das Auge kann nichts wahrnehmen, wenn das Licht fehlt, das die Dinge sichtbar macht. In der Geheimwissenschaft sind die Mittel gegeben, die geistigen Ohren und Augen zu entwickeln und das geistige Licht zu entzünden. Als drei Stufen können die Mittel der geistigen Schulung bezeichnet werden: 1. Die Vorbereitung. Sie entwickelt die geistigen Sinne. 2. Die Erleuchtung. Sie zündet das geistige Licht an. 3. Die Einweihung. Sie eröffnet den Verkehr mit den Höheren Wesenheiten des Geistes.
How to gain knowledge of the higher worlds
Conditions
[ 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.
Inner peace
[ 15 ] The secret disciple is directed to the path of reverence and to the development of the inner life at the beginning of his career. Spiritual science now also provides practical rules, by observing which the path can be entered and the inner life developed. These practical rules are not arbitrary. They are based on ancient experiences and ancient knowledge. They are given in the same way wherever the paths to higher knowledge are shown. All true teachers of the spiritual life agree on the content of these rules, even if they do not always express them in the same words. The subordinate, actually only apparent difference stems from facts which are not to be discussed here.
[ 16 ] No teacher of spiritual life wants to exercise dominion over other people through such rules. He does not want to interfere with anyone's independence. For there are no better appraisers and guardians of human independence than the secret researchers. It has been said (in the previous chapter) that the bond which embraces all initiates is a spiritual one, and that two natural laws form the brackets which hold the components of this bond together. If the initiate now steps out of his enclosed spiritual realm, before the public: then a third law immediately comes into consideration for him. It is this: Arrange your every deed, your every word in such a way that you do not interfere with anyone's free will.
[ 17 ] He who has seen through the fact that a true teacher of the spiritual life is completely imbued with this attitude can also know that he loses nothing of his independence if he follows the practical rules that are offered to him.
[ 18 ] One of the first of these rules can now be expressed in the following words: "Create for yourself moments of inner peace and in these moments learn to distinguish the essential from the non-essential." - It is said here that this practical rule is "put into words of language". Originally, all rules and teachings of spiritual science are given in a symbolic sign language. And whoever wants to get to know their full meaning and scope must first understand this symbolic language. This understanding depends on the fact that the person concerned has already taken the first steps in the secret science. But he can take these steps through the exact observation of such rules as are given here. Everyone who has a serious will has the path open to them.
[ 19 ] The above rule concerning the moments of inner peace is simple. And following it is also simple. But it only leads to the goal if it is approached as seriously and rigorously as it is simple. - Without further ado, we will therefore explain how to follow this rule.
[ 20 ] The secret disciple must separate himself for a short time from his daily life in order to occupy himself during this time with something quite different from the objects of his daily occupation. And the nature of his occupation must also be quite different from that with which he fills the rest of the day. But this is not to be understood as if what he accomplishes in this separate time has nothing to do with the content of his daily work. On the contrary: the person who seeks such separate moments in the right way will soon realize that it is only through them that he receives the full strength for his daily task. Nor should it be believed that the observation of this rule can really deprive someone of time from his duties. If someone really does not have more time at his disposal, five minutes each day will suffice. It depends on how these five minutes are applied.
[ 21 ] During this time, a person should completely tear themselves away from their everyday life. His thoughts and emotions should take on a different color than they usually do. He should let his joys, his sufferings, his sorrows, his experiences, his deeds pass before his soul. And he should position himself in such a way that he sees everything that he otherwise experiences from a higher point of view. Just think of how, in ordinary life, you look at something that someone else has experienced or done quite differently from what you have experienced or done yourself. It cannot be any different. For one is interwoven with what one experiences or does oneself; one only observes the experience or deed of another. What you have to strive for in the separated moments is to look at your own experiences and deeds, to judge them as if you had not experienced or done them yourself, but as if someone else had. Imagine for a moment that someone has experienced a severe stroke of fate. How different is his attitude to this than to a completely similar stroke of fate suffered by his fellow human being? No one can consider this to be unjustified. It is part of human nature. And it is similar to such extraordinary cases in the everyday affairs of life. The secret disciple must seek the strength to face himself like a stranger at certain times. He must face himself with the inner calm of the assessor. If you achieve this, your own experiences will show themselves to you in a new light. As long as you are interwoven in them, as long as you stand in them, you are just as connected to the insignificant as you are to the essential. When you come to the inner calm of the overview, the essential separates itself from the non-essential. Sorrow and joy, every thought, every decision appear different when you face yourself in this way. It is as if one has spent the whole day in one place and has seen the smallest as closely as the largest; then in the evening one climbs a neighboring hill and looks over the whole place at once. Then the parts of this place appear in other mutual relations than when one is in it. This will not and need not succeed with presently experienced destinies; with longer past ones it must be striven for by the student of spiritual life. - The value of such inner, calm introspection depends much less on what one sees in the process than on finding within oneself the power that develops such inner calm.
[ 22 ] For every human being carries a higher human being within himself alongside his - let us call him this - everyday human being. This higher person remains hidden until it is awakened. And everyone can only awaken this higher man himself. But as long as this higher man is not awakened, the higher abilities that lie dormant in every human being and lead to supersensible knowledge remain hidden.
[ 23 ] As long as someone does not feel the fruit of inner peace, he must tell himself that he must continue to strictly follow the above-mentioned rule. For anyone who does so, the day will come when there will be spiritual light around him, when a whole new world will open up to an eye that he has not known within himself until then.
[ 24 ] And nothing needs to change in the outer life of the secret disciple because he begins to follow this rule. He goes about his duties as before; he endures the same sufferings and experiences the same joys as before. In no way can he be alienated from "life" as a result. Indeed, he can pursue this "life" all the more fully throughout the rest of the day because he acquires a "higher life" in his separate moments. Little by little this "higher life" will exert its influence on the ordinary one. The tranquillity of the secluded moments will also have an effect on everyday life. The whole man will become calmer, will gain security in his actions, will no longer be upset by all kinds of incidents. Gradually, such a budding secret disciple will become more and more self-directed, so to speak, and less guided by circumstances and external influences. Such a person will soon realize what a source of strength such separate periods of time are for him. He will begin to stop fretting about things that previously annoyed him, and countless things that he previously feared will cease to cause him anxiety. He acquires a whole new outlook on life. Before, he might have been timid about this or that task. He said to himself: Oh, my strength is not enough to do this as I would have liked. Now he no longer has this thought, but rather a completely different one. Now he says to himself: I will gather all my strength to do my job as well as I possibly can. And he suppresses the thought that could make him timid. For he knows that this very timidity could cause him to perform badly, that in any case this timidity can contribute nothing to the improvement of what is incumbent upon him. And so thought after thought enters into the secret disciple's view of life, which are fruitful and beneficial for his life. They take the place of those that were hindering and weakening. He begins to guide his ship of life on a safe, steady course within the waves of life, whereas before it was tossed to and fro by these waves.
[ 25 ] And such calm and security also have an effect on the whole human being. The inner person grows as a result. And with him grow those inner abilities that lead to higher knowledge. For through the progress he makes in this direction, the secret disciple gradually reaches the point where he himself determines how the impressions of the outside world may affect him. For example, he hears a word by which another person wants to hurt or annoy him. Before his secret discipleship, he would also have been hurt or annoyed. Now that he has entered the path of secret discipleship, he is able to take away the hurtful or angry sting of the word before it has found its way to his inner self. Or another example. A person easily becomes impatient when he has to wait. He enters the path of the secret disciple. In his moments of calm, he imbues himself so much with the feeling of the futility of much impatience that from then on, whenever he experiences impatience, he immediately has this feeling present. The impatience that was about to set in disappears, and a time that would otherwise have been lost under the ideas of impatience is perhaps filled by a useful observation that can be made while waiting.
[ 26 ] Now you only have to realize the implications of all this. Consider that the "higher man" in man is in constant development. But only the peace and security described above enables him to develop according to the law. The waves of outer life squeeze the inner man from all sides if man does not dominate this life, but is dominated by it. Such a person is like a plant that is supposed to develop in a crevice. It withers away until space is created for it. No external forces can create space for the inner man. Only the inner peace that he creates for his soul can do this. External circumstances can only change his external life situation; they can never awaken the "spiritual man" within him. - The secret disciple must give birth to a new, higher man within himself.
[ 27 ] This "higher man" then becomes the "inner ruler" who guides the relations of the outer man with a sure hand. As long as the outer man has the upper hand and leadership, this "inner" man is his slave and therefore cannot develop his powers. If it depends on something other than me whether I get angry or not, then I am not master of myself, or even better: I have not yet found the "ruler within me". I must develop within myself the ability to allow the impressions of the outside world to reach me only in a way determined by myself; only then can I become a secret disciple. And only insofar as the secret disciple seriously seeks this power can he reach his goal. It does not matter how far one gets in a certain time; but only that he earnestly seeks. There have been many who have striven for years without noticing any noticeable progress; many of those who have not despaired, but remained steadfast, have suddenly achieved "inner victory".
[ 28 ] It certainly takes a great deal of strength to create moments of inner peace in some situations in life. But the greater the necessary strength, the more significant is what is achieved. With regard to secret discipleship, everything depends on being able to face oneself energetically, with inner truth and unreserved sincerity, with all one's actions and deeds, as a complete stranger.
[ 29 ] But only one side of the inner activity of the secret disciple is characterized by this birth of the own higher man. There must also be something else. For even if man faces himself as a stranger, he still only looks at himself; he looks at those experiences and actions with which he has grown together through his particular situation in life. He must rise above this. He must rise to a pure humanity that no longer has anything to do with his particular situation. He must move on to a contemplation of those things that concerned him as a human being, even if he lived under completely different circumstances, in a completely different situation. This awakens something in him that goes beyond the personal. It directs his gaze to higher worlds than those with which everyday life brings him together. And with this, man begins to feel, to experience that he belongs to such higher worlds. These are worlds about which his senses, his everyday occupation, can tell him nothing. Only then does he transfer the center of his being into his inner being. He listens to the voices within him that speak to him in moments of tranquillity; he maintains inner contact with the spiritual world. He is removed from everyday life. The noise of everyday life has fallen silent for him. It has become quiet around him. He rejects everything that reminds him of such impressions from outside. The quiet contemplation within, the dialog with the purely spiritual world fills his whole soul. - Such quiet contemplation must become a natural need of life for the secret disciple. At first he is completely immersed in a world of thought. He must develop a living feeling for this quiet activity of thought. He must learn to love what the spirit flows towards him. Soon he will also cease to perceive this world of thoughts as something that is more unreal than the things of everyday life that surround him. He begins to deal with his thoughts as with the things in the room. And then the moment also approaches for him when he begins to feel that which reveals itself to him in the silence of inner thought-work as much higher, more real than the things in space. He experiences that life expresses itself in this world of thought. He realizes that thoughts are not mere shadow images, but that hidden entities speak to him through them. It begins to speak to him out of the silence. Before, it only sounded to him through his ear; now it sounds through his soul. An inner language - an inner word - has opened up to him. The secret disciple feels blessed to the highest degree when he experiences this moment for the first time. An inner light pours over his entire outer world. A second life begins for him. The stream of a divine, a God-blessed world pours through him.
[ 30 ] Such a life of the soul in thought, which expands more and more into a life in spiritual essence, is called meditation (contemplative reflection) by gnosis, the spiritual science. This meditation is the means to supersensible knowledge. - But the secret disciple should not indulge in feelings in such moments. He should not have vague feelings in his soul. This would only prevent him from attaining true spiritual knowledge. His thoughts should be clear, sharp and definite. He will find a guide to this if he does not blindly follow the thoughts that come to him. Rather, he should penetrate himself with the lofty thoughts which advanced men, already grasped by the spirit, have thought in such moments. He should take as his starting point the writings which themselves have sprung from such revelation in meditation. In the mystical, in the Gnostic, in the spiritual-scientific literature of today the secret disciple finds such writings. There he finds the material for his meditation. The spirit seekers themselves have laid down the thoughts of divine science in such writings; the spirit has had them proclaimed to the world through its messengers.
[ 31 ] Through such meditation a complete transformation takes place with the secret disciple. He begins to form completely new ideas about reality. All things take on a different value for him. It must be said again and again: the secret disciple does not become unworldly through such a transformation. He is in no way alienated from his everyday duties. For he learns to realize that the slightest action he has to perform, the slightest experience that presents itself to him, is connected with the great world entities and world events. Once this connection becomes clear to him through his contemplative moments, then he enters into his daily sphere of activity with new and fuller strength. For now he knows that what he works, what he suffers, he works and suffers for the sake of a great, spiritual world context. Power to live, not laxity, flows from meditation.
[ 32 ] The secret disciple goes through life with a sure step. Whatever it may bring him, it makes him walk upright. Before, he did not know why he was working, why he was suffering: now he knows. It can be seen that such meditation activity leads better to the goal if it is done under the guidance of experienced people. People who know for themselves how best to do everything. You should therefore follow the advice and instructions of such people. You really don't lose your freedom as a result. What can otherwise only be uncertain groping becomes unerring work through such guidance. Those who look to those who have knowledge and experience in this direction will never knock in vain. He should only be aware that he is seeking nothing but the advice of a friend, not the superiority of one who wants to rule. One will always find that those who really know are the most humble of men, and that nothing is further from their minds than what men call the lust for power.
[ 33 ] He who rises through meditation to that which connects man with the spirit begins to enliven that which is eternal in him, that which is not limited by birth and death. Only those who have not experienced the eternal themselves can doubt it. Meditation is therefore the path that leads people to knowledge, to the realization of their eternal, indestructible essence. And only through meditation can man come to such an insight. Gnosis and spiritual science speak of the eternity of this core of being, of its re-embodiment. It is often asked why man knows nothing of his experiences that lie beyond birth and death. But this should not be the question. Rather, how does one attain such knowledge? The path opens up in the right meditation. It revives the memory of experiences that lie beyond birth and death. Everyone can acquire this knowledge; everyone has the ability to recognize for himself, to see for himself what true mysticism, spiritual science, anthroposophy and gnosis teach. He only has to choose the right means. Only a being that has ears and eyes can perceive sounds and colors. And even the eye cannot perceive anything if the light that makes things visible is missing. In the secret science the means are given to develop the spiritual ears and eyes and to ignite the spiritual light. The means of spiritual training can be described as three stages: 1 Preparation. It develops the spiritual senses. 2. Enlightenment. It ignites the spiritual light. 3. The initiation. It opens communication with the Higher Beings of the spirit.