The Rudolf Steiner Archive

16. The Christ Thought and Its Relation to Egyptian and Buddhist Spiritual Life

[ 1 ] Highly Esteemed Attendees!

[ 2 ] Before I move on to my next topic, I would like to take up a few remarks that have been made with regard to the recent lecture and the whole approach in general. I would like to take up two facts of recent spiritual development and show what our task here actually is. I would like to show, if this task is grasped, how from the deepest grasp of the mystical and theosophical content of the most diverse - I am not just saying religious systems, but - world teachings, how from this content emerges the actual consciousness that man has to form in the course of his life. I would therefore like to refer to two events in the lives of important people from the last period of the development of spiritual life who, at a certain moment in their lives, recognized that there is a higher, an upward ascent, that knowledge is not something that can be presented to us once and for all in a certain form, but that it is nothing other than the treading of a path that opens up the perspective towards the eternal.

[ 3 ] It must have been a great moment when the German philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte expressed his consciousness in Jena with strong power and deeply penetrating words at the moment when what is called the actual spiritual layer of consciousness was revealed. This is not understood by the historians of philosophy.

[ 4 ] I would like to quote here the words he spoke to his disciples at that time: "That which is called death cannot abort my work; for my work is to be completed, and it cannot be completed in any time, therefore no time is appointed for my existence - and I am eternal. By taking on this great task, I have usurped eternity. I lift my head boldly up to the threatening rocky mountains and to the raging torrent of water and to the striving clouds swimming in a sea of fire, and say: "I am eternal, and I defy your power! All of you come down upon me; and you earth and you sky, mingle in the wild tumult! And all of you elements - froth and rage and in the wild battle, crush the last speck of sunlight from the body that I call mine! My will alone with its firm plan shall hover boldly and coldly above the ruins of the universe; for I have seized my destiny, and it is more permanent than you; it is eternal, and I am eternal, like it."

[ 5 ] This is one fact that expresses the effect that is exerted on a person who is imbued with the conviction that he has entered infinity with knowledge, a fact that expresses the influence this has on the personality.

[ 6 ] The other refers to Goethe, who came to the same inner effect in a different way, who also realized in a flash that in the phenomena of the world we have a book from which the divine can be read. When he stood before the works of art in Italy, he wrote the following words to his friends: "I have a suspicion that they have proceeded according to the very laws that nature follows and that I am on the trail of. But there is something else that I do not know how to express." "These high works of art, like the highest works of nature, were created by people according to true and natural laws. Everything arbitrary and imaginary collapses, there is necessity, there is God." Goethe became aware of God in Italy in 1787, when he stood before the works of art into which the mysteries of ancient secrets had been revealed.

[ 7 ] He also realized that only those who have good will and faith can see the divine. He can only recognize it. For the person who has faith, the moment occurs in his life when the field of our life is illuminated in a flash and he enters the path of the eternal. This assurance, which flows from such facts, must guide us if we want to penetrate into what the religions of all times, but also what the other teachings have contributed at a more or less elementary level and what we must know if we truly want to penetrate into the mystical content and reality of Christianity. If we want to penetrate, we must not take anything away from Christianity.

[ 8 ] It is not my job to teach religion, nor is it my job to teach theology. My task is only to expose mystical-theosophical teachings. I could not do that if I were not imbued with it - just as it was with Goethe, where he says that only now do I realize the divine in these works of art, only now do I understand the ancient mysteries - if I were not so convinced that in a certain moment something lights up that makes it possible to recognize the eternal, the divine, then I could not speak in this way.

[ 9 ] Nothing is taken away from the work of art if we see more than what we hear with our eyes and ears. Nothing is taken away from us if we look at the Gospels from more than just a historical perspective. But if we want something deeper, something divine, we have to go far beyond the historical. If Goethe already sees the divine in the works of art that were in the outer sensory world, then there must also be a way of looking at it that sees the divine on a higher level, where it expresses itself as life in the initiated personalities. It would stand before us like a miracle if we could not comprehend it in the whole necessary context, in the eternal course of the world through the various divisions, through the material and back again to the divine.

[ 10 ] I started from Johann Gottlieb Fichte's awareness of the eternal in an individual human soul, and I can show you the deeper reason in Christianity in no other way than to trace this awareness in a very old time, in the time of the ancient Egyptian religious teachings, and then to show you how these teachings of the ancient Egyptians shine forth in the teachings of the Essaeans, in order to prove that at the moment when the God-Man appeared to men, there could indeed only be men in such a brotherhood who were sufficiently prepared to understand what was about to take place.

[ 11 ] John the Baptist, who probably belonged to the Essaean League, was prepared. This can be seen from the words of his sermon: "Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Prepare the way for the Lord and make his paths straight. - He answers the question: "Are you Christ? I am not Christ. It is he who is coming after me, who was before me, whom I am not worthy to untie his sandals. There is one coming after me who is stronger than I am.

[ 12 ] If these words are to point to what appears in Christianity, then we must first get to know the preconditions that were able to open John's eyes. It is not a matter of following the events of history, but of recognizing the divine ideals.

[ 13 ] In religious development, death and resurrection confront us first in the Pauline teachings, and they confront us before we get to know the other content of the teachings historically. We can only understand them if we go back to the teachings that were present in the Egyptian priesthood for thousands of years, to those teachings which in Egyptian mystery life also represent nothing other than the overcoming of life through death, that is, in other words, the possibility of understanding death and life as the greatest symbols of becoming, as those symbols that show precisely the deepest existence, the deepest being in the development of the world.

[ 14 ] Through the Egyptian Book of the Dead, we also have the opportunity today to penetrate the teachings of the Egyptian mysteries. We know what ideas the Egyptian priests had about the transition from life to death. But we also know that the Egyptian priests tried to arrange the whole human life of those who wanted to enter the path of knowledge in such a way that such a person embarking on the path of knowledge was prepared for those stages of development which the Egyptian Mystery Teacher demonstrates when the disciple passes through the gate of death. The tests that were required are described to us in ancient documents.

[ 15 ] I have come to realize from the study of the Egyptian teachings, as far as they can be traced according to our Western knowledge, that we are dealing with an expression for the deepest secrets of human life, for the same secrets that the Greek Mystery Teachings also had. Indeed, it has become clear to me that they are based on practical mystery exercises, which were also practiced in the Egyptian priestly schools.

[ 16 ] What is meant by these tests will become clear to us from individual passages that I would like to read to you. It will show you what kind of confession those people had to make, according to the Egyptian priests, in order to enter the higher worlds, in order to climb the higher levels of existence. We will see what preconditions he must have fulfilled.

[ 17 ] But intimately linked to all these Egyptian teachings is an idea of the Egyptian priestly view that man himself comes to where he can then be addressed by the gods with the name of the god who is closest to the god Ra. Man is addressed with the name Osiris. Becoming Osiris is what we are told in ancient Egypt. After man has gone through the trials, after he has practically entered the path and ascended, he becomes similar to the god whom the Egyptians regard as the mediator between the highest god, between Ra himself, the expression of the infinite spirit, and the material, the earthly, the human.

[ 18 ] Osiris, the son of the supreme god, had to perish according to Egyptian legend. His body had to perish. The pieces are buried here and there, and he sits at the right hand of God. Man is called to undergo the development that makes him Osiris. At the entrance through the gate of death he has to make the confession that enables him to continue along the path that leads him to Osiris.

[ 19 ] I would now like to share a few passages from this confession with you. You will see to what great, powerful views these thousand and thousand-year-old mystery teachings lead. [The person to be initiated] calls upon God in order to receive a share in the higher life. There will be words that would go too far to explain. It only depends on the spirit: "Hail to thee, Harmachis Khepra, who gives himself form! Radiant is your rising on the horizon, illuminating the twofold earth with your rays. All the gods are in joy when they see you, king of heaven, with the serpent on your head, the crown of the south and the crown of the north on your forehead, and they sit down opposite you and work at the front of the barque to destroy all your enemies for you."] The barque is the chariot of the sun god. ["The inhabitants of Tiau go to meet your majesty to see this radiant sign. I come to you, I dwell with you, to see your disk every day. May I not be imprisoned, may I not be cast out. May my limbs be renewed"] and so on. ["Great Light, emerged from the Nun! You sustain the existence of mankind through the stream that emanates from you."] - We will also encounter this current in Christian mysticism. - ["Protect Osiris N. in the divine underworld."] Then the name of the person concerned was mentioned. - ["Let him enter the Amenti, let him conquer evil; stand behind him as patron against his sins; place him among the blessed and the exalted."].

[ 20 ] [The title of the important 125th chapter is:] "Chapter, to enter the hall of twofold righteousness and to separate man from his sins, that he may behold the face of the gods". The dead man is then immediately introduced in speech: "Blessed be the God, the Lord of twofold justice! I have come to you, my Lord; I have been brought to the sight of your glory. I know thee, I know the names of the forty-two gods who are with thee in the hall of twofold righteousness, who live in the vigilance of sinners and drink of their blood on this day of the weighing of conduct before the "Good Being" (Osiris). Patron of the beloved twins, his eyeballs, Lord of the twofold justice is your name. Shield me! I come to you, and I bring you justice; I keep away unfairness."

[ 21 ] Now he is tested to see whether he really knows the names of the 42 gods. After he has undergone purification, he must describe how he came to know the gods.

[ 22 ] Now I will show you how he thanks the gods after they have recognized him as worthy. Invisible powers confront him and put his knowledge to the test before he can enter the bosom of Osiris. He has acquired his mystical knowledge through contemplation under the fig tree. "What did you see?" - On entering, he has to say the names to the beings at the gate: "[Arm of Shu, ready for the umbrella of Osiris], "Children of the serpent is [your name]."

[ 23 ] [If the deceased has passed the test, then Thoth speaks: "Step forward, you have passed the test. Brod is for you in the Uzat Eye. Osiris N truly lives forever."]

[ 24 ] [Gap in transcript] These are prayers as they were tied to this turning point of man and which were imposed on the one who wanted to go the way. He also had to go through the ceremonies of initiation, and prepare himself through his life to understand the true life essence of these teachings.

[ 25 ] After I have shown you the ideas that have prevailed in Egypt for thousands of years, after I have shown you that death and life are only two expressions for one and the same thing, after I have shown you that the god Osiris represents nothing other than the goal that man himself has to strive for, after I have shown you that everyone is called to become an Osiris, and everyone is to be brought onto the path of Osiris, I want to jump off to an idea that is formed in the distant Orient, which will show an inner relationship that will present itself as a kind of continuation, as something that leads this down to the earth itself.

[ 26 ] In the Egyptian mystery teachings we find within them the conviction that the one who has actually become similar to Osiris, who has passed the test, has the ability to appear as a god himself on earth, and that he has the ability to appear on earth in such a way that when he takes on human form, he is recognized by the secret knowers as a deity in disguise.

[ 27 ] Let us skip back in time and think of that great judgment of the dead that was held between Osiris and Ra, let us visualize it and imagine that within this judgment of the dead it was discussed whether a god should not be sent down to bring people a new teaching, a new view, new concepts, new ideas, whether the means should not be resorted to of sending down a god Osiris and letting him become human.

[ 28 ] We encounter such an idea in Indian teachings, which first appeared around the sixth century before our era. It is thus discussed in the bosom of the gods whether an enlightened one, an exalted divine being himself, should not descend among men and be born among them. If we are to express this in the words of the Egyptian sages, then we must say that an Osiris should descend and take on human form, a savior, in other words, or as the wisdom teachings of the Indians say, a true physician, one who is truly experienced in medicine, should descend among men and it should be proclaimed that an enlightened one should be born to a queen, Maya by name. This king shall be named Bhagavad>, the glorious one. He will later be recognized as the Savior, the Buddha. It is said that he will be born in the form of a white elephant. According to the ancient wisdom teachings, this is the form in which God can embody himself. He will be a high-minded king, a king of kings. He will leave the region of light to enter this world out of love for all. He will be honored as king of the three worlds.

[ 29 ] This prophecy was to be fulfilled for Gautama of the Siddhartha lineage. Brahma himself gave a drop of dew to the divine entering the earthly realm. Kings and priests appear with gifts before the child. Heavenly hosts appear and declare: "The world is at ease, happiness is established in the universe, a master of wisdom is born." - This is what the Indian tale tells us happened when Buddha was born.

[ 30 ] And from another side it was said: This child will become Buddha. He is depicted in the temple at the age of twelve. Here the child smiles and remembers his divinity. It is said of him that a king has been born whose kingdom is not of this world. The twelve-year-old Buddha has gone missing. He is found by his relatives in the forest, where he sits among the singers of ancient times, transported to heavenly regions, and as he interprets the ancient holy books to these old sages, they marvel at his wisdom. The awareness of his calling awakens in him.

[ 31 ] I read this passage from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verse 40, and others for the reason that you will see for yourself as you follow these verses. "But the child grew and became strong in spirit, full of wisdom; and the grace of God was with him. And his parents went to Jerusalem every year for the Easter feast. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. And when the days were fulfilled and they returned home, the child Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and his parents did not know it. But they thought that he was among his companions, so they traveled a day's journey, looking for him among friends and acquaintances. And when they did not find him, they went again to Jerusalem to look for him. And it came to pass, after three days, that they found him sitting in the temple in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and questioning them; and all who listened to him were astonished at his understanding and his answers."

[ 32 ] The twenty-nine-year-old Buddha is prompted by the sight of human misery, by the sight of suffering and illness, by the sight of evil on earth, to leave his wife and child to see in solitude what path he must walk; and we hear that on his way through solitude he recruits disciples from among those who have already chosen solitude, and that he then speaks a number of beatitudes. We hear from the mouth of the thirty-year-old Buddha: Blessed are the lonely. Blessed are those who are free from all lust. Blessed are those who rise above the thoughts of their own ego. Truly, this is supreme bliss.

[ 33 ] Blessed is the mother, blessed is the father, blessed is the wife, cries the crowd in the street. But he says: Blessed are only those who are in nirvana. On the other hand, the Gospel of Luke, chapter 11, verses 25 to 28: "And when they come in, they dwell there, and afterward it is worse with that man than before. And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the people lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the body that bare thee, and the breasts which thou hast sucked. But he said, "Yes, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it."

[ 34 ] We hear from Buddha that he has recruited five disciples. Bathing by the river, he is celebrated by the sons of the gods. He goes under the fig tree. Here he is then [granted] enlightenment, the mystical knowledge that is attained through contemplation.

[ 35 ] John 1:45-48: "Philip finds Nathanael and says to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph of Nazareth. And Nathanael said to him, "What good can come from Nazareth? Philip said to him, 'Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and said to him, "Behold, a true Israelite, in whom is no guile. Nathanael says to him, 'How do you know me? ' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.

[ 36 ] The tempter "Mara" approaches Buddha and invites him to worship him by promising him a kingdom. - I do not desire a worldly kingdom, Buddha replies. Mara's daughter appears. Buddha approaches her with the holy books of the Indians. When Mara saw that Buddha confronted him with divine wisdom, he said: My wisdom is gone.

[ 37 ] Mark 1:12-14: "And immediately the spirit drove him into the desert. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan and being with the beasts, and the angels ministered to him. And after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God."

[ 38 ] Now he recruits disciples. Two brothers are his first disciples, one of whom is one of the most important. - Let us compare John 1, verses 45 to 48 - Five more disciples are now to be found on his teaching tours. - In the first Buddha biography we hear of twelve disciples and his favorite disciple Ananda.

[ 39 ] We also hear from the Buddha biography that the Buddha used parables to make the talks understandable, that he expressed all his teachings in such parable speeches. [...] The rain pours down on the righteous and the unrighteous. The Brahmin who does not have enlightenment is like a blind man. He can only be a teacher for the blind.

[ 40 ] This includes the words of Matthew 15:12-14: "Then his disciples came to him and said: Knowest thou also that the Pharisees were offended when they heard the word? But he answered and said, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them go. They are blind leaders of the blind. But if one blind man leads another, they will both fall into the pit."

[ 41 ] [Stenographer's note:] A few more Buddha words.

[ 42 ] The Buddha's favorite disciple did not want to let a despised girl approach him when she wanted to approach the Buddha. So he replied in the presence of his favorite disciple: "I am not asking about your caste, not about your family, my sister."

[ 43 ] Compare this with the passage in John 4:1-7: "Now when the Lord knew that Jesus had come before the Pharisees, making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but his disciples did), he left the land of Judea and went back to Galilee. But he had to travel through Samaria. There he came to a town of Samaria called Shechar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down at the well; and it was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."

[ 44 ] Far from there, Buddha sends out his disciples with words that come to us like a kind of Pentecostal sermon within the Buddhist teachings. Buddha himself speaks to his disciples: Each shepherd should speak in his own language. Do not deliver the teaching to scorners and mockers and not to those who are intoxicated with desire.

[ 45 ] And Matthew 7, verse 6: "Do not give the sanctuary to the dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you apart."

[ 46 ] Now [Buddha] says in one of his last teachings that he will be with his disciples as long as they spread his teaching. He will be invisibly present to them. The corresponding passages are in Matthew and John.

[ 47 ] He prophesies that one will come after him in heavenly glory. And the evil one and his kingdom will then be completely overcome.

[ 48 ] We hear that they were united after the Buddha had returned to the divine, after he himself had seen his death approaching and had withdrawn into solitude.

[ 49 ] From his wisdom his body became a shining body.

[ 50 ] At his death a meteor fell, the earth was on fire, a thunder shook the world. He had descended to hell to comfort those in it. This is a kind of continuation of what the ancient Egyptians have in their passage from life to death.

[ 51 ] I had to preface all of this before I can continue. I can't even quite make it clear why I had to make it all clear because the time is already too advanced. I had to show what context was present in the wisdom teachings and religious ideas centuries before our era. I had to show what was positive in them. This way of looking at things will lead us to truly understand what happened at the turn of our era.

Answers to questions:

[ 53 ] [The book "Buddha and Christ"] by Rudolf Seydel is very good, but historical. It brings together essential moments, but doesn't know what to do with them. - There is also a very good book by [Oldenberg].