The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Lecture Two

[ 1 ] Last time I spoke about the first twelve chapters of the Gospel of John. We saw that the miracle of Lazarus represents the initiation of a human being into the spiritual world. The Gospel of John is to be understood in such a way that every sentence points to the higher world. When we bring it to life within ourselves, we learn about Christian initiation. Those who are familiar with other forms of discipleship, who know that there are other paths of initiation, also know that those who aspire to discipleship today are guided by other methods, as most of you are aware. Those who have already come closer to spiritual life know that there is also an esoteric side to our spiritual scientific endeavors. Christian initiation bears similarities to other paths of initiation, but today it is not possible to follow this path. Anyone who wants to walk this path must do so under the guidance of a knowledgeable teacher, but given our normal living conditions today, it is questionable whether this path is still possible at all. Let us recall the miracle of Lazarus once more, but only in relation to Christian initiation.

[ 2 ] Let us start from the ordinary state of sleep. What happens to a person who is asleep? In human beings, we are dealing with the physical body, the etheric body, the astral body, and the ego. What happens to the human being in sleep in the occult sense? The physical and etheric bodies remain in bed, and the astral body lifts itself out with the ego and hovers above the imperfect human being in the form of a ring, later in the form of the physical body. The astral body is not idle; it has something to do. When the human being is awake, the astral body interweaves with the physical body. When it has stepped out, it works on the physical body, nurturing and caring for it. The astral body relates to the physical body as a worker relates to a machine, but with the difference that the worker is inside the machine, animating the various parts that he sets in motion. But this parable of the worker at the machine is more apt when the person is asleep: the astral body works from outside. And what does it do? Through its work on the physical body, it compensates for the damage it suffers during the day. From this we can see the disadvantages to which people who sleep poorly are exposed. The astral body itself is influenced by beings belonging to the third elemental realm. Beings from the second elemental realm attack the etheric body of the human being, and those belonging to the first elemental realm gain access to the physical body in order to destroy it. Only when the astral body works on the physical body during sleep are the destructive processes balanced.

[ 3 ] Mere physical knowledge has no influence here. But when a person begins to work spiritually on themselves, they must also create the necessary conditions for the astral to act on the physical. Meditation has an effect on the work of the astral body on the physical and etheric bodies during the night. Only good beings should be allowed access to the human being. Those who seek initiation must achieve the greatest possible peace of mind. This includes avoiding all stimulants, especially alcohol. The prerequisites for any higher striving include control of the mind, a morally impeccable life, and the endeavor not to give in to every emotion, neither pain nor joy, but to maintain a spiritual balance. This also brings about the possibility that good beings will be active when the astral body works on the physical and etheric bodies during sleep.

[ 4 ] In the initiation described in the Gospel of John, the astral body leaves the physical body together with the etheric body. The physical body then remains behind as if in death. This is the basis for the description of Lazarus lying in the tomb for three days. The miracle of Lazarus is thus the image of an initiation. The task is to bring the astral and etheric bodies back into the physical body. This is accomplished by the Master. The person is now a resurrected being who can remember the experiences in the higher worlds. This is possible for every human being. But what in ancient times was a procedure lasting three and a half days is accomplished in a different way today. The result is the same, but it is achieved by other methods.

[ 5 ] The student on the Christian path of initiation had to undergo seven trials. These were not only physical but also spiritual experiences. Those who had undergone them knew that real experiences were possible outside the body. At the first stage, the student learns how human beings became what they are today. This was achieved through the following parable: The plant must have mineral soil. The mineral is deeper than the plant, but the plant must bow down and say: To you, stone, who are lower than me, I owe my existence, my life. — Higher than the plant stands the animal. It breathes in oxygen and breathes out carbon, otherwise it cannot live. The plant exhales oxygen. The animal must say to the plant: I bow to you in humility, plant, for without you I could not exist. — And so the higher human being behaves toward the lower. He too must say to the lower: Without you, I am not. — One must be completely imbued with this feeling and bow in humility. From his deepest experience, man must be able to bow before those who are lower than himself. This is the washing of feet, the first stage of Christian initiation: Christ bows before his disciples and washes their feet. What is experienced here is a symbol of the higher world. Those who can live spiritually in this higher world, those who have developed the feeling described, like Lazarus, experience the washing of feet in the higher world. Those who experience humiliation in the physical world experience the washing of feet in a higher world. This experience shows them that they have reached the first stage on the path to initiation. This is also expressed physically: they have a feeling as if all their muscles were newly strengthened. The strengthening of the muscles after the feeling of humiliation corresponds to the first stage.

[ 6 ] The second stage of Christian initiation is scourging and slapping. The person must learn to calmly endure what previously hurt him, to take on the pains of the world. This is also expressed in the higher world: this strength of soul is symbolized as scourging and as real blows. Then one day the student feels a kind of stinging all over his body, a sign that he has passed. This is a real experience that people go through when they walk the path from their own experience. The great mystics have experienced this. Such a person has thus reached the second stage.

[ 7 ] The third stage is the crowning with thorns. It is connected with enduring not only pain, but even contempt from one's fellow human beings. One must gain strength to endure annihilation when there is no one left to give one courage and strength except oneself, when one is no longer valued at all and yet remains upright inwardly. This is how it must be experienced. It is lived out in the spiritual world like the crowning with thorns: the person sees himself with the crown of thorns. Pain is felt in the head of the physical body. The brain undergoes changes, a process that also becomes noticeable later during the waking state.

[ 8 ] The fourth degree is crucifixion. This is experienced when the person learns to perceive their own body as a foreign object, like a piece of wood. They no longer connect their ego with their body. In the spiritual world, they see themselves with the cross on their back. This marks the attainment of the fourth stage. Physically, this is expressed as stigmatization: the stigmata appear. In the case of certain saints, this is not a legend, but indicates that they have attained this fourth stage. Such saints are cross-bearers.

[ 9 ] Once a person has progressed this far, they reach the fifth stage. This is mystical death. The whole world seems to be covered with a veil to the student. Everything around them has lost its old value. While they feel themselves in darkness, the curtain suddenly tears, and the person begins to see the original spiritual goals. They look into a whole new world. At the same time, he learns to recognize what lies at the bottom of the human soul. He becomes a second self beside himself and looks down on his lower self, which he sees as separate from himself. His body is the mother, whom he sees standing beneath him, and the transformed lower self is the disciple who bears witness that Christ lives. Now the higher self can say to the lower self: “Behold, this is your mother!”

[ 10 ] Once a person has passed through this fifth stage, they can proceed to the sixth, the burial and resurrection. Everything that belongs to the planet becomes the body of the Christian mystic. At this stage, they feel as if the whole earth belongs to them. The human being has ceased to be a separate being; he is one with all life on earth. He is inwardly connected with it through the burial. The grave becomes the source of his experience: human beings and animals, plants and stones around him become transparent. He has lost his separateness, but he has taken in the life of the whole earth, its higher life. The seventh stage is called the Ascension. It signifies complete absorption into the spiritual world.

[ 11 ] The Gospel of John is a description of this Christian path of initiation. Those who take it as an external account do not understand it. It can only be understood when one experiences it inwardly. In this sense, Angelus Silesius says:

If you rise above yourself and let God reign
Then the Ascension will be held in your spirit.

[ 12 ] Just as no being can see the external sunlight unless its eyes are open, so no one can understand the mystery of Golgotha unless they experience it inwardly. Only when a person reaches such an inner experience will they understand why time is divided into two parts, before and after Christ.

[ 13 ] Christianity only attains its true meaning when it is lived as an inner path. The Gospel of John is a text that can be experienced sentence by sentence. And those who have experienced it know that external criticism is completely meaningless. The moment a person knows that they must experience what is written through and through, all criticism disappears and all doubt vanishes. Every line can be experienced inwardly.