The Rudolf Steiner Archive

32. Introduction to Theosophy VII

[ 1 ] Slowly and gradually, what began in embryo at Golgotha will develop. With this mystery, a bridge was built from the past to the future: the soul life of humanity was completely transformed. This is particularly evident in two great spirits who prepared the way for Christianity: Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. In order to understand them correctly, it is necessary to take a look at the ancient mystery teachings, where the highest knowledge that could be attained was taught. Without this insight, it is impossible to thoroughly understand such unique personalities. As we know, all peoples had what were called mysteries. Here we will only discuss their basic features. The mysteries were institutions that encompassed both church and school. What was taught there first was the doctrine of the origin of creation and its continuation, but not a dry doctrine like the modern doctrine of creation, rather a knowledge that led to clairvoyant vision. In the true mysteries, there was no separation between faith and knowledge. They were divided into higher and lower mysteries. In the latter, the evolution of the earth was described in magnificent images, so that everything was imbued and permeated with art and beauty. Art, religion, and knowledge were all drawn from the same source.

[ 2 ] Those who wanted to go even higher were given elementary and general exercises. What we now call theosophical knowledge was then only preparation. Exercises were linked to this, such as those we described in the previous lectures, although in a different form, not Christian or Rosicrucian. For many years, the astral body was organized in this way. Then the following happened, which is no longer necessary today due to changed circumstances: When the hierophant saw that the astral body had become sufficiently mature, the initiate was placed in a death-like state for three and a half days, like the body of Lazarus. On this occasion, his etheric body was also almost completely removed from the physical body together with the other higher bodies. During these three and a half days, the disciple had visions of the spiritual world. He was enlightened, could reach the highest regions, and see everything related to the past and future. When the three and a half days were over, the disciple was awakened and could then recount what had happened in the higher realms. He had been able to see how the leading spirit of our evolution, Christ, would one day undergo the same process and lie in the grave for three and a half days. Through this fact, the mysteries became a historical reality. The mystery of Golgotha was the culmination of what took place in the lower mysteries. In it, what had previously been only a vague idea became a real fact. Through the exercises of imagination and so on, the student's ego had transformed its astral body; but through the mystery of Golgotha, its etheric body was also transformed. As much as was transformed from the astral body became manas, the spirit self — the actual spirit — the higher self. As much as is transformed from the etheric body forms the buddhi, the life spirit. After that, the student tries to transform his physical body as well, whereby the atma arises—atma = breath—because in reality the transformation of the physical body takes place through special breathing exercises. Only through the emergence of buddhi can the human being recognize and see Christ as a spiritual being.

[ 3 ] Why did the astral body have to be removed first? Because if it had remained connected to the physical body, it would not have had the power to imprint impressions on the etheric body. But Christ freed us from this three-and-a-half-day trial, and through him the above-mentioned exercises have become possible without the interference of the hierophant. We have the first example of this in Saul when he became Paul. In what happened to him on the road to Damascus, we must see something similar to initiation. The few moments were sufficient for him because he had attained maturity in his previous life. The points of connection with what has been learned in previous incarnations can be separated by intervals of several incarnations, but they can also appear late in a life.

[ 4 ] This makes it understandable why Saul's conversion, that is, his connection with his previous development, took place at a relatively mature age. In addition, Paul did not need to rise to the higher worlds to see Christ, as would have been necessary for another initiate in pre-Christian times. From then on, Christ was on earth, intimately connected with the astral body of the earth. A clairvoyant observer who could have observed from another star would have seen the great transformation brought about by the mystery of Golgotha. In the past, one had to learn and understand everything in the mysteries in order to gain knowledge. Now things are different, and proof of this can be found in Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. Before their time, it would have been useless to discuss the spiritual hierarchies because no one who was not initiated could see them. This inability to see was due to the fact that six hundred years before our era, the mysteries had ceased and initiations no longer took place. The schools of philosophy took the place of the true mysteries, and philosophy was substituted for initiation. However, philosophy was not always such an abstract system as it is today; on the contrary, especially in the beginning, it was a more or less perfect reminiscence of the mysteries. Aristotle is the last person from whom we have such a philosophy; but in him the echo of the mysteries has already been reduced to a minimum. After Aristotle, it even came to the point where it was completely forgotten that all philosophy can be traced back to the wisdom of the mysteries. Later, we only have a filtration of abstract concepts, something like a straw roof. The first step forward is marked by the mystery of Golgotha. Until then, human abilities were not very developed, for example, reason. Man could not make any progress because his mind was bound to the sense organs. The time was to come when his mind could develop independently. For with the mind alone, it would not have been possible to comprehend what took place at Golgotha. But when Christ left the sensory world, countless repetitions of his etheric and astral bodies arose, which were destined to be woven into the bodies of those who were suited to spread Christianity. One of these was Augustine, who, when he descended to physical existence in order to incarnate again and wanted to form a new etheric body, had one of these repetitions of the etheric body of Christ woven into his etheric body. Thus he came to find within himself the sources of his teaching on the true form of Christian mysticism. But because he had only the etheric body of Christ within him, his ego was subject to error, and he could become a plaything of the passions. Thus Augustine developed his ego, but also fell into error and went through all the stages of doubt regarding the teachings of Christ. It was like a higher materialism for him, for even then the mistake of wanting to materialize everything already existed. Only those who free themselves from this can understand the things of the spirit. When Augustine finally found Christianity in the words of John and Paul, the etheric body of Christ began to work in him. For he does not speak of the physical body, but of the etheric body, which is the same as what he calls “soma.” He speaks of the astral body as the 'sin', and he says that the ego can rise within it through purification. He calls the transformation of the astral body 'grasping the truth' and that of the etheric body 'rejoicing and enjoying spiritual things'. And he speaks of the highest degree of spiritualisation as 'vision'. The writings of Augustine are a good preparation for us because they describe the inner development of the mystic. The moment when he enters the spiritual world is clearly recognizable. Augustine is the best interpreter of the letters of Paul.

[ 5 ] Let us now take the other great representative of Christianity: Thomas Aquinas. If we compare him with Augustine, we see that he was not caught up in errors like Augustine and that he had known neither doubt nor unbelief since childhood, because judgment and conviction have their seat in the astral body, and he had become interwoven in his own astral body with that of Christ. The implantation of any principle into a human body can only take place when an external fact changes the natural course of things. When Thomas was still a child, lightning struck near him and killed his little sister. This physical event—only seemingly physical—made him capable of receiving that of Christ into his astral body.

[ 6 ] Thomism coincides with the time when the human mind as we know it was formed. The strongest impulse for this formation came from Arabism, which was a real intellectual science, whereas the ancient sages knew how it was that they could see directly. Aristotle was well suited to the development of the new philosophy, since he had already given preference to intellectual work over the wisdom of the mysteries. The latter then disappeared completely with Arabism, which was pure intellectual speculation. At best, it leads to a rationalistic pantheism of concepts, but it does not go beyond this idea of a unified whole. Thomas took up the intellectual science that was accessible to him, but left the revealed knowledge unchanged and used dialectics to understand it. Everything is contained in the New Testament, so that Thomas only needed to add his finely honed science to what was already there. Scholasticism, which is so little appreciated today, made this intellectual science possible, as did the raising of thought back to the divine through progressive dialectic. Scholasticism comes from the Greek “scole,” [meaning “commentary”], which was mistakenly translated as “scuola” = school. The scholastic system is the most perfect logical fabric. In this way, we find in Thomas, rethought, the pre-creational divine thoughts, free from error and deception, as they could only be thought in a monastery cell, far away from the noise of the world. The man of the world is in a hurry to understand, to quickly adopt a view and to simplify everything. But the deity is not so simple! With Thomas Aquinas, human thought rises. He is no less a mystic than a scholastic. He was able to give such descriptions because he saw the spiritual hierarchies as they were given to us by the seer Dionysius the Areopagite, and in his long nightly meditations before the altar he was able to solve the most difficult problems. Thus, he combines the mystic and a thinker as clear as a diamond and unclouded by the senses.

[ 7 ] After him, there was no further proliferation of concepts. Even the concept of evolution can already be found in Aristotle, and perhaps even better described. We have already said how everything can be found in the New Testament. It contains the seed of mysticism, and we have seen how this seed has matured and how countless treasures have been unearthed from the Gospels. Today we have theosophy, and later other spiritual waves will come and new treasures will be rediscovered in the Gospels. In the Revelation of John, the future of the earth is sealed.

[ 8 ] Today I wanted to show you how the liberation of the intellect was the first stage of Christianity. This is only like a leaf, but new leaves will emerge one after the other on the mighty plant of Christianity. The blossom will be the total beauty of the earth, renewed through Christianity; the fruit will be the new world for which the earth of today is the preparation. Christ allows himself to be found by those who seek him, as he taught, as he still teaches, and as he will always teach until the end.