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The Gospel of St. John
in Relation to the Other Three Gospels
GA 112

25 Jun 1909, Kassel

2. Living Spiritual History

When a subject such as our present one is discussed from the standpoint of spiritual science, this is not done by basing the facts upon some document or other exposition come into being in the course of human development, and by then illuminating the facts in question on the authority of such a document. That is not the way of spiritual science. On the contrary, entirely independent of all documents, spiritual science investigates what has occurred in human evolution; and only then—after the spiritual scientist has completed his research by means independent of any documents, and knows how to describe what he has found—only then is the document in question examined with a view of discovering whether it agrees with what had first been disclosed without reference to any tradition whatever. So all the statements made in these lectures concerning the course of this or that event are by no means to be taken as merely deriving from the Bible, from one of the four Gospels, but rather as the conclusions arrived at by spiritual research independent of the Gospels. But no opportunity will be missed to show that everything the spiritual scientist can fathom and observe is to be found in the Gospels, particularly in the Gospel of St. John.

We have a curious utterance by the great mystic Jacob Boehme which puzzles all who are not in touch with spiritual science. Jacob Boehme once drew attention to his way of discussing past epochs in human evolution—say, the figure of Adam—as though they had been within the scope of his own experiences, and he said: “Many might ask, Were you then present when Adam walked the earth?” And Jacob Boehme answers unequivocally: “Yes, I was present.” Now, that is a noteworthy statement; for actually, spiritual science is in a position really to observe with the eyes of the spirit whatever has occurred, be it ever so far back; and in these introductory remarks I should like to touch briefly upon the reason for this.

Everything that happens in the physical sensorial world has, of course, its counterpart in the spiritual world. When a hand moves there is present not only what your eye sees as a moving hand, but behind this moving hand, this visible image of the hand, there are, for example, my thought and my will: the hand is to move. In short, a spiritual element underlies it all. But while the visible image, the sense impression of the hand motion, passes, its spiritual counterpart remains inscribed in the spiritual world and always leaves a trace; so if our spiritual eyes are opened we can trace all things that have happened in the world by the imprints left by their spiritual counterparts. Nothing can occur in the world without leaving such traces.

Suppose the spiritual scientist gazes back to Charlemagne, or to the time of Rome, or to Greek Antiquity: everything that took place there has been preserved in the spiritual world as imprints of its spiritual prototypes, and can be seen there. This seeing is called reading the akashic record. There exists this living script which the spiritual eye can see; and when the spiritual scientist describes the events of Palestine or the observation of Zarathustra he is not describing what is found in the Bible or in the Gathas, but what he himself is able to read in the akashic record. Only then does he investigate whether the disclosures of the akashic record are to be found in the documents as well—in our case, the Gospels.

The attitude, therefore, of spiritual research toward documents is wholly unhampered; and for this very reason spiritual research will be the true judge of what documents have to tell. But when we find the same information in the documents as we were able to glean from the akashic record we infer first, that the documents are true, and second, that someone must have written them who was also able to read in the akashic record. Many religious and other documents of the human race are retrieved by spiritual science in this way.—What has just been said shall now be clarified by the study of a special chapter in human evolution, the Gospel of St. John, and its relation to the other Gospels. But you must not imagine that the akashic record, the spiritual history which lies open like a book before the seer's eyes, resembles any script of the ordinary world. It is a living kind of script, and we will try to understand this through what is to follow.

Suppose the seer gazes back in time—say, to the time of Caesar. Caesar did certain deeds, and in so far as they occurred on the physical plane his contemporaries witnessed them. But they all left their traces in the akashic record; and when the seer looks back he sees them as spiritual shadow-pictures or prototypes.—Call to mind again the movement of the hand: as a seer you do not perceive the picture this presents to the eye, but you will always see the intention to move the hand, the invisible forces that move it. In the same way is to be seen everything that went on in Caesar's thoughts, be it certain steps he intended to take or some battle he planned. Everything seen by his contemporaries originated in the impulses of his will and was executed by the invisible forces underlying the sense images. But the latter really appear in the akashic record as the Caesar who moved and had his being, as the spiritual image of Caesar.

Here someone inexperienced in such matters might object: Your tales are nothing but day-dreams—you know from your history what Caesar did, and now your mighty imagination makes you believe you are seeing all sorts of invisible akashic pictures.—But those who have experience in these things know that the less familiar one is with such events through outer history, the easier it is to read in the akashic record; for outer history and a knowledge of it are actually confusing for the seer. When we have reached a certain age we are hampered by various aspects of our education connected with the age in which we live. In the same way the seer, equipped with the education provided by his epoch, arrives at the point when he can give birth to his clairvoyant ego. He has studied history; he has learned how things are handed down in geology, biology, archeology, and the history of culture. All this actually interferes with his vision and may bias him in his reading of the akashic record; for in outer history one can by no means expect to find the same objectivity and certainty that are to be achieved in deciphering the akashic record.

Consider for a moment what it is that causes this or that event to become what is called history: it may be that certain documents have been preserved relating to some events, while others—and perhaps the most important ones—have been lost. An example will show how unreliable all history can be. Among a number of poems Goethe had planned but did not finish—and for the deeper student these constitute a beautiful supplement to the great and glorious finished works he left us—there is the fragment of a poem on Nausicaa. There exist only a few sketches in which Goethe had noted how he intended to deal with this poem. He often worked that way, jotting down a few sentences of which frequently but little is preserved. That was the case with the Nausicaa. Now, there were two men who endeavored to complete this work, both of them research men: Scherer, the literary historian, and Herman Grimm. But Herman Grimm was not only a researcher but an imaginative thinker—the man who wrote The Life of Michelangelo and the Goethe. Herman Grimm went about the task by trying to find his way into Goethe's spirit, and he asked himself: Goethe being what he was, how would he have conceived of a figure like the Nausicaa of the Odyssey?—Whereupon, with a certain disregard of that historical document, he created a Nausicaa in the spirit of Goethe. Scherer on the other hand, who always sought what was to be found among the documents in black and white, argued that a Nausicaa begun by Goethe must be completed purely on the basis of the material available; and he, too, tried to construct a Nausicaa, but exclusively out of what these scraps of paper had to offer. Of this procedure Herman Grimm remarked: What if Goethe's servant used some of these scraps of paper—perhaps just the ones containing something very important—for Iighting the fire? Have we any guarantee that the surviving scraps of paper are of any value at all compared with those that may have been used for lighting the fire?

All history based on documents may be analogous to this illustration, and indeed it often is. When building on documents we must never lose sight of the possibility that just the most important ones may have perished. Indeed, what passes for history is nothing more nor less than a fable convenue. But when the seer is hampered by this convention and at the same time sees everything quite differently in the akashic record, it is difficult for him to have faith in the akashic picture; and the public will voice its resentment when he tells a different story out of the akashic record. Hence one who is experienced in these things likes best to speak of ancient times of which there exist no documents, of the remote stages in the evolution of our earth. There are no documents relating to those epochs; and that is where the akashic record reports most faithfully, because the seer is not confused by outer history.—You will be able to gather from these remarks that it could never occur to anyone familiar with these matters that the pictures provided by the akashic record might be an echo of what is already known to him from outer history.

If we now search the akashic record for the great event to which we alluded yesterday, we find the following salient points. The whole human race, in as far as it lives on the earth, is descended from a divine realm, from a divine-spiritual existence. It can be stated that before any possibility existed for a physical eye to see human bodies, for a hand to touch human bodies, man was present as a spiritual being; and in the earliest ages he existed as a part of the divine-spiritual beings: the Gods are the ancestors of men, so to speak, and men the descendants of the Gods. The Gods had need of men as their issue, because without them they would have been unable to descend, as it were, into the sensorial physical world. In that remote time the Gods had their being in other worlds, acting from without upon man who gradually evolved upon the earth.

And now men had to overcome, step by step, the obstacles placed in their path by their earth life. What is the nature of these obstacles? The aspect of evolution essential for mankind was the need for the Gods to remain spiritual, while men, as their descendants, became physical. All the obstacles presented specifically by physical existence had to be surmounted by man, who possessed spirit only as the inner phase of the physical, and who as an outer being had become physical. It was within the confines of material existence that he had to develop; and it was in this way that he progressed upward step by step, steadily maturing until he should become increasingly able to turn to the Gods in whom he had his genesis. A descent from the Gods, and then a turning back to them, in order to reach and re-unite with them, that is man's path through life on earth. But if this evolution was to come about, certain human individualities always had to develop more rapidly than the rest, to hurry on ahead in order to become their leaders and teachers. Such men, then, have their being in humanity's midst and find their way back to the Gods, as it were, in advance of others. We can picture it in this way: In a given epoch men have attained to a certain degree of maturity in their development. They may have the premonition of a return to the Gods, but they have a long way to go before achieving it. Every man has within him a spark of the divine, but in the leaders it is always brighter: they are closer to that divine principle to which man must ultimately attain again. And this that dwells in the leaders of mankind is perceived, by those whose eyes have been opened to the spirit, as their essence and chief attribute.

Let us suppose some great leader of mankind confronted another man, not his equal but above the average. The latter feels vividly that the other is a great leader, permeated to a high degree by the spirituality to which other men must eventually attain. How would such a man describe this leader? He might say: Before me stands a man, a man in a physical body like everyone else; but his physical body is negligible, it need not be taken into account. When, however, I observe him with the eye of the spirit, I see united with him a mighty spiritual being, a divine-spiritual being which predominates to such an extent that my whole attention is focussed on it—not on what appears as body which he has in common with others.

To spiritual sight, then, there appears in a leader of mankind something which in its nature towers above the rest of humanity, and which must be described in quite a different way: the description must be of what the spiritual eye sees. Nowadays public men whose word is law would undoubtedly be amused at the idea of such surpassing leaders of mankind: we already have the spectacle of various erudite scientists regarding the shining lights of humanity as psychiatric cases. Such a leader would only be recognized as such by those whose spiritual vision had been sharpened; but these would indeed know that he was neither a fool nor a visionary, nor simply a very gifted person, as the more benevolent might designate him, but rather, that he was among the greatest figures of human life in the spiritual sense.

That is the way it would be today; but in the past it was a different matter, even in the none too remote past. Human consciousness, as we know, has undergone various metamorphoses, and formerly all men were endowed with a dim, shadowy clairvoyance. Even at the time when Christ lived on earth clairvoyance was still developed to a certain degree, and in earlier centuries even more so, though it was but a shadow of the clairvoyance common in the Atlantean and the first post-Atlantean epochs. It disappeared only gradually. But a few isolated individuals still had it, and even today there are natural clairvoyants whose dim higher vision enables them to distinguish the spiritual nature of men.

Let us turn to the time in which Buddha appeared to the ancient Indian people. Conditions were very different at that time. Today the appearance of a Buddha, especially in Europe, would arouse no particular respect. But in those old days it was a different matter, for there were very many who could discern the true nature of the event, namely, that this Buddha birth meant a great deal more than does an ordinary birth. In oriental writings, especially in those treating the subject with the deepest understanding, the birth of Buddha is described in the grand manner, as one might put it. It is related that Queen Maya was “the image of the Great Mother”, and that it was foretold she would bring a mighty being into the world. This being was then born prematurely—a very common means of launching an outstanding being in the world, because thereby the human being in which the higher spiritual being is to incarnate is less closely amalgamated with matter than when the child is carried the full time of gestation. It is then further related in the notable records of the Orient that at the moment of birth Buddha was enlightened, that he opened his eyes at once and directed his gaze to the four points of the compass, to the north, south, east, and west. We are told that he then took seven steps, and that the marks of these steps are engraved in the ground he trod. It is further recorded that he spoke at once, and the words he spoke were these: “This is the life in which I shall rise from Bodhisattva to Buddha, the last incarnation I shall have to pass through on this earth!”

Strange as such a communication may appear to the materialistic-minded man of today, and impossible as it is to interpret offhand from a materialistic viewpoint, it is nevertheless the truth for one who is able to see things with the eye of the spirit; and at that time there still existed men who, by means of natural clairvoyance, could discern spiritually what it was that was born with Buddha. Those are strange excerpts I have quoted from the oriental writings: nowadays they are called legends and myths. But he who understands these things knows that something of spiritual truth is hidden therein; and events such as the Buddha birth have significance not only for the intimate circle of the personality in question but for the world as well, for they radiate spiritual forces, as it were. And those who lived at a time when the world was more receptive to spiritual forces perceived that at the birth of Buddha spiritual forces were actually rayed forth.

It would be a trivial question to ask: Why does that sort of thing not still occur today? As a matter of fact, it does happen; only it requires a seer to perceive it. It is not enough that there should be one to radiate these forces: there must also be someone there to receive them. When people were more spiritual than they are today they were also more receptive to such radiations. So again a profound truth underlies the story that healing and reconciling forces were at work when Buddha was born. It is not a legend but a report based on deep truths which tells us that when Buddha came into the world, those who had previously hated each other were now united in love, those who had quarreled now met with expressions of mutual esteem, and so forth.

To one who surveys the development of mankind with the eye of the seer this does not appear as it does to the historian—a level path, at most overtopped a bit here and there by figures accepted as historical. Men will not admit that spiritual peaks and mountains exist—that is more than they can bear. But the seer knows that there are lofty heights and mountains towering above the path of the rest of mankind: these are the leaders of humanity. Now, upon what is such leadership built? Upon having gradually passed through the stages leading to life in the spiritual world. One of these stages we pointed out yesterday as the most important one: the birth of the higher ego, the spiritual ego; and we said that this was preceded and followed by other stages. It is evident that what we designate the Christ event is the mightiest peak in the range of human evolution, and that a long preparation was indispensible before the Christ Being could incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth.

In order to understand this preparation we must visualize the same phenomenon on a smaller scale. Let us suppose a man starts on the path to spiritual cognition in any one of his incarnations—that is, he carries out some of the exercises (to be described later) which render the soul more and more spiritual, more receptive to what is spiritual, and guide it toward the moment when it bears the higher, imperishable ego that can see into the spiritual world. Many experiences are passed through before that moment arrives. One must not imagine that anything pertaining to the spirit can be hurried: everything of the sort must be absolved with patience and perseverance. Let us suppose, then, that someone starts a training of this kind. His aim is the birth of the higher ego, but he only succeeds in reaching a certain preliminary stage. Then he dies; and in due time he is born again. Here one of two things can happen: either he can feel the urge to seek a teacher who will show him how he can rapidly repeat what he had previously passed through and attain to the higher stages, or else, for one reason or another, he does not take this way. In the latter case, as well, the unfolding of his life will often be different from that of the lives of other men. The life of one who has trodden the path of enlightenment at all will quite of itself provide something resembling effects of the stage he had already reached in his previous incarnation. He will have experiences of a different nature, and the impression of these on him will be different from that received by other men. Then he will attain anew, by means of these experiences, to what he had previously achieved through his efforts. In his former incarnation he had to strive actively from step to step; but now that life brings him as a recurrence, so to speak, what he had once acquired through effort, this approaches him from without, as it were; and it may be that he will experience the results of his previous incarnations in quite a different form.

Thus it may happen that even in his childhood some experience can make upon his soul an impression of such a nature as to re-engender the forces he had acquired in his previous life. Suppose such a man had attained to a certain degree of wisdom in a given incarnation. He is then born again as a child, like everyone else. But at the age of seven or eight he has some painful experience, and the consequence is that all the wisdom he had once acquired comes to the fore again: he is back at the stage he had reached before, and thence can advance to the next one. Now we will suppose further that he endeavors to proceed another few steps, and dies again. In his next incarnation the same thing can happen again: once more some outer experience can put him to the test, as it were, again revealing first, what he had achieved in his next to the last incarnation, and then, in his last one. And now he can climb another step.

You will see from this that only by taking account of such events can we understand the life of one who had already passed through certain stages of development. There is one stage, for instance, that is soon reached by serious striving along the path of enlightenment: the stage of the so-called Wanderer, of him who has outgrown the prejudices of his immediate surroundings and has cast off the fetters imposed by his environment. This need not make him irreverent: we can become all the more reverent; but he must be free of the prejudices of his immediate surroundings. Let us assume that this man dies at a stage in which he has already worked his way through to a modicum of freedom and independence. When he is born again it can happen that comparatively early in his life some experience will re-awaken this feeling of freedom and independence in him. As a rule, this is the result of losing his father or someone else to whom he is closely bound; or it might be a consequence of his father's reprehensible behavior toward him—he might have cast him out, or something of the sort. All this is faithfully reported in the legends of the various peoples, for in matters of this kind the folk myths and legends are really wiser than is modern science. Among the legends you will often find the type in which the child is cast out, is found by shepherds, nourished and brought up by them, and later restored to his station (Chiron, Romulus and Remus). The fact that their own home plays them false serves to re-awaken in them the fruits of former incarnations. The legend of the casting out of Oedipus is in this category, too. You will now understand that the more advanced a man is—whether at the stage when his higher ego is born or even farther—the richer in experience his life must be if he is to be capable of a new experience, one he had not yet had.

He who was destined to embody in Himself the mighty Being we call the Christ could naturally not assume this mission at any random age: he had first to mature very gradually. No ordinary man could undertake this mission: it had to be one who in the course of many lives had attained to lofty degrees of initiation. What was here demanded is faithfully told us in the akashic record. This relates how a certain individuality had striven upward throughout many lives step by step to high degrees of initiation. Then this individuality was born again, and in this earthly embodiment passed first through preparatory experiences. But in this embodiment there lived an individuality who had already passed through high stages of initiation, an initiate destined in a later period of his life to receive into himself the Individuality of the Christ. And the first experiences of this initiate are repetitions of his former degrees of initiation, whereby all the previous achievements of his soul are re-evoked.

Now, we know that the human being consists of physical body, etheric body, astral body, and ego. But we also know that in the course of human life only the physical body is born at physical birth, and that up to the seventh year the etheric body is still enclosed in a sort of etheric maternal sheath which is then discarded, at the time of the change of teeth, in the same way as is the physical maternal sheath when the physical body is born into the outer physical world. Similarly, at puberty, an astral sheath is thrown off and the astral body is born. And approximately in the twenty-first year the ego is born, but again only gradually.

Having considered the birth of the physical body, of the etheric body in the seventh year, and of the astral body in the fourteenth or fifteenth year, we must similarly take into account a birth of the sentient soul, the intellectual soul, and the consciousness soul; and the ages at which these births occur are approximately the twenty-first, the twenty-eighth, and the thirty-fifth year respectively. From this it is evident that the Christ Being could not incarnate in a man of this earth, could not find room in such a man, before the intellectual soul was completely born: the Christ Being could not embody in the initiate into whom He was born before this initiate had reached his twenty-eighth year. Spiritual science confirms this. It was between the twenty-eighth and thirty-fifth years that the Christ Being entered the individuality who walked the earth as a great initiate, and who gradually, in the light and radiance of this great Being, unfolded all that otherwise man develops without this radiance, this light; namely, the etheric body, the astral body, the sentient soul, and the intellectual soul. Thus we can say that up to this age we see before us in him who was called to be the Christ bearer a lofty initiate who gradually passed through the experiences that finally evoked all he had undergone in previous incarnations—the sum of his conquests in the spiritual world. Only then could he say, Now I am here; now will I sacrifice all that I have. I no longer desire an independent ego, but will make of myself the bearer of the Christ: henceforth He shall dwell in me, shall fill me completely.

All four Gospels stress this moment when the Christ incorporated in a personality of this earth. However much they may differ in other respects, they all point to this event of the Christ slipping into the great initiate, as it were: the Baptism by John. In that moment, so clearly defined by the author of the John Gospel when he says that the Spirit descended in the form of a dove and united with Jesus of Nazareth, in that moment occurred the birth of Christ: as a new and higher Ego the Christ is born in the soul of Jesus of Nazareth. And the other ego, that of a great initiate, had now attained to the lofty plane on which it was ripe for this event.

And Who was it that was to be born in the Being of Jesus of Nazareth? This was indicated yesterday: the God Who was there from the beginning, Who had remained aloof in the spiritual world, so to speak, leaving mankind to its evolution. He it was Who descended and incarnated in Jesus of Nazareth. Can we find this indicated by the writer of the John Gospel? We need only take the words of the Gospel very seriously; and with this in mind let us read the beginning of the Old Testament:

In the (primordial) beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Let us visualize the situation: The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Below, the earth with its kingdoms as the issue of the divine Spirit; and among these one individual evolves to the point of being able to take into himself this Spirit that moved upon the face of the waters. What does the author of the John Gospel say? He tells us that John the Baptist recognized the Being spoken of in the Old Testament. He says:

I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

He knew that upon whomsoever the Spirit should descend was He that was to come: the Christ. There you have the beginning of world evolution: the Spirit moving upon the face of the waters; and there you have John who baptized with water, and the Spirit that in the beginning moved upon the face of the waters and now descends into the individuality of Jesus of Nazareth. It would be impossible to connect in a more grandiose way the event of Palestine with that other event, told at the beginning of the same document whose continuation is the Gospel.

But in other ways as well we find the John Gospel linked with this oldest of documents. The writer effects this by pointing out that with Jesus of Nazareth is merged the same principle that from the beginning worked creatively at all earth evolution. We know that the opening words of the Gospel of St. John read:

In the beginning was the Word (or Logos), and the Word (or Logos) was with God, and a God was the Word (or Logos).

What is this Logos, and in what sense was it with God? Let us turn to the beginning of the Old Testament, to the passage presenting this Spirit of whom it is written:

And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And the divine Spirit said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Let us keep that in mind and express it somewhat differently; let us listen to the divine Spirit intoning the creative Word through the world. What is this Word? In the beginning was the Logos, and the divine Spirit called out, and what the Spirit called out came to pass. That means that in the Word there was life; for had there been no life in it, nothing could have come to pass. And what was it that came to pass? We are told:

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Turn back here to the John Gospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and a God was the Word.

Now the Word had streamed into matter, where it became the outer form of the Godhead, as it were.

In it was life; and the life was the light of men.

In this way the author links his Gospel to that oldest of documents, the Book of Genesis. He refers to the same divine Spirit, only in different words. Then he makes it clear that this is the divine Spirit Who appears in Jesus of Nazareth. All four Evangelists agree that with the Baptism by John the Christ was born in Jesus of Nazareth, and that for the consummation of this event Jesus of Nazareth had needed comprehensive preparation. We must understand that everything previously told us concerning the life of Jesus of Nazareth is nothing but the sum of experiences portraying his ascent into the higher worlds during previous incarnations: the gradual preparation of everything embraced in his astral body, etheric body, and physical body for the eventual reception of the Christ.

The Evangelist who wrote the Gospel of St. Luke even says, somewhat paradigmatically, that Jesus of Nazareth had prepared himself in every respect for this great event, the birth of Christ in him. The individual experiences that led him upward to the Christ event will be discussed tomorrow. Today I shall merely point out that the author of the Luke Gospel told us in a single sentence that he who received the Christ into himself had indeed prepared himself in the previous years: that his astral body had achieved the virtue, nobility and wisdom indispensable for the birth of the Christ in him; and furthermore, that he had brought his etheric body to such a degree of maturity, and had developed such pliancy and beauty in his physical body, that the Christ could dwell in him.—One need only understand the Gospel aright. Take the second Chapter of Luke, verse 52. True, the wording of this verse in most of the Bible translations will not tell you what I just said. There it says:

And Jesus increased in wisdom and age1In Luther's translation “age” is the word that corresponds to the “stature” of our King James version. It is retained here in order to avoid altering the term adhered to by Dr. Steiner., and in favor with God and man.

It would still make sense if such a man as the writer of the Luke Gospel had related of Jesus of Nazareth that he increased in wisdom; but when he reports as a solemn fact that he increased in age—well, that is not clear on its face, for it is a circumstance calling for no special emphasis. That it is nevertheless mentioned suggests that something more must be involved. Let us examine the verse in question in the original text:

Kai Jesous proekopten en to Sophia, kai helekia kai chariti Para theo kai anthropois.

As a matter of fact, here is what this means: “He increased in wisdom” signifies that he developed his astral body; and anyone who knows what the Greek mind associated with the word helekia can tell you that the term refers to the development of the etheric body, whereby wisdom gradually becomes skill. As you know, the astral body develops the qualities called upon for individual occasions: we understand something once and for all. The etheric body, on the other hand, shapes what it develops into habits, inclinations, and capabilities. This occurs by means of constant repetition. Wisdom becomes a habit: it is practised because it has become second nature. So what this "increase in age" means is an increase in maturity: just as the astral body has grown in wisdom, so the etheric body has increased in pure habits in the realm of goodness, nobility, and beauty. And the third quality that increased in Jesus of Nazareth, charis, really means that which manifests itself and becomes visible as beauty. No other translations are right. In translating this verse we must indicate that Jesus gained in gracious beauty; in other words, that his physical body, too, grew in beauty and nobility.

And Jesus increased in wisdom (in his astral body), in maturity of disposition (in his etheric body), and in gracious beauty (in his physical body), in a way manifest to God and man.

There you have the delineation given by St. Luke. Clearly, he knew that he who was to receive the Christ into himself had first to develop the threefold sheath—physical body, etheric body, and astral body—to its highest capacity.

In this way we shall learn how one can rediscover in the Gospels what spiritual science tells us independent of them. For this reason spiritual science constitutes a cultural current capable of recapturing the religious documents; and this recapture will not remain a mere milestone in human knowledge and cognition, but will stand as a conquest of soul and mind in the realm of feeling and sentience. And that is precisely the sort of understanding we need if we are to grasp the intervention of the Christ in the evolution of humanity.

Zweiter Vortrag

Wenn vom Standpunkt der Geisteswissenschaft aus über ein solches Thema gesprochen wird, wie es das unsrige ist, so geschieht das nicht etwa in dem Sinn, daß irgendeine Urkunde, irgendein Schriftwerk, das im Laufe der Menschheitsentwickelung entstanden ist, zugrunde gelegt wird, und nun etwa auf die Autorität dieses Schriftwerkes hin diese oder jene Tatsachensumme beleuchtet wird. So geschieht es in der Geisteswissenschaft nicht. Sondern was geschehen ist im Laufe der Menschheitsentwickelung, das wird von der Geisteswissenschaft ganz unabhängig von allen Dokumenten erforscht; und dann erst, wenn der Geistesforscher mit den Mitteln, die unabhängig von einer jeden Urkunde sind, über die betreffenden Dinge geforscht hat und sie zu charakterisieren weiß, wird an die betreffende Urkunde herangegangen und nachgesehen, ob sich auch in den Urkunden findet, was man zunächst ganz unabhängig von einer jeden Überlieferung erforscht hat. Also alles, was über den Verlauf irgendwelcher Ereignisse in diesen Vorträgen gesagt wird, das ist nicht etwa bloß in dem Sinne gesagt, daß es aus der Bibel, aus den vier Evangelien geschöpft ist, sondern es sind die Ergebnisse der von allen Evangelien unabhängigen Geistesforschung. Aber bei jeder Gelegenheit soll darauf hingewiesen werden, daß alles, was der Geistesforscher erkunden und beobachten kann, in den Evangelien und namentlich im Johannes-Evangelium wiedergegeben wird.

Es gibt ein merkwürdiges Wort des großen Mystikers Jakob Böhme. Über das Wort wundern sich nur diejenigen, welche außerhalb des Rahmens der Geisteswissenschaft stehen. Jakob Böhme macht einmal darauf aufmerksam, daß er redet von den vergangenen Zeiten der Menschheitsentwickelung - etwa von der Persönlichkeit des Adam - wie von Erlebnissen, die sich unmittelbar um ihn herum abspielen, und er sagt: Vielleicht könnte mancher fragen: Bist du denn dabei gewesen, als Adam auf der Erde wandelte? Und unumwunden antwortet Jakob Böhme: Jawohl, ich bin dabei gewesen! — Und das ist ein merkwürdiges Wort. Denn die Geisteswissenschaft ist tatsächlich in der Lage, das, was geschehen ist, und sei es auch vor noch so langen Zeiten, wirklich mit den Augen des Geistes zu beobachten. Ich möcht ein der Einleitung nur mit einigen allgemeinen Worten darauf hinweisen, worauf das beruht.

Alles, was in der sinnlich-physischen Welt geschieht, das hat ja sein Gegenbild in der geistigen Welt. Wenn sich eine Hand bewegt, so ist nicht nur das vorhanden, was Ihr Auge als die sich bewegende Hand sieht, sondern hinter der sich bewegenden Hand, hinter dem Augenbild der Hand liegt zum Beispiel mein Gedanke und mein Wille: die Hand soll sich bewegen. Es liegt überhaupt ein Geistiges dahinter. Während das Augenbild, der sinnliche Eindruck der Handbewegung vorbeigeht, bleibt das geistige Gegenbild in der geistigen Welt eingeschrieben und hinterläßt immer eine Spur, so daß wir, wenn wir das geistige Auge geöffnet haben, von allen Dingen, die geschehen sind in der Welt, die Spuren verfolgen können, die da zurückgeblieben sind von ihren geistigen Gegenbildern. Nichts kann geschehen in der Welt, ohne daß es solche Spuren gibt.

Nehmen wir an, es läßt der Geistesforscher den Blick zurückschweifen bis zu Karl dem Großen oder bis in die römische Zeit oder in das griechische Altertum. Alles, was da geschehen ist, ist seinen geistigen Urbildern nach durch Spuren erhalten geblieben in der geistigen Welt und kann dort geschaut werden. Dieses Schauen der Spuren, welche alle Geschehnisse in der geistigen Welt zurücklassen, nennt man das «Lesen in der Akasha-Chronik ». Es gibt eine solche lebendige Schrift, die das geistige Auge sehen kann. Und wenn der Geistesforscher Ihnen die Ereignisse von Palästina oder die Beobachtungen des Zarathustra beschreibt, so beschreibt er nicht das, was in der Bibel, was in den Gathas steht, sondern er beschreibt, was er selbst in der Akasha-Chronik zu lesen versteht. Und dann wird eben nachgeforscht, ob das, was in der Akasha-Chronik entziffert worden ist, sich auch in den Urkunden, in unserm Falle in den Evangelien, findet. Es ist also gegenüber den Urkunden ein völlig freier Standpunkt, den die Geistesforschung einnimmt. Gerade darum aber wird sie die eigentliche Richterin sein über das, was in den Urkunden vorkommt. Wenn uns aber in den Urkunden das gleiche entgegentritt, was wir in der Akasha-Chronik selbst zu verfolgen in der Lage sind, dann ergibt sich für uns, daß diese Urkunden wahr sind, und ferner, daß sie jemand geschrieben haben muß, der auch in die Akasha-Chronik zu schauen vermag. Viele der religiösen und anderen Urkunden des Menschengeschlechtes erobert die Geisteswissenschaft auf diese Weise wieder. An einem besonderen Kapitel der Menschheitsentwickelung, an dem Johannes-Evangelium und seiner Beziehung zu den anderen Evangelien wollen wir uns das, was jetzt gesagt worden ist, veranschaulichen. Aber Sie dürfen sich nicht vorstellen, daß die Akasha-Chronik, die geistige Geschichte, die wie ein aufgeschlagenes Buch vor dem geöffneten Auge des Sehers daliegt, etwa wie eine Schrift der gewöhnlichen Welt ist. Eine Art lebendiger Schrift ist sie, und wir wollen versuchen, uns das an dem Folgenden klarzumachen.

Nehmen wir an, der Blick des Sehers schweift zurück - sagen wir in die Zeit des Cäsar. Cäsar hat dies und das getan, und insofern er es auf dem physischen Plan getan hat, haben es seine Zeitgenossen gesehen. Alles hat eine Spur zurückgelassen in der Akasha-Chronik. Wenn man aber zurücksieht als Seher, dann sieht man die Taten so, wie wenn man ein geistiges Schattenbild oder ein geistiges Urbild vor sich hätte. Denken Sie sich noch einmal die Bewegung der Hand. Das Augenbild können Sie als Seher nicht erblicken; aber die Absicht, die Hand zu bewegen, die unsichtbaren Kräfte, welche die Hand bewegt haben, die werden Sie immer sehen. So ist alles zu sehen, was in den Gedanken des Cäsar gelebt hat, sei es, daß er diese oder jene Schritte machen oder diesen oder jenen Kampf führen wollte. Alles, was die Zeitgenossen gesehen haben, ist ja aus seinen Willensimpulsen hervorgegangen, hat sich ja realisiert durch die unsichtbaren Kräfte, die hinter den Augenbildern stehen. Aber das, was hinter diesen Augenbildern stand, ist wirklich wie der wandelnde und handelnde Cäsar zu sehen, wie ein Geistesbild des Cäsar, wenn man zurückblickt als geistiger Seher in die AkashaChronik.

Nun könnte jemand, der in solchen Dingen nicht bewandert ist, sagen: Wenn ihr uns erzählt von vergangenen Zeiten, so glauben wir, daß das alles nur Träumerei ist. Denn ihr kennt aus der Geschichte, was der Cäsar getan hat, und glaubt dann durch eure mächtige Einbildung irgendwelche unsichtbaren Akasha-Bilder zu sehen. — Wer aber in diesen Dingen bewandert ist, der weiß, daß es um so leichter ist, in der Akasha-Chronik zu lesen, je weniger man dieselben Dinge aus der äußeren Geschichte kennt. Denn die äußere Geschichte und ihre Kenntnis ist geradezu eine Störung für den Seher. Wenn wir an ein bestimmtes Lebensalter kommen, so haftet uns mancherlei Erziehung an aus unserer Zeit heraus. Auch der Seher kommt mit der Erziehung seines Zeitalters zu demjenigen Zeitpunkt, wo er sein seherisches Ich gebären kann. Er hat gelernt aus der Geschichte, er hat gelernt, wie Geologie, Biologie, wie die Kulturgeschichte und Archäologie ihm die Dinge überliefern. Das alles stört eigentlich den Blick und kann ihn befangen machen für das, was in der Akasha-Chronik zu lesen ist. Denn in der äußeren Geschichte darf man durchaus nicht etwa dieselbe Objektivität suchen und dieselbe Sicherheit, die bei der Entzifferung der AkashaChronik möglich ist. Bedenken Sie nur einmal, wovon es in der Welt abhängt, daß dieses oder jenes «Geschichte » wird. Da sind von irgendeinem Ereignis diese oder jene Urkunden erhalten geblieben, während andere, und vielleicht gerade die wichtigsten, abhanden gekommen sind. An einem Beispiel können wir sehen, wie unsicher alle Geschichte sein kann.

Unter den mancherlei dichterischen Plänen Goethes, die liegen geblieben sind, und die ja für den, der sich näher auf Goethe einläßt, eine schöne Beigabe werden zu den großen herrlichen Werken, die er uns abgeschlossen gegeben hat, unter diesen Plänen befindet sich auch das Fragment einer Nausikaa-Dichtung. Er wollte eine Nausikaa dichten. Es sind aber nur wenige Skizzen vorhanden, wo er sich aufgeschrieben hat, wie er diese Dichtung ausführen wollte. So hat er ja vielfach gearbeitet, manchmal einige Sätze hingeworfen, und oft ist nur wenig davon erhalten geblieben. So auch von der Nausikaa. Einige Zettel sind da, worauf einige Notizen stehen. Nun hat es zwei Menschen gegeben, die beide versucht haben, diese Nausikaa nachzudichten. Beide waren Forscher: der Literaturhistoriker Scherer und Herman Grimm. Aber Herman Grimm war nicht nur ein Forscher, sondern auch ein phantasievoller Denker; es ist derselbe, von dem auch die Schriften stammen «Das Leben Michelangelos» und über «Goethe». Herman Grimm tat es, indem er versuchte, sich in den Geist Goethes hineinzufinden, und sich fragte: Wenn Goethe so und so war, wie würde er wohl dann eine solche Gestalt wie die in der Odyssee vorkommende Nausikaa aufgefaßt haben? Da hat er dann mit einer gewissen Mißachtung dieser historischen Urkunde eine Nausikaa in der Idee Goethes nachgedichtet. Scherer, der überall nach dem forschte, was schwarz auf weiß an Dokumenten vorhanden ist, sagte, eine Nausikaa Goethes darf man nur nachkonstruieren auf Grund des vorhandenen Materials. Und er versuchte ebenfalls eine Nausikaa zu konstruieren, aber nur aus dem, was sich aus diesen Zetteln ergab. Da sagte Herman Grimm: Wennes nun aber vorgekommen ist, daß der Kammerdiener Goethes einige von den Zetteln, auf denen gerade etwas sehr Wichtiges stand, genommen hat und mit ihnen eingeheizt hat? Ist irgendeine Garantie gegeben, daß diese vorhandenen Zettel überhaupt in Betracht kommen neben den anderen, mit denen vielleicht eingeheizt worden ist?

So wie mit diesem Beispiel kann es mit aller Geschichte sein, die auf Urkunden gebaut ist. Und es geht sehr oft auch so. Wenn man auf Urkunden baut, darf man niemals außer acht lassen, daß gerade die wichtigsten zugrunde gegangen sein können. Daher haben wir in der Geschichte nichts anderes als eine «fable convenue». Wenn aber der Seher diese «fable convenue» mitbringt und die Dinge in der Akasha-Chronik ganz anders sieht, dann hat er Mühe, an das Akasha-Bild zu glauben. Und die, welche zum äußeren Publikum gehören, werden ihn dann anfahren, wenn er aus der Akasha-Chronik irgendeine Sache anders erzählt. Daher ist es dem, der in diesen Sachen bewandert ist, am allerliebsten, wenn er von alten Zeiten reden kann, von denen keine Urkunden da sind, wenn er von längst vergangenen Entwickelungsstadien unserer Erde sprechen kann.

Darüber gibt es keine Urkunden. Da berichtet die Akasha-Chronik am allertreuesten, weil man am wenigsten dabei durch die äußere Geschichte gestört wird. Aus diesen Bemerkungen mögen Sie entnehmen, daß niemand, der in solchen Sachen bewandert ist, je auf den Gedanken kommen wird, daß die Schilderungen der Akasha-Chronik irgendwie ein Nachklang dessen sein könnten, was man schon aus der äußeren Geschichte weiß.

Wenn wir nun dem großen Ereignis, über dessen Sinn wir gestern einige Andeutungen gemacht haben, nachforschen in der Akasha-Chronik, so finden wir in der Hauptsache das Folgende. Das ganze Menschengeschlecht, soweit es auf der Erde lebt, stammt ab aus einem geistigen Reich, aus einem geistig-göttlichen Dasein. Wir können sagen: Bevor irgendwie die Möglichkeit vorhanden war, daß ein äußeres physisches Auge Menschenkörper sah, irgendeine Hand Menschenkörper greifen konnte, war der Mensch als eine geistige Wesenheit vorhanden, und in den ältesten Zeiten war er vorhanden als Teil der göttlich-geistigen Wesenheiten. Er ist herausgeboren als ein Wesen aus göttlich-geistigen Wesenheiten. Die Götter sind sozusagen die Vorfahren der Menschen, und die Menschen sind die Nachkommen der Götter. Die Götter brauchten Menschen zu ihren Nachkommen, weil sie gewissermaßen nicht imstande waren, ohne solche Nachkommen herunterzusteigen in die physisch-sinnliche Welt. Die Götter setzten damals in anderen Welten ihr Dasein fort und wirkten von außen herein auf den Menschen, der sich nach und nach auf der Erde entwickelte.

Und nun mußten die Menschen von Stufe zu Stufe jene Hindernisse überwinden, die das Erdenleben bewirkte. Was sind das für Hindernisse?

Das ist ja das Wesentliche für den Menschen, daß die Götter geistig geblieben sind, und die Menschen als ihre Nachkommen physisch geworden sind. Der Mensch, der das Geistige nur als das Innerliche des Physischen hatte und als äußeres Wesen physisch geworden war, mußte alle die Hindernisse, die eben das physische Dasein gab, überwinden. Innerhalb des materiellen Daseins mußte er sich weiterbilden. Dadurch entwickelte er sich von Stufe zu Stufe herauf, wurde immer reifer und reifer, und dadurch wurde es ihm immer mehr und mehr möglich, sich hinaufzuwenden zu den Göttern, aus deren Schoß er herausgeboren ist. Also ein Heruntersteigen von den Göttern und ein Sich-wieder-Hinaufwenden zu den Göttern, um die Götter nach und nach wieder zu erreichen und sich wieder mit ihnen zu vereinigen, das ist der Weg des Menschen durch das Erdenleben. Damit der Mensch aber diese Entwickelung durchmachen konnte, mußten einzelne menschliche Individualitäten immer etwas schneller als die andern sich entwickeln, den andern voraneilen, um deren Führer und Lehrer zu werden. Solche Führer und Lehrer stehen dann innerhalb der übrigen Menschheit und finden sozusagen den Weg zu den Göttern früher zurück als die andern. So daß wir uns vorstellen können: In einem bestimmten Zeitalter haben die Menschen eine gewisse Entwickelungsreife erlangt; da ahnen sie vielleicht nur den Rückweg zu den Göttern, aber haben es noch weit bis dahin. Es ist ein Funke dieses Göttlichen in dem Menschen, aber in den Führern ist jeweilig mehr vorhanden. Sie stehen näher dem Göttlichen, das der Mensch wieder erreichen soll. Und das, was in diesen Führern der Menschheit lebt, das erblickt derjenige, dessen Auge für das Geistige geöffnet ist, als das Wesentliche und die Hauptsache an ihnen.

Nehmen wir an, irgendein großer Führer der Menschheit stünde vor einem andern Menschen, der diesem Führer zwar nicht ebenbürtig wäre, aber doch über den Durchschnitt der Menschen hinausragte. Dieser Mensch, nehmen wir an, hat eine lebendige Empfindung dafür, daß der andere ein großer Führer ist, daß das Geistige, das die übrigen Menschen erlangen sollen, schon in einem höheren Grade in ihm vorhanden ist. Wie würde solch ein Mensch diesen Führer schildern? Er würde etwa sagen: Da steht vor mir ein Mensch, ein Mensch im physischen Leibe wie die andern. Aber der physische Leib ist das Unbedeutende an ihm, das kommt gar nicht in Betracht an ihm. Wenn ich aber das geistige Auge auf ihn richte, dann erscheint mir mit ihm verbunden ein mächtiges Geistwesen, ein göttlich-geistiges Wesen. Und das ist so bedeutend, daß ich alle Aufmerksamkeit nur auf dieses göttlich-geistige Wesen lenke und nicht auf das, was physisch bei ihm erscheint wie an einem anderen Menschen. — So eröffnet sich dem geistigen Seher an einem Menschheitsführer etwas, was an Wesenheit die ganze übrige Menschheit überragt, und was er ganz anders beschreiben muß. Denn er beschreibt, was er mit dem geistigen Auge daran sieht.

Diejenigen, welche heute die maßgebende Stimme in der Öffentlichkeit haben, die würden sich freilich über solch einen überragenden Menschheitsführer lustig machen. Wir sehen ja, wie heute schon verschiedene Gelehrte damit anfangen, Größen in der Menschheit vom psychiatrischen Standpunkt aus zu behandeln! Erkennen würden ihn nur diejenigen, welche ihren geistigen Blick geschärft haben. Die aber würden wissen, daß er kein Narr oder Schwärmer ist, und auch nicht einfach ein «begabter Mensch », wie Wohlwollendere ihn vielleicht bezeichnen, sondern daß er zu den größten Gestalten des Menschheitslebens im geistigen Sinne gehört. So würde es heute sein. Aber in der Vergangenheit war es doch noch etwas anders, und auch noch in einer Vergangenheit, die gar nicht so weit hinter uns liegt.

Wir wissen ja, daß die Menschheit in bezug auf ihr Bewußtsein verschiedene Metamorphosen durchgemacht hat. Alle Menschen haben einstmals ein dumpfes, dämmerhaftes Hellsehen gehabt. Selbst zu der Zeit, als der Christus gelebt hat, war das Hellsehen noch bis zu einem gewissen Grade entwickelt, und in früheren Jahrhunderten noch mehr, wenn es auch nur noch ein Schattenbild von dem Hellsehen der atlantischen und der ersten nachatlantischen Zeiten war. Nach und nach verschwand erst das hellseherische Bewußtsein der Menschen. Es waren aber immer noch einige unter den Menschen verstreut, die es kannten, und auch heute noch gibt es solche, die «natur-hellsehend » sind, die ein dumpfes Hellsehen haben und daher unterscheiden können in bezug auf die geistige Wesenheit des Menschen.

Nehmen wir die Zeit, in der für das alte indische Volk der Buddha erschienen ist. Damals war es noch nicht so wie heute. Heute würde die Erscheinung eines Buddha, wenn sie noch gar in Europa geschähe, gar nicht irgendwie besonders respektiert werden. Aber zu Buddhas Zeiten war das anders. Denn es gab dazumal noch eine große Anzahl von Menschen, die sehen konnten, was da eigentlich vorging: daß mit dieser Buddha-Geburt etwas ganz anderes geschehen war als mit irgendeiner andern gewöhnlichen Geburt. In den Schriften des Morgenlandes, und gerade in denjenigen Schriften, die mit tiefstem Verständnis diese Sache behandeln, wird die Buddha-Geburt im großen Stile, möchte man sagen, beschrieben. Da wird erzählt, daß «der Großen Mutter Ebenbild » die Königin Maya war, und daß ihr vorhergesagt worden war, sie würde ein mächtiges Wesen zur Welt bringen. Als dann dieses Wesen geboren wurde, kam es als eine Frühgeburt auf die Welt.

Sehr häufig ist das eines der Mittel, um ein bedeutendes Wesen in die Welt zu schicken: es eine Frühgeburt sein zu lassen, weil dann das menschliche Wesen, in das sich das höhere geistige Wesen verkörpern soll, sich nicht so gründlich mit der Materie vereinigt, als wenn es die vollständige Reifezeit ausgetragen wird.

Es wird nun weiter in den bedeutsamen Schriften des Morgenlandes berichtet, daß in demselben Augenblick, als der Buddha geboren wurde, er erleuchtet war, und die Augen sogleich aufschlug und sie nach den vier Hauptpunkten der Welt richtete, nach Norden, Süden, Osten, Westen. Und ferner wird uns gesagt, daß er sogleich sieben Schritte machte, und daß die Spuren dieser sieben Schritte eingegraben sind in den Boden, wo er sie machte. Und auch gesprochen hat er gleich, so wird uns gesagt, und die Worte, die er sprach, lauteten: «Dies ist das Leben, in welchem ich vom Bodhisattva zum Buddha werde, die letzte der Verkörperungen, die ich auf dieser Erde durchzumachen habe.»

So sonderbar solch eine Mitteilung für den materialistisch denkenden Menschen von heute erscheint, und so wenig man sie ohne weiteres materialistisch deuten darf, so wahr ist sie für den, der die Dinge mit geistigen Augen zu schauen vermag. Und es waren eben damals noch Leute, die aus einer natürlichen Hellsehergabe heraus geistig zu schauen vermochten, was mit dem Buddha geboren war. Es sind sonderbare Sätze, die ich Ihnen aus morgenländischen Schriften jetzt über den Buddha mitgeteilt habe. Heute sagt man, das sei Sage und Mythe. Derjenige aber, der diese Dinge versteht, der weiß, daß sich da etwas verbirgt, was gegenüber der geistigen Welt Wahrheit ist. Und solche Ereignisse, wie die Buddha-Geburt, bedeuten nicht bloß etwas im engen Kreise der Persönlichkeit, die da geboren ist, sondern sie bedeuten etwas für die Welt, strahlen gleichsam geistige Kräfte aus. Und die, welche noch in Zeiten lebten, als die Welt empfänglicher war für geistige Kräfte, die sahen, daß wirklich bei der Geburt des Buddha geistige Kräfte ausgestrahlt wurden.

Es wäre sehr billig, wenn jemand jetzt sagen wollte: Warum geschieht denn das heute nicht mehr? Oh, es sind heute auch Wirkungen da, nur ist der Seher dazu nötig, um sie zu sehen. Denn es gehört nicht bloß dazu, daß derjenige da ist, von dem die Kräfte ausstrahlen, sondern auch der andere, der sie annimmt. In den Zeiten, als die Menschen noch spiritueller waren, waren sie auch noch empfänglicher für solche Ausstrahlungen. Daher ist wieder eine tiefe Wahrheit dahinter, wenn uns gesagt wird, daß bei der Geburt des Buddha Kräfte wirkten, die heilender und versöhnender Natur waren. Das ist nicht bloß eine Sage, sondern tiefe Wahrheiten stecken dahinter, wenn gesagt wird, daß damals, als der Buddha zur Welt kam, diejenigen, die sich vorher gehaßt hatten, jetzt sich in Liebe vereinten, die sich gestritten hatten, nun in Lobreden sich begegneten, und so weiter.

Wer mit dem Auge des Sehers die Entwickelung der Menschheit überblickt, dem erscheint sie nicht wie einem Historiker als ein ebener Weg, der höchstens ein wenig von denen überragt wird, die man als historische Gestalten gelten läßt. Daß es auch Höhen und Berge gibt, das wollen die Menschen nicht zugeben, das vertragen sie nicht. Wer aber mit geistigen Augen die Welt überblickt, der weiß, daß es mächtige Höhen, mächtige Berge gibt, die über den Weg der übrigen Menschheit hinausragen. Das sind eben die Führer der Menschheit.

Worauf beruht nun solche Führerschaft der Menschheit? Eine solche Führerschaft beruht darauf, daß der Mensch nach und nach die Stufen durchmacht, die ihn zum Leben in der geistigen Welt führen. Eine der Stufen haben wir gestern als die wichtigste gezeigt: die Geburt des höheren, des geistigen Ich. Und wir haben gesagt, daß es Vorstufen und daß es Nachstufen gibt. Aus dem, was wir gestern gesagt haben, können Sie ersehen, daß dasjenige, was wir als das Christus-Ereignis bezeichnen, die mächtigste Erhebung in der Menschheitsentwickelung ist, und daß eine lange Vorbereitung notwendig war, damit sich das Christus-Wesen in dem Jesus von Nazareth verkörpern konnte. Um diese Vorbereitungen zu verstehen, ist es nötig, daß wir uns dieselbe Erscheinung ein wenig im kleinen vor Augen führen.

Nehmen wir an, ein Mensch tritt den geistigen Erkenntnispfad in irgendeiner Verkörperung an, das heißt er macht irgendwelche von den Übungen - von denen wir auch noch sprechen werden -, welche die Seele immer geistiger und geistiger gestalten, immer empfänglicher machen für das Geistige und sie dem Zeitpunkt entgegenführen, wo sie das höhere, unvergängliche Ich gebiert, das in die geistige Welt hineinschauen kann. Viele Erlebnisse macht der Mensch bis dahin durch. Nun darf man sich nicht vorstellen, daß der Mensch irgend etwas übereilen kann in geistiger Beziehung. In Geduld und Ausdauer muß so etwas durchgemacht werden. Nehmen wir also an, ein Mensch beginnt mit einer solchen Entwickelung. Sein Ziel ist die Geburt des höheren Ich. Aber er bringt es nur bis zu einer gewissen Stufe. Er erreicht gewisse Vorstufen zu der Geburt des höheren Ich. Nun stirbt er und wird dann wiedergeboren. Jetzt kann zweierlei eintreten, wenn ein solcher Mensch, der in einer Verkörperung eine gewisse geistige Schulung durchgemacht hat, wiedergeboren wird. Entweder er kann den Drang fühlen, sich wieder einen Lehrer zu suchen, um sich zeigen zu lassen, wie er rasch das wiederholt, was er vorher durchgemacht hat, und wie er zu den entsprechend höheren Stufen hinaufkommt. Oder er sucht aus irgendwelchem Grunde keinen solchen Weg. Auch da wird sich sein Leben oft anders gestalten als bei einem andern Menschen. Bei einem Menschen, der etwas von dem Erkenntnispfad bereits durchgemacht hat, wird das Leben auch ganz von selbst etwas bringen, das sich ausnimmt wie Wirkungen der Erkenntnishöhe, die er schon in der vorhergehenden Verkörperung erreicht hat. Er wird anderes erleben, und die Erlebnisse werden einen anderen Eindruck auf ihn machen, als es bei anderen Menschen der Fall ist. Und dann wird er an solchen Erlebnissen aufs neue erreichen, was er früher durch sein Streben erlangt hat. In der früheren Inkarnation mußte er von Punkt zu Punkt strebend tätig sein. Im nächsten Leben, wo ihm sozusagen wiederholentlich das Leben selbst bringt, was er früher erstrebt hat, da tritt es gleichsam von außen an ihn heran, und es kann sein, daß er in ganz anderer Form die Ergebnisse der früheren Inkarnation erlebt. So kann es geschehen, daß ihm schon in der Kindheit in irgendeinem Erlebnis etwas entgegentritt, was auf sein ganzes Gemüt einen solchen Eindruck macht, daß die Kräfte, die er sich in der vorherigen Inkarnation angeeignet hat, wieder in ihm erstehen. Nehmen wir an, ein solcher Mensch habe in einer Inkarnation eine bestimmte Stufe der Weisheitsentwickelung erlangt. In der nächsten Inkarnation wird er wiedergeboren als ein Kind wie jeder andere. Aber mit sieben oder acht Jahren macht er irgend etwas Schweres durch. Das hat auf seine Seele die Wirkung, daß alles das wieder herauskommt, was er sich früher als Weisheit errungen hat, so daß er jetzt wieder auf der früher erreichten Stufe steht und von da zu der nächsten hinanschreiten kann. Nun nehmen wir weiter an, er bemühe sich jetzt, um einige Stufen weiter zu kommen. Er stirbt wieder. In der nächsten Inkarnation kann es wieder so gehen. Wieder kann ein äußeres Erlebnis an ihn herantreten, das ihn gleichsam auf die Probe stellt, wodurch dann wieder zutage kommt zuerst das, was er in der vorvorigen Inkarnation sich erarbeitet hat, dann das, was er in der vorigen Inkarnation erlangt hat, und dann kann er wiederum eine Stufe höher steigen.

Sie sehen daraus, daß wir das Leben eines solchen Menschen, der schon früher gewisse Stufen der Entwickelung durchschritten hat, nur begreifen, wenn wir solches in Rechnung ziehen. Da ist zum Beispiel eine Stufe, die man bald erreicht, wenn man erst auf dem Erkenntniswege strebt, das ist die Stufe des sogenannten heimatlosenMenschen, desjenigen Menschen, der hinauswächst über die unmittelbaren Vorurteile der nächsten Umgebung, der frei wird von dem, was ihn an allen möglichen Gängelbanden der nächsten Umgebung zieht. Der Mensch braucht dadurch nicht pietätlos zu werden, er kann sogar um so pietätvoller sein. Aber er muß frei sein von den Banden der nächsten Umgebung. Nehmen wir den Fall, daß ein solcher Mensch in einem Stadium stirbt, wo er sich hindurchgearbeitet hat zu einer gewissen Freiheit und Unabhängigkeit. Nun wird er wiedergeboren, und da kann es sein, daß verhältnismäßig früh ein Erlebnis auftritt, wodurch das Gefühl der Freiheit und Unabhängigkeit wiedergeboren wird. Gewöhnlich geschieht es dadurch, daß der Betreffende seinen Vater oder irgendeinen, mit dem er sonst verbunden ist, verliert, oder auch, daß dieser Vater sich nicht gut gegen ihn benimmt, ihn vielleicht verstößt oder dergleichen mehr. Das teilen uns getreulich die Sagen der verschiedenen Völker mit, denn in diesen Dingen sind die Mythen und Sagen der Völker wirklich weiser als die heutige Wissenschaft. Da werden Sie überall den Typus finden, daß der Vater den Auftrag gibt, daß das Kind ausgesetzt werde; das Kind wird von Hirten aufgefunden, wird von ihnen genährt, aufgezogen und später zu seinem Beruf zurückgebracht, wie zum Beispiel Chiron, Romulus und Remus. Um das wiedererstehen zu lassen, was sie sich in früheren Inkarnationen bereits errungen hatten, dazu sollten sie sozusagen durch den Verrat ihrer Heimat an ihnen selber gelangen. Auch die Sage von der Aussetzung des Ödipus gehört dahin.

Nun können Sie sich auch denken, daß, je weiter der Mensch ist - sei es auf der Stufe der Geburt seines höheren Ich, oder darüber hinaus -, desto reicher an Erlebnissen auch sein Leben sein muß, damit er dahin kommt, daß er wieder ein neues Erlebnis durchmacht, das er früher noch nicht hatte.

Derjenige, welcher jene mächtige Wesenheit, die wir den Christus nennen, in sich verkörpern sollte, konnte diese Mission natürlich nicht in einem beliebigen Lebensalter übernehmen. Dazu mußte er erst nach und nach reif werden. Kein gewöhnlicher Mensch konnte das übernehmen. Das mußte schon einer sein, der durch viele Leben hindurch hohe Grade der Einweihung erlangt hatte. Was da geschehen mußte, das erzählt uns treulich die Akasha-Chronik. Sie berichtet uns, wie durch viele Leben hindurch eine Individualität von Stufe zu Stufe gestrebt hat zu hohen Einweihungsgraden. Dann wurde sie wiedergeboren, und nun machte sie in dieser irdischen Verkörperung Erlebnisse durch, die zunächst vorbereitend waren. Aber in dem, was sich da verkörpert hatte, lebte bereits eine Individualität, welche hohe Stufen durchgemacht hatte. Ein Eingeweihter war es, der dazu bestimmt war, in einem späteren Zeitpunkt seines Lebens die Christus-Individualität in sich aufzunehmen. Die Erlebnisse, die nun dieser Eingeweihte zunächst hat, sind Wiederholungen seiner früheren Einweihungsstufen. Dadurch wird aus der Seele alles das herausgeholt, wozu sich diese Seele früher aufgeschwungen hat.

Nun wissen wir: Der Mensch besteht aus dem physischen Leib, dem Ätherleib, dem astralischen Leib und dem Ich. Wir wissen aber auch, daß im Verlaufe des Menschenlebens zunächst mit der physischen Geburt nur der physische Leib des Menschen geboren wird, daß dann bis zum 7. Jahre der Ätherleib des Menschen noch umgeben ist mit einer Art Äther-Mutterhülle, und mit dem 7. Jahre, mit dem Zahnwechsel, diese Äther-Mutterhülle ebenso zurückgestoßen wird wie die physische Mutterhülle, wenn der physische Leib in die äußere physische Welt hineingeboren wird. Dann später mit der Geschlechtsreife wird in ähnlicher Weise eine astralische Hülle hinweggestoßen, und der astralische Leib wird geboren. Mit dem 21. Jahre ungefähr wird dann das Ich geboren, aber auch wieder nur nach und nach.

Nachdem wir durchgegangen haben die Gebutt des physischen Leibes, die des Ätherleibes mit dem 7. Jahre, des astralischen Leibes mit dem 14. bis 15. Jahre, haben wir in ähnlicher Weise eine Geburt der Empfindungsseele, der Verstandesseele und der Bewußtseinsscele zu beachten; und zwar wird mit dem 21. Jahre ungefähr die Empfindungsseele geboren, mit dem 28. Jahre die Verstandesscele und ungefähr mit dem 35. Jahre die Bewußtseinsseele.

Nun werden wir sehen, daß die Christus-Wesenheit in einem Menschen der Erde sich nicht früher verkörpern konnte, nicht früher Platz haben konnte in diesem Menschen, als bis die Verstandesseele vollständig geboren war. Es konnte also die Christus-Wesenheit in jenem Eingeweihten, in den sie hineingeboren wurde, nicht vor dem 28. Jahre sich verkörpern. Das zeigt uns auch die geistige Forschung. Zwischen dem 28. und dem 35. Jahre zog die Christus-Wesenheit ein in diejenige Individualität, die als ein großer Bingeweihter die Erde betrat, und dann nach und nach unter dem Glanze, unter dem Lichte dieser großen Wesenheit alles das entwickelte, was der Mensch sonst ohne diesen Glanz, ohne dieses Licht entwickelt, nämlich den Ätherleib, den astralischen Leib, die Empfindungsseele und die Verstandesseele. So können wir also sagen: Bis zu diesem Lebensalter haben wir in dem, der berufen war, der Christus-Träger zu werden, einen großen Eingeweihten vor uns, der nach und nach die Erlebnisse durchmacht, welche endlich alles das herausbringen, was er in früheren Inkarnationen erlebt und sich erarbeitet hat an Eroberungen der geistigen Welt. Dann tritt für ihn die Möglichkeit ein, sich zu sagen: Jetzt bin ich da, ich opfere alles hin, was ich habe. Ich will kein selbständiges Ich weiter sein. Ich mache mich zum Träger des Christus. Der soll in mir wohnen, und von jetzt ab in mir alles sein!

Diesen Zeitpunkt, in dem der Christus sich in eine Persönlichkeit der Erde verkörperte, deuten alle vier Evangelien an. Mögen sie auch sonst Verschiedenheiten haben, diesen Zeitpunkt, in dem der Christus in den großen Eingeweihten gleichsam hineinschlüpft, den deuten alle vier Evangelien an: Es ist die Johannes-Taufe. In jenem Augenblick, den der Schreiber des Johannes-Evangeliums so klar bezeichnet, indem er sagt, daß der Geist herunterstieg in der Gestalt einer Taube und sich vereinigte mit dem Jesus von Nazareth, da haben wir die Geburt des Christus, da wird in der Seele des Jesus von Nazareth der Christus als ein neues, höheres Ich geboren. Bis dahin hat ein anderes Ich, das eines großen Eingeweihten, sich so weitentwickelt, daß es reif war zu diesem Ereignis.

Und wer sollte geboren werden in die Jesus von Nazareth-Wesenheit?

Das haben wir gestern bereits angedeutet: der Gott, der von Anfang an da war, der sich sozusagen in der geistigen Welt gehalten hat und die Menschen sich einstweilen entwickeln ließ, der sollte jetzt heruntersteigen und sich in dem Jesus von Nazareth verkörpern. — Deutet uns etwa der Schreiber des Johannes-Evangeliums das an? - Wir brauchen nur einmal in dieser Beziehung die Worte des Evangeliums ernst zu nehmen. Lesen wir zu diesem Zwecke den Anfang des Alten Testamentes:

«Im Anfange (oder im Urbeginne) schuf Gott Himmel und Erde. Und die Erde war wüst und leer, und es war wirre und finster über dem Abgrund. Und der göttliche Geist schwebte über den Wassern.»

Stellen wir uns die Situation vor: Der Geist Gottes schwebte über den Wassern. Unten steht die Erde mit ihren Reichen als den Nachfolgern des göttlichen Geistes. Unter ihnen entwickelt sich eine Individualität so weit, daß sie diesen Geist, der über den Wassern schwebte, in sich aufnehmen kann. Was sagt der Schreiber des Johannes-Evangeliums? Er sagt uns, daß der Täufer Johannes erkannt hat, daß die entsprechende Wesenheit da war, von der im Alten Testament die Rede ist. Er sagt: «Ich sah, daß der Geist herabfuhr wie eine Taube vom Himmel, und blieb auf ihm.» Er wußte, wenn der Geist auf einen herabfährt, dann ist das der, der da kommen soll: der Christus. Da haben Sie den Anfang der Weltentwickelung, den über den Wassern schwebenden Geist, da haben Sie den mit dem Wasser taufenden Johannes und den Geist, der erst über den Wassern schwebte, der jetzt in die Individualität des Jesus von Nazareth hineinfährt. Man kann nicht in grandioserer Weise, als der Schreiber des Johannes-Evangeliums es tut, das Ereignis von Palästina anknüpfen an jenes andere Ereignis, das im Anfange derselben Urkunde erzählt wird, an welche das Evangelium sich anschließt.

Aberauchin anderer Weise knüpft der Schreiber des Johannes-Evangeliums an diese älteste Urkunde an. Er tut es gerade mit den Worten, mit denen er ausdrückt, daß sich mit dem Jesus von Nazareth dasselbe verbindet, was von Anfang an geschaffen hat an aller Erdenentwickelung. Wir wissen ja, daß die ersten Worte im Johannes-Evangelium heißen:

«Im Urbeginne war das Wort (oder der Logos), und das Wort (oder der Logos) war bei Gott, und ein Gott war das Wort (oder der Logos).»

Was ist der Logos? und wie war er bei Gott? Nehmen wir einmal den Anfang des Alten Testamentes da, wo wir diesen Geist vor uns haben, von dem es heißt:

«Und der göttliche Geist schwebte über den Wassern. Und der göttliche Geist rief: Es werde Licht! Und es ward Licht.»

Halten wir das fest, und drücken wir das jetzt etwas anders aus. Hören wir zu, wie der göttliche Geist das Schöpfungswort durch die Welt ruft. Was ist es, das Wort? Im Urbeginne war der Logos, und der göttliche Geist rief, und es geschah das, was der Geist rief. Das heißt: In dem Wort war Leben. Denn wenn nicht Leben darinnen gewesen wäre, so hätte es nicht geschehen können. Und was geschah? Es wird erzählt:

«Und Gott sprach: Es werde Licht! und es ward Licht.»

Und jetzt nehmen wir wieder das Johannes-Evangelium.

«Im Urbeginne war das Wort, und das Wort war bei Gott, und ein Gott war das Wort.»

Nun war das Wort hineingeströmt in die Materie, war da gleichsam die äußere Gestalt der Gottheit geworden.

«In ihm war das Leben, und das Leben war das Licht der Menschen.»

So knüpft der Schreiber des Johannes-Evangeliums direkt an die älteste Urkunde an, an die Genesis. Nur mit etwas anderen Worten deutet er auf denselben göttlichen Geist hin. Und dann macht er uns klar, daß es der göttliche Geist ist, der dann erscheint in dem Jesus von Nazareth.

Darin ist der Schreiber des Johannes-Evangeliums mit den anderen Evangelisten einig, daß mit der Johannes-Taufe des Jesus von Nazareth der Christus in dem Jesus von Nazareth geboren wird, und daß der Jesus von Nazareth vorher sich wohl dazu vorzubereiten hatte. Und wir müssen uns darüber klar sein, daß alles, was uns vom Leben des Jesus von Nazareth vother erzählt wird, nichts anderes ist als eine Summe von Erlebnissen, die uns seinen Aufstieg in die höheren Welten in früheren Inkarnationen darlegen, wie er alles, was er in sich hatte, in seinem astralischen Leib, seinem Ätherleib und seinem physischen Leib, nach und nach zubereitet hat, um endlich den Christus aufnehmen zu können.

Derjenige, welcher das Lukas-Evangelium geschrieben hat, sagt sogar in etwas paradigmatischen Worten, daß der Jesus von Nazareth sich in jeglicher Beziehung vorbereitet hat auf dieses große Ereignis, auf die Geburt des Christus in ihm. Welches die einzelnen Erlebnisse sind, die ihn heraufgeführt haben bis zu dem Christus-Erlebnis, davon wollen wir morgen sprechen. Heute wollen wir noch darauf hinweisen, wie der Schreiber des Lukas-Evangeliums mit einem einzigen Satze sagt: Der, der den Christus aufgenommen hat, hat sich wohl vorbereitet in den vorhergehenden Jahren. In seinem astralischen Leib ist er so tugendvoll und edel und weise geworden, wie er werden mußte, damit der Christus in ihm geboren werden konnte. Und auch seinen Ätherleib hat er so reif gemacht und seinen physischen Leib so geschmeidig und schön, daß der Christus in ihm sein konnte.

Man braucht das Evangelium nur richtig zu verstehen. Nehmen wir im zweiten Kapitel des Lukas-Evangeliums den 52. Vers. Freilich so, wie dieser Vers in den gewöhnlichen Bibeln steht, wird er nicht das sagen, was ich jetzt eben gesagt habe. Dort heißt dieser 52. Vers des zweiten Kapitels:

«Und Jesus nahm zu an Weisheit, Alter und Gnade bei Gott und den Menschen.»

Man möchte ja noch einigen Sinn damit verbinden, wenn ein solcher Mensch, wie der Schreiber des Lukas-Evangeliums, von Jesus von Nazareth sagt, daß er zunahm an Weisheit. Wenn er aber dann als ein wichtiges Ereignis erzählt, daß er an « Alter» zunahm, so ist das nicht ohne weiteres verständlich, denn das ist doch etwas, was man nicht besonders hervorzuheben braucht. Daß es dennoch geschieht, deutet darauf hin, daß hier noch etwas anderes vorliegen muß. Nehmen wir einmal den 52. Vers des zweiten Kapitels im Ürtext:

Καὶ Ἰησοῦς προέκοπτεν ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ ἡλικίᾳ, καὶ χάριτι παρὰ Θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις.

Das ist in Wirklichkeit aber folgendes: «Er nahm zu an Weisheit», das heißt, er bildete seinen astralischen Leib aus. Wer da weiß, an was der griechische Geist bei dem Worte ἡλικίᾳ (hēlikia) dachte, der kann Ihnen sagen, daß hier jene Entwickelung gemeint ist, die der Ätherleib durchmacht, wodurch Weisheit allmählich zur Fertigkeit wird. Sie wissen, daß der astralische Leib die Eigenschaften ausbildet, die zum einmaligen Gebrauch da sind; das heißt, man versteht einmal etwas und hat es verstanden. Der Ätherleib bildet das, was er entwickelt, als Gewohnheiten, Neigungen und Fertigkeiten aus. Durch immerwährende Wiederholung geschieht es. Das, was Weisheit ist, wird zur Gewohnheit. Man führt es aus, weil es einem in Fleisch und Blut übergegangen ist. Also dieses Zunehmen an «Reife» bedeutet es. Ebenso wie der astralische Leib an Weisheit, so ist der Ätherleib gewachsen an edlen Gewohnheiten, an Gewohnheiten zum Guten, Edlen und Schönen. Und das dritte, woran der Jesus von Nazareth zunahm, χάρις (charis), heißt in Wirklichkeit das, was als Schönheit sich offenbart und sichtbar wird. Alleanderen Übertragungen sind nicht richtig. Wit müssen übersetzen, daß er zunahm an «anmutiger Schönheit», daß sich also auch sein physischer Leib schön und edel bildete:

«Und Jesus nahm zu an Weisheit (in seinem astralischen Leibe), an reifen Neigungen (in seinem Ätherleibe), und an anmutiger Schönheit (in seinem physischen Leibe), so daß das sichtbar war Gott und den Menschen.»

Da haben Sie die Schilderung des Lukas, die uns zeigt, wie er wußte, daß derjenige, welcher den Christus in sich aufnehmen sollte, die dreifache Hülle, den physischen Leib, Ätherleib und astralischen Leib, zur höchsten Entfaltung auszubilden hatte.

Auf diese Weise werden wir erkennen, daß man in den Evangelien wiederfinden kann, was die Geisteswissenschaft, unabhängig von den Evangelien, sagt. Dadurch ist die Geisteswissenschaft gerade eine Kulturströmung, die uns die religiösen Urkunden wiedererobert, und diese Wiedereroberung wird nicht nur ein Ereignis des menschlichen Wissens und Erkennens sein, sondern eine Eroberung des Gemütes und des Verständnisses, in Gefühl und Empfindung. Und ein solches Verständnis brauchen wir besonders, wenn wir dieses Ereignis, den Einschlag des Christus in die Menschheitsentwickelung, begreifen wollen.

Second Lecture

When we speak about a subject such as ours from the standpoint of spiritual science, we do not do so on the basis of any document or written work that has come into being in the course of human evolution, and then use the authority of this written work to shed light on this or that set of facts. This is not how it is done in spiritual science. Rather, spiritual science investigates what has happened in the course of human evolution quite independently of all documents; and only when the spiritual researcher has investigated the relevant things using methods that are independent of any document and knows how to characterize them, does he approach the document in question and see whether what has been researched independently of any tradition can also be found in the documents. So everything that is said in these lectures about the course of events is not merely taken from the Bible or the four Gospels, but is the result of spiritual research independent of all the Gospels. But it should be pointed out at every opportunity that everything that spiritual researchers can discover and observe is reflected in the Gospels, and especially in the Gospel of John.

There is a remarkable statement by the great mystic Jakob Böhme. Only those who stand outside the framework of spiritual science are surprised by this statement. Jakob Böhme once pointed out that he speaks of past times in human evolution—for example, of the personality of Adam—as if they were experiences taking place directly around him, and he says: Perhaps some may ask: Were you there when Adam walked on earth? And Jakob Böhme answers candidly: Yes, I was there! — And that is a remarkable statement. For spiritual science is indeed capable of observing what has happened, even if it was a long time ago, with the eyes of the spirit. I would like to begin by pointing out in a few general words what this is based on.

Everything that happens in the sensory-physical world has its counterpart in the spiritual world. When a hand moves, it is not only what your eye sees as the moving hand that is present, but behind the moving hand, behind the image of the hand in your eye, there is, for example, my thought and my will: the hand should move. There is a spiritual element behind it. While the image seen by the eye, the sensory impression of the hand's movement, passes by, the spiritual counterpart remains inscribed in the spiritual world and always leaves a trace, so that when we open our spiritual eyes, we can follow the traces left behind by their spiritual counterparts in all things that have happened in the world. Nothing can happen in the world without leaving such traces.

Let us suppose that the spiritual researcher lets his gaze wander back to Charlemagne or to Roman times or to Greek antiquity. Everything that happened there has been preserved in the spiritual world in the form of traces of its spiritual archetypes and can be seen there. This viewing of the traces left behind by all events in the spiritual world is called “reading the Akashic Records.” There is such a living script that the spiritual eye can see. And when the spiritual researcher describes to you the events in Palestine or the observations of Zarathustra, he is not describing what is written in the Bible or in the Gathas, but what he himself understands from reading the Akashic Records. And then it is investigated whether what has been deciphered in the Akashic Records can also be found in the documents, in our case in the Gospels. Spiritual research therefore takes a completely free position with regard to the documents. But that is precisely why it will be the true judge of what appears in the documents. But if we find in the documents the same things that we are able to trace in the Akashic Records themselves, then it follows that these documents are true and, furthermore, that they must have been written by someone who is also able to look into the Akashic Records. Spiritual science is reconquering many of the religious and other documents of the human race in this way. We will illustrate what has now been said in a special chapter on the development of humanity, in the Gospel of John and its relationship to the other Gospels. But you must not imagine that the Akashic Records, the spiritual history that lies like an open book before the seer's eyes, is anything like a document of the ordinary world. It is a kind of living script, and we will try to clarify this in the following.

Let us assume that the seer's gaze wanders back—let us say to the time of Caesar. Caesar did this and that, and insofar as he did it on the physical plane, his contemporaries saw it. Everything left a trace in the Akashic Records. But when you look back as a seer, you see the deeds as if you had a spiritual shadow image or a spiritual archetype before you. Think again of the movement of the hand. As a seer, you cannot see the image in your eye, but you will always see the intention to move the hand, the invisible forces that moved the hand. In this way, everything that lived in Caesar's thoughts can be seen, whether he wanted to take this or that step or fight this or that battle. Everything that his contemporaries saw arose from his impulses of will and was realized through the invisible forces behind the images before their eyes. But what stood behind these images can really be seen as the walking and acting Caesar, as a spiritual image of Caesar, when one looks back as a spiritual seer into the Akashic Records.

Now someone who is not well versed in such matters might say: When you tell us about times past, we believe that it is all just fantasy. For you know from history what Caesar did, and then, through your powerful imagination, you believe you see some invisible Akashic images. But those who are well versed in these matters know that the less one knows about the same things from external history, the easier it is to read the Akashic Records. For external history and knowledge of it are downright disruptive to the seer. When we reach a certain age, we are bound by various aspects of the education we received in our time. The seer, too, comes with the education of his age to the point where he can give birth to his seerical self. He has learned from history, he has learned how geology, biology, cultural history, and archaeology convey things to him. All of this actually disturbs the view and can make him biased toward what can be read in the Akashic Records. For in external history, one must not seek the same objectivity and certainty that is possible when deciphering the Akashic Records. Just consider what determines whether this or that becomes “history” in the world. Of any event, certain documents have been preserved, while others, perhaps the most important ones, have been lost. One example shows us how uncertain all history can be.

Among Goethe's various poetic plans that were never realized, and which for those who are more familiar with Goethe are a wonderful addition to the great and magnificent works he left us, there is also the fragment of a Nausicaa poem. He wanted to write a Nausicaa. However, only a few sketches remain in which he wrote down how he wanted to carry out this poem. He often worked in this way, sometimes jotting down a few sentences, and often very little of this has survived. This is also the case with Nausikaa. There are a few slips of paper with some notes on them. Now there were two people who both attempted to rewrite this Nausicaa. Both were researchers: the literary historian Scherer and Herman Grimm. But Herman Grimm was not only a researcher, he was also an imaginative thinker; he is the same person who wrote “The Life of Michelangelo” and “Goethe.” Herman Grimm did this by trying to get into Goethe's mind and asking himself: If Goethe was like this and like that, how would he have perceived a character like Nausicaa in the Odyssey? He then rewrote Nausicaa in Goethe's style, with a certain disregard for historical documents. Scherer, who researched everything that was available in black and white, said that Goethe's Nausicaa could only be reconstructed on the basis of the available material. He also attempted to construct a Nausicaa, but only from what could be gleaned from these notes. Herman Grimm then said: But what if Goethe's valet took some of the notes on which something very important was written and used them to light the fire? Is there any guarantee that these existing notes can be considered alongside the others that may have been used to light the fire?

This example shows how it can be with all history that is based on documents. And this is very often the case. When relying on documents, one must never forget that the most important ones may have been lost. Therefore, we have nothing in history but a “fable convenue.” But if the seer brings this “fable convenue” with him and sees things quite differently in the Akashic Records, then he has difficulty believing in the Akashic image. And those who belong to the external audience will then attack him if he tells anything differently from the Akashic Records. Therefore, those who are well versed in these matters prefer to talk about ancient times for which there are no documents, when they can speak of long-past stages of our Earth's development.

There are no documents about these things. The Akashic Records report most truthfully about them, because they are least disturbed by external history. From these remarks you may conclude that no one who is well versed in such matters will ever think that the descriptions in the Akashic Records could in any way be an echo of what is already known from external history.

If we now investigate the great event, the meaning of which we hinted at yesterday, in the Akashic Records, we find mainly the following. The entire human race, as far as it lives on Earth, originates from a spiritual realm, from a spiritual-divine existence. We can say that before there was any possibility for an external physical eye to see human bodies or for any hand to grasp human bodies, human beings existed as spiritual beings, and in the most ancient times they existed as part of the divine-spiritual beings. They were born as beings from divine-spiritual beings. The gods are, so to speak, the ancestors of human beings, and human beings are the descendants of the gods. The gods needed human beings as their descendants because they were, in a sense, unable to descend into the physical-sensory world without such descendants. At that time, the gods continued their existence in other worlds and worked from outside upon human beings, who gradually developed on Earth.

And now humans had to overcome, step by step, the obstacles that earthly life brought about. What are these obstacles?

The essential thing for human beings is that the gods remained spiritual, and human beings, as their descendants, became physical. Human beings, who had the spiritual only as the inner aspect of the physical and had become physical as external beings, had to overcome all the obstacles that physical existence presented. Within material existence, they had to educate themselves further. In this way, they developed from stage to stage, becoming more and more mature, and thus it became increasingly possible for them to turn upward toward the gods from whose bosom they were born. Thus, descending from the gods and turning back toward them in order to gradually reach them again and reunite with them is the path of human beings through earthly life. But in order for human beings to undergo this development, individual human beings had to develop a little faster than others, to go ahead of them, to become their leaders and teachers. Such leaders and teachers then stand within the rest of humanity and find their way back to the gods earlier than the others, so to speak. So we can imagine that in a certain age, human beings have reached a certain stage of development; they may only have a vague sense of the way back to the gods, but they still have a long way to go. There is a spark of the divine in human beings, but there is more of it in the leaders. They are closer to the divine that human beings are meant to reach again. And what lives in these leaders of humanity is seen by those whose eyes are open to the spiritual as the essential and most important thing about them.

Let us suppose that some great leader of humanity stands before another human being who is not his equal, but who nevertheless rises above the average human being. Let us suppose that this person has a vivid sense that the other is a great leader, that the spiritual that the rest of humanity is to attain already exists in him to a higher degree. How would such a person describe this leader? He would say something like: There stands before me a human being, a human being in a physical body like the others. But the physical body is insignificant in him; it does not come into consideration at all. But when I turn my spiritual eye toward him, then a powerful spiritual being, a divine-spiritual being, appears to me connected with him. And this is so significant that I direct all my attention only to this divine-spiritual being and not to what appears physically in him as in any other human being. — Thus, something is revealed to the spiritual seer in a leader of humanity that surpasses the rest of humanity in essence and that he must describe in a completely different way. For he describes what he sees with his spiritual eye.

Those who have the authoritative voice in public today would, of course, mock such an outstanding leader of humanity. We can already see how various scholars are beginning to treat great figures in humanity from a psychiatric point of view! Only those who have sharpened their spiritual vision would recognize him. But they would know that he is not a fool or a dreamer, nor simply a “gifted person,” as more benevolent people might describe him, but that he belongs to the greatest figures of human life in the spiritual sense. That is how it would be today. But in the past it was somewhat different, even in a past that is not so far behind us.

We know that humanity has undergone various metamorphoses in terms of its consciousness. All human beings once had a dull, dim clairvoyance. Even at the time when Christ lived, clairvoyance was still developed to a certain degree, and in earlier centuries even more so, even if it was only a shadow of the clairvoyance of the Atlantean and early post-Atlantean times. Gradually, the clairvoyant consciousness of human beings disappeared. However, there were still a few scattered among the people who knew it, and even today there are those who are “naturally clairvoyant,” who have a dim clairvoyance and can therefore distinguish between the spiritual beings of human beings.

Let us take the time when the Buddha appeared to the ancient Indian people. At that time, things were not as they are today. Today, if the appearance of a Buddha were to occur even in Europe, it would not be regarded as anything particularly special. But in Buddha's time it was different. For at that time there were still a large number of people who could see what was actually happening: that something quite different had taken place with this Buddha birth than with any other ordinary birth. In the scriptures of the East, and especially in those scriptures that deal with this matter with the deepest understanding, the birth of Buddha is described in grand style, one might say. It is told that the “image of the Great Mother” was Queen Maya, and that it had been prophesied that she would give birth to a powerful being. When this being was born, it came into the world as a premature birth.

This is very often one of the means of sending an important being into the world: to let it be born prematurely, because then the human being in whom the higher spiritual being is to incarnate does not unite so thoroughly with matter as when it is carried to full term.

The significant writings of the East further report that at the very moment the Buddha was born, he was enlightened and immediately opened his eyes and looked toward the four cardinal points of the world: north, south, east, and west. And further, we are told that he immediately took seven steps, and that the traces of these seven steps are engraved in the ground where he made them. And he also spoke immediately, we are told, and the words he spoke were: “This is the life in which I will become a Buddha, the last of the incarnations I have to go through on this earth.”

As strange as such a statement may seem to the materialistic-minded person of today, and as little as it can be interpreted in a materialistic sense, it is nevertheless true for those who are able to see things with spiritual eyes. And at that time there were still people who, through a natural gift of clairvoyance, were able to see spiritually what was born with the Buddha. These are strange sentences that I have now shared with you from Eastern writings about the Buddha. Today, people say that these are legends and myths. But those who understand these things know that there is something hidden here that is true in relation to the spiritual world. And events such as the birth of the Buddha do not merely have meaning within the narrow circle of the personality that was born, but they have meaning for the world; they radiate spiritual forces, as it were. And those who still lived in times when the world was more receptive to spiritual forces saw that spiritual forces were indeed radiated at the birth of the Buddha.

It would be very cheap to say, “Why doesn't this happen today?” Oh, the effects are still there today, but you need a seer to see them. For it is not enough that the one from whom the forces radiate is present; the other, who receives them, must also be present. In times when people were more spiritual, they were also more receptive to such emanations. Therefore, there is a deep truth behind what we are told, that at the birth of the Buddha, forces of a healing and reconciling nature were at work. This is not merely a legend, but there are profound truths behind it when it is said that at the time when the Buddha came into the world, those who had previously hated each other were now united in love, those who had quarreled now met each other with words of praise, and so on.

Those who view the development of humanity with the eye of the seer do not see it, as historians do, as a level path, towering above at most a few of those who are considered historical figures. People do not want to admit that there are also heights and mountains; they cannot bear it. But those who view the world with spiritual eyes know that there are mighty heights, mighty mountains that tower above the path of the rest of humanity. These are the leaders of humanity.

What is the basis of such leadership of humanity? Such leadership is based on the fact that human beings gradually pass through the stages that lead them to life in the spiritual world. Yesterday we showed one of the stages as the most important: the birth of the higher, spiritual I. And we said that there are preliminary stages and subsequent stages. From what we said yesterday, you can see that what we call the Christ event is the most powerful elevation in human development, and that a long preparation was necessary for the Christ being to incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. In order to understand these preparations, it is necessary to consider the same phenomenon on a smaller scale.

Let us assume that a person embarks on the spiritual path of knowledge in some incarnation, that is, he performs some of the exercises—which we will also discuss later—that make the soul increasingly spiritual, increasingly receptive to the spiritual, and lead it toward the moment when it gives birth to the higher, imperishable self that can look into the spiritual world. The human being goes through many experiences until then. Now, one must not imagine that the human being can rush anything in a spiritual relationship. Such a thing must be gone through with patience and perseverance. Let us assume that a person begins such a development. His goal is the birth of the higher self. But he only reaches a certain stage. He reaches certain preliminary stages of the birth of the higher self. Now he dies and is reborn. Now two things can happen when such a person, who has undergone a certain spiritual training in one incarnation, is reborn. Either they feel the urge to seek out a teacher again to show them how to quickly repeat what they have already gone through and how to ascend to the correspondingly higher stages. Or, for whatever reason, they do not seek such a path. In this case, too, their life will often take a different course than that of another person. For a person who has already gone through some of the path of knowledge, life will also automatically bring something that looks like the effects of the level of knowledge he has already attained in his previous incarnation. He will experience different things, and these experiences will make a different impression on him than they do on other people. And then, through such experiences, they will once again attain what they had previously achieved through their striving. In their previous incarnation, they had to strive actively from point to point. In the next life, where life itself brings them, as it were, what they had previously strived for, it approaches them from outside, so to speak, and it may be that they experience the results of their previous incarnation in a completely different form. Thus it can happen that already in childhood, in some experience, something comes up that makes such an impression on his whole mind that the powers he acquired in his previous incarnation arise again in him. Let us suppose that such a person has attained a certain stage of wisdom in one incarnation. In the next incarnation, he is reborn as a child like any other. But at the age of seven or eight, he goes through something difficult. This has the effect on his soul that everything he previously attained as wisdom comes out again, so that he now stands again at the stage he previously reached and can progress from there to the next one. Now let us assume that he now strives to advance a few more levels. He dies again. In the next incarnation, the same thing can happen again. Once again, an external experience can come to him that puts him to the test, so to speak, whereby first what he worked out in the incarnation before last comes to light, then what he attained in the previous incarnation, and then he can again rise one step higher.

You can see from this that we can only understand the life of such a person, who has already passed through certain stages of development, if we take this into account. For example, there is a stage that is soon reached when one first strives on the path of knowledge, and that is the stage of the so-called homeless person, the person who outgrows the immediate prejudices of their immediate environment, who becomes free from everything that binds them to their immediate environment. This does not mean that the person becomes irreverent; they can even be all the more reverent. But they must be free from the bonds of their immediate environment. Let us take the case of such a person dying at a stage where they have worked their way through to a certain freedom and independence. Now they are reborn, and it may be that relatively early on an experience occurs which reawakens the feeling of freedom and independence. This usually happens when the person loses his father or someone else with whom he is closely connected, or when his father behaves badly toward him, perhaps rejects him or something similar. The legends of various peoples faithfully tell us this, for in these matters the myths and legends of the peoples are truly wiser than modern science. Everywhere you will find the type where the father gives orders for the child to be abandoned; the child is found by shepherds, who nurse and raise him, and later return him to his profession, as in the cases of Chiron, Romulus, and Remus. In order to restore what they had already achieved in previous incarnations, they had to betray their homeland, so to speak. The legend of the abandonment of Oedipus also belongs here.

Now you can also imagine that the further advanced a person is—whether at the stage of the birth of their higher self or beyond—the richer their life must be in experiences in order for them to reach the point where they go through a new experience that they have not had before.

The one who was to embody within himself that mighty being we call Christ could not, of course, take on this mission at any age. He first had to mature gradually. No ordinary human being could take this on. It had to be someone who had attained high degrees of initiation through many lives. The Akashic Records faithfully tell us what had to happen. They tell us how, through many lives, an individuality strove from stage to stage toward high degrees of initiation. Then it was reborn, and now, in this earthly embodiment, it went through experiences that were initially preparatory. But in what had incarnated there already lived an individuality that had passed through high stages. It was an initiate who was destined to take up the Christ individuality within himself at a later point in his life. The experiences that this initiate now has at first are repetitions of his earlier stages of initiation. In this way, everything that the soul had previously aspired to is brought out of it.

Now we know that human beings consist of the physical body, the etheric body, the astral body, and the I. But we also know that in the course of human life, only the physical body is born at physical birth, that until the age of seven the etheric body is still surrounded by a kind of etheric mother shell, and that at the age of seven, with the change of teeth, this etheric mother membrane is rejected in the same way as the physical mother membrane when the physical body is born into the outer physical world. Later, at puberty, an astral membrane is rejected in a similar way, and the astral body is born. At around the age of 21, the ego is born, but again only gradually.

After we have gone through the birth of the physical body, that of the etheric body at the age of 7, and that of the astral body between the ages of 14 and 15, we must consider in a similar way the birth of the sentient soul, the intellectual soul, and the conscious soul; namely, at about the age of 21, the sentient soul is born, at the age of 28, the intellectual soul, and at about the age of 35, the conscious soul.

Now we will see that the Christ Being could not incarnate in a human being on earth, could not take its place in this human being, until the intellectual soul was completely born. Therefore, the Christ Being could not incarnate in that initiate into whom it was born before the age of 28. Spiritual research also shows us this. Between the ages of 28 and 35, the Christ Being entered into the individuality that came to earth as a great initiate, and then, gradually, under the radiance, under the light of this great Being, developed everything that human beings otherwise develop without this radiance, without this light, namely the etheric body, the astral body, the sentient soul, and the intellectual soul. So we can say that up to this age, we have before us in the one who was called to become the bearer of Christ a great initiate who gradually goes through experiences that finally bring forth everything he has experienced and worked for in previous incarnations in terms of conquests of the spiritual world. Then the opportunity arises for him to say: Now I am here, I sacrifice everything I have. I no longer want to be an independent self. I make myself the bearer of Christ. He shall dwell in me, and from now on be everything in me!

All four Gospels hint at this moment when Christ incarnated himself in an earthly personality. Although they may differ in other respects, all four Gospels hint at this moment when Christ, as it were, slips into the great initiates: it is the baptism of John. At that moment, which the writer of the Gospel of John describes so clearly when he says that the Spirit descended in the form of a dove and united with Jesus of Nazareth, we have the birth of Christ; Christ is born as a new, higher self in the soul of Jesus of Nazareth. Up to that point, another I, that of a great initiate, had developed to such an extent that it was ripe for this event.

And who was to be born into the being of Jesus of Nazareth?

We already hinted at this yesterday: the God who was there from the beginning, who remained, so to speak, in the spiritual world and allowed human beings to develop for the time being, was now to descend and incarnate himself in Jesus of Nazareth. — Is this what the writer of the Gospel of John is suggesting to us? We need only take the words of the Gospel seriously in this regard. Let us read the beginning of the Old Testament for this purpose:

“In the beginning (or in the primeval beginning), God created heaven and earth. And the earth was desolate and empty, and there was confusion and darkness over the abyss. And the divine Spirit hovered over the waters.”

Let us imagine the situation: the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. Below stands the earth with its realms as the successors of the divine Spirit. Among them, an individuality develops to such an extent that it can take in this Spirit that hovered over the waters. What does the writer of the Gospel of John say? He tells us that John the Baptist recognized that the corresponding entity mentioned in the Old Testament was present. He says, “I saw the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and remaining on him.” He knew that when the Spirit descends upon someone, it is the one who is to come: the Christ. There you have the beginning of world evolution, the Spirit hovering over the waters; there you have John baptizing with water and the Spirit that first hovered over the waters and now enters into the individuality of Jesus of Nazareth. There is no more grandiose way of linking the event in Palestine to that other event recounted at the beginning of the same document to which the Gospel is attached than the writer of the Gospel of John does.

But the writer of the Gospel of John also links this oldest document in another way. He does so precisely with the words with which he expresses that the same thing that created all earthly development from the beginning is connected with Jesus of Nazareth. We know that the first words in the Gospel of John are:

“In the beginning was the Word (or the Logos), and the Word (or the Logos) was with God, and the Word (or the Logos) was God.”

What is the Logos? And how was it with God? Let us take the beginning of the Old Testament, where we have this Spirit before us, of whom it is said:

“And the divine Spirit hovered over the waters. And the divine Spirit called: Let there be light! And there was light.”

Let us hold on to that and express it a little differently. Let us listen to how the divine Spirit calls the word of creation through the world. What is the word? In the beginning was the Logos, and the divine Spirit called, and what the Spirit called came to be. That means: in the word was life. For if there had been no life in it, it could not have come to be. And what happened? It is said:

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

And now let us return to the Gospel of John.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Now the Word had flowed into matter and had become, as it were, the outer form of the Godhead.

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

Thus, the writer of the Gospel of John ties in directly with the oldest document, Genesis. He points to the same divine spirit, only with slightly different words. And then he makes it clear to us that it is the divine spirit that then appears in Jesus of Nazareth.

In this, the writer of the Gospel of John agrees with the other evangelists that with the baptism of Jesus of Nazareth by John, Christ was born in Jesus of Nazareth, and that Jesus of Nazareth had to prepare himself beforehand. And we must be clear that everything we are told about the life of Jesus of Nazareth is nothing more than a sum of experiences that show us his ascent into the higher worlds in previous incarnations, how he gradually prepared everything he had in himself, in his astral body, his etheric body, and his physical body, in order to finally be able to receive Christ.

The author of the Gospel of Luke even says in somewhat paradigmatic words that Jesus of Nazareth prepared himself in every respect for this great event, for the birth of Christ within him. Tomorrow we will talk about the individual experiences that led him up to the Christ experience. Today we want to point out how the writer of the Gospel of Luke says in a single sentence: He who received Christ prepared himself well in the preceding years. In his astral body, he became as virtuous, noble, and wise as he had to be in order for Christ to be born in him. He also made his etheric body so mature and his physical body so supple and beautiful that Christ could be in him.

One only needs to understand the Gospel correctly. Let us take verse 52 of the second chapter of Luke's Gospel. Of course, as this verse appears in ordinary Bibles, it does not say what I have just said. There, verse 52 of the second chapter reads:

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.”

One would like to find some meaning in this when someone like the writer of the Gospel of Luke says that Jesus of Nazareth grew in wisdom. But when he then recounts as an important event that he grew in “age,” this is not readily understandable, for this is something that does not need to be particularly emphasized. The fact that it happens nevertheless indicates that there must be something else at work here. Let us take verse 52 of the second chapter of the original text:

Καὶ Ἰησοῦς προέκοπτεν ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ ἡλικίᾳ, καὶ χάριτι παρὰ Θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις.

But in reality, this means the following: “He grew in wisdom,” that is, he formed his astral body. Anyone who knows what the Greek mind meant by the word ἡλικίᾳ (hēlikia) can tell you that this refers to the development that the etheric body undergoes, whereby wisdom gradually becomes skill. You know that the astral body develops the qualities that are there for one-time use; that is, you understand something once and have understood it. The etheric body develops what it develops as habits, inclinations, and skills. This happens through constant repetition. What wisdom is becomes a habit. You carry it out because it has become second nature to you. This is what this increase in “maturity” means. Just as the astral body grows in wisdom, so the etheric body grows in noble habits, in habits for the good, the noble, and the beautiful. And the third thing in which Jesus of Nazareth grew, χάρις (charis), means in reality that which reveals itself and becomes visible as beauty. All other translations are incorrect. We must translate that he grew in “graceful beauty,” that his physical body also became beautiful and noble:

“And Jesus grew in wisdom (in his astral body), in mature inclinations (in his etheric body), and in graceful beauty (in his physical body), so that it was visible to God and to men.”

Here you have Luke's description, which shows us how he knew that the one who was to take Christ into himself had to develop the threefold sheath, the physical body, the etheric body, and the astral body, to their highest degree.

In this way, we will recognize that what spiritual science says, independently of the Gospels, can be found in the Gospels. This makes spiritual science a cultural current that recovers the religious documents for us, and this recovery will not only be an event of human knowledge and understanding, but a conquest of the mind and understanding, in feeling and sensation. And we need such understanding especially if we want to comprehend this event, the impact of Christ on human evolution.