The Way of Initiation
GA 10
V. Enlightenment
[ 1 ] Enlightenment is the result of very simple processes. Here, too, it is a matter of developing certain feelings and thoughts which are dormant within all men, but must be awakened. Only he who carries out these simple processes with complete patience, continuously and strenuously, can be led by them to the reception of inner illumination. The primary step is taken by observing different natural objects in a particular way; and these are as follows: a transparent stone of beautiful form (a crystal), a plant, and an animal. One should endeavour at first to direct one's whole attention to a comparison of the stone with the animal, in the following way: The thoughts which, accompanied by strong emotions, are thus induced, must pass through the soul, and no other emotions or thoughts must be mixed with them, or disturb the intense contemplation. One then says to oneself= “The stone has a form and the animal changes his. It is impulse (desire) which causes the animal to change its place, and it is these impulses which are served by the form of the animal. Its organs and instruments are the expression of these impulses. The form of the stone, on the contrary, is fashioned, not in accordance with impulses, but in accordance with an impulseless force.” [The fact here mentioned, in its bearing on the contemplation of crystals, is in many ways distorted by those who have only heard of it in an outward (exoteric) manner, and in this way such practices as crystal-gazing have their origin. Misrepresentations of such a kind are the outcome of misunderstanding. They have been described in many books, but they never form the subject of genuine (esoteric) teaching.]
If one sinks deeply into such thoughts, and while doing so observes the stone and the animal with fixed attention, then there arise in the soul two separate kinds of emotion. From the stone into the soul there flows one hind of emotion, and from the animal another. Probably in the beginning the experiment will not succeed, but little by little, with genuine and patient practice, these emotions become manifest. Again and again one should practise. At first the emotions only last as long as the contemplation. Later on, they work afterwards, and then they grow to some thing which remains alive in the soul. One then needs only to reflect, and both emotions invariably arise, apart from all contemplation of an external object.
Out of these, emotions, and the thoughts which are bound up with them, clairvoyant organs are formed. For should the plant be added to the contemplation, one will notice that the feeling out-flowing from it, both in its quality and in its degree, lies between that which emanates from the stone and that from the animal. The organs which are so formed are spiritual eyes. We learn by degrees and through their means to see both astral and mental colours. As long as one has only attained, the condition described as Probation, the spiritual world with its lines and figures remains dark, but through Enlightenment it will become clear. It must be noted here that the words “dark” and “light,” as well as the other common expressions, do but approximately describe what is really meant. But if ordinary language is not used, there is none possible and yet this language was only constructed to suit physical conditions.
Occult science describes what emanates from the stone and is seen by clairvoyant eyes, as “blue” or “bluish-red:” that which is observed as coming from the animal is described as “red” or “reddish-yellow.” In reality they are colours of a spiritual kind which are discerned. The colour proceeding from the plant is “green.” Plants are just those natural phenomena whose qualities in the higher worlds are similar to their qualities in the physical world. But it is not so with stones and animals. It must now be clearly understood that the above-mentioned colours do but suggest the prevailing shades of the stone, the plant, or the animal. In reality, all possible overtones exist. Every animal, every stone, every plant has its own peculiar shade of colour. In addition to these there are also the creatures of the higher worlds, who never incorporate themselves with their on colours, often marvellous, often horrible. In fact, the variety of colours in the higher worlds is immeasurably greater than in the physical world.
[ 2 ] If a man has once acquired the faculty of seeing with spiritual eyes, he then, sooner or later, meets with the beings here mentioned, some of them higher, some lower than man himself, beings who never entered into physical existence.
If he has come so far, the way to a great deal lies open before him; but it is inadvisable to proceed any further without an experienced guide. Indeed, for all that has been here described, such experienced guidance is desirable. For the rest, if anyone has the power and endurance to travel so far that he fulfils the elementary conditions of enlightenment here described, he will assuredly seek and discover his guide.
[ 3 ] But under all circumstances it is important to give one warning, and he who will not apply it had better leave untrodden all the steps of occult science. It is necessary that he who would become an occult student should lose none of his attributes as a good and noble man, and one susceptible to all physical truths. Indeed, throughout his apprenticeship he must continually increase his moral strength, his inner purity, and his powers of observation. let us give an example: During the preliminary practices of Enlightenment, the student must be careful to be always enlarging his sympathy with the animal and human worlds, and his sense of Nature's beauty. If he is not careful to do this, he persistently blunts that sense and that feeling by the use of these practices. The heart would grow cold and the senses become blunted, and that could only lead to perilous results.
[ 4 ] How enlightenment proceeds, if one rises, in the sense of the foregoing practices, from the stone, the plant, and the animal, up to man, and how, after enlightenment, under all circumstances, the gentle hand of the Pilot comes on a certain day, and leads to Initiation—of these things the next chapter will deal in so far as it can and may do so.
[ 5 ] In our time, the path to occult science is sought after by many. It is sought in various ways, and many dangerous and even objectionable practices are tried. Therefore it is that those who know something of the truth concerning these things have allowed part of the occult training to be communicated. Only so much is here imparted as this permission allows, and it is necessary that something of the truth should be known in order that it may counteract the great danger of these errors. If nothing be forced, there is no danger for him who follows the way already described; only one thing should be noted: nobody ought to spend more time or power upon such practices than what is at his disposal with due regard to his circumstances and his duties. No one, for the sake of the occult path, ought suddenly to change anything in the external conditions of his life. If one desires genuine results, one must have patience; one should be able to cease the practice after a few minutes, and then peacefully to continue one's daily work, and no thought of these practices ought to be mingled with the work of the day. He who has not learned to wait, in the best and highest sense of the word, is of no use as an occult student, nor will he ever attain results of much real value.
[ 6 ] He who is in search of the paths to occult knowledge, by the means which have been indicated in the foregoing pages, must fortify himself throughout the whole course of his efforts by a certain thought. He must ever bear in mind that after persevering for some time he may have made very real progress without becoming conscious of it in the precise way which he had expected. He who does not remember this is likely to lose heart, and in a little while to abandon his efforts altogether. The mental powers and faculties about to be developed are at first of the most subtle kind, and their nature differs entirely from the conceptions of them which are formed in the student's mind. He was accustomed to occupy himself with the physical world alone. The mental and astral worlds eluded his gaze, and baffled his conceptions. It is, therefore, not remarkable if, at first, he fails to realise the new forces, mental and astral, which are developing in his own being. This is why it is dangerous to enter the path leading to occult knowledge without experienced guidance. The teacher sees the progress made by the pupil, long before the latter becomes conscious of it himself. He sees the delicate organs of spiritual vision beginning to form themselves, before the pupil is aware of their existence, and a great part of the duties of the teacher consists in perpetual watchfulness, lest the disciple lose confidence, patience, and perseverance, before he becomes conscious of his own progress. The teacher, as we know, can confer upon the student no powers which are not already latent within him, and his sole function is to assist in the awakening of slumbering faculties. But he may be a pillar of strength to him who strives to penetrate through darkness into the light.
[ 7 ] There are many who leave the occult path soon after setting foot upon it, because they are not immediately conscious of their own progress. And even when higher experiences first begin to dawn upon the seeker, he is apt to regard them as illusions, because he had anticipated them quite differently. He loses courage, either because he regards these first experiences as of no value, or because they appear so insignificant that he has no hope of their leading to any appreciable results within a measurable time. Courage and self-confidence are the two lamps which must never be allowed to burn themselves out on the pathway to the occult. He who cannot patiently repeat an exercise which has failed for an apparently unlimited number of times, will never travel far.
[ 8 ] Long before any distinct perception of progress, comes an inarticulate mental impression that the right road has been found. This is a feeling to be welcomed, and to be encouraged, since it may develop into a trustworthy guide. Above all, it is imperative to extirpate the idea that any fantastic, mysterious practices are required for the attainment of higher experiences. It must be clearly realised that ordinary every-day human feelings and thoughts must form the basis from which the start is to be made, and that it is only needful to give these thoughts and feelings a new direction. Everyone must say to himself: “In my own sphere of thoughts and sensations lie enfolded the deepest mysteries, but hitherto, I have not been able to perceive them.” In the end it all resolves itself into the fact that man, ordinarily, carries body, soul, and spirit about with him, yet is conscious only of the body, not of the soul and spirit, and that the student attains to a similar consciousness of soul and spirit also.
[ 9 ] Hence it is highly important to give the proper direction to thoughts and feelings, in order that one may develop the perception of that which is invisible in ordinary life. One of the ways by which this development may be carried out will now be indicated. Again, like almost everything else we have explained so far, it is quite a simple matter. Yet the results are of the greatest consequence, if the experiment is carried out with perseverance, and in the right frame of mind.
[ 10 ] Place before you the small seed of a plant. It is then necessary, while contemplating this insignificant object, to create with intensity the right kind of thoughts, and through these thoughts to develop certain feelings. In the first place, let the student clearly grasp what is really presented to his vision. Let him describe to himself the shape, colour, and all other qualities of the grain of seed. Then let his mind dwell upon the following train of thought: “This grain of seed, if planted in the soil, Will grow into a plant of complex structure.” Let him clearly picture this plant to himself. Let him build it up in his imagination. And then let him reflect that the object now existing only in his imagination will presently be brought into actual physical existence by the forces of the earth and of light. If the thing contemplated by him were an artificially-made object, though such a close imitation of nature that no external difference could be detected by human eyesight, no forces inherent in the earth or light could avail to produce from it a plant. He who thoroughly grasps this thought and inwardly assimilates it will also be able to form the following idea with the right feeling. He will say to himself: “That which is ultimately to grow out of this seed is already as a force now secretly enfolded within it. The artificial duplicate of the seed contains no such force. And yet both appear to be alike to my eyes. The real seed, therefore, contains something invisible which is not present in the imitation.” It is this invisible something on which thought and feeling are now to be concentrated. [Anyone who might object that a microscopic examination would reveal the difference between the two would only show that he has failed to grasp the intention of the experiment. The intention is not to investigate the physical structure of the object, but to use it as a means for the development of psychic force.] Let the student fully realise that this invisible something will later on translate itself into a visible plant, perceptible by him in shape and colour. Let him dwell upon the thought: “The invisible will become visible. If I could not think, then I could not realise, already, that which will only become visible later on.”
[ 11 ] Particular stress must be laid on the importance of feeling with intensity that which one thinks. In calmness of mind a single thought must be vitally experienced within oneself to the exclusion of all disturbing influences. Sufficient time must be taken to allow the thought, and the state of feeling connected therewith, to become, as it were, imbedded in the soul. If that is accomplished in the right way—possibly not until after numerous attempts—an inward force will make itself felt. And this force will create new powers of perception. The grain of seed will appear as if enclosed in a small luminous cloud. The spiritualised vision of the student perceives it as a kind of flame. This flame is of a lilac colour in the centre, blue at the edges. Then appears that which one could not see before, and which was created by the power of thought and feeling brought into life within oneself. That which was physically invisible (the plant which will not become visible until later on) has there revealed itself to the spiritual eye.
[ 12 ] It is pardonable if, to many men, all this appears to be mere illusion. Many will say: “What is the value of such visions or such hallucinations?” And many will thus fall away, and no longer continue to tread the path. But this is precisely the important point—not to confuse, at this difficult stage of human evolution, spiritual reality with the mere creations of phantasy, and to have the courage to press manfully onward, instead of growing timorous and faint-hearted. On the other hand, however, it is necessary to insist on the necessity of maintaining unimpaired, and of perpetually cultivating, the healthy attitude of mind which is required for the distinguishing of truth from illusion. Never during all these exercises must the student surrender the fully conscious control of himself. He must continue to think as soundly and sanely in these conditions as he does with regard to the things and occurrences of ordinary life. It would be a bad thing if he lapsed into reveries. He must at every moment be clear-headed and sober-minded, and it would be the greatest mistake if the student, through such practices, lost his mental equilibrium, or if he were prevented from judging as sanely and clearly as before the matters of work-a-day life. The disciple should, therefore, examine himself again and again to find out whether he has remained unaltered in relation to the circumstances among which he lives, or whether perchance he has lost his mental balance. He must ever maintain a calm repose within his own individuality, and an open mind for everything, being careful at the same time not to drift into vague reveries or to experiment with all sorts of exercises.
The lines for development here indicated belong to those which have been followed, and whose efficacy has been demonstrated in the schools of occultism from the earliest ages, and none but such will here be given. Anyone attempting to employ methods of meditation devised by himself, or which he may have come across in the course of promiscuous reading, will inevitably be led astray, and will lose himself in a boundless morass of incoherent fantasies.
[ 13 ] A further exercise which may succeed the one described above, is the following: Let the disciple place himself in front of a plant which has attained the stage of full development. Now let his mind be absorbed by the reflection that a time is at hand when this plant will wither and die. “Nothing,” he should say to himself, “nothing of what I now see before me will endure. But this plant will have evolved seeds which in their turn will grow into new plants. I become again aware that in what I see something lies concealed which I cannot see. I will fill my mind wholly with the thought that this plant-form with its colours will cease to be. But the reflection that the plant has produced seeds teaches me that it will not disappear into nothing. That which will prevent this disappearance, I can at present no more see with my eyes than I could originally discern the plant in the grain of seed. The plant, therefore, contains something which my eyes are unable to see. If this thought fully lives in me, and combines with the corresponding state of feeling, then, in due time, there will again develop a force in my soul which will ripen into a new kind of perception.” Out of the plant there grows once more a flame-like appearance, which is, of course, correspondingly larger than that which was previously described. This flame is greenish at the centre, and is tinged: with yellow at the outer edge.
[ 14 missing from text ][ 15 ] He who has won this vision has gained greatly, inasmuch as he sees things not only in their present state of being, but also in their development and decay. He begins to see in all things the spirit, of which the bodily organs of sight have no perception. And he has thus taken the initial steps on that road, which will gradually enable him to solve, by direct vision, the secret of birth and death. To the outer senses, a being begins to exist at its birth, and ceases to exist at its death. This, however, only appears to be so, because these senses are unable to apprehend the concealed spirit. Birth and death are only for this spirit, transformations, just as the unfolding of the flower from the bud is a transformation enacted before our physical eyes. But if one desires to attain to direct perception of these facts, one must first awaken the spiritual vision by the means here indicated.
[ 16 ] In order to meet an objection which may be raised by certain people already possessed of some psychical experience, let it be at once admitted that there are shorter and simpler ways than this, and that there are persons who have direct perception of the actualities of birth and death, without having had to pass through all the stages of discipline here set forth. There are human beings endowed with high psychical faculties, to whom only a slight impulse is necessary for the developing of these powers. But they are exceptional, and the methods described above are safer, and are capable of general application. Similarly, it is possible to gain some knowledge of chemistry by special methods; but in order to make safer the science of chemistry, the recognised, reliable course must be followed.
[ 17 ] An error fraught with serious consequences would result from the assumption that the goal could be reached more simply by allowing the mind to dwell merely on an imaginary plant or a grain of seed. It may be possible by such means to evoke a force which would enable the soul to attain the inner vision. But this vision will be, in most cases, a mere figment of the imagination, for the main object is not to create arbitrarily a mental vision, but to allow the veritable nature of things to form an image within one's mind. The truth must well up from the depth of one's own soul, but the necromancer who shall call up the truth must not be one's ordinary self, but rather must the objects of one's perception themselves exercise their magical power, if one is to perceive their inner reality.
[ 18 ] After the disciple has evolved, by such means, the rudiments of spiritual vision, he may proceed to the contemplation of human nature itself. Simple appearances of ordinary life must be chosen first. But before making any attempts in this direction, it is imperative for the student to strive after an absolute sincerity of moral character. He must banish all thoughts of ever using the insight to be attained in these ways for his own personal benefit. He must be absolutely determined that under no circumstances will he avail himself, in an evil sense, of any power which he may gain over his fellow-creatures. This is the reason why everyone who desires to gain direct insight into the secrets of human nature must follow the golden rule of true Occultism. And the golden rule is this: For every one step that you take in the pursuit of the hidden knowledge, take three steps in the perfecting of your own character. He who obeys this rule can perform such exercises as that which is now explained.
[ 19 ] Begin by observing a person filled with a desire for some object. Direct your attention to this desire. It is best to choose a. time when this desire is at its height, and when it is not yet certain whether the object of the desire will be attained or not. Then surrender yourself entirely to the contemplation of that which you observe, but maintain the utmost inner tranquillity of soul. Make every endeavour to be deaf and blind to everything that may be going on around you at the same time, and bear in mind particularly that this contemplation is to evoke a state of feeling, in your soul. Allow this state of feeling to arise in your soul, like a cloud rising on an otherwise cloudless horizon. It is to be expected, of course, that your observation will be interrupted, because the person on whom it is directed will not remain in this particular state of mind for a sufficient length of time. Presumably you will fail in your experiment hundreds and hundreds of times. It is simply a question of not losing patience. After many attempts you will ultimately realise the state of feeling spoken of above as fast as the corresponding mental phenomena pass through the soul of the person under observation. After a time you will begin to notice that this feeling in your own soul is evoking the power of spiritual vision into the psychical condition of the other. A luminous image will appear in your field of vision. And this luminous image is the so-called astral manifestation evoked by the desire-state when under observation. Again we may describe this image as flame-like in appearance. It is yellowish red in the centre and reddish blue or lilac at the edges. Much depends upon treating such experiences of the inner vision with great delicacy. It will be best for you at first to talk of them to nobody except your teacher, if you have one. The attempt to describe such appearances in appropriate words usually only leads to gross self-deception. One employs ordinary terms not applicable to such purposes and therefore much too gross and clumsy. The consequence is that one's own attempt to clothe this vision in words unconsciously leads one to blend the actual experience with an alloy of imaginary details. It is, therefore, another important law for the occult inquirer that he should know how to observe silence concerning his inner visions. Observe silence even towards yourself. Do not endeavour to express in words that which you see, or to fathom it with reasoning faculties that are inadequate. Freely surrender yourself to these spiritual impressions without any mental reservations, and without disturbing them by thinking about them too much. For you must remember that your reasoning faculties were, at first, by no means equal to your faculties of observation. You have acquired these reasoning faculties through experiences hitherto confined exclusively to the world as apprehended by your physical senses, and the faculties you are now acquiring transcend these experiences. Do not, therefore, try to measure your new and higher perceptions by the old standard. Only he who has already gained some certainty in his observation of inner experiences ought to speak about them with the idea of thereby stimulating his fellow-beings.
[ 20 ] As a supplementary exercise the following may be set forth. Direct your observation in the same way upon a fellow-being to whom the fulfilment of some wish, the gratification of some desire has just been granted. If the same rules and precautions are adopted as in the previous instance, you will once more attain to spiritual perception. You will distinguish a flame-like appearance which is yellow in the centre and greenish at the edges.
[ 21 ] By such observations of one's fellow-creatures one may easily be led into a moral fault—one may become uncharitable. All conceivable means must be taken to fight against this tendency. Anyone exercising such powers of observation should have risen to the level, on which one is absolutely convinced that thoughts are actual things. He may then no longer allow himself to admit thoughts incompatible with the highest reverence for the dignity of human life and of human liberty. Not for one moment must he entertain the idea of regarding a human being as a mere object for observation. It must be the aim of self-education to see that the faculties for a psychic observation of human nature go hand in hand with a full recognition of the rights of each individual. That which dwells in each human being must be regarded as something holy, and to be held inviolate by us even in our thoughts and feelings. We must be possessed by a feeling of reverential awe for all that is human.
[ 22 ] For the present, only these two examples can be given as to the methods by which an insight into human nature may be achieved, but they will at least serve to point out the way which must be followed. He who has gained the inner tranquillity and repose which are indispensable for such observations, will already, by so doing, have undergone a great transformation. This will soon reach the point at which the increase of his spiritual worth will manifest itself in the confidence and composure of his outward demeanour. Again, this alteration in his demeanour will react favourably on his inner condition, and thus he will be able to help himself further along the road. He will find ways and means of penetrating more and more into the secrets of human nature, hidden from our external senses, and he will then also become ripe for a deeper insight into the mysterious correlations between the nature of man, and of all else that exists in the universe. By following this path, the disciple will approach closer and closer to the day on which he will be deemed worthy of taking the first steps of initiation; but before these can be taken one thing more is necessary. At first it may not be at all apparent to the student why it should be necessary, but he cannot fail to be convinced of it in the end.
[ 23 ] The quality which is indispensable to him who would be initiated is a certain measure of courage and fearlessness. He must absolutely go out of his way to find opportunities for developing these virtues. In the occult schools they are cultivated quite systematically; but life in this respect is itself an excellent school of occultism, nay, possibly the best. To face danger calmly, to try to overcome difficulties unswervingly, this is what the student must learn to do; for instance, in the presence of some peril, he must rise at once to the conception that fears are altogether useless, and ought not to be entertained for one moment, but that the mind ought simply to be concentrated on what is to be done. He must reach a point where it has become impossible for him ever again to feel afraid or to lose his courage. By self-discipline in this direction he will develop within himself quite distinct qualities which he needs if he is to be initiated into the higher mysteries. Just as man in his physical being requires nervous force in order to use his physical senses, so also, in his psychic nature, he requires the force which is only produced in the courageous and the fearless. For in penetrating to the higher mysteries he will see things which are concealed from ordinary humanity by the illusions of the senses. The latter, by hiding the higher verities from our gaze, are in reality our benefactors, since they prevent us from perceiving that which, if realised without due preparation, would throw us into unutterable consternation, things which we could not bear to behold. The disciple must be able to endure this sight. He loses certain supports in the outer world which were owing to the very illusions that encompassed him. It is truly and literally as if his attention were suddenly drawn to a certain danger by which for some time he had already been threatened unconsciously. He was not afraid hitherto, but now that he sees his peril, he is overcome by terror, although the danger has not been rendered any greater by his knowledge thereof.
[ 24 ] The forces at work in the world are both destructive and creative. The destiny of manifested beings is birth and death. The Initiate is to behold this march of destiny. The veil, which in the ordinary course of life clouds the spiritual eyes, is then to be uplifted. The man is himself, however, interwoven with these forces, with this destiny. His own nature contains destructive and creative powers. As undisguisedly as the other objects of his vision are revealed to the eye of the seer, his own soul is bared to his gaze. In the face of this self-knowledge, the disciple must not suffer himself to droop, and in this he will only succeed if he has brought with him an excess of the necessary strength. In order that this may be the case he must learn to maintain inner calm and confidence in the most difficult circumstances; he must nourish within himself a firm faith in the beneficent forces of existence. He must be prepared to find that many motives which have actuated him hitherto will actuate him no longer. He must needs perceive that he has hitherto often thought or acted in a certain manner, because he was still in the toils of ignorance. Reasons like those which influenced him before will now disappear. He has done many things out of personal vanity; he will now perceive how utterly futile all such vanity is in the eyes of the Initiate. He has done much from motives of avarice; he will now be aware of the destructive effect of all avariciousness. He will have to develop entirely new springs for his thought and action, and it is for this that courage and fearlessness are required.
[ 25 ] It is a matter especially of cultivating this courage and this fearlessness in the inmost depths of the mental life. The disciple must learn never to despair. He must always be equal to the thought: “I will forget that I have again failed in this matter. I will try once more, as though nothing at all had happened.” Thus he will fight his way on to the firm conviction that the universe contains inexhaustible fountains of strength from which he may drink. He must aspire again and again to the Divine which will uplift and support him, however feeble and impotent the mortal part of his being may prove. He must be capable of pressing on towards the future, undismayed by any experiences of the past. Every teacher of Occultism will carefully ascertain how far the disciple, aspiring to initiation into the higher mysteries, has advanced on the road of spiritual preparation. If he fulfils these conditions to a certain point, he is then worthy to hear uttered those Names of things which form the key that unlocks the higher knowledge. For Initiation consists in this very act of learning. to know the things of the universe by those Names which they bear in the spirit of their Divine Author. And the mystery of things lies in these Names. Therefore is it that the Initiate speaks another language than that of the uninitiated, for the former knows the Names by which things were called into existence.
Die Erleuchtung
[ 1 ] Die Erleuchtung geht von sehr einfachen Vorgängen aus. Auch dabei handelt es sich darum, gewisse Gefühle und Gedanken zu entwickeln, die in jedem Menschen schlummern und die erwachen müssen. Nur wer mit voller Geduld, streng und anhaltend die einfachen Vorgänge durchnimmt, den können sie zur Wahrnehmung der inneren Lichterscheinungen führen. Der erste Anfang wird damit gemacht, in einer bestimmten Art verschiedene Naturwesen zu betrachten, und zwar zum Beispiele: einen durchsichtigen, schön geformten Stein (Kristall), eine Pflanze und ein Tier. Man suche zuerst seine ganze Aufmerksamkeit auf einen Vergleich des Steines mit dem Tier in folgender Art zu lenken. Die Gedanken, die hier angeführt werden, müssen von lebhaften Gefühlen begleitet durch die Seele ziehen. Und kein anderer Gedanke, kein anderes Gefühl dürfen sich einmischen und die intensiv aufmerksame Betrachtung stören. Man sage sich: «Der Stein hat eine Gestalt; das Tier hat auch eine Gestalt. Der Stein bleibt ruhig an seinem Ort. Das Tier verändert seinen Ort. Es ist der Trieb (die Begierde), welcher das Tier veranlaßt, seinen Ort zu ändern. Und die Triebe sind es auch, denen die Gestalt des Tieres dient. Seine Organe, seine Werlczeuge sind diesen Trieben gemäß ausgebildet. Die Gestalt des Steins ist nicht nach Begierden, sondern durch begierdelose Kraft gebildet.» 3Die hier gemeinte Tatsache, insofern sie sich auf Kristallbeobachtung bezieht, ist von solchen, die nur in außerlicher Weise (exoterisch) davon gehört haben, in mancherlei Art verdreht worden, woraus Verrichtungen wie «Kristallsehen» und so weiter entstanden sind. Derlei Manipulationen beruhen auf Mißverständnissen. Sie sind in vielen Büchern beschrieben worden. Aber sie bilden niemals den Gegenstand wahren (esoterischen) Geheimunterrichtes. Wenn man sich intensiv in diese Gedanken versenkt und dabei mit gespannter Aufmerksamkeit Stein und Tier betrachtet: dann leben in der Seele zwei ganz verschiedene Gefühlsarten auf. Aus dem Stein strömt die eine Art des Gefühls, aus dem Tiere die andere Art in unsere Seele. Die Sache wird wahrscheinlich im Anfange nicht gelingen: aber nach und nach, bei wirklicher geduldiger Übung, werden sich diese Gefühle einstellen. Man muß nur immerfort und fort üben. Erst sind die Gefühle nur so lange vorhanden, als die Betrachtung dauert, später wirken sie nach. Und dann werden sie zu etwas, was in der Seele lebendig bleibt. Der Mensch braucht sich dann nur zu besinnen: und die beiden Gefühle steigen immer, auch ohne Betrachtung eines äußeren Gegenstandes, auf. – Aus diesen Gefühlen und den mit ihnen verbundenen Gedanken bilden sich Hellseherorgane. – Tritt dann in der Betrachtung noch die Pflanze hinzu, so wird man bemerken, daß das von ihr ausgehende Gefühl, seiner Beschaffenheit und auch seinem Grade nach, in der Mitte liegt zwischen dem vom Stein und dem vom Tier ausströmenden. Die Organe, welche sich auf solche Art bilden, sind Geistesaugen. Man lernt mit ihnen allmählich etwas wie seelische und geistige Farben zu sehen. Solange man nur das sich angeeignet hat, was als «Vorbereitung» beschrieben worden ist, bleibt die geistige Welt mit ihren Linien und Figuren dunkel; durch die Erleuchtung wird sie hell. – Auch hier muß bemerkt werden, daß die Worte «dunkel» und «hell» sowie die anderen gebrauchten Ausdrücke nur annähernd aussprechen, was gemeint ist. Will man sich aber der gebräuchlichen Sprache bedienen, so ist nichts anderes möglich. Diese Sprache ist ja nur für die physischen Verhältnisse geschaffen. – Die Geheimwissenschaft bezeichnet nun das, was für das Hellseherorgan vom Stein ausströmt, als «blau» oder «blaurot». Dasjenige, was vom Tier empfunden wird, als «rot» oder «rot–gelb». In der Tat sind es Farben «geistiger Art», die da gesehen werden. Die von der Pflanze ausgehende Farbe ist «grün», das nach und nach in ein helles ätherisches Rosarot übergeht. Die Pflanze ist nämlich dasjenige Naturwesen, welches in höheren Welten in einer gewissen Beziehung ihrer Beschaffenheit in der physischen Welt gleicht. Nicht dasselbe ist aber bei Stein und Tier der Fall. – Nun muß man sich klar sein, daß mit den oben genannten Farben nur die Hauptschattierungen des Stein-, Pflanzen- und Tierreiches angegeben sind. In Wirklichkeit sind alle möglichen Zwischenschattierungen vorhanden. Jeder Stein, jede Pflanze, jedes Tier hat seine ganz bestimmte Farbennuance. Dazu kommen die Wesen der höheren Welten, die niemals sich physisch verkörpern, mit ihren oft wundervollen, oft auch gräßlichen Farben. In der Tat ist der Farbenreichtum in diesen höheren Welten unermeßlich viel größer als in der physischen Welt.
[ 2 ] Hat der Mensch einmal die Fähigkeit erworben, mit «Geistesaugen» zu sehen, so begegnet er auch, über kurz oder lang, den genannten höheren, zum Teil auch tieferen Wesen, als der Mensch ist, die niemals die physische Wirklichkeit betreten.
Hat der Mensch es so weit gebracht, wie hier beschrieben ist, so stehen ihm die Wege zu vielem offen. Aber es ist keinem anzuraten, noch weiter zu gehen ohne sorgfältige Beachtung des vom Geistesforscher Gesagten oder sonst von ihm Mitgeteilten. Und auch für das schon Gesagte ist eine Beachtung solcher kundigen Führerschaft das Allerbeste. Hat übrigens der Mensch in sich die Kraft und Ausdauer, es so weit zu bringen, wie es den angegebenen elementaren Stufen der Erleuchtung entspricht, so wird er ganz gewiß auch die rechte Führung suchen und finden.
[ 3 ] Eine Vorsicht ist aber unter allen Umständen notwendig, und wer sie nicht anwenden will, der soll am besten alle Schritte in die Geheimwissenschaft unterlassen. Es ist notwendig, daß der Mensch, der Geheimschüler wird, nichts verliere von seinen Eigenschaften als edler, guter und für alles physisch Wirkliche empfänglicher Mensch. Er muß im Gegenteile seine moralische Kraft, seine innere Lauterkeit, seine Beobachtungsgabe während der Geheimschülerschaft fortwährend steigern. Um ein Einzelnes zu erwähnen: Während der elementaren Erleuchtungsübungen muß der Geheimschüler dafür sorgen, daß er sein Mitgefühl für die Menschen- und Tierwelt, seinen Sinn für Schönheit der Natur immerfort vergrößere. Sorgt er nicht dafür, so stumpfen sich jenes Gefühl und dieser Sinn durch solche Übungen fortwährend ab. Das Herz würde hart, der Sinn stumpf. Und das müßte zu gefährlichen Ergebnissen führen.
[ 4 ] Wie sich die Erleuchtung gestaltet, wenn man im Sinne der obigen Übungen über Stein, Pflanze und Tier zum Menschen heraufsteigt, und wie, nach der Erleuchtung, der Zusammenschluß der Seele mit der geistigen Welt unter allen Umständen sich einmal einstellt und zur Einweihung hingeleitet: davon wird in den nächsten Abschnitten gesprochen werden, soweit das sein kann.
[ 5 ] Es wird in unserer Zeit von vielen Menschen der Weg zur Geheimwissenschaft gesucht. Auf mancherlei Art wird das getan; und viele gefährliche, ja verwerfliche Prozeduren werden probiert. Deshalb sollen diejenigen, die etwas Wahrhaftes von diesen Dingen zu wissen meinen, anderen die Möglichkeit geben, einiges aus der Geheimschulung kennenzulernen. Nur soviel ist hier mitgeteilt worden, als solcher Möglichkeit entspricht. Es ist notwendig, daß etwas von dem Wahren bekannt werde, damit nicht das Irrtümliche großen Schaden anrichte. Durch die hier vorgezeichneten Wege kann niemand Schaden nehmen, der nichts forciert. Nur das eine muß beachtet werden: niemand darf mehr Zeit und Kraft auf solche Übungen verwenden, als ihm nach seiner Lebensstellung, nach seinen Pflichten zur Verfügung stehen. Niemand darf durch den Geheimpfad irgend etwas in seinen äußeren Lebensverhältnissen augenblicklich ändern. Will man wirkliche Ergebnisse, dann muß man Geduld haben; man muß nach wenigen Minuten der Übung aufhören können und ruhig seiner Tagesarbeit nachgehen. Und nichts darf sich von Gedanken an die Übungen in die Tagesarbeit mischen. Wer nicht im höchsten und besten Sinne warten gelernt hat, der taugt nicht zum Geheimschüler und wird auch niemals zu Ergebnissen kommen, die einen erheblichen Wert haben.
[ 6 ] Wenn jemand die Wege zur Geheimwissenschaft in der Art sucht, wie es in dem vorhergehenden Kapitel beschrieben worden ist, dann darf er nicht versäumen, sich während der ganzen Arbeit durch einen fortwirkenden Gedanken zu stärken. Er muß sich nämlich stets vor Augen halten, daß er nach einiger Zeit schon ganz erhebliche Fortschritte gemacht haben kann, ohne daß sie sich ihm in der Weise zeigen, wie er es vielleicht erwartet hat. Wer dies nicht bedenkt, wird leicht die Beharrlichkeit verlieren und nach kurzer Zeit alle Versuche aufgeben. Die Kräfte und Fähigkeiten, welche man zu entwickeln hat, sind anfänglich von sehr zarter Art. Und ihre Wesenheit ist etwas ganz anderes als das, wovon sich der Mensch vorher Vorstellungen gemacht hat. Er war ja nur gewohnt, sich mit der physischen Welt zu beschäftigen. Die geistige und seelische entzog sich seinen Blicken und auch seinen Begriffen. Es ist daher gar nicht zu verwundern, daß er jetzt, wo sich in ihm geistige und seelische Kräfte entwickeln, diese nicht sogleich bemerkt. – Darinnen liegt die Möglichkeit einer Beirrung für den, welcher sich, ohne sich an die Erfahrungen zu halten, welche kundige Forscher gesammelt haben, auf den Geheimpfad begibt. Der Geheimforscher kennt die Fortschritte, welche der Schüler macht, lange bevor dieser sich selbst ihrer bewußt wird. Er weiß, wie die zarten geistigen Augen sich heranbilden, ehe der Schüler etwas davon weiß. Und ein großer Teil der Anweisungen dieses Geheimforschers besteht eben darinnen, das zum Ausdrucke zu bringen, was bewirkt, daß der Schüler das Vertrauen, die Geduld, die Ausdauer nicht verliere, bevor er zur eigenen Erkenntnis seiner Fortschritte gelangt. Geben kann ja der Geheimkundige seinem Zögling nichts, was in diesem nicht – auf verborgene Art – schon liegt. Er kann nur anleiten zur Entwickelung von schlummernden Fähigkeiten. Aber, was er aus seinen Erfahrungen mitteilt, wird eine Stütze sein dem, der sich aus dem Dunkel zum Lichte durchringen will.
[ 7 ] Gar viele verlassen den Pfad zur Geheimwissenschaft bald, nachdem sie ihn betreten haben, weil ihnen ihre Fortschritte nicht sogleich bemerklich werden. Und selbst, wenn die ersten für den Zögling wahrnehmbaren höheren Erfahrungen auftreten, so betrachtet sie dieser oft als Illusionen, weil er sich ganz andere Vorstellungen von dem gemacht hat, was er erleben soll. Er verliert den Mut, weil er entweder die ersten Erfahrungen für wertlos hält oder weil sie ihm doch so unscheinbar vorkommen, daß er nicht glaubt, sie könnten ihn in absehbarer Zeit zu irgend etwas Erheblichem führen. Mut und Selbstvertrauen sind aber zwei Lichter, die auf dem Wege zur Geheimwissenschaft nicht erlöschen dürfen. Wer es nicht über sich bringen kann, eine Übung, die scheinbar unzähligemal mißglückt ist, immer wieder und wieder geduldig fortzusetzen, der kann nicht weit kommen.
[ 8 ] Viel früher als eine deutliche Wahrnehmung von den Fortschritten tritt ein dunkles Gefühl auf, daß man auf dem rechten Wege sei. Und dieses Gefühl sollte man hegen und pflegen. Denn es kann zu einem sicheren Führer werden. Vor allem muß man den Glauben ausrotten, als ob es ganz absonderliche, geheimnisvolle Verrichtungen sein müßten, durch die man zu höheren Erkenntnissen gelangt. Man muß sich klarmachen, daß von den Gefühlen und Gedanken ausgegangen werden muß, mit denen der Mensch ja fortwährend lebt, und daß er diesen Gefühlen und Gedanken nur eine andere Richtung geben muß, als die gewohnte ist. Ein jeder sage sich zunächst: in meiner eigenen Gefühls- und Gedankenwelt liegen die höchsten Geheimnisse verborgen: ich habe sie bisher nur noch nicht wahrgenommen. Alles beruht schließlich darauf, daß der Mensch fortwährend Leib, Seele und Geist mit sich herumträgt, daß er sich aber nur seines Leibes im ausgesprochenen Sinne bewußt ist, nicht seiner Seele und seines Geistes. Und der Geheimschüler wird sich der Seele und des Geistes bewußt, wie sich der gewöhnliche Mensch seines Leibes bewußt ist.
[ 9 ] Deshalb kommt es darauf an, die Gefühle und Gedanken in die rechte Richtung zu bringen. Dann entwickelt man die Wahrnehmungen für das im gewöhnlichen Leben Unsichtbare. Hier soll einer der Wege angegeben werden, wie man das macht. Eine einfache Sache ist es wieder, wie fast alles, was bisher mitgeteilt worden ist. Aber von den größten Wirkungen ist sie, wenn sie beharrlich durchgeführt wird und wenn der Mensch vermag, mit der nötigen intimen Stimmung sich ihr hinzugeben.
[ 10 ] Man lege ein kleines Samenkorn einer Pflanze vor sich hin. Es kommt darauf an, sich vor diesem unscheinbaren Ding die rechten Gedanken intensiv zu machen und durch diese Gedanken gewisse Gefühle zu entwickeln. Zuerst mache man sich klar, was man wirklich mit Augen sieht. Man beschreibe für sich Form, Farbe und alle sonstigen Eigenschaften des Samens. Dann überlege man folgendes. Aus diesem Samenkorn wird eine vielgestaltige Pflanze entstehen, wenn es in die Erde gepflanzt wird. Man vergegenwärtige sich diese Pflanze. Man baue sie sich in der Phantasie auf. Und dann denke man: Was ich mir jetzt in meiner Phantasie vorstelle, das werden die Kräfte der Erde und des Lichtes später wirklich aus dem Samenkorn hervorlocken. Wenn ich ein künstlich geformtes Ding vor mir hätte, das ganz täuschend dem Samenkorn nachgeahmt wäre, so daß es meine Augen nicht von einem wahren unterscheiden könnten, so würde keine Kraft der Erde und des Lichtes aus diesem eine Pflanze hervorlocken. Wer sich diesen Gedanken ganz klar macht, wer ihn innerlich erlebt, der wird sich auch den folgenden mit dem richtigen Gefühle bilden können. Er wird sich sagen: in dem Samenkorn ruht schon auf verborgene Art – als Kraft der ganzen Pflanze – das, was später aus ihm herauswächst. In der künstlichen Nachahmung ruht diese Kraft nicht. Und doch sind für meine Augen beide gleich. In dem wirklichen Samenkorn ist also etwas unsichtbar enthalten, was in der Nachahmung nicht ist. Auf dieses Unsichtbare lenke man nun Gefühl und Gedanken.4Wer da einwenden wollte, daß bei einer genaueren mikroskopischen Untersuchung sich ja doch die Nachahmung von dem wirklichen Samenkorn unterscheide, der zeigte nur, daß er nicht erfaßt hat, worauf es ankommt. Es handelt sich nicht darum, was man genau wirklich in sinnenfälliger Weise vor sich hat, sondern darum, daß man daran seelisch-geistige Kräfte entwickele. Man stelle sich vor: dieses Unsichtbare wird sich später in die sichtbare Pflanze verwandeln, die ich in Gestalt und Farbe vor mir haben werde. Man hänge dem Gedanken nach: das Unsichtbare wird sichtbar werden. Könnte ich nicht denken, so könnte sich mir auch nicht schon jetzt ankündigen, was erst später sichtbar werden wird.
[ 11 ] Besonders deutlich sei es betont: Was man da denkt, muß man auch intensiv fühlen. Man muß in Ruhe, ohne alle störenden Beimischungen anderer Gedanken, den einen oben angedeuteten in sich erleben. Und man muß sich Zeit lassen, so daß sich der Gedanke und das Gefühl, die sich an ihn knüpfen, gleichsam in die Seele einbohren. – Bringt man das in der rechten Weise zustande, dann wird man nach einiger Zeit – vielleicht erst nach vielen Versuchen – eine Kraft in sich verspüren. Und diese Kraft wird eine neue Anschauung erschaffen. Das Samenkorn wird wie in einer kleinen Lichtwolke eingeschlossen erscheinen. Es wird auf sinnlich–geistige Weise als eine Art Flamme empfunden werden. Gegenüber der Mitte dieser Flamme empfindet man so, wie man beim Eindruck der Farbe Lila empfindet; gegenüber dem Rande, wie man der Farbe Bläulich gegenüber empfindet. – Da erscheint das, was man vorher nicht gesehen hat und was die Kraft des Gedankens und der Gefühle geschaffen hat, die man in sich erregt hat. Was sinnlich unsichtbar war, die Pflanze, die erst später sichtbar werden wird, das offenbart sich da auf geistig sichtbare Art.
[ 12 ] Es ist begreiflich, daß mancher Mensch das alles für Illusion halten wird. Viele werden sagen: «Was sollen mir solche Gesichte, solche Phantasmen?» Und manche werden abfallen und den Pfad nicht fortsetzen. Aber gerade darauf kommt es an: in diesen schwierigen Punkten der menschlichen Entwickelung nicht Phantasie und geistige Wirklichkeit miteinander zu verwechseln. Und ferner darauf, den Mut zu haben, vorwärts zu dringen und nicht furchtsam und kleinmütig zu werden. Auf der anderen Seite aber muß allerdings betont werden, daß der gesunde Sinn, der Wahrheit und Täuschung unterscheidet, fortwährend gepflegt werden muß. Der Mensch darf während all dieser Übungen nie die volle bewußte Herrschaft über sich selbst verlieren. So sicher, wie er über die Dinge und Vorgänge des Alltagsiebens denkt, so muß er auch hier denken. Schlimm wäre es, wenn er in Träumerei verfiele. Verstandeskiar, um nicht zu sagen: nüchtern, muß er in jedem Augenblicke bleiben. Und der größte Fehler wäre gemacht, wenn der Mensch durch solche Übungen sein Gleichgewicht verlöre, wenn er abgehalten würde, so gesund und klar über die Dinge des Alltagslebens zu urteilen, wie er das vorher getan hat. Immer wieder soll sich der Geheimschüler daher prüfen, ob er nicht etwa aus seinem Gleichgewicht herausgefallen ist, ob er derselbe geblieben ist innerhalb der Verhältnisse, in denen er lebt. Festes Ruhen in sich selbst, klarer Sinn für alles, das muß er sich bewahren. Allerdings ist streng zu beachten, daß man sich nicht jeder beliebigen Träumerei hingeben soll, sich nicht allen möglichen Übungen überlassen soll. Die Gedankenrichtungen, die hier angegeben werden, sind seit Urzeiten in den Geheimschulen erprobt und geübt. Und nur solche werden hier mitgeteilt. Wer solche anderer Art anwenden wollte, die er sich selbst bildet oder von denen er da oder dort hört und liest, der muß in die Irre gehen und wird sich bald auf dem Pfade uferloser Phantastik befinden.
[ 13 ] Eine weitere Übung, die sich an die beschriebene anzuschließen hat, ist die folgende. Man stelle sich einer Pflanze gegenüber, die sich auf der Stufe der vollen Entwickelung befindet. Nun erfülle man sich mit dem Gedanken, daß die Zeit kommen werde, wo diese Pflanze abstirbt. Nichts wird von dem mehr sein, was ich jetzt vor mir sehe. Aber diese Pflanze wird dann Samenkörner aus sich entwickelt haben, die wieder zu neuen Pflanzen werden. Wieder werde ich gewahr, daß in dem, was ich sehe, etwas verborgen ruht, was ich nicht sehe. Ich erfülle mich ganz mit dem Gedanken: diese Pflanzengestalt mit ihren Farben wird künftig nicht mehr sein. Aber die Vorstellung, daß sie Samen bildet, lehrt mich, daß sie nicht in Nichts verschwinden werde. Was sie vor dem Verschwinden bewahrt, kann ich jetzt ebensowenig mit Augen sehen, wie ich früher die Pflanze im Samenkorn habe sehen können. Es gibt also in ihr etwas, was ich nicht mit Augen sehe. Lasse ich diesen Gedanken in mir leben und verbindet sich das entsprechende Gefühl in mir mit ihm, dann entwickelt sich wieder, nach angemessener Zeit, in meiner Seele eine Kraft, die zur neuen Anschauung wird. Aus der Pflanze wächst wieder eine Art von geistiger Flammenbildung heraus. Diese ist natürlich entsprechend größer als die vorhin geschilderte. Die Flamme kann etwa in ihrem mittleren Teile grünlichblau und an ihrem äußeren Rande gelblichrot empfunden werden.
[ 14 ] Es muß ausdrücklich betont werden, daß man, was hier als «Farben» bezeichnet wird, nicht so sieht, wie physische Augen die Farben sehen, sondern daß man durch die geistige Wahrnehmung Ähnliches empfindet, wie wenn man einen physischen Farbeneindruck hat. Geistig «blau» wahrnehmen heißt etwas empfinden oder erfühlen, was ähnlich dem ist, was man empfindet, wenn der Blick des physischen Auges auf der Farbe «Blau» ruht. Dies muß berücksichtigen, wer allmählich wirklich zu geistigen Wahrnehmungen aufsteigen will. Er erwartet sonst, im Geistigen nur eine Wiederholung des Physischen zu finden. Das müßte ihn auf das bitterste beirren.
[ 15 ] Wer es dahin gebracht hat, solches geistig zu sehen, hat viel gewonnen. Denn die Dinge enthüllen sich ihm nicht nur im gegenwärtigen Sein, sondern auch in ihrem Entstehen und Vergehen. Er fängt an, überall den Geist zu schauen, von dem die sinnlichen Augen nichts wissen können. Und damit hat er die ersten Schritte dazu getan, um allmählich durch eigene Anschauung hinter das Geheimnis von Geburt und Tod zu kommen. Für die äußeren Sinne entsteht ein Wesen bei der Geburt; es vergeht im Tode. Dies ist aber nur deshalb, weil diese Sinne den verborgenen Geist des Wesens nicht wahrnehmen. Für den Geist sind Geburt und Tod nur eine Verwandlung, wie das Hervorsprießen der Blume aus der Knospe eine Verwandlung ist, die sich vor den sinnlichen Augen abspielt. Will man das aber durch eigene Anschauung kennenlernen, so muß man in der angedeuteten Art erst den geistigen Sinn dafür erwecken.
[ 16 ] Um gleich noch einen Einwand hinwegzunehmen, den manche Menschen machen könnten, die einige seelische (psychische) Erfahrung haben, sei dieses gesagt. Es soll gar nicht bestritten werden, daß es kürzere, einfachere Wege gibt, daß manche aus eigener Anschauung die Erscheinungen von Geburt und Tod kennenlernen, ohne erst alles das, was hier beschrieben wird, durchgemacht zu haben. Es gibt eben Menschen, welche bedeutende psychische Anlagen haben, die nur eines kleinen Änstoßes bedürfen, um entwickelt zu werden. Aber das sind Ausnahmen. Der hier angegebene Weg ist jedoch ein allgemeiner und sicherer. Man kann sich ja auch einige chemische Kenntnisse auf einem ausnahmsweisen Weg erwerben; will man aber Chemiker werden, dann muß man den allgemeinen und sicheren Weg gehen.
[ 17 ] Ein folgenschwerer Irrtum würde sich ergeben, wenn jemand glauben wollte, er könne, um bequemer zum Ziele zu gelangen, sich das besprochene Samenkörnchen oder die Pflanze bloß vorstellen, bloß in der Phantasie vorhalten. Wer dies tut, kann wohl auch zum Ziele kommen, doch nicht so sicher wie auf die angegebene Art. Die Anschauung, zu der man kommt, wird in den meisten Fällen nur ein Blendwerk der Phantasie sein. Bei ihr müßte dann die Umwandlung in geistige Anschauung erst abgewartet werden. Denn darauf kommt es an, daß nicht ich in bloßer Willkür mir Anschauungen schaffe, sondern darauf, daß die Wirklichkeit sie in mir erschafft. Aus den Tiefen meiner eigenen Seele muß die Wahrheit hervorquellen; aber nicht mein gewöhnliches Ich darf selbst der Zauberer sein, der die Wahrheit hervorlocken will, sondern die Wesen müssen dieser Zauberer sein, deren geistige Wahrheit ich schauen will.
[ 18 ] Hat der Mensch durch solcherlei Übungen in sich die ersten Anfänge zu geistigen Anschauungen gefunden, so darf er aufsteigen zur Betrachtung des Menschen selbst. Einfache Erscheinungen des menschlichen Lebens müssen zunächst gewählt werden. – Bevor man aber dazu schreitet, ist es notwendig, besonders ernstlich an der vollen Lauterkeit seines moralischen Charakters zu arbeiten. Man muß jeden Gedanken daran entfernen, daß man etwa auf diese Art erlangte Erkenntnis zum persönlichen Eigennutz anwenden werde. Man muß mit sich darüber einig sein, daß man niemals eine Macht über seine Mitmenschen, die man etwa erlangen werde, im Sinne des Bösen ausnutzen werde. Deshalb muß jeder, der Geheimnisse über die menschliche Natur durch eigene Anschauung sucht, die goldene Regel der wahren Geheimwissenschaften befolgen. Und diese goldene Regel ist: wenn du einen Schritt vorwärts zu machen versuchst in der Erkenntnis geheimer Wahrheiten, so mache zugleich drei vorwärts in der Vervollkommnung deines Charakters zum Guten. – Wer diese Regel befolgt, der kann solche Übungen machen, wie nunmehr eine beschrieben werden soll.
[ 19 ] Man vergegenwärtige sich einen Menschen, von dem man einmal beobachtet hat, wie er nach irgendeiner Sache verlangt hat. Auf die Begierde soll die Aufmerksamkeit gerichtet werden. Am besten ist es, den Zeitpunkt in der Erinnerung wachzurufen, in dem die Begierde am lebhaftesten war und in dem es ziemlich unentschieden war, ob der Mensch das Verlangte erhalten werde oder nicht. Und nun gebe man sich der Vorstellung an das, was man in der Erinnerung beobachtet, ganz hin. Man stelle die denkbar größte innere Ruhe der eigenen Seele her. Man versuche so viel, als nur möglich ist, blind und taub zu sein für alles andere, was ringsherum vorgeht. Und man achte besonders darauf, daß durch die angeregte Vorstellung in der Seele ein Gefühl erwache. Dieses Gefühl lasse man in sich heraufziehen wie eine Wolke, die an dem sonst ganz leeren Horizont heraufzieht. Es ist ja nun natürlich, daß in der Regel die Beobachtung dadurch unterbrochen wird, daß man den Menschen, auf den man die Aufmerksamkeit lenkt, nicht lange genug in dem geschilderten Seelenzustand beobachtet hat. Man wird wahrscheinlich Hunderte und aber Hunderte von vergeblichen Versuchen anstellen. Man darf eben die Geduld nicht verlieren. Nach vielen Versuchen wird man es dahin bringen, daß man in der eigenen Seele ein Gefühl erlebt, das dem Seelenzustand des beobachteten Menschen entspricht. Dann wird man aber auch nach einiger Zeit bemerken, daß durch dieses Gefühl in der eigenen Seele eine Kraft erwächst, die zur geistigen Anschauung des Seelenzustandes des anderen wird. Im Gesichtsfelde wird ein Bild auftreten, das man wie etwas Leuchtendes empfindet. Und dieses geistig leuchtende Bild ist die sogenannte astrale Verkörperung des beobachteten Seelenzustandes der Begierde. Wieder als flammenähnlich empfunden kann dieses Bild beschrieben werden. Es wird in der Mitte wie gelbrot sein und am Rande wie rötlichblau oder lila empfunden werden. Viel kommt darauf an, daß man mit solcher geistigen Anschauung zart umgehe. Man tut am besten, wenn man zunächst zu niemand davon spricht als nur etwa zu seinem Lehrer, wenn man einen solchen hat. Denn versucht man eine solche Erscheinung durch ungeschickte Worte zu beschreiben, so gibt man sich meistens argen Täuschungen hin. Man gebraucht die gewöhnlichen Worte, die doch für solche Dinge nicht bestimmt und daher für sie zu grob und schwerfällig sind. Die Folge ist dann, daß man durch den eigenen Versuch, die Sache in Worte zu kleiden, verführt wird, sich in die wahren Anschauungen allerlei Phantasieblendwerke hineinzumischen. Wieder ist eine wichtige Regel für den Geheimschüler: Verstehe über deine geistigen Gesichte zu schweigen. Ja, schweige sogar vor dir selber darüber. Versuche nicht, was du im Geiste erschaust, in Worte zu kleiden oder mit dem ungeschickten Verstande zu ergründen. Gib dich unbefangen deiner geistigen Anschauung hin und störe sie dir nicht durch vieles Nachdenken darüber. Denn du mußt bedenken, daß dein Nachdenken anfangs ganz und gar nicht deinem Schauen gewachsen ist. Dieses Nachdenken hast du dir in deinem bisherigen, bloß auf die physisch–sinnliche Welt beschränkten Leben erworben; und was du dir jetzt erwirbst, geht darüber hinaus. Suche also nicht, an das neue Höhere den Maßstab des alten anzulegen. Nur wer schon einige Festigkeit hat im Beobachten innerer Erfahrungen, der kann darüber reden, um durch solches Reden seine Mitmenschen anzuregen.
[ 20 ] Zu der beschriebenen Übung mag eine ergänzende kommen. Man beobachte in der gleichen Art, wie einem Menschen die Befriedigung irgendeines Wunsches, die Erfüllung einer Erwartung zuteil geworden ist. Gebraucht man dabei dieselben Regeln und Vorsichten, die eben für den anderen Fall angegeben worden sind, so wird man auch da zu einer geistigen Anschauung gelangen. Man wird eine geistige Flammenbildung bemerken, die in der Mitte als gelb sich fühlt und die wie mit einem grünlichen Rande empfunden wird.
[ 21 ] Leicht kann der Mensch durch solche Beobachtung seiner Mitmenschen in einen moralischen Fehler verfallen. Er kann lieblos werden. Daß dies nicht der Fall sei, muß eben mit allen nur erdenkbaren Mitteln angestrebt werden. Beobachtet man so, dann soll man eben durchaus schon auf der Höhe stehen, in der es einem zur völligen Gewißheit geworden ist, daß Gedanken wirkliche Dinge sind. Man darf sich da nicht mehr gestatten, über seinen Mitmenschen so zu denken, daß die Gedanken mit der höchsten Achtung der Menschenwürde und der Menschenfreiheit nicht verträglich wären. Daß ein Mensch nur ein Beobachtungsobjekt für uns sein könnte: dieser Gedanke darf uns nicht einen Augenblick erfüllen. Hand in Hand mit jeder Geheimbeobachtung über die menschliche Natur muß die Selbsterziehung dahin gehen, die volle Selbstgeltung eines jeden Menschen uneingeschränkt zu schätzen und das als etwas Heiliges, von uns Unantastbares – auch in Gedanken und Gefühlen – zu betrachten, was in dem Menschen wohnt. Ein Gefühl von heiliger Scheu vor allem Menschlichen, selbst wenn es nur als Erinnerung gedacht wird, muß uns erfüllen.
[ 22 ] Nur an den zwei Beispielen sollte vorläufig hier gezeigt werden, wie man sich zur Erleuchtung über die menschliche Natur durchringt. Daran konnte aber wenigstens der Weg gezeigt werden, der zu betreten ist. Wer die notwendige innere Stille und Ruhe findet, die zu solcher Beobachtung gehören, dessen Seele wird schon dadurch eine große Verwandlung durchmachen. Das wird bald so weit gehen, daß die innere Bereicherung, die sein Wesen erfährt, ihm Sicherheit und Ruhe gibt auch in seinem äußeren Verhalten. Und dieses verwandelte äußere Verhalten wird wieder zurückwirken auf seine Seele. Und so wird er sich weiter helfen. Er wird Mittel und Wege finden, immer mehr von der menschlichen Natur zu entdecken, was den äußeren Sinnen verborgen ist; und er wird dann auch reif werden, einen Einblick zu tun in die geheimnisvollen Zusammenhänge zwischen der Menschennatur und all dem, was sonst noch im Weltall vorhanden ist. – Und auf diesem Wege naht sich der Mensch immer mehr dem Zeitpunkte, wo er die ersten Schritte der Einweihung bewerkstelligen kann. Bevor diese aber getan werden können, ist noch eines notwendig. Es ist dies etwas, dessen Notwendigkeit der Geheimschüler zunächst vielleicht am wenigsten einsehen wird. Später aber wird er dies.
[ 23 ] Was nämlich der Einzuweihende mitbringen muß, ist ein in gewisser Beziehung ausgebildeter Mut und Furchtlosigkeit. Der Geheimschüler muß geradezu die Gelegenheiten aufsuchen, durch welche diese Tugenden ausgebildet werden. In der Geheimschulung sollten sie ganz systematisch herangebildet werden. Aber auch das Leben selbst ist namentlich nach dieser Richtung hin eine gute Geheimschule; vielleicht die beste. Einer Gefahr ruhig ins Auge schauen, Schwierigkeiten ohne Zagen überwinden wollen: solches muß der Geheimschüler können. Er muß zum Beispiel einer Gefahr gegenüber sich sofort zu der Empfindung aufraffen: meine Angst nützt nach gar keiner Seite; ich darf sie gar nicht haben; ich muß nur an das denken, was zu tun ist. Und er muß es so weit bringen, daß für Gelegenheiten, in denen er vorher ängstlich war, «Angsthaben», «Mutlos-werden» für ihn wenigstens im eigentlichen innersten Empfinden unmögliche Dinge werden. Durch die Selbsterziehung nach dieser Richtung entwickelt nämlich der Mensch in sich ganz bestimmte Kräfte, die er braucht, wenn er in höhere Geheimnisse eingeweiht werden soll. So wie der physische Mensch Nervenkraft braucht, um seine physischen Sinne zu benutzen, so bedarf der seelische Mensch jener Kraft, die nur entwickelt wird in mutvollen und furchtlosen Naturen. Wer zu den höheren Geheimnissen vordringt, der sieht nämlich Dinge, welche dem gewöhnlichen Menschen durch die Täuschungen der Sinne verborgen bleiben. Denn, wenn die physischen Sinne uns auch die höhere Wahrheit nicht schauen lassen, so sind sie eben dadurch auch des Menschen Wohltäter. Durch sie verbergen sich für ihn Dinge, welche ihn, unvorbereitet, in maßlose Bestürzung versetzen müßten, deren Anblick er nicht ertragen könnte. Diesem Anblick muß der Geheimschüler gewachsen werden. Er verliert gewisse Stützen in der Außenwelt, die er eben dem Umstande verdankte, daß er in Täuschung befangen war. Es ist wirklich und buchstäblich so, wie wenn man jemand auf eine Gefahr aufmerksam machte, in der er schon lange geschwebt hat, von der er aber nichts gewußt hat. Vorher hatte er keine Angst; jetzt aber, nachdem er weiß, überkommt ihn die Angst, obwohl die Gefahr durch sein Wissen nicht größer geworden ist.
[ 24 ] Die Kräfte der Welt sind zerstörende und aufbauende: das Schicksal der äußeren Wesenheiten ist Entstehen und Vergehen. In das Wirken dieser Kräfte, in den Gang dieses Schicksals soll der Wissende blicken. Der Schleier, der im gewöhnlichen Leben vor den geistigen Augen liegt, soll entfernt werden. Der Mensch selbst aber ist mit diesen Kräften, mit diesem Schicksal verwoben. In seiner eigenen Natur sind zerstörende und aufbauende Kräfte. So unverhüllt die anderen Dinge vor das sehende Auge des Wissenden treten, so unverhüllt zeigt die eigene Seele sich selbst. Solcher Selbsterkenntnis gegenüber darf der Geheimschüler nicht die Kraft verlieren. Und sie wird ihm nur dann nicht fehlen, wenn er einen Überschuß an ihr mitbringt. Damit dieses der Fall sei, muß er lernen, in schwierigen Lebensverhältnissen die innere Ruhe und Sicherheit zu bewahren; er muß in sich ein starkes Vertrauen in die guten Mächte des Daseins erziehen. Er muß darauf gefaßt sein, daß manche Triebfedern ihn nicht mehr leiten werden, die ihn bisher geleitet haben. Er wird ja einsehen müssen, daß er bisher manches nur getan und gedacht hat, weil er in Unwissenheit befangen war. Solche Gründe, wie er sie bisher gehabt, werden wegfallen. Er hat manches aus Eitelkeit getan; er wird sehen, wie unsäglich wertlos alle Eitelkeit für den Wissenden ist. Er hat manches aus Habsucht getan; er wird gewahr werden, wie zerstörend alle Habsucht ist. Ganz neue Triebfedern zum Handeln und Denken wird er entwickeln müssen. Und eben dazu gehören Mut und Furchtlosigkeit.
[ 25 ] Vorzüglich handelt es sich darum, im tiefsten Innern des Gedankenlebens selbst diesen Mut und diese Furchtlosigkeit zu pflegen. Der Geheimschüler muß lernen, über einen Mißerfolg nicht zu verzagen. Er muß zu dem Gedanken fähig sein: «Ich will vergessen, daß mir diese Sache schon wieder mißglückt ist, und aufs neue versuchen, wie wenn nichts gewesen wäre.» So ringt er sich durch zu der Überzeugung, daß die Kraftquellen in der Welt, aus denen er schöpfen kann, unversieglich sind. Er strebt immer wieder nach dem Geistigen, das ihn heben und tragen wird, wie oft auch sein Irdisches sich als kraftlos und schwach erwiesen haben mag. Er muß fähig sein, der Zukunft entgegenzuleben, und in diesem Streben sich durch keine Erfahrung der Vergangenheit stören lassen. – Hat der Mensch die geschilderten Eigenschaften bis zu einem gewissen Grade, dann ist er reif, die wahren Namen der Dinge zu erfahren, die der Schlüssel zu dem höheren Wissen sind. Denn darin besteht die Einweihung, daß man lernt, die Dinge der Welt bei demjenigen Namen zu benennen, die sie im Geiste ihrer göttlichen Urheber haben. In diesen ihren Namen liegen die Geheimnisse der Dinge. Deshalb sprechen die Eingeweihten eine andere Sprache als Uneingeweihte, weil die ersteren die Bezeichnung der Wesen nennen, durch welche diese selbst gemacht sind. – Soweit von der Einweihung (Initiation) selbst gesprochen werden kann, soll das im nächsten Kapitel folgen.
Enlightenment
[ 1 ] Enlightenment is based on very simple processes. It is also about developing certain feelings and thoughts that lie dormant in every human being and need to be awakened. Only those who patiently, rigorously and persistently go through the simple processes can lead to the perception of inner light phenomena. The first step is to observe various natural beings in a certain way, for example: a transparent, beautifully shaped stone (crystal), a plant and an animal. First try to focus all your attention on comparing the stone with the animal in the following way. The thoughts mentioned here must run through the soul accompanied by vivid feelings. And no other thought, no other feeling should interfere and disturb the intensely attentive contemplation. Say to yourself: "The stone has a shape; the animal also has a shape. The stone remains quietly in its place. The animal changes its place. It is the instinct (desire) that causes the animal to change its place. And it is also the instincts that the form of the animal serves. Its organs, its tools are formed according to these drives. The shape of the stone is not formed according to desires, but by power without desires." 3The fact meant here, in so far as it relates to crystal observation, has been distorted in many ways by those who have only heard of it in an extra-terrestrial (exoteric) way, giving rise to practices such as "crystal vision" and so on. Such manipulations are based on misunderstandings. They have been described in many books. But they are never the subject of true (esoteric) secret teachings. If you immerse yourself intensively in these thoughts and look at the stone and the animal with rapt attention: then two completely different types of feelings arise in the soul. One type of feeling flows from the stone, the other from the animal into our soul. The matter will probably not succeed in the beginning: but little by little, with real patient practice, these feelings will arise. You just have to keep practicing. At first the feelings are only present for as long as the contemplation lasts; later they have a lasting effect. And then they become something that remains alive in the soul. The person then only needs to reflect: and the two feelings always arise, even without contemplation of an external object. - From these feelings and the thoughts connected with them, bright vision organs are formed. - If the plant is then added to the observation, it will be noticed that the feeling emanating from it, according to its nature and also its degree, lies in the middle between that emanating from the stone and that emanating from the animal. The organs which are formed in this way are spirit eyes. With them one gradually learns to see something like mental and spiritual colors. As long as one has only acquired what has been described as "preparation", the spiritual world with its lines and figures remains dark; through enlightenment it becomes light. - Here, too, it must be noted that the words "dark" and "light" as well as the other expressions used only approximately express what is meant. However, if one wants to use the common language, nothing else is possible. This language is only created for physical conditions. - Secret science describes what the clairvoyant organ perceives as emanating from the stone as "blue" or "blue-red". That which is perceived by the animal as "red" or "red-yellow". In fact, it is colors of a "spiritual nature" that are seen. The color emanating from the plant is "green", which gradually changes into a light ethereal pink. The plant is that natural being which in the higher worlds resembles its constitution in the physical world in a certain respect. But the same is not the case with stone and animal. - Now it must be clearly understood that the above-mentioned colors only indicate the main shades of the stone, plant and animal kingdoms. In reality, all possible intermediate shades are present. Every stone, every plant, every animal has its own particular shade of color. In addition, there are the beings of the higher worlds, which never embody themselves physically, with their often wonderful, often hideous colors. In fact, the richness of color in these higher worlds is immeasurably greater than in the physical world.
[ 2 ] Once a person has acquired the ability to see with "spiritual eyes", sooner or later he will also encounter the aforementioned higher beings, some of whom are also deeper than the human being, who never enter physical reality.
Once a person has made it as far as described here, the paths to many things are open to him. But it is not advisable for anyone to go any further without careful consideration of what has been said or otherwise communicated by the spiritual researcher. And even for what has already been said, attention to such knowledgeable guidance is the very best thing. Incidentally, if a person has the strength and perseverance within himself to go as far as the indicated elementary stages of enlightenment, he will certainly seek and find the right guidance.
[ 3 ] But caution is necessary under all circumstances, and he who does not wish to apply it should best refrain from all steps into the secret science. It is necessary that the person who becomes a student of the secret science loses nothing of his qualities as a noble, good person who is receptive to all physical realities. On the contrary, he must continually increase his moral strength, his inner sincerity and his powers of observation during his secret discipleship. To mention a single point: During the elementary enlightenment exercises, the secret disciple must ensure that he constantly increases his compassion for the human and animal world, his sense of the beauty of nature. If he does not do so, this feeling and this sense will be continually dulled by such exercises. The heart would become hard, the mind dull. And that would lead to dangerous results.
[ 4 ] How enlightenment takes shape when one ascends to man via stone, plant and animal in the sense of the above exercises, and how, after enlightenment, the union of the soul with the spiritual world occurs under all circumstances and leads to initiation: this will be discussed in the following sections, as far as it can be.
[ 5 ] In our time, many people are seeking the path to secret science. This is done in many different ways; and many dangerous, even reprehensible procedures are tried. Therefore, those who think they know something true about these things should give others the opportunity to get to know some of the secret training. Only so much has been communicated here as corresponds to such a possibility. It is necessary that some of the truth be known, lest the erroneous cause great harm. No one can be harmed by the paths outlined here if he does not force anything. Only one thing must be observed: no one may spend more time and energy on such exercises than is available to him according to his position in life, according to his duties. No one may immediately change anything in his external living conditions through the secret path. If one wants real results, then one must have patience; one must be able to stop after a few minutes of practice and calmly go about one's daily work. And no thoughts about the exercises should interfere with your daily work. Anyone who has not learned to wait in the highest and best sense is not fit to be a secret disciple and will never achieve results that are of any significant value.
[ 6 ] If anyone seeks the paths to the secret science in the manner described in the previous chapter, he must not fail to strengthen himself throughout the work by a continuing thought. He must always bear in mind that after some time he may have made considerable progress without it showing itself to him in the way he might have expected. Anyone who does not bear this in mind will easily lose perseverance and give up all attempts after a short time. The powers and abilities that one has to develop are initially of a very delicate nature. And their essence is something completely different from what man had previously imagined. He was only used to dealing with the physical world. The spiritual and mental world eluded his gaze and also his concepts. It is therefore not at all surprising that now, when spiritual and mental powers are developing in him, he does not immediately notice them. - Therein lies the possibility of confusion for him who, without adhering to the experiences which knowledgeable researchers have gathered, embarks on the secret path. The secret researcher knows the progress made by the pupil long before he himself becomes aware of it. He knows how the tender spiritual eyes develop before the pupil knows anything about it. And a large part of the instructions of this secret researcher consists precisely in expressing that which causes the pupil not to lose confidence, patience and perseverance before he comes to his own realization of his progress. After all, the teacher of the secret cannot give his pupil anything that does not already exist in him in a hidden way. He can only guide the development of dormant abilities. But what he shares from his experiences will be a support for those who want to make their way from darkness to light.
[ 7 ] Many leave the path to the secret science soon after they have entered it, because their progress is not immediately apparent to them. And even when the first perceptible higher experiences occur for the pupil, he often regards them as illusions because he has had completely different ideas about what he is supposed to experience. He loses courage because he either considers the first experiences to be worthless or because they seem so insignificant to him that he does not believe they could lead him to anything significant in the foreseeable future. Courage and self-confidence are two lights that must not be extinguished on the path to secret science. Those who cannot bring themselves to patiently continue an exercise that seems to have failed countless times again and again cannot get far.
[ 8 ] Much earlier than a clear perception of progress, a dark feeling arises that one is on the right path. And this feeling should be nurtured. For it can become a sure guide. Above all, one must eradicate the belief that it must be quite peculiar, mysterious practices through which one attains higher knowledge. One must realize that one must start from the feelings and thoughts with which man lives continually, and that he must only give these feelings and thoughts a different direction from the one he is accustomed to. Everyone should first say to himself: the highest secrets lie hidden in my own world of feelings and thoughts: I have just not yet realized them. After all, everything is based on the fact that man constantly carries body, soul and spirit around with him, but that he is only aware of his body in the pronounced sense, not of his soul and spirit. And the secret disciple becomes aware of his soul and spirit just as the ordinary person is aware of his body.
[ 9 ] Therefore, it is important to bring the feelings and thoughts in the right direction. Then one develops the perceptions for the invisible in ordinary life. Here is one of the ways to do this. Again, it is a simple matter, like almost everything that has been communicated so far. But it has the greatest effect if it is carried out persistently and if a person is able to devote himself to it with the necessary intimacy.
[ 10 ] Place a small seed of a plant in front of you. The important thing is to think hard about the right thoughts in front of this inconspicuous thing and to develop certain feelings through these thoughts. First, realize what you really see with your eyes. Describe to yourself the shape, color and all other characteristics of the seed. Then think about the following. This seed will grow into a multifaceted plant when it is planted in the ground. Visualize this plant. Build it up in your imagination. And then think: What I now imagine in my imagination is what the forces of earth and light will really coax out of the seed later. If I had an artificially formed thing in front of me, deceptively imitating the seed, so that my eyes could not distinguish it from a real one, no power of earth and light would draw a plant out of it. Whoever makes this thought quite clear to himself, whoever experiences it inwardly, will also be able to form the following with the correct feeling. He will say to himself: in the seed there already rests in a hidden way - as the power of the whole plant - that which will later grow out of it. This power does not reside in artificial imitation. And yet to my eyes both are the same. The real seed therefore contains something invisible that is not in the imitation. Let us now direct our feelings and thoughts to this invisible thing.4Those who would object that on closer microscopic examination the imitation differs from the real seed only show that they have not grasped what is important. It is not a question of what one really has before one in a sensuous way, but of developing mental and spiritual powers in it. Imagine: this invisible thing will later turn into the visible plant that I will have before me in form and color. I dwell on the thought: the invisible will become visible. If I could not think, I would not be able to see now what will only become visible later.
[ 11 ] Let it be emphasized particularly clearly: What one thinks must also be intensely felt. One must experience in calmness, without all disturbing admixtures of other thoughts, the one indicated above. And you have to take your time so that the thought and the feeling attached to it are, as it were, engraved in your soul. - If you achieve this in the right way, then after some time - perhaps only after many attempts - you will feel a power within yourself. And this power will create a new perception. The seed will appear to be enclosed in a small cloud of light. It will be perceived in a sensual-spiritual way as a kind of flame. Towards the center of this flame one feels as one feels towards the impression of the color purple; towards the edge, as one feels towards the color bluish. - There appears that which one has not seen before and which has been created by the power of thought and feeling that one has aroused within oneself. What was invisible to the senses, the plant that will only become visible later, reveals itself in a spiritually visible way.
[ 12 ] It is understandable that some people will regard all this as illusion. Many will say: "What is the point of such visions, such phantasms?" And some will fall away and not continue on the path. But this is precisely what is important: not to confuse fantasy and spiritual reality in these difficult points of human development. And also to have the courage to press forward and not become timid and faint-hearted. On the other hand, however, it must be emphasized that the healthy sense, which distinguishes truth from deception, must be constantly cultivated. During all these exercises, man must never lose full conscious control over himself. As surely as he thinks about the things and processes of everyday life, so he must also think here. It would be bad if he were to fall into reverie. He must remain rational, not to say sober, at all times. And the greatest mistake would be made if man were to lose his balance through such exercises, if he were prevented from judging the things of everyday life as soundly and clearly as he did before. The secret disciple should therefore examine himself again and again whether he has not fallen out of his equilibrium, whether he has remained the same within the circumstances in which he lives. He must maintain a firm rest in himself, a clear sense of everything. However, it must be strictly observed that one should not indulge in just any reverie, should not abandon oneself to all kinds of exercises. The directions of thought indicated here have been tested and practiced in the secret schools since time immemorial. And only those are given here. Whoever wants to apply those of another kind, which he forms himself or of which he hears and reads here or there, must go astray and will soon find himself on the path of boundless fantasy.
[ 13 ] Another exercise to follow on from the one described is the following. Imagine a plant that is at the stage of full development. Now fill yourself with the thought that the time will come when this plant will die. There will be nothing left of what I see before me now. But this plant will then have developed seeds from itself, which will again become new plants. Again I realize that there is something hidden in what I see that I do not see. I am completely filled with the thought: this plant form with its colors will no longer be in the future. But the idea that it forms seeds teaches me that it will not disappear into nothingness. What keeps it from disappearing I can no more see with my eyes now than I could see the plant in the seed before. There is therefore something in it that I cannot see with my eyes. If I allow this thought to live in me and the corresponding feeling in me connects with it, then, after an appropriate time, a force develops again in my soul that becomes a new perception. A kind of spiritual flame grows out of the plant again. This is, of course, correspondingly larger than the one described above. The flame can be perceived as greenish-blue in its central part and yellowish-red at its outer edge.
[ 14 ] It must be expressly emphasized that what is called "colors" here is not seen as physical eyes see the colors, but that through the spiritual perception something similar is felt as when one has a physical color impression. To perceive "blue" spiritually means to feel or sense something that is similar to what one feels when the gaze of the physical eye rests on the color "blue". Anyone who really wants to gradually ascend to spiritual perceptions must take this into account. Otherwise he expects to find only a repetition of the physical in the spiritual. That would have to disconcert him most bitterly.
[ 15 ] He who has come to see such things spiritually has gained much. For things reveal themselves to him not only in their present being, but also in their coming into being and passing away. He begins to see the spirit everywhere, of which the sensual eyes can know nothing. And thus he has taken the first steps towards gradually discovering the secret of birth and death through his own contemplation. For the external senses, a being comes into being at birth; it passes away at death. But this is only because these senses do not perceive the hidden spirit of the being. For the spirit, birth and death are only a transformation, just as the sprouting of the flower from the bud is a transformation that takes place before the sensory eyes. But if you want to get to know this through your own contemplation, you must first awaken the spiritual sense for it in the manner indicated.
[ 16 ] In order to immediately remove an objection that some people who have some spiritual (psychic) experience might make, let this be said. It is not to be denied that there are shorter, simpler ways, that some people get to know the phenomena of birth and death from their own experience without first having gone through everything that is described here. There are people who have important psychic dispositions that only need a little nudge to be developed. But these are exceptions. However, the path described here is a more general and safer one. You can also acquire some knowledge of chemistry in an exceptional way, but if you want to become a chemist, you have to take the general and safe path.
[ 17 ] A serious error would arise if someone wanted to believe that, in order to reach the goal more easily, he could imagine the seed or the plant merely, merely hold it up in his imagination. Whoever does this can also reach the goal, but not as surely as in the way described. The view one arrives at will in most cases only be a dazzling work of the imagination. The transformation into spiritual perception would then have to be awaited. For what matters is that I do not create views for myself in mere arbitrariness, but that reality creates them within me. Truth must spring forth from the depths of my own soul; but my ordinary self must not itself be the magician who wants to draw out the truth, but the beings must be this magician whose spiritual truth I want to see.
[ 18 ] Once a person has found within himself the first beginnings of spiritual contemplation through such exercises, he may ascend to the contemplation of man himself. Simple phenomena of human life must be chosen first. - Before proceeding to this, however, it is necessary to work particularly seriously on the full purity of his moral character. One must remove any thought that one might use knowledge gained in this way for personal self-interest. One must agree with oneself that one will never use for evil any power over one's fellow men that one may acquire. Therefore, anyone who seeks secrets about human nature through his own contemplation must follow the golden rule of the true secret sciences. And this golden rule is: if you try to make one step forward in the knowledge of secret truths, make at the same time three steps forward in the perfection of your character for the good. - He who follows this rule can do such exercises as the one described below.
[ 19 ] Consider a person who has once been observed to desire some thing. Attention should be focused on the desire. It is best to recall the time when the desire was most vivid and when it was quite undecided whether the person would get what he wanted or not. And now give yourself completely to the idea of what you observe in your memory. Establish the greatest possible inner calm in your own soul. Try as much as possible to be blind and deaf to everything else that is going on around you. And pay particular attention to the fact that a feeling awakens in the soul through the stimulated imagination. Let this feeling rise up in you like a cloud that rises on the otherwise completely empty horizon. It is now natural that the observation is usually interrupted by the fact that the person on whom one's attention is directed has not been observed long enough in the described state of mind. You will probably make hundreds and hundreds of futile attempts. It is important not to lose patience. After many attempts, you will be able to experience a feeling in your own soul that corresponds to the state of mind of the person you are observing. But then, after some time, you will also notice that through this feeling a power arises in your own soul which becomes a spiritual perception of the state of the other person's soul. An image will appear in the field of vision that is felt as something luminous. And this spiritually luminous image is the so-called astral embodiment of the observed soul state of desire. Again, this image can be described as resembling a flame. It will be yellow-red in the center and perceived as reddish-blue or purple at the edges. It is very important that one treats such a mental image delicately. The best thing to do is not to speak of it to anyone except your teacher, if you have one. For if one tries to describe such a phenomenon with clumsy words, one usually gives oneself over to bad deceptions. One uses ordinary words, which are not intended for such things and are therefore too coarse and cumbersome for them. The consequence is then that one is seduced by one's own attempt to clothe the matter in words into mixing into the true views all kinds of imaginary illusions. Again, an important rule for the secret disciple is: Know how to keep silent about your spiritual visions. Yes, keep silent about it even to yourself. Do not try to put into words what you see in the spirit or to fathom it with the unskillful mind. Give yourself to your spiritual contemplation impartially and do not disturb it by thinking about it too much. For you must remember that at the beginning your thinking was not at all like your seeing. You have acquired this thinking in your previous life, which was limited to the physical-sensual world; and what you are acquiring now goes beyond that. So do not seek to apply the standard of the old to the new higher. Only those who already have some firmness in observing inner experiences can speak about them in order to inspire their fellow human beings through such speech.
[ 20 ] A supplementary exercise may be added to the one described. Observe in the same way how a person has been granted the satisfaction of some wish, the fulfillment of some expectation. If you use the same rules and precautions that have just been given for the other case, you will also arrive at a spiritual view. One will notice a spiritual flame formation that feels yellow in the middle and is perceived as having a greenish edge.
[ 21 ] A person can easily fall into a moral error through such observation of his fellow human beings. He can become unloving. To ensure that this is not the case, every conceivable means must be employed. If one observes in this way, then one should already be at the height where it has become a complete certainty that thoughts are real things. One must no longer allow oneself to think about one's fellow man in such a way that the thoughts would not be compatible with the highest respect for human dignity and human freedom. That a human being could only be an object of observation for us: this thought must not fill us for a moment. Hand in hand with every secret observation of human nature, self-education must go hand in hand with an unrestricted appreciation of the full self-determination of every human being and to regard that which dwells in man as something sacred and inviolable by us - also in thoughts and feelings. A feeling of holy reverence for everything human, even if it is only thought of as a memory, must fill us.
[ 22 ] For the time being, these two examples are the only way to show how to achieve enlightenment about human nature. But at least the path to follow could be shown. Whoever finds the necessary inner stillness and tranquillity that belong to such observation, his soul will undergo a great transformation as a result. This will soon go so far that the inner enrichment that his being experiences will also give him security and peace in his outer behavior. And this transformed outer behavior will again have an effect on his soul. And so he will continue to help himself. He will find ways and means to discover more and more of human nature, which is hidden from the outer senses; and he will then also become mature enough to gain an insight into the mysterious connections between human nature and everything else that exists in the universe. - And in this way man approaches more and more the time when he can accomplish the first steps of initiation. But before this can be done, one more thing is necessary. This is something that the secret disciple will perhaps realize the least at first. But later he will.
[ 23 ] What the initiate must have is a certain degree of courage and fearlessness. The secret disciple must seek out the very opportunities through which these virtues are developed. In the secret training they should be developed quite systematically. But life itself is also a good secret school in this direction; perhaps the best. The secret disciple must be able to look danger calmly in the eye and overcome difficulties without hesitation. In the face of danger, for example, he must immediately summon up the feeling: my fear is of no use at all; I must not have it at all; I must only think of what is to be done. And he must bring himself so far that on occasions when he was previously anxious, "being anxious" and "becoming discouraged" become impossible things for him, at least in his innermost feelings. Through self-education in this direction, man develops within himself certain powers which he needs if he is to be initiated into higher mysteries. Just as the physical man needs nervous power in order to use his physical senses, so the spiritual man needs that power which is only developed in courageous and fearless natures. He who penetrates to the higher mysteries sees things which remain hidden to the ordinary man by the deceptions of the senses. For, even if the physical senses do not allow us to see the higher truth, they are also man's benefactors. Through them things are concealed from him which, unprepared, would have to cause him immense consternation, the sight of which he could not endure. The secret disciple must become equal to this sight. He loses certain supports in the outer world which he owed to the very fact that he was caught up in deception. It is really and literally as if someone had been made aware of a danger in which he had been hovering for a long time, but of which he knew nothing. He was not afraid before, but now that he knows, he is overcome with fear, even though the danger has not increased as a result of his knowledge.
[ 24 ] The forces of the world are destructive and constructive: the fate of external entities is creation and decay. The knower should look into the workings of these forces, into the course of this destiny. The veil that lies before the spiritual eyes in ordinary life should be removed. But man himself is interwoven with these forces, with this fate. In his own nature are destructive and constructive forces. As unveiled as the other things appear before the seeing eye of the knower, so unveiled does the own soul show itself. The secret disciple must not lose strength in the face of such self-knowledge. And he will only lack it if he has a surplus of it. For this to be the case, he must learn to maintain inner peace and security in difficult circumstances; he must develop a strong trust in the good powers of existence. He must be prepared for the fact that some of the driving forces that have guided him up to now will no longer guide him. He will have to realize that he has done and thought many things only because he was caught up in ignorance. Such reasons as he has had up to now will cease to exist. He has done many things out of vanity; he will see how unspeakably worthless all vanity is for the knowledgeable. He has done many things out of greed; he will realize how destructive all greed is. He will have to develop completely new motivations for acting and thinking. And that includes courage and fearlessness.
[ 25 ] The most important thing is to cultivate this courage and fearlessness in the very depths of the life of thought. The secret disciple must learn not to despair in the face of failure. He must be capable of the thought: "I will forget that this thing has failed me again, and try again as if nothing had happened." So he struggles to convince himself that the sources of strength in the world from which he can draw are inexhaustible. He strives again and again for the spiritual, which will lift and carry him, however often his earthly life may have proved weak and feeble. He must be able to live towards the future and not allow himself to be disturbed in this striving by any experience of the past. - If man has the described qualities to a certain degree, then he is ripe to experience the true names of things, which are the key to higher knowledge. For initiation consists in learning to call the things of the world by the names they have in the minds of their divine authors. In these names lie the secrets of things. That is why the initiated speak a different language from the uninitiated, because the former call the names of the beings by which they themselves are made. - Insofar as we can speak of the initiation itself, this will follow in the next chapter.