The Way of Initiation
GA 10
VI. Initiation
[ 1 ] The highest point in an occult school, of which it is possible to speak in a book for general readers, is Initiation. One cannot give public information concerning all that lies beyond, though the way to it can always be found by one who has previously pressed forward and penetrated the lower secrets and mysteries.
[ 2 ] The knowledge and power which are conferred upon a man through Initiation could not be obtained in any other manner excepting in some far distant future, after many incarnations, on quite another road and in quite another form. He who is initiated today experiences something which he would otherwise have to experience at a much later period and under quite different circumstances.
[ 3 ] It is right that a person should learn of the secrets of nature only so much as corresponds to his own degree of development, and for this reason alone do obstacles bar his way to complete knowledge and power. People should not be trusted with the use of fire-arms until they have had enough experience to make it certain that they will not use them mischievously or without care. If a person, without the necessary preparation, were initiated today, he would lack those experiences which, in the normal course of his development, would come to him in the future during other incarnations and would then bring with them the corresponding secrets. At the door of Initiation these experiences must, therefore, be supplied in some other way, and in their place the candidate has to undergo the preliminary teaching. [ 4 ] These are so-called “trials” which have to be passed. These trials are now being discussed in various magazines and books, but, owing to their very nature, it is not surprising that quite false impressions about them are received. For those who have not already gone through the periods of Probation and Enlightenment have seen nothing of these trials, and consequently cannot appropriately describe them.
[ 5 ] Certain matters or subjects connected with the higher worlds are produced before the candidate, but he is only able to see and hear these when he can perceive clearly the figures, tones, and colours, for which he has been prepared by the teachings on Probation and Enlightenment.
[ 6 ] The first trial consists in obtaining a clearer comprehension of the corporeal attributes of lifeless things, then of plants, of animals, of human beings (in the way that the average person possesses them). This does not mean what is commonly called “scientific knowledge;” with that it has no connection, but it has to do with intuition. What occurs is usually that the Initiate discloses to the candidate how the objects of nature and the essence of living things reveal themselves to the spiritual and mental hearing and sight. In a certain way these things then lie revealed—naked—before the beholder. Attributes and qualities which are concealed from, physical eyes and ears can then be seen and heard. Heretofore they have been enwrapped as in a veil, and the falling away of this veil for the candidate, occurs at what is called the Process of Purification by Fire. The first trial is therefore known as the “Fire-Trial.”
[ 7 ] For some people the ordinary life of every day is a more or less unconscious process of initiation by means of the Fire-Trial. These persons are those who have passed through a wealth of developing experiences, and who find that their self-confidence, courage, and fortitude have been greatly augmented in a normal way—who have learned to bear sorrow and disappointment, from the failure of their undertakings, with greatness of mind, and especially with quiet and unbroken strength. Those who have gone through such experiences are often initiates, without knowing it, and it needs but little to open for them the spiritual hearing and sight—to make them clairvoyant. For it must be noted that a genuine Fire-Trial is not merely intended to satisfy the curiosity of the candidate. He would learn, undoubtedly, many unusual things, of which others, devoid of such experiences, can have no idea; but yet this knowledge is not the end or aim, but merely the path to the end. The real aim and object is this—that the candidate shall acquire for himself, through this knowledge of the higher worlds, a greater and truer self-confidence, a higher and nobler courage, and a perseverance, an attitude of mind, altogether different from what he could have obtained in the lower world.
[ 8 ] After the Fire-Trial a candidate may always turn back; but because he has been through it, he will resume his life, strengthened in all his spiritual and physical relations, and in his next incarnation he will continue to seek for initiation. In his present life, at all events, he will prove himself a more useful member of society, will be of greater service to humanity than he was before, and in whatever position he may find himself, his firmness, prudence, and favourable influence over his fellows will have greatly increased.
[ 9 ] But if, after coming out of the Fire-Trial, he should wish, to continue in the occult school, he has then to be instructed in a certain writing system which is used by those in the school. Occult teachings are written in this occult writing-system, because what is really occult can neither be perfectly spoken of in words or our ordinary speech, nor set forth in the ordinary ways of writing. Those who have learned from the Initiates endeavour to translate the teachings of Occultism as best they may into terms of ordinary speech.
[ 10 ] The symbols or signs of the secret script are not arbitrarily invented or imagined, but correspond to powers which are active and efficacious in the world. It is through these symbols or signs, that one learns the language of such matters. The candidate immediately sees for himself that these symbols correspond to the figures, tones, and colours which he has learned to perceive during the periods of Probation and Enlightenment. He now understands that all which went before was only like learning how to spell; and that only now does he begin to read in the higher worlds. All that appeared to him before as separate figures, tones, and colours, is now revealed to him as a Perfect unity, a coherent harmony, and now, or the first time, he attains a real certainty in observing and following the higher worlds. Hitherto it was not possible for him to be sure that what he saw had been clearly or correctly perceived. Now, too, it is possible, at last, that a correct understanding, in the spheres of the higher knowledge, can begin to arise between the candidate and the Initiate. For no matter how close the connection between the two may be, no matter what form their intercourse may take in ordinary life, the Initiate can only communicate to the candidate, on these planes, in the direct form or figures of the secret alphabet.
[ 11 ] Through this occult speech the student also learns certain rules of conduct for life, certain duties and obligations, of which, before he knew nothing whatever. When he learns to know these, he is able to perform actions which have a significance and meaning such as the actions of one who is not initiated can never possess. The only point of view from which he is now able to look upon things, the only plane from which he can now make manifest his deeds, is that of the higher worlds. Instructions concerning such deeds can only be read, or understood, in the secret script.
[ 12 ] Yet it must be emphasized and clearly apprehended that there are persons who, unconsciously, have the ability or faculty of performing these actions, notwithstanding that they have never been in an occult school. Such “helpers of humanity and the world” proceed blessedly and beneficently through life. There are certain fundamental reasons, which cannot be here discussed, why they are in possession of seemingly supernatural gifts. The difference between these persons and the pupils of an occult school is only that the former act unconsciously, but the latter with a full knowledge, insight, judgment, and understanding of the entire matter in hand. The candidate wins by training, what has been bestowed, upon his fellow by a Higher Power, for the good of humanity. One should: freely and openly honour these favoured ones of God; but one should not, on their account, consider the work of the occult schools unnecessary or superfluous.
[ 13 ] Now that the student has learned the “Mystery language,” there yet awaits him another trial. By this he must prove whether he can move with freedom and certainty in the higher worlds. In ordinary life a man will be impelled to actions by outward motives and conditions. He works at this or that because certain duties are imposed upon him by outward circumstances. It need hardly be mentioned that the occult student must in no way neglect any of the duties connected with his ordinary life because he is working in the higher worlds. None of his duties there can constrain him to treat with inattention or carelessness any one of his duties in the lower world. The father will remain just as good a father to his family, the mother just as good a mother, and neither the officer nor the soldier, nor anyone else, will be detained from their necessary duties because they happen to be students in an occult school. On the contrary, all the qualities which make men capable are increased to a degree of which the uninitiated can form no idea. That this may not always appear to be the case in the eyes of the uninitiated is merely due to the fact that he has not always the ability to correctly judge or criticise the Initiate. The deeds of the latter are not always entirely intelligible to the former. But, as we have said before, this only happens in certain cases.
[ 14 ] For him who has arrived at the so-called “Steps of Initiation,” there are now duties to be performed to which no outer stimulus is given. He will be moved to do these things by no external pressure, but by those rules of conduct which have been communicated to him in the mystery-language. In this second, trial he must prove that, led by such rules of conduct, he can act from inner promptings just as firmly as an officer performs his obligatory duties. For this purpose the teacher will set before the pupil certain definite tasks. The latter has now to execute some deed in consequence of observations made from the basis of what he learned during Probation and Enlightenment. He has to find the way to what he is now to perform, by means of the mystery-language, which by this time is familiar to him. If he discerns his duty and executes it correctly, he has endured the trial, and he recognises the success which attends the fulfilment of the task by the changed manner with which the spiritual eyes and ears now apprehend the figures, tones, and colours. The occult teacher tells him distinctly how these must appear after the consummation of the trial, and the candidate must know how he can effect this change. This trial is known as the “Water-Trial,” because in consequence of its performance taking place on the higher planes, that support which would otherwise have been received from outward conditions is now taken away. One's movements are like those which are made in water by someone who is learning to swim. He feels no support under his feet. This practice must be often repeated until the candidate attains absolute poise and assurance.
[ 15 ] These trials are also dependent upon a quality which is produced by the experiences in the higher worlds. The candidate cultivates this quality to an extent which, in so short a time, he could not possibly reach while developing in the ordinary way, but could only attain after many incarnations. In order to bring about the change here mentioned, the following is the principal necessity: The candidate must altogether be guided by what has been proven to him by the cultivation, of his higher faculties, by the results of his reading in the secret ciphers.
Should he, during these experiences, attempt to introduce any of his own opinions or desires, or, should he diverge for one moment from the laws and rules which he has proved to be right, something quite other than that which is meant will occur. In such cases the candidate loses sight of the coal for which these matters are undertaken, and the result is only confusion. He has, therefore, manifold opportunities, during these trials, for the development of self-control, and this, indeed, is the principal quality needed. Those trials are, therefore, much more easily endured by those who, before initiation, have gone through a life which has enabled them to acquire command of themselves. Those who have developed the characteristic of following their higher principles and ideals without thought of personal honour or desire, who discern always the duty to be fulfilled, even though the inclinations and sympathies are too often ready to lead them an. other way, are already, in this midst of everyday life, unconscious initiates. They need but little to enable them to succeed in the prescribed trials. Indeed, one may say that a certain measure of initiation, thus unconsciously acquired in life, will be absolutely necessary before entering upon the second trial. For even as many who during youth have not learnt to write or spell, find much difficulty in learning to do so during later years, so it is also difficult to develop, merely from a knowledge of the higher worlds, the necessary degree of self-control, if one has not already acquired a certain measure of it in the course of ordinary life.
The things of the physical world do not alter, however we may desire them to do so, but in the higher worlds our wishes, inclinations, and desires are causes that produce effects. If we desire to bring about particular changes in these worlds, we must hold ourselves in absolute control, we must follow the right principle, must entirely subdue the personal will.
[ 16 ] There is an attribute which at this stage, of initiation has to be especially considered,—quite a healthy and sure faculty of judgment. Attention must be directed to the education of this faculty during all the previous stages, and in the course of them it must be proved whether the candidate has developed this quality sufficiently to make him fit to tread the path of true knowledge. Further progress is now only possible for him if he is able to distinguish illusion, superstition, unsubstantial fancies, and all manner of such things, from the true realities. At first, this is much more difficult to accomplish upon the higher stages of existence than upon the lower. Every prejudice, every cherished opinion regarding these matters, in whatever connection, must vanish away. Truth alone must guide. There must be perfect readiness to surrender at once any existing opinion, idea, or inclination, when the logical idea demands it. Absolute certainty in the higher worlds is only to be obtained when one never obtrudes one's own opinions.
[ 17 ] People whose mode of thought inclines them to phantasy, prejudice, and so forth, can make no progress on the occult way. In truth, it is a glorious treasure that the occult student shall attain. All doubt as to the higher worlds will be taken away from him. In all their law they will reveal themselves to his gaze. But so long as he is blindfolded he cannot win these heights and compensations. It were, indeed, unhappy for him if his phantasies and superstitions ran away with his intellect and reason. Dreamers and people inclined to phantasies are as unfit for the occult path as are superstitious people; for in dreams, phantasies, and superstitions lurk the most dangerous enemies on the road to knowledge. But because upon the gateway which leads to the second trial are written the words, “All prejudices must fall away;” because the candidate has already seen upon the portals that opened to him in the first trial, the words, “Without a normal common sense all your efforts are in vain,”—yet it is not necessary to think that the capacity for inspiration and enthusiasm, and all the poetry of life, is lost to the student of Occultism.
[ 18 ] If he be now sufficiently advanced, a third trial awaits the candidate. No aim, no boundary lines, are here set for him. All is left entirely in his own hands. He finds himself in a condition where nothing causes or induces him to act. He must find the way of his own accord and from within himself. Conditions or people who might have stimulated him to action are no longer there. Nothing and nobody can give the strength which he now needs, but he himself alone. If he should not find this strength within himself, he will very soon find himself standing where he was before; but it must be remarked that very few of those who have endured the previous trials will fail at this point in finding the necessary strength. Either they will have turned back already or they can endure at this point also. The only thing necessary is the ability to make a resolution quickly. For here, in the truest meaning of the phrase, one must find oneself. In all matters one must quickly resolve to hear the suggestions, the inspirations of the spirit. One has no time for doubt or delay. Every moment of hesitation would add to the proof that one was not yet ready. All that hinders one from hearing the voice of the spirit must be boldly conquered. It is entirely a matter of proving one's presence of mind, and it is this attribute to which attention must be paid during all the foregoing stages of development. All temptations to act, or even to think, which hitherto assailed a man, must now cease; but in order that he may not slip into inaction, he must not lose his hold upon himself. For only in himself can he find that one sure centre-point on which he can depend. No one, without further familiarity with the subject, should feel an antipathy to this principle of self-rejection. For him who has endured the trials already described, it indicates the most perfect felicity.
[ 19 ] And in this, as in the other stages before mentioned, for many people, everyday life itself can be an occult school. People who have reached the point of being able, when suddenly confronted with some task or problem demanding immediate action, to come to a swift resolution, to act without delay or personal consideration, have, indeed, undergone their Occult schooling in everyday life. The situation which one wishes to suggest is one in which a successful action is impossible unless the person concerned grasps the whole matter and acts at once. He is quick to act when misfortune is in sight, when a moment's hesitation may produce a catastrophe; and he who possesses the qualities which can be developed into a permanent attribute of such a kind, has already evolved, unknown to himself the degree of ripeness necessary for the third trial. For, as already remarked, at this stage it all depends upon the development of presence of mind.
In the occult schools this trial is known as the “Air-Trial,” because while undergoing it the, candidate can support himself neither upon the firm ground, nor any external cause, nor that which he has learned in Probation and Enlightenment from the figures and tones and colours, but solely upon himself.
[ 20 ] If the occult student has endured these trials, he is then permitted to enter “the Temple of the Higher Wisdom.” All that can be further said upon this subject can only be given out in the smallest hints and suggestions. That which has now to be performed has been so often put into words that many say that the pupil has here to take an “oath,” promising to betray nothing that comes from the teacher. Nevertheless these expressions “oath” and “betrayal” are in no way appropriate, but are only misleading... It is no matter of an oath in the ordinary sense of the word, but is rather an experience that comes at this stage. Here the candidate appreciates the true value of the occult teachers, and their place in the service of humanity. At last he begins to understand the world correctly. It is not so much a matter of “withholding” the higher truths now learned, but much more of upholding them in the right way and with the necessary tact. That about which one learns to “keep silence” is something quite different. One gains possession of this fine attribute in regard to many things of which one had previously spoken, and especially in regard to the manner in which one has spoken of them. Yet it would be a bad Initiate who did not place all his mystical experiences, as adequately and as far-reachingly as possible, at the service of humanity. The sole obstacle to communication in such matters is the misunderstanding of the person who receives it. Above all, the higher secrets do not allow themselves to be spoken about promiscuously, but to none who has passed the steps of development above described, is it actually forbidden to speak of these matters. No one is asked for a negative oath, but everything is placed on one's own responsibility. What one really learns is to find out within oneself what should be done under all circumstances, and the “oath” means nothing more than this, that one is found qualified to be entrusted with such a responsibility.
[ 21 ] If the candidate is found fit, he is then given what is called, symbolically, “the draught of forgetfulness.” This means that he will be initiated into the secret knowledge enabling him to act without being continually disturbed by the lower memory. This is absolutely necessary for the Initiate, for he must possess full faith in the immediate present. He must be able to destroy that veil of memory which extends itself round humanity more and more thickly with every moment of life.
If one judges of something which happens to one today, according to the experiences of yesterday, one is subjected by so doing to a multitude of errors. Of course, it is not intended that the reader should think that one ought to renounce all the experience acquired in life.
One ought always to keep it in mind as firmly as possible. But as an Initiate, one should retain the ability for judging every fresh experience from outside of oneself, unclouded by all bygone experiences. One must be prepared, at every moment, that a new thing or being shall bring to one a new revelation. If one judges the new by the standard of the old, one necessarily falls into error. For this very reason, the memory of past experiences is useful, for they make one capable of seeing the new. If one had not gone through a certain experience, one would probably not have seen at all the attributes of this or that being or thing; but such experiences ought only to enable one to discern the new and not by any means to cause one to judge it by the old. In this way the Initiate obtains certain definite qualities, and by means of these many things are revealed to him while they remain concealed from the uninitiated.
[ 22 ] The second draught which is given to the Initiate is the “draught of remembrance.” By receiving this he becomes capable of keeping the higher secrets ever-present in the soul. Ordinary memory would not be sufficient to ensure this; one must be absolutely at one with the higher truths. One must not merely know them, but be able, as a matter of course, to manifest and administer them in living actions, even as an ordinary man eats and drinks. They must become one's practice, one's inclinations, one's habits. It must be unnecessary to think of them consciously (in the usual sense of the word); they must become a part of oneself and express themselves through one's very being; they must flow through one, even as the life-currents run through one's organism. So must we make ourselves as perfect in a spiritual sense as nature has made us in a physical.
Die Einweihung
[ 1 ] Die Einweihung ist die höchste der Stufen einer Geheimschulung, über welche in einer Schrift noch Andeutungen gegeben werden können, die allgemein verständlich sind. Über alles, was darüber liegt, sind Mitteilungen schwer verständlich. Aber auch dazu findet jeder den Weg, der durch die Vorbereitung, Erleuchtung und Einweihung bis zu den niederen Geheimnissen vorgedrungen ist.
[ 2 ] Das Wissen und Können, das einem Menschen durch die Einweihung zuteil wird, könnte er ohne eine solche erst in einer sehr fernen Zukunft – nach vielen Verkörperungen – auf einem ganz anderen Wege und auch in einer ganz anderen Form erwerben. Wer heute eingeweiht wird, erfährt etwas, was er sonst viel später, unter ganz anderen Verhältnissen, erfahren würde.
[ 3 ] Ein Mensch kann von den Geheimnissen des Daseins nur so viel wirklich erfahren, als dem Grade seiner Reife entspricht. Nur deshalb gibt es Hindernisse zu den höheren Stufen des Wissens und Könnens. Der Mensch soll ein Schießgewehr nicht früher gebrauchen, als bis er genügende Erfahrung hat, um durch den Gebrauch nicht Unheil anzurichten. – Würde heute jemand ohne weiteres eingeweiht, so würde ihm die Erfahrung fehlen, die er durch die Verkörperungen in der Zukunft noch machen wird, bis ihm die entsprechenden Geheimnisse im regelmäßigen Verlauf seiner Entwickelung zuteil werden. Deshalb müssen an der Pforte der Einweihung diese Erfahrungen durch etwas anderes ersetzt sein. In einem Ersatz für künftige Erfahrungen bestehen daher die ersten Unterweisungen des Einweihungskandidaten. Es sind das die sogenannten «Proben», die er durchzumachen hat und die sich als regelmäßige Folge des Seelenlebens ergeben, wenn Übungen, wie die in den vorhergehenden Kapiteln geschilderten, richtig fortgesetzt werden.
[ 4 ] Von diesen «Proben» wird ja auch in Büchern oft gesprochen. Aber es ist nur natürlich, daß von ihrer Natur durch solche Besprechungen in der Regel ganz falsche Vorstellungen hervorgerufen werden müssen. Denn wer nicht durch die Vorbereitung und Erleuchtung hindurchgegangen ist, hat ja nichts von diesen Proben jemals erfahren. Ein solcher kann sie auch nicht sachgemäß beschreiben.
[ 5 ] Dem Einzuweihenden müssen sich gewisse Dinge und Tatsachen ergeben, die den höheren Welten angehören. Er kann sie aber nur sehen und hören, wenn er die geistigen Wahrnehmungen wie Figuren, Farben, Töne und so weiter empfinden kann, von denen bei Besprechung der «Vorbereitung» und «Erleuchtung» berichtet worden ist.
[ 6 ] Die erste «Probe» besteht darinnen, daß er eine wahrere Anschauung erlangt von den leiblichen Eigenschaften der leblosen Körper, dann der Pflanzen, der Tiere und des Menschen, als sie der Durchschnittsmensch besitzt. Damit ist aber nicht das gemeint, was man heute wissenschaftliche Erkenntnis nennt. Denn nicht um Wissenschaft, sondern um Anschauung handelt es sich. – In der Regel ist der Vorgang so, daß der Einzuweihende erkennen lernt, wie sich die Naturdinge und Lebewesen für das geistige Ohr und geistige Auge kundgeben. In einer gewissen Weise stehen diese Dinge dann unverhüllt – nackt – vor dem Beschauer. Dem sinnlichen Auge und dem sinnlichen Ohre verbergen sich die Eigenschaften, die man da hört und sieht. Sie sind für dieses sinnliche Anschauen wie mit einem Schleier verhüllt. Daß dieser Schleier für den Einzuweihenden wegfällt, beruht auf einem Vorgang, den man als «geistigen Verbrennungsprozeß» bezeichnet. Deshalb wird diese erste Probe die «Feuerprobe» genannt.
[ 7 ] Für manche Menschen ist das gewöhnliche Leben selbst schon ein mehr oder weniger unbewußter Einweihungsprozeß durch die Feuerprobe. Es sind das diejenigen, welche durch reiche Erfahrungen von solcher Art durchgehen, daß ihr Selbstvertrauen, ihr Mut und ihre Standhaftigkeit in gesunder Weise groß werden und daß sie Leid, Enttäuschung, Mißlingen von Unternehmungen mit Seelengröße und namentlich mit Ruhe und in ungebrochener Kraft ertragen lernen. Wer Erfahrungen in dieser Art durchgemacht hat, der ist oft schon, ohne daß er es deutlich weiß, ein Eingeweihter; und es bedarf dann nur eines wenigen, um ihm geistige Ohren und Augen zu öffnen, so daß er ein Hell sehender wird. Denn das ist festzuhalten: es handelt sich bei einer wahren «Feuerprobe» nicht darum, daß die Neugierde des Kandidaten befriedigt werde. Gewiß, er lernt außergewöhnliche Tatsachen kennen, von denen andere Menschen keine Ahnung haben. Aber dieses Kennenlernen ist nicht das Ziel, sondern nur das Mittel zum Ziel. Das Ziel aber ist, daß sich der Kandidat durch die Erkenntnis der höheren Welten größeres und wahreres Selbstvertrauen, höheren Mut und eine ganz andere Seelengröße und Ausdauer erwerbe, als sie in der Regel innerhalb der niederen Welt erlangt werden können.
[ 8 ] Nach der «Feuerprobe» kann jeder Kandidat noch umkehren. Er wird gestärkt in physischer und seelischer Beziehung dann sein Leben fortsetzen und wohl erst in einer nächsten Verkörperung die Einweihung fortsetzen. In seiner gegenwärtigen aber wird er ein brauchbareres Glied der menschlichen Gesellschaft sein, als er vorher war. In welcher Lage er sich auch befinden mag: seine Festigkeit, seine Umsicht, sein günstiger Einfluß auf seine Mitmenschen, seine Entschlossenheit werden zugenommen haben.
[ 9 ] Will der Kandidat nach vollbrachter Feuerprobe die Geheimschulung fortsetzen, so muß ihm nunmehr ein bestimmtes Schriftsystem enthüllt werden, wie solche in der Geheimschulung üblich sind. In diesen Schriftsystemen offenbaren sich die eigentlichen Geheimlehren. Denn dasjenige, was in den Dingen wirklich «verborgen» (okkult) ist, kann weder mit den Worten der gewöhnlichen Sprache unmittelbar ausgesprochen, noch kann es mit den gewöhnlichen Schriftsystemen aufgezeichnet werden. Diejenigen, welche von den Eingeweihten gelernt haben, übersetzen die Lehren der Geheimwissenschaft in die gewöhnliche Sprache, so gut das geht. Die okkulte Schrift offenbart sich der Seele, wenn diese die geistige Wahrnehmung erlangt hat. Denn diese Schrift steht in der geistigen Welt immer geschrieben. Man lernt sie nicht so, wie man eine künstliche Schrift lesen lernt. Man wächst vielmehr in sachgemäßer Weise der hellsichtigen Erkenntnis entgegen, und während dieses Wachsens entwickelt sich wie eine seelische Fähigkeit die Kraft, welche die vorhandenen Geschehnisse und Wesenheiten der geistigen Welt wie die Charaktere einer Schrift zu entziffern sich gedrängt fühlt. Es könnte sein, daß diese Kraft und mit ihr das Erleben der entsprechenden «Probe» mit der fortschreitenden Seelenentwickelung wie von selbst erwachen. Doch sicherer gelangt man zum Ziele, wenn man die Anweisungen der erfahrenen Geheimforscher befolgt, die Gewandtheit haben im Entziffern der okkulten Schrift.
[ 10 ] Die Zeichen der Geheimschrift sind nicht willkürlich ersonnen, sondern sie entsprechen den Kräften, welche in der Welt wirksam sind. Man lernt durch diese Zeichen die Sprache der Dinge. Dem Kandidaten zeigt sich alsbald, daß die Zeichen, die er kennenlemt, den Figuren, Farben, Tönen und so weiter entsprechen, die er während der Vorbereitung und Erleuchtung wahrzunehmen gelernt hat. Es zeigt sich ihm, daß alles Vorhergehende nur wie ein Buchstabieren war. Jetzt erst fängt er an, in der höheren Welt zu lesen. In einem großen Zusammenhang erscheint ihm alles, was vorher nur vereinzelte Figur, Ton, Farbe war. Jetzt erst gewinnt er die rechte Sicherheit im Beobachten der höheren Welten. Vorher konnte er nie mit Bestimmtheit wissen, ob die Dinge, die er gesehen hat, auch richtig gesehen waren. Und jetzt erst kann eine geregelte Verständigung zwischen dem Kandidaten und dem Eingeweihten auf den Gebieten des höheren Wissens stattfinden. Denn wie auch das Zusammenleben eines Eingeweihten mit einem anderen Menschen im gewöhnlichen Leben gestaltet sein mag: von dem höheren Wissen in unmittelbarer Gestalt kann der Eingeweihte nur in der erwähnten Zeichensprache etwas mitteilen.
[ 11 ] Durch diese Sprache wird der Geheimschüler auch bekannt mit gewissen Verhaltungsmaßregeln für das Leben. Er lernt gewisse Pflichten kennen, von denen er vorher nichts gewußt hat. Und wenn er diese Verhaltungsmaßregeln kennengelernt hat, so kann er Dinge vollbringen, die eine Bedeutung haben, wie sie niemals die Taten eines Uneingeweihten haben können. Er handelt von den höheren Welten aus. Die Anweisungen zu solchen Handlungen können nur in der angedeuteten Schrift verstanden werden.
[ 12 ] Es muß aber betont werden, daß es Menschen gibt, die solche Handlungen unbewußt auszuführen vermögen, trotzdem sie nicht eine Geheimschulung durchgemacht haben. Solche «Helfer der Welt und Menschheit» schreiten segnend und wohltuend durchs Leben. Ihnen sind durch Gründe, die hier nicht zu erörtern sind, Gaben verliehen worden, die übernatürlich erscheinen. Was sie von dem Geheimschüler unterscheidet, ist lediglich das, daß dieser mit Bewußtsein, mit voller Einsicht in den ganzen Zusammenhang handelt. Er erringt eben durch Schulung, was jenen von höheren Mächten zum Heile der Welt beschert worden ist. Die Gottbegnadeten kann man aufrichtig verehren; aber deswegen darf man die Arbeit der Schulung nicht für überflüssig halten.
[ 13 ] Hat der Geheimschüler die erwähnte Zeichenschrift gelernt, dann beginnt für ihn eine weitere «Probe». Durch diese muß sich erweisen, ob er sich frei und sicher in der höheren Welt bewegen kann. Im gewöhnlichen Leben wird der Mensch durch Antriebe von außen zu seinen Handlungen bewogen. Er arbeitet dieses oder jenes, weil ihm die Verhältnisse diese oder jene Pflichten auferlegen. – Es braucht wohl kaum erwähht zu werden, daß der Geheimschüler keine seiner Pflichten im gewöhnlichen Leben versäumen darf, weil er in höheren Welten lebt. Keine Pflicht in einer höheren Welt kann jemanden zwingen, eine einzige seiner Pflichten in der gewöhnlichen außer acht zu lassen. Der Familienvater bleibt ebenso guter Familienvater, die Mutter ebenso gute Mutter, der Beamte wird von nichts abgehalten, ebensowenig der Soldat oder ein anderer, wenn sie Geheimschüler werden. Im Gegenteil: alle die Eigenschaften, die den Menschen im Leben tüchtig machen, steigern sich bei dem Geheimschüler in einem Maße, von dem sich der Uneingeweihte keinen Begriff machen kann. Und wenn das dem Uneingeweihten auch oft – nicht immer, sogar selten – nicht so erscheint, dann rührt das nur davon her, daß er den Eingeweihten nicht immer richtig zu beurteilen vermag. Was letzterer tut, ist manchmal dem anderen nicht sogleich durchsichtig. Aber auch das ist, wie gesagt, nur in besonderen Fällen zu bemerken.
[ 14 ] Für den auf der genannten Stufe der Einweihung Angelangten gibt es nun Pflichten, zu denen kein äußerer Anstoß vorhanden ist. Er wird in diesen Dingen nicht durch äußere Verhältnisse, sondern nur durch jene Maßregeln veranlaßt, welche ihm in der «verborgenen» Sprache offenbar werden. Nun muß er durch die zweite «Probe» zeigen, daß er, geführt von einer solchen Maßregel, ebenso sicher und fest handelt, wie etwa ein Beamter seine ihm obliegenden Pflichten vollführt. – Zu diesem Zwecke wird durch die Geheimschulung der Kandidat sich vor eine bestimmte Aufgabe gestellt fühlen. Dieser soll eine Handlung ausführen infolge von Wahrnehmungen, die er macht auf Grund dessen, was er auf der Vorbereitungs- und Erleuchtungsstufe gelernt hat. Und was er auszuführen hat, das muß er erkennen durch die gekennzeichnete Schrift, die er sich angeeignet hat. Erkennt er seine Pflicht und handelt er richtig, dann hat er die Probe bestanden. Man erkennt den Erfolg an der Veränderung, die sich mit den als Figuren, Farben und Tönen empfundenen Wahrnehmungen der Geistesohren und -augen durch die Handlung vollzieht. In den Fortschritten der Geheimschulung wird ganz genau angegeben, wie diese Figuren und so weiter nach der Handlung aussehen, empfunden werden. Und der Kandidat muß wissen, wie er eine solche Veränderung hervorzubringen vermag. – Man nennt diese Probe die «Wasserprobe», weil bei der Tätigkeit in diesen höheren Gebieten dem Menschen die Stütze durch die äußeren Verhältnisse so fehlt, wie beim Bewegen im Wasser, dessen Grund man nicht erreicht, die Stütze fehlt. – Der Vorgang muß so oft wiederholt werden, bis der Kandidat völlige Sicherheit hat.
[ 15 ] Auch bei dieser Probe handelt es sich um das Erwerben einer Eigenschaft; und durch die Erfahrungen in der höheren Welt bildet der Mensch diese Eigenschaft in kurzer Zeit in einem solch hohen Grade aus, daß er im gewöhnlichen Verlaufe der Entwickelung wohl durch viele Verkörperungen hindurchgehen müßte, um ihn zu erreichen. Worauf es nämlich ankommt, ist das Folgende. Der Kandidat daif, um die angegebene Veränderung auf dem höheren Gebiet des Daseins hervorzubringen, lediglich dem folgen, was sich ihm auf Grund seiner höheren Wahrnehmung und als Folge seines Lesens der verborgenen Schrift ergibt. Würde er während seiner Handlung irgend etwas von seinen Wünschen, Meinungen und so weiter einmischen, folgte er nur einen Augenblick nicht den Gesetzen, die er als richtig erkannt hat, sondern seiner Willkür: dann würde etwas ganz anderes geschehen, als geschehen soll. In diesem Falle verlöre der Kandidat sofort die Richtung auf sein Ziel der Handlung, und Verwirrung träte ein. – Daher hat der Mensch durch diese Probe in reichlichstem Maße Gelegenheit, seine Selbstbeherrschung auszubilden. Und darauf kommt es an. Wieder kann daher diese Probe von denen leichter bestanden werden, die vor der Einweihung durch ein Leben gegangen sind, das ihnen die Erwerbung der Selbstbeherrschung gebracht hat. Wer sich die Fähigkeit erworben hat, hohen Grundsätzen und Idealen mit Hintansetzung der persönlichen Laune und Willkür zu folgen, wer versteht, die Pflicht auch immer da zu erfüllen, wo die Neigungen und Sympathien gar zu gerne von dieser Pflicht ablenken wollen, der ist unbewußt schon mitten im gewöhnlichen Leben ein Eingeweihter. Und nur ein Geringes wird notwendig sein, damit er die geschilderte Probe bestehe. Ja, es muß sogar gesagt werden, daß ein gewisser schon im Leben unbewußt erlangter Grad von Einweihung in der Regel durchaus notwendig sein wird, um die zweite Probe zu bestehen. Denn wie es vielen Menschen, die in der Jugend nicht richtig schreiben gelernt haben, schwer wird, dies nachzuholen, wenn sie einmal die volle Lebensreife erlangt haben, so wird es auch schwer, den notwendigen Grad von Selbstbeherrschung beim Einblicke in die höheren Welten auszubilden, wenn man nicht schon vorher darinnen einen gewissen Grad im alltäglichen Leben sich angeeignet hat. Die Dinge der physischen Welt ändern sich nicht, was wir auch wünschen, begehren, was immer wir auch für Neigungen haben. In den höheren Welten aber sind unsere Wünsche, Begierden und Neigungen von Wirkung für die Dinge. Wollen wir da auf die Dinge in entsprechender Weise wirken, so müssen wir uns ganz in unserer Gewalt haben, müssen lediglich den richtigen Maßregeln folgen und keinerlei Willkür unterworfen sein.
[ 16 ] Eine Eigenschaft des Menschen, die auf dieser Stufe der Einweihung ganz besonders in Betracht kommt, ist eine unbedingt gesunde und sichere Urteilskraft. Auf die Heranbildung einer solchen muß schon auf allen früheren Stufen gesehen werden; und auf dieser muß es sich erweisen, ob der Kandidat sie so handhabt, daß er für den wahren Erkenntnispfad geeignet ist. Er kann nur dann weiterkommen, wenn er Illusion, wesenlore Phantasiegebilde, Aberglauben und alle Art von Blendwerk von der wahren Wirklichkeit unterscheiden kann. Und auf den höheren Stufen des Daseins ist das zunächst schwieriger als auf den niederen. Da muß jedes Vorurteil, jede liebgewordene Meinung schwinden in bezug auf die Dinge, auf die es ankommt; und einzig und allein die Wahrheit muß Richtschnur sein. Vollkommene Bereitschaft muß vorhanden sein, einen Gedanken, eine Ansicht, eine Neigung sofort aufzugeben, wenn das logische Denken solches fordert. Gewißheit in höheren Welten ist nur zu erlangen, wenn man nie die eigene Meinung schont.
[ 17 ] Menschen mit einer Denkungsart, die zur Phantastik, zum Aberglauben neigt, können auf dem Geheimpfade keinen Fortschritt machen. Ein kostbares Gut soll ja der Geheimjünger erringen. Alle Zweifel an den höheren Welten werden von ihm genommen. Diese enthüllen sich in ihren Gesetzen vor seinen Blicken. Aber er kann dieses Gut nicht erringen, solange er sich von Blendwerken und Illusionen täuschen läßt. Schlimm wäre es für ihn, wenn seine Phantasie, seine Vorurteile mit seinem Verstande durchgingen. Träumer und Phantasten sind für den Geheimpfad ebenso ungeeignet wie abergläubische Personen. Das alles kann nicht genug betont werden. Denn in Träumerei, Phantastik und Aberglauben lauern die schlimmsten Feinde auf dem Wege zu Erkenntnissen in höheren Welten. Es braucht aber auch niemand zu glauben, daß dem Geheimjünger die Poesie des Lebens, die Begeisterungsfähigkeit verlorengehe, weil über dem Tore, das zur zweiten Probe der Einweihung führt, die Worte stehen: «Alle Vorurteile müssen von dir fallen», und weil er an der Eingangspforte zur ersten Probe bereits lesen muß: «Ohne gesunden Menschenverstand sind alle deine Schritte vergebens. »
[ 18 ] Ist der Kandidat in dieser Art weit genug vorgeschritten, so wartet die dritte «Probe» auf ihn. Bei dieser wird ihm kein Ziel fühlbar. Es ist alles in seine eigene Hand gelegt. Er befindet sich in einer Lage, wo ihn nichts zum Handeln veranlaßt. Er muß ganz allein aus sich seinen Weg finden. Dinge oder Personen, die ihn zu etwas bewegen, sind nicht da. Nichts und niemand kann ihm jetzt die Kraft geben, die er braucht, als nur er selbst. Fände er diese Kraft nicht in sich selbst, so stände er sehr bald wieder da, wo er vorher gestanden hat. Doch muß man sagen, daß nur wenige von denen, welche die vorigen Proben bestanden haben, hier diese Kraft nicht finden werden. Man bleibt entweder schon vorher zurück, oder man besteht auch hier. Alles, was nötig ist, das besteht darinnen, rasch mit sich selbst zurecht zu kommen. Denn man muß hier sein «höheres Selbst» im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes finden. Man muß sich rasch entschließen, auf die Eingebung des Geistes in allen Dingen zu hören. Zeit zu irgendwelchen Bedenken, Zweifeln und so weiter hat man hier nicht mehr. Jede Minute Zögerung würde nur beweisen, daß man noch nicht reif ist. Was abhält, auf den Geist zu hören, muß kühn überwunden werden. Es kommt darauf an, Geistesgegenwart in dieser Lage zu beweisen. Und das ist auch die Eigenschaft, auf deren vollkommene Ausbildung es auf dieser Entwickelungsstufe abgesehen ist. Alle Verlockungen zum Handeln, ja selbst zum Denken, an die ein Mensch vorher gewöhnt war, hören auf. Um nicht untätig zu bleiben, darf der Mensch sich selbst nicht verlieren. Denn nur in sich selbst kann er den einzigen festen Punkt finden, an den er sich zu halten vermag. Niemand, der dies hier liest, ohne weiter mit den Sachen vertraut zu sein, sollte eine Antipathie empfinden gegen dieses Zurückgewiesensein auf sich selbsf. Denn es bedeutet für den Menschen die schönste Glückseligkeit, wenn er die geschilderte Probe besteht.
[ 19 ] Und nicht weniger als in den anderen Fällen ist auch für diesen Punkt das gewöhnliche Leben für viele Menschen schon eine Geheimschule. Personen, die es dahin gebracht haben, daß sie, vor plötzlich an sie herantretende Lebensaufgaben gestellt, ohne Zögern, ohne viel Bedenken eines raschen Entschlusses fähig sind, ihnen ist das Leben eine solche Schulung. Die geeigneten Lagen sind diejenigen, wo ein erfolgreiches Handeln sofort unmöglich wird, wenn der Mensch nicht rasch eingreift. Wer rasch bei der Hand ist, zuzugreifen, wenn ein Unglück in Sicht ist, während durch einige Augenblicke Zögerung das Unglück bereits geschehen wäre, und wer eine solche rasche Entschlußfähigkeit zu einer bleibenden Eigenschaft bei sich gemacht hat, der hat unbewußt die Reife für die dritte «Probe» erworben. Denn auf die Heranbildung der unbedingten Geistesgegenwart kommt es bei ihr an. Man nennt sie in den Geheimschulen die «Luftprobe», weil der Kandidat bei ihr sich weder auf den festen Boden der äußeren Veranlassungen stützen kann noch auf dasjenige, was sich aus den Farben, Formen und so weiter ergibt, die er durch Vorbereitung und Erleuchtung kennengelernt hat, sondern ausschließlich auf sich selbst.
[ 20 ] Hat der Geheimjünger diese Probe bestanden, dann darf er den «Tempel der höheren Erkenntnisse» betreten. – Was darüber weiter zu sagen ist, kann nur die allerspärlichste Andeutung sein. – Was jetzt zu leisten ist, wird oft so ausgedrückt, daß man sagt: der Geheimjünger habe einen «Eid» zu leisten, nichts von den Geheimlehren zu «verraten». Doch sind die Ausdrücke «Eid» und «verraten» keineswegs sachgemäß und sogar zunächst irreführend. Es handelt sich um keinen «Eid» im gewöhnlichen Sinne des Wortes. Man macht vielmehr auf dieser Stufe der Entwickelung eine Erfahrung. Man lernt, wie man die Geheimlehre anwendet, wie man sie in den Dienst der Menschheit stellt. Man fängt an, die Welt erst recht zu verstehen. Nicht auf das «Verschweigen» der höheren Wahrheiten kommt es da an, sondern vielmehr auf die rechte Art, den entsprechenden Takt, sie zu vertreten. Worüber man «schweigen» lernt, das ist etwas ganz anderes. Man eignet sich diese herrliche Eigenschaft nämlich in bezug auf vieles an, worüber man vorher geredet hat, namentlich auf die Art, wie man geredet hat. Ein schlechter Eingeweihter wäre der, welcher nicht die erfahrenen Geheimnisse in den Dienst der Welt stellte, so gut und soweit dies nur möglich ist. Es gibt kein anderes Hindernis für die Mitteilung auf diesem Gebiete als allein das Nichtverstehen von seiten dessen, der empfangen soll. Zum beliebigen Reden darüber eignen sich allerdings die höheren Geheimnisse nicht. Aber es ist niemandem etwas «verboten» zu sagen, der die beschriebene Stufe der Entwickelung erlangt hat. Kein anderer Mensch und kein Wesen legt ihm einen dahingehenden «Eid» auf. Alles ist in seine eigene Verantwortlichkeit gestellt. Was er lernt, ist, in jeder Lage ganz durch sich selbst zu finden, was er zu tun hat. Und der «Eid» bedeutet nichts, als daß der Mensch reif geworden ist, eine solche Verantwortung tragen zu können.
[ 21 ] Ist der Kandidat reif geworden zu dem Beschriebenen, dann erhält er dasjenige, was man sinnbildlich als den «Vergessenheitstrunk» bezeichnet. Er wird nämlich in das Geheimnis eingeweiht, wie man wirken kann, ohne sich durch das niedere Gedächtnis fortwährend stören zu lassen. Das ist für den Eingeweihten notwendig. Denn er muß stets das volle Vertrauen in die unmittelbare Gegenwart haben. Er muß die Schleier der Erinnerung zerstören können, die sich in jedem Augenblick des Lebens um den Menschen ausbreiten. Wenn ich etwas, was mir heute begegnet, nach dem beurteile, was ich gestern erfahren habe, so bin ich vielfachen Irrtümern unterworfen. Natürlich ist damit nicht gemeint, daß man seine im Leben gewonnene Erfahrung verleugne. Man soll sich sie immer gegenwärtig halten, so gut man kann. Aber man muß als Eingeweihter die Fähigkeit haben, jedes neue Erlebnis aus sich selbst zu beurteilen, es ungetrübt durch alle Vergangenheit auf sich wirken zu lassen. Ich muß in jedem Augenblicke darauf gefaßt sein, daß mir ein jegliches Ding oder Wesen eine ganz neue Offenbarung bringen kann. Beurteile ich das Neue nach dem Alten, so bin ich dem Irrtum unterworfen. Gerade dadurch wird mir die Erinnerung an alte Erfahrungen am nützlichsten, daß sie mich befähigt, Neues zu sehen. Hätte ich eine bestimmte Erfahrung nicht, so würde ich die Eigenschaft eines Dinges oder eines Wesens, die mir entgegentreten, vielleicht gar nicht sehen. Aber eben zum Sehen des Neuen, nicht zur Beurteilung des Neuen nach dem Alten soll die Erfahrung dienen. In dieser Beziehung erlangt der Eingeweihte ganz bestimmte Fähigkeiten. Dadurch enthüllen sich ihm viele Dinge, die dem Uneingeweihten verborgen bleiben.
[ 22 ] Der zweite «Trank», der dem Eingeweihten verabreicht wird, ist der «Gedächtnistrank». Durch ihn erlangt er die Fähigkeit, höhere Geheimnisse stets im Geiste gegenwärtig zu haben. Dazu würde das gewöhnliche Gedächtnis nicht ausreichen. Man muß ganz eins werden mit den höheren Wahrheiten. Man muß sie nicht nur wissen, sondern ganz selbstverständlich in lebendigem Tun handhaben, wie man als gewöhnlicher Mensch ißt und trinkt. Übung, Gewöhnung, Neigung müssen sie werden. Man muß gar nicht über sie in gewöhnlichem Sinne nachzudenken brauchen; sie müssen sich durch den Menschen selbst darstellen, durch ihn fließen wie die Lebensfunktionen seines Organismus. So macht er sich in geistigem Sinne immer mehr zu dem, wozu ihn im physischen die Natur gemacht hat.
The initiation
[ 1 ] The initiation is the highest of the levels of a secret training, about which suggestions can still be given in a writing that are generally understandable. Everything above this level is difficult to understand. But anyone who has penetrated to the lower mysteries through preparation, enlightenment and initiation will find the way.
[ 2 ] The knowledge and ability that a person receives through initiation could only be acquired in a very distant future - after many embodiments - in a completely different way and also in a completely different form. Those who are initiated today experience something that they would otherwise experience much later, under completely different circumstances.
[ 3 ] A person can only really experience so much of the secrets of existence as corresponds to the degree of his maturity. This is the only reason why there are obstacles to the higher levels of knowledge and ability. A person should not use a gun before he has gained sufficient experience to avoid causing harm through its use. - If someone were to be initiated today without further ado, he would lack the experience that he will gain through the embodiments in the future, until the corresponding secrets are granted to him in the regular course of his development. Therefore, at the gate of initiation these experiences must be replaced by something else. The first teachings of the initiation candidate therefore consist of a substitute for future experiences. These are the so-called "tests" which he has to undergo and which arise as a regular consequence of the life of the soul if exercises such as those described in the previous chapters are continued correctly.
[ 4 ] These "trials" are also often mentioned in books. But it is only natural that such discussions usually give rise to completely false ideas about their nature. For anyone who has not gone through the preparation and enlightenment has never experienced anything of these rehearsals. Such a person cannot describe them properly.
[ 5 ] Certain things and facts belonging to the higher worlds must be revealed to the initiate. However, he can only see and hear them if he can feel the spiritual perceptions such as figures, colors, sounds and so on, which have been reported in the discussion of "preparation" and "enlightenment".
[ 6 ] The first "test" consists in the fact that he acquires a truer perception of the bodily qualities of inanimate bodies, then of plants, animals and humans than the average person possesses. However, this does not mean what is called scientific knowledge today. As a rule, the process is such that the initiate learns to recognize how natural things and living beings manifest themselves to the spiritual ear and spiritual eye. In a certain way these things then stand unveiled - naked - before the observer. The qualities that are heard and seen are hidden from the sensual eye and the sensual ear. They are veiled to the sensual gaze as if covered by a veil. The fact that this veil falls away for the initiate is based on a process that is called the "spiritual combustion process". This is why this first test is called the "fire test".
[ 7 ] For some people, ordinary life itself is already a more or less unconscious initiation process through the trial by fire. These are those who go through rich experiences of such a nature that their self-confidence, courage and steadfastness grow in a healthy way and that they learn to endure suffering, disappointment, failure of undertakings with greatness of soul and especially with calmness and unbroken strength. Whoever has gone through experiences of this kind is often already an initiate without clearly knowing it; and then it only takes a little to open his spiritual ears and eyes so that he becomes a clairvoyant. For it should be noted that a true "trial by fire" is not about satisfying the candidate's curiosity. Certainly, he gets to know extraordinary facts of which other people have no idea. But this knowledge is not the goal, but only the means to the goal. The goal, however, is that through the knowledge of the higher worlds the candidate may acquire greater and truer self-confidence, greater courage and a completely different greatness of soul and endurance than can usually be attained within the lower world.
[ 8 ] After the "trial by fire", each candidate can still turn back. He will then continue his life strengthened in physical and spiritual terms and will probably only continue the initiation in a next embodiment. In his present incarnation, however, he will be a more useful member of human society than he was before. In whatever situation he may find himself: his firmness, his prudence, his favorable influence on his fellow men, his determination will have increased.
[ 9 ] If the candidate wishes to continue the secret training after completing the trial by fire, a certain scriptural system must now be revealed to him, as is customary in secret training. The actual secret teachings are revealed in these scriptural systems. For that which is really "hidden" (occult) in things can neither be expressed directly with the words of ordinary language, nor can it be recorded with the ordinary systems of writing. Those who have learned from the initiates translate the teachings of the secret science into ordinary language as best they can. The occult scripture reveals itself to the soul when it has attained spiritual perception. For this scripture is always written in the spiritual world. You do not learn it the way you learn to read an artificial script. Rather, one grows in a proper way towards clairvoyant knowledge, and during this growth the power develops like a soul ability, which feels compelled to decipher the existing events and entities of the spiritual world like the characters of a script. It could be that this power, and with it the experience of the corresponding "sample", awakens of its own accord as the soul's development progresses. However, you will reach your goal more safely if you follow the instructions of experienced secret researchers who are adept at deciphering occult writing.
[ 10 ] The signs of the secret writing are not arbitrarily devised, but correspond to the forces that are active in the world. One learns the language of things through these signs. It soon becomes apparent to the candidate that the signs he learns correspond to the figures, colors, sounds and so on that he has learned to perceive during his preparation and enlightenment. It becomes clear to him that everything that had gone before was only like spelling. Only now does he begin to read in the higher world. Everything that was previously only an isolated figure, sound or color appears to him in a larger context. Only now does he gain real certainty in observing the higher worlds. Before, he could never know with certainty whether the things he saw were seen correctly. And only now can an orderly understanding take place between the candidate and the initiate in the fields of higher knowledge. For however the coexistence of an initiate with another person may be structured in ordinary life: the initiate can only communicate something of the higher knowledge in immediate form in the aforementioned sign language.
[ 11 ] Through this language, the secret disciple also becomes familiar with certain rules of conduct for life. He learns certain duties of which he previously knew nothing. And when he has learned these rules of conduct, he can accomplish things that have a significance that the deeds of the uninitiated can never have. He acts from the higher worlds. The instructions for such actions can only be understood in the indicated scripture.
[ 12 ] It must be emphasized, however, that there are people who are able to perform such actions unconsciously, even though they have not undergone secret training. Such "helpers of the world and humanity" walk through life blessing and benefiting. For reasons that cannot be discussed here, they have been given gifts that appear supernatural. What distinguishes them from the secret disciple is merely that the latter acts with consciousness, with full insight into the whole context. He attains through training what has been bestowed upon them by higher powers for the salvation of the world. One can sincerely venerate those who have been graced by God; but for this reason one must not consider the work of training to be superfluous.
[ 13 ] Once the secret disciple has learned the above-mentioned script, another "test" begins for him. This must prove whether he can move freely and safely in the higher world. In ordinary life, man is moved to his actions by external impulses. He does this or that because circumstances impose this or that duty on him. - It need hardly be said that the secret disciple may not neglect any of his duties in ordinary life because he lives in higher worlds. No duty in a higher world can compel a man to neglect a single one of his duties in the ordinary. The father of a family remains just as good a father, the mother just as good a mother, the civil servant is not deterred from anything, nor the soldier or anyone else when they become secret students. On the contrary, all the qualities that make a person capable in life are enhanced in the secret disciple to an extent that the uninitiated cannot imagine. And if this often - not always, even rarely - does not appear so to the uninitiated, then this is only due to the fact that he is not always able to judge the initiate correctly. What the latter does is sometimes not immediately clear to the other. But even that, as I said, is only noticeable in special cases.
[ 14 ] For the one who has arrived at the aforementioned level of initiation, there are now duties to which there is no external impetus. He is not prompted in these matters by external circumstances, but only by those measures which are revealed to him in the "hidden" language. Now he must show by the second "test" that, guided by such a measure, he acts as surely and firmly as, for example, a civil servant performs the duties incumbent upon him. - For this purpose, the candidate will feel that he is faced with a specific task during the secret training. He is to perform an action as a result of perceptions he makes on the basis of what he has learned at the preparatory and enlightenment stage. And he must recognize what he has to carry out through the marked scripture he has acquired. If he recognizes his duty and acts correctly, then he has passed the test. One recognizes success by the change that takes place in the perceptions of the spirit's ears and eyes, which are perceived as figures, colors and sounds, through the action. In the progress of the secret training it is indicated exactly how these figures and so on are perceived after the action. And the candidate must know how to bring about such a change. - This test is called the "water test" because, when working in these higher areas, the person lacks the support of external conditions, just as when moving in water whose bottom cannot be reached, there is no support. - The process must be repeated until the candidate is completely confident.
[ 15 ] This test also involves the acquisition of a quality; and through the experiences in the higher world man develops this quality in a short time to such a high degree that in the ordinary course of development he would probably have to pass through many embodiments in order to attain it. What is important is the following. In order to bring about the indicated change in the higher realm of existence, the candidate must merely follow what comes to him on the basis of his higher perception and as a result of his reading of the hidden Scriptures. If during his action he were to interfere with any of his wishes, opinions and so on, if he were to follow for a moment not the laws which he has recognized as right, but his arbitrariness: then something quite different would happen from what should happen. In this case, the candidate would immediately lose the direction of his goal of action, and confusion would ensue. - Therefore, through this test, man has ample opportunity to develop his self-control. And that is what matters. Again, this test can therefore be passed more easily by those who, before initiation, have gone through a life that has brought them the acquisition of self-mastery. He who has acquired the ability to follow high principles and ideals, setting aside personal whim and caprice, who knows how to fulfill his duty even where his inclinations and sympathies would all too readily divert him from this duty, is unconsciously already an initiate in the midst of ordinary life. And only a little will be necessary for him to pass the test described. Indeed, it must even be said that a certain degree of initiation already unconsciously attained in life will, as a rule, be quite necessary to pass the second test. For just as it is difficult for many people who have not learned to write properly in their youth to make up for it once they have reached full maturity, so it will also be difficult to develop the necessary degree of self-control in gaining insight into the higher worlds if one has not already acquired a certain degree of it in everyday life. The things of the physical world do not change, whatever we wish, desire, whatever our inclinations may be. In the higher worlds, however, our wishes, desires and inclinations have an effect on things. If we want to affect things in the right way, we must have ourselves completely under our control, must only follow the right rules and not be subject to any arbitrariness.
[ 16 ] One quality of the human being that comes into particular consideration at this stage of initiation is an absolutely sound and certain power of judgment. The development of such a faculty must be looked for at all earlier stages; and at this stage it must be shown whether the candidate handles it in such a way that he is suitable for the true path of knowledge. He can only progress if he is able to distinguish illusion, essential fantasies, superstition and all kinds of illusions from true reality. And on the higher levels of existence this is initially more difficult than on the lower ones. There every prejudice, every cherished opinion must disappear in relation to the things that matter; and only the truth must be the guiding principle. There must be perfect readiness to give up a thought, an opinion, an inclination immediately when logical thinking demands it. Certainty in higher worlds can only be attained if one never spares one's own opinion.
[ 17 ] People with a way of thinking that tends towards fantasy, towards superstition, cannot make any progress on the secret path. After all, the secret disciple is supposed to gain a precious asset. All doubts about the higher worlds are removed from him. These reveal themselves in their laws before his eyes. But he cannot attain this good as long as he allows himself to be deceived by deceptions and illusions. It would be bad for him if his imagination and prejudices were to run away with his mind. Dreamers and fantasists are just as unsuitable for the secret path as superstitious people. This cannot be emphasized enough. For in reverie, fantasy and superstition lurk the worst enemies on the path to knowledge in higher worlds. But no one need believe that the secret disciple will lose the poetry of life, the capacity for enthusiasm, because above the gate leading to the second test of initiation are the words: "All prejudices must fall from you", and because at the entrance to the first test he must already read: "Without common sense all your steps are in vain. "
[ 18 ] Once the candidate has progressed far enough in this way, the third "trial" awaits him. He will not be able to feel any goal in this. Everything is in his own hands. He finds himself in a situation where nothing prompts him to act. He has to find his own way. There are no things or people to move him to do anything. Nothing and no one can give him the strength he needs but himself. If he did not find this strength within himself, he would very soon be back where he was before. But it must be said that only a few of those who have passed the previous tests will not find this strength here. One either falls behind before, or one also passes here. All that is necessary is to come to terms with oneself quickly. Because you have to find your "higher self" here in the truest sense of the word. One must quickly decide to listen to the inspiration of the spirit in all things. There is no time for any doubts, second thoughts and so on. Every minute of hesitation would only prove that you are not yet mature. What keeps one from listening to the Spirit must be boldly overcome. It is important to prove presence of mind in this situation. And this is also the quality that must be developed to perfection at this stage of development. All temptations to act, even to think, to which a person was previously accustomed, cease. In order not to remain inactive, man must not lose himself. For only in himself can he find the only fixed point to which he can hold himself. No one who reads this without being further acquainted with the matter should feel any antipathy towards being rejected by oneself. For it means the most beautiful bliss for man when he passes the test described.
[ 19 ] And no less than in the other cases, ordinary life is already a secret school for many people. Persons who have come to the point where, when suddenly confronted with life's tasks, they are able to make a quick decision without hesitation, without much hesitation, life is such a school for them. The appropriate situations are those where successful action immediately becomes impossible if the person does not intervene quickly. He who is quick to take action when disaster is in sight, when a few moments' hesitation would have already caused the disaster, and he who has made such quick decisiveness a permanent quality in himself, has unconsciously acquired the maturity for the third "test". For it depends on the development of the unconditional presence of mind. In the secret schools it is called the "air test" because the candidate can rely neither on the solid ground of external causes nor on what results from the colors, forms and so on that he has become acquainted with through preparation and enlightenment, but exclusively on himself.
[ 20 ] Once the secret disciple has passed this test, he may enter the "Temple of Higher Knowledge". - What more can be said about this can only be the barest of hints. - What is to be done now is often expressed by saying that the secret disciple has to take an "oath" not to "betray" any of the secret teachings. However, the terms "oath" and "betray" are by no means appropriate and are even initially misleading. It is not an "oath" in the usual sense of the word. Rather, at this stage of development one undergoes an experience. One learns how to apply the Secret Doctrine, how to put it at the service of humanity. One begins to understand the world even better. It is not a matter of "keeping silent" about the higher truths, but rather of the right way, the appropriate tact, to represent them. What you learn to "keep quiet" about is something completely different. One acquires this marvelous quality in relation to much that one has spoken about before, especially in the way one has spoken. A bad initiate would be one who did not put the secrets he had learned at the service of the world as well and as far as possible. There is no other obstacle to communication in this field than the lack of understanding on the part of the one who is to receive. However, the higher mysteries are not suitable for arbitrary talk about them. But no one who has attained the described stage of development is "forbidden" to say anything. No other person or being imposes an "oath" to this effect on him. Everything is his own responsibility. What he learns is to find out for himself what he has to do in every situation. And the "oath" means nothing more than that the person has become mature enough to be able to bear such responsibility.
[ 21 ] Once the candidate has matured to what is described, he receives what is symbolically referred to as the "potion of oblivion". He is initiated into the secret of how one can work without being continually disturbed by the lower memory. This is necessary for the initiate. For he must always have full confidence in the immediate present. He must be able to destroy the veils of memory that spread around him at every moment of his life. If I judge something I encounter today by what I experienced yesterday, I am subject to many errors. Of course, this does not mean that we should deny the experience we have gained in life. One should always keep it present as best one can. But as an initiate you must have the ability to judge every new experience from within yourself, to let it affect you unclouded by the past. I must be prepared at every moment for the fact that every thing or being can bring me a completely new revelation. If I judge the new by the old, I am subject to error. It is precisely in this way that the memory of old experiences is most useful to me, because it enables me to see the new. If I did not have a certain experience, I would perhaps not even see the quality of a thing or a being that I encounter. But it is precisely for seeing the new, not for judging the new according to the old, that experience should serve. In this respect, the initiate acquires very specific abilities. This reveals many things to him that remain hidden to the uninitiated.
[ 22 ] The second "potion" given to the initiate is the "memory potion". It gives him the ability to always have higher secrets present in his mind. Ordinary memory would not suffice for this. One must become completely one with the higher truths. One must not only know them, but handle them quite self-evidently in living action, as one eats and drinks as an ordinary person. They must become practice, habituation, inclination. There is no need to think about them in the ordinary sense; they must present themselves through man himself, flow through him like the vital functions of his organism. Thus he makes himself more and more in the spiritual sense into what nature has made him in the physical sense.