The Stages of Higher Knowledge
GA 12
1. The Stages of Higher Knowledge
[ 1 ] In my book Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment, the path to higher knowledge has been traced up to the meeting with the two Guardians of the Threshold. The relation in which the soul stands to the different worlds as it passes through the successive stages of knowledge will now be described. What will be given may be called “the teachings of occult science.”
[ 2 ] Before man enters upon the path of higher knowledge, he knows only the first of four stages of cognition. This stage is the one he occupies in ordinary life in the world of the senses. Even in what is called science, we have to do only with this first stage of knowledge, for science merely elaborates ordinary cognition more minutely and in a disciplined way. Aided by instruments—the microscope, the telescope, and so forth—the senses examine their surroundings with greater exactness than they could without these aids. Yet man remains at the same stage of cognition whether he sees large things with the naked eye or observes small objects and phenomena with the aid of a microscope. Also in the application of thinking to facts and things, this science remains in the realm of everyday life. Man arranges the objects, describes and compares them, seeks to picture to himself their variations, and so forth. The keenest scientist does nothing fundamentally, in this respect, but develop to a fine art the methods of observing everyday life. His knowledge embraces a wider range, becomes more complex and more logical, but he does not proceed to any other mode of cognition.
[ 3 ] In occult science this first stage of knowledge is called the “material mode of cognition.” This is followed by three higher stages, and there are still others beyond these. These stages of knowledge shall be described here before proceeding with the description of the “path of knowledge.” Considering the ordinary method of scientific cognition, of apprehension through the senses as the first stage, we shall have to differentiate the following four stages:
- Material knowledge
- Imaginative knowledge
- Inspirational knowledge, which may also be called “of the nature of will.”
- Intuitive knowledge
[ 4 ] These stages will be discussed here. It must first be made quite clear what is significant in these different modes of cognition.—In the ordinary sense knowledge four elements are to be considered: (1) the object, which makes an impression upon the senses; (2) the image, which the human being forms of this object; (3) the concept, through which the human being arrives at a spiritual comprehension of an object or an event; (4) the ego, which forms for itself the image and concept based on the impression of the object. Before the human being makes for himself an image, a “representation,” an object is there that causes it. He does not form the object, he perceives it, and on the basis of this object, the image arises. As long as we are looking at an object, we have to do with the thing itself. The moment we turn away from it, we have left only the image. The object is relinquished, the image is retained in the memory. But one cannot stop here at the image-making stage. One must go on to “concepts.” The distinction between “image” and “concept” is absolutely necessary if we are to be clear at this point. Suppose one sees an object of circular form. Then one turns away and retains the picture of the circle in memory. So far one has not yet the “concept” of the circle. One attains this concept only when one says to oneself, “A circle is a figure in which all points are equidistant from the center.” Understanding of a thing is attained only when a “concept” of it has been formed. There are all kinds of circles—small, large, red, blue, and so forth—but there is only one concept “circle.”—All these things will be approached more closely; for the moment it will suffice to sketch what is necessary to characterize the first four stages of knowledge.—The fourth element that comes under consideration in material cognition is the “ego.” In it the union of images and concepts is produced. The ego stores up the image in memory. Otherwise no continuing inner life would be possible. The images of things would remain only so long as the things themselves affected the soul. But the inner life depends upon the linking of one perception with another. The ego orients itself in the world today because in the presence of certain objects the images of similar objects of yesterday arise. It is obvious that soul life would be impossible if the image of a thing could be held only as long as the thing itself was present.—In relation to concepts also, the ego forms the unity. It combines its concepts and so makes a survey, calls forth an understanding of the world. This linking up of concepts is what occurs in “forming judgments.” A being possessing only loosely connected concepts would not find his way in the world. All man's activity depends on his capacity to combine concepts—that is, to “form judgments.”
[ 5 ] The “material mode” of cognition rests upon the fact that man receives through his senses an impression of things and representations of the outer world. He has the power of sensing, or sensibility. The impression received from “outside” is also called sensation. Therefore in “material cognition” four elements have to be considered: Sensation, image, concept, ego.—At the next higher stage of knowledge, the impression made upon the outer senses, the “sensation,” falls away. There is no longer any outer sensory object. Of the elements to which man is accustomed in ordinary knowledge there remains only the three: Image, concept and ego.
[ 6 ] Ordinary knowledge in a healthy individual creates no image and no concept when an object does not confront the outer senses. The ego then remains inactive. Whoever forms images of which the corresponding sensory objects do not actually exist lives in fantasy.—But the occult student acquires this very faculty of forming images without the stimulus of external sensory objects. With him something else must take the place of outer objects. He must be able to form images although no object touches his senses. Something must step in to replace sensation. This something is Imagination. At this stage, images appear to the occult student in exactly the same way as if a sensory object were making an impression upon him. They are as vivid and true as sensory images, yet they are not of material, but of soul-spirit origin. Yet the senses remain entirely inactive.—It is evident that the individual must first acquire this faculty of forming meaningful images without sense impressions. This is accomplished through meditation and through the exercises that have been described in the book, >Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and Its Attainment. The man confined to the sense world lives only among images that have reached him through the senses. The imaginative man has a world of images that he has received from a higher source. A careful training is necessary to distinguish illusion from reality in this higher image world. When such images first enter a man's soul he tends to say, “Ah! that is only fancy; a mere outflow of my life of thoughts.” This is only too understandable, for man is at present accustomed to term “real” only what is given to him on the sure foundation of the evidence of his senses without effort on his part. He must first accustom himself to accept as “real” things that originate from a different side. In this respect he cannot guard too carefully against becoming a visionary. The capacity to decide what is “real” and what is “illusionary” in these higher regions can come only from experience, and this experience must be made one's own in a quiet, patient inner life. One must be fully prepared to expect the nasty tricks that illusion plays upon one. Everywhere lurks the possibility that images will emerge that result from delusions of the outer senses, or of abnormal life. All such possibility must first be done away with. One must first completely stop up the springs of the fantastic; only thus can one come to Imagination. At this point it will be clear that the world that one has entered in this way is not only just as real as the world of sense, but much more real.
[ 7 ] In the third stage of knowledge, images no longer appear. The human being has now to deal only with “concept” and “ego.” Whereas at the second stage a world of images still surrounded one, remainder of the moment when a vivid memory instantaneously kindles impressions from the outer world, without oneself actually having such impressions, at the third stage not even such images are present. The human being lives wholly in a purely spiritual world.. One accustomed to hold strictly to the senses will be tempted to believe this world pale and ghostly. But that is not at all the case. Neither has the world of images of the second stage anything pale or shadowy about it. So, to be sure, are the images that remain in memory after the outer objects are no longer there. But the pictures of Imagination have a vivacity and a comprehensiveness with which the shadowy memory pictures of the sensory world, and even the glittering and ephemeral physical world itself are not to be compared. This, too, is but a shadow compared to the realm of Imagination.—Now the world of the third stage of knowledge! Nothing in the sensory world can even suggest its wealth and abundance. What was sensation at the first stage of cognition, imagination at the second, here becomes “inspiration.” Inspiration gives the impressions, and the ego forms the concepts. If anything at all in the realm of sense can be compared with this world of Inspiration, it is the world of tone opened up to us by the sense of hearing. But now not the tones of earthly music are concerned, but purely “spiritual tones.” One begins to “hear” what is going on at the heart of things. The stone, the plant, and so forth, become “spiritual words.” The world begins to express its true nature to the soul. It sounds grotesque, but it is literally true, that at this stage of knowledge one “hears spiritually the growing of the grass.” The crystal form is perceived like sound; the opening blossom “speaks” to men. The inspired man is able to proclaim the inner nature of things; everything rises up before his soul, as though from the dead, in a new kind of way. He speaks a language that stems from another world, and that alone can make the everyday world comprehensible.
[ 8 ] Lastly, at the fourth stage of knowledge Inspiration also ceases. Of the elements customarily observed in everyday knowledge, the ego alone remains to be considered. The attainment of this stage by the occult student is marked by a definite inner experience. This experience manifests itself in the feeling that he no longer stands outside the things and occurrences that he recognises, but is himself within them. images are not the object, but merely its imprint. Also, inspiration does not yield up the object itself, but only tells about it. But what now lives in the soul is in reality the object itself. The ego has streamed forth over all beings; it has merged with them. The actual living of things within the soul is Intuition. When it is said of Intuition that “through it man creeps into all things,” this is literally true.—In ordinary life man has only one “intuition”—namely, of the ego itself, for the ego can in no way be perceived from without; it can only be experienced in the inner life. A simple consideration will make this fact clear. It is a consideration that has not been applied by psychologists with sufficient exactitude. Unimpressive as it may appear to one with full understanding, it is of the most far-reaching significance. It is as follows. A thing in the outer world can be called by all men by the self-same name. A table can be spoken of by all as a “table”; a tulip by all as a “tulip.” Mr. Miller can be addressed by all as “Mr. Miller.” But there is one word that each can apply only to himself. This is the word “I.” No other person can call me “I.” To anyone else I am a “you.” In the same way everyone else is a “you” to me. Only I can say “I” to myself. This is because each man lives, not outside, but within the “I.” In the same way, in intuitive cognition, one lives in all things. The perception of the ego is the prototype of all intuitive cognition. Thus to enter into all things, one must first step outside oneself. One must become “selfless” in order to become blended with the “self,” the “ego” of another being.
[ 9 ] Meditation and concentration are the sure means by which to approach this stage of cognition, like the earlier ones. Of course, they must be practiced in a quiet and patient way. Whoever supposes that he can violently, by forceful means, rise to higher worlds is mistaken. One giving himself over to such beliefs would be expecting the realities of the higher regions to meet him in the same way as those of the sensory world. Rich and vivid as are the worlds to which man may rise, yet they are delicate and subtle, while the world of sense is coarse and crude. The most important thing to be learned is that one must accustom oneself to regard as “real” something wholly different from what is so designated in the realm of sense. This is not easy. It is for this reason that so many who might willingly tread the occult path are frightened away at the first steps. Someone had expected to encounter things like tables and chairs, and instead finds “spirits.” But since “spirits” are not like chairs and tables, they seem like “illusions.” The only thing wrong is the unusualness. One must first acquire the right feeling for the spiritual world; then one will not only see, but also will acknowledge, what is spiritual. A great part of occult training is concerned with this right acknowledgment and assessment of the spiritual.
[ 10 ] The state of sleep must first be considered to arrive at any understanding of imaginative cognition. As long as man has attained to no higher stage than material cognition, the soul truly lives during sleep, yet is incapable of perception in the world in which it dwells in the sleeping state. It is in this world like a blind man among material objects. Such a one lives in the world of light and color, but does not perceive them.—From the outer sense organs, the eye, the ear, the ordinary brain activity, and so forth, the soul has withdrawn in sleep. It receives no impressions through the senses. Now what is it doing during sleep? It must be realized that in waking life the soul is continually active. It takes in the outer sense impressions and works upon them. That is its activity. It stops this during sleep. But it is not idle. While sleeping, it works upon its own body. This body is worn out by the activity of the day. This expresses itself in fatigue. During sleep the soul occupies itself with its own body in order to prepare it for further work when it again awakens. We see from this how essential is proper sleep to bodily well-being. Accordingly, the man who does not sleep sufficiently hinders his soul in this necessary repair work upon the body. The consequence must be that the body deteriorates. The forces with which the soul works upon the body during sleep are the same through which it is active in the waking state. But in the latter case they are applied for absorbing the impressions of the outer senses and working upon them.
[ 11 ] Now when imaginative cognition approaches in man, part of the forces directed upon the body in sleep must be employed in another way. Through these forces are formed the spiritual sense organs that provide the possibility for the soul not merely to live in a higher world, but also to perceive it. Thus the soul during sleep works no longer merely upon the body, but also upon itself. This work results from meditation and concentration, as well as from other exercises. It has often been stated in my writings about higher knowledge that the particular directions for such exercises are given only from one individual to another. No one should undertake such exercises on his own account. For only he who has experience in this realm can judge what effect comes about for one man or another who undertakes to withdraw his soul-work from the body and apply it in a higher way.
[ 12 ] Meditation, concentration and other exercises bring it about that the soul withdraws for a time from its union with the sense organs. It is then immersed in itself. Its activity is turned inward. In the first stages of this self immersion, its inner activity differs but little from its daily wont. In its inward labours, to be sure, it must make use of the self-same thoughts, feelings and sensations as belong to the habitual life. The more the soul accustoms itself to be in a measure “blind and deaf” to the material environment, the more it lives within itself, the better it fits itself for inward accomplishments. What is accomplished by the immersion in the inner life bears fruit first of all in the state of sleep. When at night the soul is freed from the body, what has been stimulated in it by the exercises of the day works on. Organs take shape within it, through which it comes into connection with a higher environment, exactly as through the outer sense organs it had formerly united itself with the corporeal world. Out of the darkness of nocturnal surroundings appear the light phenomena of the higher world. Tender and intimate at first is this communion. It must be taken into account in this connection that for a long time, upon awakening, the light of day will draw a dense veil over the night's experiences. The recollection that perception has occurred during the night appears only slowly and gradually. For the student does not easily learn to pay attention to the delicate formations of his soul that in the course of his development begin to mingle with the common experiences of daily sense life. At first, such formations of the soul resemble what are generally referred to as casual impressions. Everything depends upon his learning to distinguish what is due to the ordinary world from what through its own nature presents itself as a manifestation from higher worlds. In a quiet, introspective mental life he must acquire this discernment. It is necessary first to develop a sense of the value and meaning of those intimate formations of the soul that mingle themselves with daily life as though they were “chance impressions,” but that are really recollections of the nightly communion with a higher world. As soon as one seizes these things in a crude way and applies to them the measuring stick of sensory life, they vanish.
[ 13 ] It is evident from the foregoing that, through work in a higher world, the soul must withdraw from the body some of its activity ordinarily bestowed upon it with such care. It leaves the body to a certain extent self-dependent, and the body needs a substitute for what the soul had formerly done for it. If it does not obtain such a substitute, it comes in danger of mischief from hurtful forces, for one must in this regard be clear that man is continually subject to the influences of his surroundings. Actually he lives only through the influences of these surroundings. Among these, the kingdoms of visible nature first of all come under consideration. Man himself belongs to this visible nature. If there were no mineral, plant and animal kingdoms, nor other human beings around him, he could not live. If an individual could be imagined as cut off from the earth and lifted up into surrounding space, he would have to perish instantly as a physical being, just as the hand would wither if cut off from the body. Just as the illusion would be formidable if a human hand were to believe that it could exist without the body, so powerful would be the deception of a man who maintained that he could exist as a physical being without the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms, and without other men.—But besides the above-named kingdoms there are three others that generally escape the notice of man. These are the three elemental kingdoms. They stand, in a sense, below the mineral kingdom. There are beings who do not condense into the mineral condition, but who are none the less present and exert their influence upon man. (Further information concerning these elemental kingdoms will be found in my >Cosmic Memory, and also in the remarks about them in my Theosophy.) Man is thus exposed to influences from kingdoms of nature that in a sense must be called invisible. Now, when the soul works upon the body, a considerable part of its activity consists in regulating the influences of the elemental kingdoms in such a way that they are beneficial to man.—The instant the soul withdraws part of its activity from the body, injurious powers from the elemental kingdoms may get hold of it. Herein lies a danger of higher development. Therefore care must be taken that, as soon as the soul is withdrawn from the body, the latter is in itself accessible only to good influences from the elemental world. If this be disregarded, the ordinary man deteriorates, to a certain extent, physically and also morally, in spite of having gained access to higher worlds. While the soul dwells in the higher regions, pernicious forces insinuate themselves into the dense physical body and the etheric body. This is the reason why certain bad qualities, which before the higher development had been held in check by the regulating power of the soul, may now come to the fore for want of caution. Men formerly of good moral nature may, under such circumstances, when they enter higher worlds, reveal all kinds of low inclinations, increased selfishness, untruthfulness, vindictiveness, wrath, and so forth.—No one alarmed by this fact need be deterred from rising to the higher worlds, but care must be taken to prevent the occurrence of such things. The lower nature of man must be fortified and made inaccessible to dangerous elemental influences. This can be brought about by the conscious cultivation of certain virtues. These virtues are set forth in the writings on spiritual development. Here is the reason why they must be carefully sought after. They are the following.
[ 14 ] First of all, the human being must, in a fully conscious manner, in all things, continually be intent upon the lasting, distinguish the imperishable from the transitory and turns his attention toward it. In all things and beings he can suppose or discern something that remains after the transitory appearance has faded away. If I see a plant, I can first observe it as it presents itself to the senses. No one should neglect to do this, for no one who has not first made himself thoroughly familiar with the perishable aspect will detect the eternal in things. Those who are continually afraid that to fix their attention on the spiritually imperishable will cause them to lose the freshness and naturalness of life do not really know what is being dealt with. But when I look at a plant in this way, it can become clear to me that there. is in it a lasting living impulse that will reappear in a new plant when the present plant has long since crumbled to dust. Such an orientation toward things must be adopted in the whole temper of life.—Then the heart must be fixed upon all that is valuable and genuine, which one must learn to esteem more highly than the fleeting and insignificant. In all feelings and actions, the value of any single thing must be held before the eyes in the context of the whole.—Thirdly, six qualities should be developed: control of the thought world, control of actions, endurance, impartiality, trust in the surrounding world, and inner equilibrium. Control of the thought world can be attained if one takes the trouble to combat that wandering will-o'-the-wisping of the thoughts and feelings that in ordinary human beings are constantly rising and falling. In everyday life man is not the master of his thoughts; he is driven by them. Naturally, it cannot be otherwise, for life drives man and as a practical person he must yield to this. In ordinary life there is no alternative. But if a higher world is to be approached, at least brief periods must be set aside in which one makes oneself ruler of one's thought and feeling world. Therein, in complete inner freedom one puts a thought in the center of one's soul, where otherwise ideas obtrude themselves upon one from without. Then one tries to keep away all intruding thoughts and feeling and to link with the first thought only what one wills to admit as suitable. Such an exercise works beneficially upon the soul and through it also upon the body. It brings the latter into such a harmonious condition that it withdraws itself from injurious influences despite the fact that the soul is not directly acting upon it.—Control of actions consists of a similar regulation of these through inner freedom. A good beginning is made when one sets oneself to do regularly something that it would not have occurred to us to do in ordinary life. For in the latter, man is indeed driven to his actions from without. But the smallest action undertaken on one's innermost initiative accomplishes more in the direction indicated than all the pressures of outer life.—Endurance consists in holding oneself at a distance from every whim that can be designated as a shift from “exulting to the highest heaven to grieving even unto death.” Man is driven to and fro among all kinds of moods. Pleasure makes him glad; pain depresses him. This has its justification. But he who seeks the path to higher knowledge must be able to mitigate joy and also grief. He must become stable. He must with moderation surrender to pleasurable impressions and also painful experiences; he must move with dignity through both. He must never be unmanned nor disconcerted. This does not produce lack of feeling, but it brings man to the steady center within the ebbing and flowing tide of life around him. He has himself always in hand.
[ 15 ] Another important quality is the “yea saying” sense. This can be developed in one who in all things has an eye for the good, beautiful, and purposeful aspects of life, and not, primarily, for the blameworthy, ugly and contradictory. In Persian poetry there is a beautiful legend about Christ, which illustrates the meaning of this quality. A dead dog is lying on the road. Among the passersby is Christ. All the others turn away from the ugly sight; only Christ pauses and speaks admiringly of the animal's beautiful teeth. It is possible to look at things in this way, and he who earnestly seeks for it may find in all things, even the most repulsive, something worthy of acknowledgment. The fruitfulness in things is not in what is lacking in them, but in what they have.—Further, it is important to develop the quality of “impartiality.” Every human being has gone through his own experiences and has formed from them a fixed set of opinions according to which he directs his life. Just as conformity to experience is of course necessary, on the one hand, it is also important that he who would pass through spiritual development to higher knowledge should always keep an eye open for everything new and unfamiliar that confronts him. He will be as cautious as possible with judgments such as, “That is impossible,” “That cannot be.” Whatever opinion he may have formed from previous experiences, he will be ready at any moment, when he encounters something new, to admit a new opinion. All love of one's own opinion must vanish.—When the five above mentioned qualities have been acquired, a sixth then presents itself as a matter of course: Inner balance, the harmony of the spiritual forces. The human being must find within himself a spiritual center of gravity that gives him firmness and security in the face of all that would pull him hither and thither in life. The sharing in all surrounding life must not be shunned, and everything must be allowed to work upon one. Not flight from all the distracting activities of life is the correct course, but rather, the full devoted yielding to life, along with the sure, firm guarding of inner balance and harmony.
[ 16 ] Lastly, the “will to freedom,” must come within the seeker's consideration. Whoever finds within himself the support and basis of all that he accomplishes already has this attribute. It is so hard to achieve because of the balance necessary between the opening of the senses to everything great and good and the simultaneous rejection of every compulsion. It is so easy to say that influence from without is incompatible with freedom. The essential thing is that the two should be reconciled within the soul. When someone tells me something and I accept it under the compulsion of his authority, I am not free. But I am no less unfree if I shut myself off from the good that I might receive in this way. For then worse elements in my own soul act as a compulsion upon me. Freedom means not only that I am free from the compulsion of an outside authority, but above all that I am not subservient to any prejudices, opinions, sensations and feelings of my own. The right way is not blind subjection to what is received, but to leave ourselves open to suggestion, receiving it impartially, so that we may freely acknowledge it. An outside authority should exert no more influence than to make one say, “I make myself free just by following the good in it—that is to say, by making it my own.” An authority based upon occult wisdom will not at all exert influence otherwise than in this way. It gives whatever it has to give, not in order itself to gain power over the recipient, but solely that through the gift the recipient may become richer and freer.
[ 17 ] The significance of the above-mentioned qualities has already been touched on in the discussion of the “lotus flowers” Knowledge of the Higher Worlds]. Therein was shown their relation to the development of the twelve petalled lotus flower in the region of the heart, and to the currents of the etheric body connected with it. From what has been said it is now evident that these qualities enable the seeker to dispense with those forces that formerly benefited the physical body during sleep, and which now, because of his development, must be gradually withdrawn from this task. Under such influences Imaginative Knowledge develops.
Die Stufen der Höheren Erkenntnis
[ 1 ] Bis zu der Begegnung mit den beiden «Hütern der Schwelle» ist in dem Buche «Wie erlangt man Erkenntnisse der höheren Welten?» der Weg zur höheren Erkenntnis verfolgt worden. Nun sollen auch noch die Verhältnisse geschildert werden, in denen die Seele zu den verschiedenen Welten steht, wenn sie durch die aufeinanderfolgenden Erkenntnisstufen hindurchschreitet. Damit wird das gegeben, was man die «Erkenntnislehre der Geheim Wissenschaft» nennen kann.
[ 2 ] Bevor der Mensch den Pfad höherer Erkenntnis betritt, kennt er nur die erste von vier Erkenntnisstufen. Es ist diejenige, welche ihm im gewöhnlichen Leben innerhalb der Sinneswelt eigen ist. Auch in dem, was zunächst «Wissenschaft» genannt wird, hat man es nur mit dieser ersten Erkenntnisstufe zu tun. Denn diese Wissenschaft arbeitet ja nur das gewöhnliche Erkennen feiner aus, macht es disziplinierter. Sie bewaffnet die Sinne durch Instrumente — Mikroskop, Fernrohr usw. —, um genauer zu sehen, was die unbewaffneten Sinne nicht sehen. Aber die Erkenntnisstufe bleibt doch dieselbe, ob man normal große Dinge mit dem gewöhnlichen Auge sieht, oder ob man sehr kleine Gegenstände und Vorgänge mit dem Vergrößerungsglase verfolgt. Auch in der Anwendung des Denkens auf die Dinge und Tatsachen bleibt diese Wissenschaft bei dem stehen, was schon im alltäglichen Leben getrieben wird. Man ordnet die Gegenstände, beschreibt und vergleicht sie, man sucht sich ein Bild von ihren Veränderungen zu machen usw. Der strengste Naturforscher tut im Grunde in dieser Beziehung nichts anderes, als daß er das Beobachtungsverfahren des alltäglichen Lebens in einer kunstgemäßen Art ausbildet. Seine Erkenntnis wird umfangreicher, komplizierter, logischer; aber er schreitet nicht zu einer anderen Erkenntnisart vor.
[ 3 ] Man nennt diese erste Erkenntnisstufe in der Geheimwissenschaft die «materielle Erkenntnisart». Dazu kommen dann zunächst drei höhere. An sie schließen sich dann noch weitere an. Sie sollen hier beschrieben werden, bevor in der Schilderung des «Erkenntnispfades» weitergegangen wird. Nimmt man das gewöhnliche und sinnlich-wissenschaftliche — Erkennen als die erste Stufe an, so hat man zunächst folgende vier Stufen zu unterscheiden:
- die materielle Erkenntnis,
- die imaginative Erkenntnis,
- die inspirierte Erkenntnis, die man auch die «willensartige» nennen Kann.
- die intuitive Erkenntnis.
[ 4 ] Diese Stufen sollen im weiteren zur Sprache kommen. Man muß sich zunächst klarmachen, womit man es bei diesen verschiedenen Erkenntnisarten zu tun hat. — Beim gewöhnlichen sinnlichen Erkennen kommen vier Elemente in Betracht: 1. der Gegenstand, welcher auf die Sinne einen Eindruck macht; 2. das Bild, das sich der Mensch von diesem Gegenstande macht; 3. der Begriff, durch den der Mensch zu einer geistigen Erfassung einer Sache oder eines Vorganges kommt; 4. das «Ich», welches sich auf Grund des Eindruckes vom Gegenstande Bild und Begriff bildet. Bevor sich der Mensch ein Bild — eine «Vorstellung» macht, ist ein Gegenstand da, welcher ihn dazu veranlaßt. Diesen bildet er nicht selbst, er nimmt ihn wahr. Und auf Grund dieses Gegenstandes entsteht das Bild. Solange man ein Ding anblickt, hat man es mit diesem selbst zu tun. In dem Augenblicke, wo man von dem Dinge hinwegtritt, besitzt man nur noch das Bild. Den Gegenstand verläßt man, das Bild bleibt in der Erinnerung «haften». Aber man kann nicht dabei stehenbleiben, sich bloß «Bilder» zu machen. Man muß zu «Begriffen» kommen. Die Unterscheidung von «Bild» und «Begriff» ist unbedingt notwendig, wenn man sich hier ganz klarwerden will. Man stelle sich einmal vor, man sehe einen Gegenstand, welcher kreisförmig ist. Dann drehe man sich um, und man behalte das Bild des Kreises im Gedächtnisse. Da hat man noch nicht den «Begriff» des Kreises. Dieser ergibt sich erst, wenn man sich sagt: «Ein Kreis ist eine Figur, bei der alle Punkte von einem Mittelpunkte gleich weit entfernt sind.» Erst wenn man sich von einer Sache einen «Begriff» gemacht hat, ist man zum Verständnisse derselben gekommen. Es gibt viele Kreise: kleine, große, rote, blaue usw.; aber es gibt nur einen Begriff «Kreis». — Auf alles dieses soll im weiteren noch näher eingegangen werden; vorläufig soll nur skizziert werden, was zur Charakteristik der vier ersten Erkenntnisstufen notwendig ist. — Das vierte Element, das bei der materiellen Erkenntnis in Betracht kommt, ist das «Ich». In demselben kommt eine Einheit der Bilder und Begriffe zustande. Dieses «Ich» bewahrt in seinem Gedächtnisse die Bilder. Wäre das nicht der Fall, so entstände kein fortlaufendes inneres Leben. Die Bilder der Dinge blieben nur so lange vorhanden, als diese Dinge selbst auf die Seele wirken. Das innere Leben aber hängt davon ab, daß Wahrnehmung an Wahrnehmung gereiht wird. Das «Ich» orientiert sich «heute» in der Welt, weil ihm bei gewissen Gegenständen die Bilder der gleichen Gegenstände von «gestern» auftauchen. Man vergegenwärtige sich nur, wie unmöglich das Seelenleben wäre, wenn man nur so lange ein Bild eines Dinges hätte, als dieses selbst vor einem steht. — Auch bezüglich der Begriffe bildet das «Ich» die Einheit. Es verbindet seine Begriffe und verschafft sich auf diese Art einen Überblick, das heißt ein Verständnis der Welt. Diese Verbindung der Begriffe geschieht im «Urteilen». Ein Wesen, das nur lose Begriffe hätte, könnte sich in der Welt nicht zurechtfinden. Alle Tätigkeit des Menschen beruht auf seiner Fähigkeit, Begriffe zu verbinden, das heißt auf seinem «Urteilen».
[ 5 ] Das «materielle Erkennen» beruht darauf, daß der Mensch durch seine Sinne einen Eindruck von Dingen und Vorgängen der Außenwelt erhält. Er hat die Fähigkeit des Empfindens oder die Sensibilität. Der «von außen» empfangene Eindruck wird auch Sensation genannt. Daher kommen bei der «materiellen Erkenntnis» die vier Elemente in Betracht: Sensation, Bild, Begriff, Ich. — Bei der nächsthöheren Stufe des Erkennens fällt nun der Eindruck auf die äußeren Sinne, die «Sensation», weg. Ein äußerer Sinnesgegenstand ist nicht mehr vorhanden. Es bleiben also von den Elementen, an welche der Mensch von der gewöhnlichen Erkenntnis her gewöhnt ist, nur die drei: Bild, Begriff und Ich.
[ 6 ] Das gewöhnliche Erkennen bildet bei einem gesunden Menschen kein Bild und keinen Begriff, wenn ein äußerer Sinnesgegenstand nicht vorhanden ist. Das «Ich» bleibt dann untätig. Wer sich Bilder formt, denen Sinnesgegenstände entsprechen sollen, wo in Wahrheit keine sind, lebt in Phantastik. — Nun aber erwirbt sich der Geheimschüler eben die Fähigkeit, Bilder zu formen, auch wo keine Sinnesgegenstände vorhanden sind. Es muß dann bei ihm an die Stelle des «äußeren Gegenstandes» ein anderer treten. Er muß Bilder haben können, auch wenn kein Gegenstand seine Sinne berührt. An die Stelle der «Sensation» muß etwas anderes treten. Dies ist die Imagination. Bei dem Geheimschüler auf dieser Stufe treten Bilder auf genau so, wie wenn ein Sinnesgegenstand auf ihn einen Eindruck machen würde; sie sind so lebhaft und wahr wie die Sinnesbilder, nur kommen sie nicht vom «Materiellen», sondern vom «Seelischen» und «Geistigen». Die Sinne bleiben dabei vollständig untätig. — Es ist einleuchtend, daß sich der Mensch diese Fähigkeit, inhaltvolle Bilder zu. haben ohne Sinneseindrücke, erst erwerben muß. Es geschieht dies durch die Meditation, durch die Übungen, welche in den Darstellungen des Buches «Wie erlangt man Erkenntnisse der höheren Welten?» beschrieben worden sind. Der auf die Sinnenwelt beschränkte Mensch lebt nur in dem Umkreis einer Bilderwelt, welche erst durch die Sinne in ihn Einlaß gefunden haben. Der imaginative Mensch hat eine solche Bilderwelt, die von einer höheren Welt ihren Zufluß erhält. Es gehört eine sehr sorgfältige Schulung dazu, innerhalb dieser höheren Bilderwelt Täuschung von Wirklichkeit zu unterscheiden. Nur zu leicht sagt sich der Mensch, wenn solche Bilder zunächst vor seine Seele hin treten: «Ach, das sind ja nur Einbildungen, bloße Ausflüsse meines Vorstellungslebens.» Das ist nur zu begreiflich. Denn der Mensch ist zunächst ja daran gewöhnt, nur dasjenige «wirklich» zu nennen, was, ohne sein Zutun, ihm durch die feste Grundlage seiner Sinneswahrnehmung gegeben ist. Und er muß sich erst hineinfinden, Dinge für «wirkliche» zu nehmen, die von ganz anderer Seite veranlaßt werden. Und er kann auch darinnen nicht vorsichtig genug sein, wenn er nicht zum Phantasten werden will. Die Entscheidung darüber, was auf höherem Gebiete «wirklich» ist, was nur «Illusion», die kann nur von der Erfahrung kommen. Und man muß sich diese Erfahrung in einem stillen, geduldigen Innenleben aneignen. Zunächst muß man durchaus darauf gefaßt sein, daß einem die «Illusion» böse Streiche spielt. Überall lauern die Möglichkeiten, daß Bilder auftauchen, die nur auf Täuschungen der äußeren Sinne, des abnormen Lebens beruhen. Alle solche Möglichkeiten müssen zuerst hinweggeräumt werden. Man muß zuerst die Quellen der Phantastik ganz verstopfen, dann kann man erst zu der Imagination kommen. Ist man so weit, dann wird man allerdings sich klar darüber, daß die Welt, in die man in solcher Art eintritt, nicht nur so wirklich ist wie die sinnliche, sondern daß sie eine viel wirklichere ist.
[ 7 ] Bei der dritten Stufe der Erkenntnis bleiben nun auch die Bilder weg. Der Mensch hat es nur noch mit «Begriff» und «Ich» zu tun. Hat er auf der zweiten Stufe noch eine Bilderwelt um sich, die erinnert an die Augenblicke, wo das lebhafte Gedächtnis sich die Eindrücke der Außenwelt vor die Seele zaubert, ohne selbst solche Eindrücke zu haben: auf der dritten Stufe sind auch solche Bilder nicht mehr vorhanden. Der Mensch lebt ganz in einer rein geistigen Welt. Wer nur gewöhnt ist, sich an die Sinne zu halten, wird versucht sein, zu glauben, daß diese Welt eine blasse, gespenstige sei. Das ist sie aber ganz und gar nicht. Auch die Bilderwelt der zweiten Stufe hat nichts Blasses, Schattenhaftes. So sind ja allerdings die Bilder zumeist, die im Gedächtnisse haften bleiben, wenn die äußeren Dinge weg sind. Aber die Bilder der Imagination sind von einer Lebhaftigkeit und Inhaltsfülle, mit der sich nicht nur die schattenhaften Erinnerungsbilder der Sinnenwelt nicht vergleichen lassen, sondern sogar nicht einmal die ganze bunte, wechselreiche Sinnenwelt selbst. Auch diese ist gegen das Reich der Imagination nur ein Schatten. — Und nun gar die Welt der dritten Erkenntnisstufe! Von ihrem Reichtum und ihrer Fülle gibt nichts in der Sinnenwelt eine Vorstellung. Was für die erste Stufe die Sensation, für die zweite die Imagination, das ist für sie die «Inspiration». Die Inspiration gibt die Eindrücke, und das «Ich» formt die Begriffe. Will man durchaus mit dieser Welt etwas Sinnliches vergleichen, so kann nur die Tonwelt des Hörens zu einem solchen Vergleiche herangezogen werden. Aber nicht mit Tönen wie in der sinnlichen Musik hat man es zu tun, sondern mit einem rein «geistigen Tönen». Man beginnt zu «hören», was im Innern der Dinge vorgeht. Der Stein, die Pflanze usw. werden zu «geistigen Worten». Die Welt beginnt der Seele gegenüber ihr Wesen wirklich selbst auszusprechen. Es klingt grotesk, aber es ist wörtlich wahr: auf dieser Stufe des Erkennens «hört man geistig das Gras wachsen». Man vernimmt die Form des Kristalles als Klang; die sich öffnende Blüte «spricht» da zum Menschen. Der Inspirierte vermag das innere Wesen der Dinge zu künden; alle Dinge werden in neuer Art vor seiner Seele auferstehen. Er spricht eine Sprache, die aus einer anderen Welt stammt und welche doch erst die alltägliche Welt begreiflich macht.
[ 8 ] Auf der vierten Erkenntnisstufe endlich hört auch die Inspiration auf. Von den Elementen, die man vom alltäglichen Erkennen her gewohnt ist zu betrachten, ist nur noch das «Ich» dasjenige, welches in Betracht kommt. Der Geheimschüler merkt an einer ganz bestimmten inneren Erfahrung, daß er bis zu dieser Stufe aufgestiegen ist. Diese Erfahrung drückt sich darin aus, daß er das Gefühl hat: er stehe jetzt nicht mehr außer den Dingen und Vorgängen, welche er erkennt, sondern innerhalb derselben. Bilder sind nicht der Gegenstand; sie drücken ihn bloß aus. Auch was die Inspiration gibt, ist nicht der Gegenstand. Sie spricht ihn nur aus. Das aber, was jetzt in der Seele lebt, ist wirklich der Gegenstand selbst. Das Ich hat sich ergossen über alle Wesen; es ist mit ihnen zusammengeflossen. Das Leben der Dinge in der Seele ist nun die Intuition. Es ist eben ganz wörtlich zu nehmen, wenn man von der Intuition sagt: man kriecht durch sie in alle Dinge hinein. — Im gewöhnlichen Leben hat der Mensch nur eine Intuition, das ist diejenige des «Ich» selber. Denn das «Ich» kann auf keine Weise von außen wahrgenommen werden, es kann nur im Innern erlebt werden. Eine einfache Erwägung kann das klarmachen. Es ist dies eine Erwägung, die allerdings von den Psychologen nicht mit der wünschenswerten Schärfe gemacht wird. So unscheinbar sie aber ist: für den, der sie ganz versteht, ist sie von der allerweittragendsten Bedeutung. Sie ist die folgende: Ein jedes Ding der Außenwelt kann von allen Menschen mit demselben Namen genannt werden. Der Tisch kann von allen mit «Tisch», die Tulpe von allen mit «Tulpe», der Herr Müller von allen mit «Herr Müller» angesprochen werden. Aber es gibt ein Wort, das jeder nur zu sich selbst sprechen kann. Dies ist das Wort «Ich». Kein anderer kann zu mir «Ich» sagen, für jeden anderen bin ich ein «Du». Ebenso ist jeder andere für mich ein «Du». Nur er selbst kann zu sich «Ich» sagen. Das rührt davon her, daß man nicht außer, sondern in dem «Ich» lebt. Und so lebt man durch die intuitive Erkenntnis in allen Dingen. Die Wahrnehmung des eigenen «Ich» ist das Vorbild für alle intuitive Erkenntnis. Um so in die Dinge hineinzukommen, muß man allerdings erst aus sich selbst heraustreten. Man muß «selbstlos» werden, um mit dem «Selbst», dem «Ich», einer anderen Wesenheit zu verschmelzen.
[ 9 ] Meditation und Konzentration sind die sicheren Mittel, um zu dieser Stufe, ebenso wie zu den früheren, hinanzusteigen. Allerdings müssen sie in stiller, geduldiger Art geübt werden. Wer da glaubt, daß er tumultuarisch, mit Gewaltmitteln zu den höheren Welten steigen kann, der irrt sich. Und einem solchen Glauben würde sich derjenige hingeben, welcher erwartete, daß ihm die Wirklichkeit auf höheren Gebieten in ebensolcher Art entgegentritt wie in der Sinnen weit. So lebhaft und reich auch die Welten sind, zu denen man hinansteigt, sie sind fein und subtil, während die Sinnenwelt grob und derb ist. Das Wichtigste, was man lernen muß, ist gerade die Gewöhnung daran, etwas ganz anderes «wirklich» zu nennen, als was man im Bereich der Sinne so bezeichnet. Und dies ist nicht ganz leicht. Deshalb wird so mancher, der den Geheimpfad so gerne gehen möchte, schon bei den ersten Schritten zurückgeschreckt. Er hat erwartet, daß ihm Dinge entgegentreten, welche sind wie Tische und Stühle, und er findet «Geister». Weil aber «Geister» nicht dicht sind wie Stühle und Tische, so kommen sie ihm als «Einbildungen» vor. Daran ist nichts anderes schuld als die Ungewohntheit. Man muß sich erst die rechte Empfindung für die geistige Welt erwerben, dann wird man das Geistige nicht bloß schauen, sondern auch anerkennen. Und ein großer Teil der Geheimschulung bezieht sich auf diese richtige Anerkennung und Einschätzung des Geistigen.
[ 10 ] Man muß zunächst den Schlafzustand betrachten, wenn man Aufschluß erlangen will über die imaginative Erkenntnis. Solange der Mensch keine höhere Erkenntnisstufe erlangt hat als die materielle, lebt die Seele zwar während des Schlafes, aber sie kann in der Welt, in welcher sie schlafend lebt, nichts wahrnehmen. Sie ist in dieser Welt wie ein Blinder in der materiellen. Ein solcher lebt in der Welt des Lichtes und der Farben; aber er nimmt sie nicht wahr. — Von den äußeren Sinnesorganen, dem Auge, dem Ohr, der gewöhnlichen Gehirntätigkeit usw. hat sich die Seele im Schlafe zurückgezogen. Sie erhält durch die Sinne keine Eindrücke. Was tut sie nun während des Schlafes? Klar muß man sich darüber sein, daß die Seele während des Wachens in einer fortwährenden Tätigkeit ist. Sie empfängt die äußeren Sinneseindrücke und verarbeitet sie: das ist ihre Tätigkeit. Diese stellt sie während des Schlafes ein. Aber sie ist keineswegs untätig. Sie arbeitet schlafend an dem eigenen Leibe. Dieser wird ja während der wachen Tagesarbeit abgenützt. Das drückt sich in der Ermüdung aus. Und während des Schlafes beschäftigt sich die Seele mit dem eigenen Leib, um ihn für weitere wache Tagesarbeit wieder geeignet zu machen. Man sieht daraus, wie wesentlich der richtige Schlaf dem Gedeihen des Leibes ist. Ein Mensch, der nicht entsprechend schläft, läßt seine Seele an dem Leibe nicht die notwendige Verbesserungsatbeit tun. — Und die Folge davon muß sein, daß der Leib herunterkommt. — Die Kräfte, mit denen die Seele während des Schlafes am Leibe arbeitet, sind dieselben, durch welche sie auch im Wachzustande tätig ist. Nur werden sie in dem letzteren dazu verwendet, die Eindrücke der äußeren Sinne aufzunehmen und sie zu verarbeiten.
[ 11 ] Tritt nun die imaginative Erkenntnis beim Menschen ein, so muß ein Teil der im Schlafe auf den Leib gewendeten Kräfte in einer anderen Art verbraucht werden. Durch diese Kräfte werden nunmehr die geistigen Sinnesorgane gebildet, die es ermöglichen, daß die Seele in einer höheren Welt nicht bloß lebt, sondern auch wahrnimmt. So arbeitet die Seele schlafend an sich, nicht mehr bloß an ihrem Leibe. Bewirkt wird diese Arbeit durch die Meditation und Konzentration sowie durch andere Übungen. Es ist schon öfters in diesen Aufsätzen über höhere Erkenntnis gesagt worden, daß die besonderen Anweisungen über solche Übungen nur von Mensch zu Mensch gegeben werden. Niemand sollte auf eigene Hand diese Übungen unternehmen. Denn nur wer Erfahrung auf diesem Gebiete hat, kann ermessen, welche Wirkung bei dem einen oder dem anderen Menschen sich einstellen muß, wenn er es unternimmt, seine Seelenarbeit von dem Leibe abzuziehen und in einer höheren Art anzuwenden.
[ 12 ] Meditation, Konzentration und andere Übungen bewirken, daß die Seele sich für eine Weile zurückzieht von ihrer Verbindung mit den Sinnesorganen. Sie ist dann in sich selbst versenkt. Ihre Tätigkeit ist nach innen gewendet. Im Anfange dieser Versenkung unterscheidet sich zwar diese ihre innere Tätigkeit nicht erheblich von der alltäglichen. Sie muß dieselben Vorstellungen, Gefühle und Empfindungen verwenden während der Innenarbeit, welche sie auch im gewöhnlichen Leben hat. Je mehr sie sich aber daran gewöhnt, gewissermaßen «blind und taub» gegenüber der sinnlichen Umgebung zu sein, je mehr sie in sich lebt, desto fähiger macht sie sich zu innerer Leistung. Und was sie bei der Versenkung in das Innere geleistet hat, das trägt seine Früchte zunächst im Zustande des Schlafes. Ist die Seele des Nachts vom Leibe befreit, so wirkt das in ihr fort, was durch die Übungen am Tage angeregt worden ist. Es bilden sich in ihr Organe, durch welche sie mit einer höheren Umgebung gerade so in Verbindung kommt wie vorher durch die äußeren Sinnesorgane mit der körperlichen Umwelt. Aus dem Dunkel der nächtlichen Umgebung treten die Lichterscheinungen der höheren Welt heraus. Zart und intim ist dieser Verkehr zunächst. Und der Mensch muß durchaus damit rechnen, daß für eine lange Zeit beim Aufwachen das Licht des Tages sofort wieder einen dichten Vorhang zieht vor die Erlebnisse der Nacht. Die Erinnerung, daß man in der Nacht wahrgenommen hat, tritt nur ganz langsam und allmählich ein. Denn der Schüler lernt nicht leicht auf die zarten Gebilde seiner Seele achten, die sich im Laufe seiner Entwickelung hineinmischen in die groben Erlebnisse des alltäglichen Sinneslebens. Anfangs erscheinen ihm solche Gebilde wie das, was man zufällige Eindrücke der Seele nennt. Alles kommt darauf an, daß er unterscheiden lernt, was er der gewöhnlichen Welt verdankt von dem, was durch seine eigene Wesenheit als Kundgebung höherer Welten sich darstellt. In einem stillen, in sich gekehrten Gemütsleben muß er sich diese Unterscheidung aneignen. Es ist notwendig, daß er sich erst ein Gefühl davon erwerbe, welches der Wert und die Bedeutung der intimen Seelengebilde ist, die wie «zufällige Einfälle» sich in das Tagesleben einmischen und welche doch Erinnerungen an den nächtlichen Verkehr in einer höheren Welt sind. Sobald man diese Dinge irgendwie grob anfaßt und sie mit dem Maßstab des Sinneslebens mißt, zerstieben sie.
[ 13 ] Es ist aus obigem ersichtlich, daß durch die Arbeit in einer höheren Welt die Seele dem Leibe etwas von ihrer sonst fürsorglichen Tätigkeit entziehen muß. Sie überläßt denselben in einer gewissen Beziehung sich selbst. Er braucht einen Ersatz für das, was sie ihm vorher geleistet hat. Erhält er einen solchen Ersatz nicht, so kommt er in die Gefahr, verderblichen Kräften zu verfallen. Man muß sich nämlich darüber klar sein, daß der Mensch fortwährend den Einflüssen seiner Umgebung ausgesetzt ist. Er lebt ja nur durch die Einwirkungen dieser Umgebung. Zunächst kommen innerhalb der Umgebung die Reiche der sichtbaren Natur in Betracht. Der Mensch gehört dieser sichtbaren Natur an. Gäbe es um ihn herum nicht das Mineral-, Pflanzen-, Tierreich und dasjenige der anderen Menschen: er könnte nicht leben. Man denke sich den Menschen von der Erde hinweggehoben in den Weltenraum hinaus, er müßte als physischer Mensch sogleich zugrunde gehen, wie die Hand verdorrt, wenn man sie vom Leibe trennt. So stark die Illusion wäre, deren sich die menschliche Hand schuldig machte, wenn sie glaubte, sie könne ohne den Leib leben, so stark wäre auch die Täuschung, in welche der Mensch verfiele, wenn er behauptete, er könne ohne das Mineral-, Tier-, Pflanzenreich und ohne die anderen Menschen als physisches Wesen existieren. — Nun gibt es aber außer den genannten Reichen noch drei andere, die sich für gewöhnlich der menschlichen Aufmerksamkeit entziehen. Es sind die drei Elementarreiche. Sie stehen in einer gewissen Beziehung unter dem Mineralreiche. Es gibt Wesen, die es nicht bis zur mineralischen Verdichtung bringen, die aber deshalb nicht weniger da sind und ihre Wirkung auf den Menschen haben. (Man vergleiche über diese Elementarreiche, was über sie in den Aufsätzen «Aus der Akasha-Chronik» gesagt ist, sowie die Bemerkungen darüber in meiner «Theosophie».) Der Mensch ist somit Einflüssen aus Naturreichen ausgesetzt, die in einer gewissen Richtung unsichtbare genannt werden müssen. Wenn nun die Seele am Leibe arbeitet, so besteht ein wesentlicher Teil ihrer Tätigkeit darin, die Einflüsse der Elementarreiche so zu regeln, daß sie für den Menschen gedeihliche sind. — In dem Augenblicke nun, in dem die Seele ihre Tätigkeit zum Teil dem Leibe entzieht, können sich seiner verderbliche Kräfte aus den Elementarreichen bemächtigen. Darin besteht eine Gefahr der höheren Entwickelung. Es muß daher dafür gesorgt werden, daß, sobald sich die Seele vom Körper zurückzieht, er durch sich selbst nur guten Einflüssen von Seiten der elementaren Welt zugänglich ist. — Wird darauf nicht geachtet, so verkommt der gewöhnliche Mensch in einer gewissen Beziehung physisch und auch moralisch, trotzdem er den Zugang zu höheren Welten gewinnt. Während die Seele in höheren Gebieten lebt, nisten sich im dichten physischen Leib und im Ätherleib schädliche Kräfte ein. Dies ist der Grund, warum gewisse schlechte Eigenschaften, die vor der höheren Entwickelung durch die ausgleichende Wirkung der Seele niedergehalten worden sind, bei Mangel an Vorsicht zum Ausdruck kommen können. Menschen, welche vorher gute, moralische Naturen waren, können unter solchen Umständen dann, wenn sie an höhere Welten herantreten, allerlei niedrige Neigungen, erhöhte Selbstsucht, Unwahrhaftigkeit, Rachsucht, Zorn usw. usw. hervorkehren. — Niemand darf von dieser Tatsache sich zurückschrecken lassen, in die höheren Welten aufzusteigen; aber vorgesorgt muß werden, daß solche Dinge nicht eintreten. Die niedere Natur des Menschen muß gefestet und unzugänglich gemacht werden gefährlichen elementarischen Einflüssen. Das eben geschieht durch die bewußte Ausbildung gewisser Tugenden. Diese Tugenden werden in den theosophischen Handbüchern, welche von geistiger Entwickelung handeln, angegeben. Hier aber hat man den Grund, warum auf sie Sorgfalt gelegt werden muß. Es sind die folgenden.
[ 14 ] Zuerst muß der Mensch in ganz bewußter Weise bei allen Dingen fortwährend darauf bedacht sein, das Bleibende, Unvergängliche von dem Vergänglichen abzusondern, und auf das erstere seine Aufmerksamkeit richten. In jedem Dinge und Wesen kann der Mensch ein Etwas vermuten oder erkennen, das bleibt, wenn die vergängliche Erscheinung entschwindet. Sehe ich eine Pflanze, dann kann ich sie zunächst betrachten, wie sie sich den Sinnen darbietet. Das soll man gewiß nicht versäumen. Und niemand wird das Ewige in den Dingen entdecken, der sich nicht zuerst mit dem Vergänglichen gründlich bekannt gemacht hat. Diejenigen, welche sich immer besorgt zeigen, daß dem Menschen, der den Blick auf das Geistig-Unvergängliche richtet, die «Frische und Natürlichkeit des Lebens» verlorengehe: sie wissen eben noch nicht, um was es sich dabei eigentlich handelt. Aber, wenn ich so die Pflanze anschaue, kann mir klarwerden, daß in ihr ein bleibender Lebenstrieb ist, der in einer neuen zum Vorschein kommen werde, wenn die gegenwärtige Pflanze längst zerstoben sein wird. Solche Art, sich zu den Dingen zu stellen, muß man in die ganze Verfassung seines Gemütes aufnehmen. — Dann muß man sein Herz auf das Wertvolle, Gediegene heften und dieses höher schätzen lernen als das Vorübergehende, Bedeutungslose. Man soll sich bei allen seinen Empfindungen und Handlungen den Wert vor Augen halten, den etwas im Zusammenhange eines Ganzen hat. — Zum dritten soll man sechs Eigenschaften in sich ausbilden: Kontrolle der Gedankenwelt, Kontrolle der Handlungen, Ertragsamkeit, Unbefangenheit, Vertrauen in die Umwelt und inneres Gleichgewicht. Kontrolle der Gedankenwelt erreicht man, wenn man sich bemüht, dem Irrlichtelieren der Gedanken und Empfindungen, die beim gewöhnlichen Menschen immer auf- und abwogen, entgegenzuarbeiten. Im alltäglichen Leben ist der Mensch nicht der Führer seiner Gedanken; sondern er wird von ihnen getrieben. Das kann natürlich auch gar nicht anders sein. Denn das Leben treibt den Menschen. Und er muß als ein Wirkender sich diesem Treiben des Lebens überlassen. Während des gewöhnlichen Lebens wird das gar nicht anders sein können. Will man aber in eine höhere Welt aufsteigen, so muß man sich wenigstens ganz kurze Zeiten aussondern, in denen man sich zum Herrn seiner Gedanken- und Empfindungswelt macht. Man stellt da einen Gedanken aus völliger innerer Freiheit in den Mittelpunkt seiner Seele, während sich sonst die Vorstellungen von außen aufdrängen. Dann versucht man alle aufsteigenden Gedanken und Gefühle fernzuhalten und nur das mit dem ersten Gedanken zu verbinden, von dem man selbst will, daß es dazu gehöre. Eine solche Übung wirkt wohltätig auf die Seele und dadurch auch auf den Leib. Sie bringt den letzteren in eine solche harmonische Verfassung, daß er sich schädlichen Einflüssen entzieht, wenn die Seele auch nicht unmittelbar auf ihn wirkt. — Kontrolle der Handlungen besteht in einer ähnlichen Regelung derselben durch innere Freiheit. Man beginnt gut damit, daß man sich anschickt, irgend etwas regelmäßig zu tun, wozu man durch das gewöhnliche Leben nicht gekommen wäre. In dem letzteren wird ja der Mensch von außen zu seinen Handlungen getrieben. Die kleinste Tat aber, die man aus der ureigensten Initiative heraus unternimmt, wirkt in der angegebenen Richtung mehr als alles, wozu man vom äußeren Leben gedrängt wird. — Ertragsamkeit ist das Entfernthalten von jener Stimmung, die man bezeichnen kann mit dem Wechsel zwischen «Himmelhoch jauchzend, zu Tode betrübt». Der Mensch wird hin- und hergetrieben zwischen allen möglichen Stimmungen. Die Lust macht ihn froh, der Schmerz drückt ihn herab. Das hat seine Berechtigung. Wer aber den Weg sucht zu höherer Erkenntnis, der muß sich in der Lust und auch im Schmerze mäßigen können. Er muß «ertragsam» werden. Maßvoll muß er sich den lusterregenden Eindrücken hingeben können und auch den schmerzlichen Erlebnissen: immer durch beides mit Würde hindurchschreiten. Von nichts sich übermannen, außer Fassung bringen lassen. Das begründet nicht Gefühllosigkeit, sondern macht den Menschen zum festen Mittelpunkt innerhalb der Lebenswellen, die rings um ihn auf- und niedersteigen. Er hat sich stets in der Hand.
[ 15 ] Eine ganz besonders wichtige Eigenschaft ist der «Sinn für die Bejahung». Es kann ihn derjenige bei sich entwickeln, welcher das Augenmerk in allen Dingen auf die guten, schönen und zweckvollen Eigenheiten richtet und nicht in erster Linie auf das Tadelnswerte, Häßliche und Widerspruchsvolle. Es gibt eine schöne, in der persischen Dichtung vorhandene Legende von Christus, die zur Anschauung bringt, was mit dieser Eigenschaft gemeint ist: Ein toter Hund liegt an einem Wege. Unter den an ihm Vorübergehenden ist auch Christus. Alle anderen wenden sich ab von dem häßlichen Anblick, den das Tier bietet; nur Christus spricht bewundernd von den schönen Zähnen des Tieres. So kann man den Dingen gegenüber empfinden; in allem, auch dem Widrigsten, mag sich für den, welcher ernstlich sucht, etwas Anerkennenswertes finden. Und das Fruchtbare an den Dingen ist ja nicht, was ihnen fehlt, sondern dasjenige, was sie haben. — Weiter ist bedeutsam, die Eigenschaft der «Unbefangenheit» zu entwickeln. Ein jeder Mensch hat ja seine Erfahrungen gemacht und sich dadurch eine bestimmte Menge von Meinungen gebildet, die ihm dann im Leben zur Richtschnur werden. So selbstverständlich es auf der einen Seite ist, sich nach seinen Erfahrungen zu richten, so wichtig ist es für den, welcher eine geistige Entwickelung zur höheren Erkenntnis hin durchmachen will, daß er sich stets den Blick frei erhält für alles Neue, ihm noch Unbekannte, das ihm entgegentritt. Er wird so vorsichtig wie irgend möglich sein mit dem Urteil: «das ist unmöglich», «das kann ja gar nicht sein». Mag ihm seine Meinung nach den bisherigen Erfahrungen was immer sagen: er ist in jedem Augenblick bereit, sich von etwas Neuem, das ihm entgegenkommt, zu einer anderen Meinung bringen zu lassen. Jede Eigenliebe der Meinung gegenüber muß schwinden. — Wenn die bisher genannten fünf Eigenschaften von der Seele erworben sind, dann stellt sich eine sechste ganz von selbst ein: das innere Gleichgewicht, die Harmonie der geistigen Kräfte. Der Mensch muß etwas in sich finden wie einen geistigen Schwerpunkt, der ihm Festigkeit und Sicherheit gibt gegenüber allem, was im Leben da- oder dorthin zieht. Man muß nicht etwa vermeiden, mit allem mitzuleben, alles auf sich wirken zu lassen. Nicht die Flucht vor den hin- und widerziehenden Tatsachen des Lebens ist das Richtige, sondern im Gegenteil: das volle Hingeben an das Leben und trotzdem die sichere, feste Bewahrung von innerem Gleichgewicht und Harmonie.
[ 16 ] Endlich kommt für den Suchenden der «Wille zur Freiheit» in Betracht. Es hat ihn jemand, der zu allem, was er vollbringt, die Stütze und Grundlage in sich selbst findet. Er ist deshalb so schwer zu erringen, weil taktvoll der Ausgleich notwendig ist zwischen dem Öffnen des Sinnes gegenüber allem Großen und Guten und der gleichzeitigen Ablehnung eines jeglichen Zwanges. Man sagt so leicht: Einwirkung von außen und Freiheit vertragen sich nicht. Daß sie sich in der Seele vertragen: darauf kommt es aber gerade an. Wenn mir jemand etwas mitteilt, und ich nehme es unter dem Zwange seiner Autorität an: dann bin ich unfrei. Aber ich bin nicht minder unfrei, wenn ich mich verschließe vor dem Guten, das ich auf diese Art empfangen kann. Denn dann übt in der eigenen Seele das Schlechtere, das ich habe, auf mich einen Zwang aus. Und bei der Freiheit kommt es nicht allein darauf an, daß ich nicht unter dem Zwange einer äußeren Autorität stehe, sondern vor allen Dingen auch nicht unter derjenigen eigener Vorurteile, Meinungen, Empfindungen und Gefühle. Nicht blinde Unterwerfung unter das Empfangene ist das Richtige, sondern sich von ihm anregen lassen, es ganz unbefangen aufnehmen, um sich «frei» dazu zu bekennen. Eine fremde Autorität soll nicht anders als so wirken, daß man sich sagt: Ich mache mich gerade dadurch frei, daß ich ihrem Guten folge, d.h. es zu dem meinigen mache. Und eine auf der Geheimwissenschaft fußende Autorität will auch gar nicht anders als in dieser Art wirken. Sie gibt, was sie zu geben hat, nicht um selbst Macht über den Beschenkten zu gewinnen, sondern allein darum, daß der Beschenkte durch die Gabe reicher und freier werde.
[ 17 ] Es ist auf die Bedeutung der angeführten Eigenschaften schon früher bei Besprechung der «Lotusblumen» hingewiesen worden. Dort wurde gezeigt, welche Beziehung sie zu der Entwickelung der zwölf blätterigen Lotusblume in der Herzgegend und der daran sich schließenden Strömungen des Ätherkörpers haben. Aus dem jetzt Gesagten ist ersichtlich, daß sie im wesentlichen die Aufgabe haben, dem physischen Körper des Suchenden jene Kräfte entbehrlich zu machen, die ihm sonst während des Schlafzustandes zugute kommen und die ihm wegen der Ausbildung entzogen werden müssen. Unter solchen Einwirkungen entwickelt sich die imaginative Erkenntnis.
The Stages of Higher Knowledge
[ 1 ] Up to the encounter with the two "Guardians of the Threshold", the path to higher knowledge has been traced in the book "How does one attain knowledge of the higher worlds?". Now the relationship of the soul to the various worlds will be described as it passes through the successive stages of knowledge. This gives what can be called the "epistemology of secret science".
[ 2 ] Before man enters the path of higher knowledge, he knows only the first of four levels of knowledge. It is the one that is proper to him in ordinary life within the sense world. Even in what is initially called "science", we are only dealing with this first level of knowledge. For this science only works out ordinary cognition more finely, makes it more disciplined. It arms the senses with instruments - microscope, telescope, etc. - in order to see more precisely what the unarmed senses do not see. But the level of cognition remains the same whether one sees normal-sized things with the ordinary eye or whether one observes very small objects and processes with a magnifying glass. In the application of thought to things and facts, this science also remains at the same level as in everyday life. One classifies objects, describes and compares them, tries to form a picture of their changes, etc. The most rigorous natural scientist basically does nothing else in this respect than to develop the observation procedure of everyday life in an artistic manner. His knowledge becomes more extensive, more complicated, more logical; but he does not advance to another kind of knowledge.
[ 3 ] In secret science, this first level of knowledge is called the "material way of knowing". Then there are three higher ones. These are followed by others. They will be described here before continuing with the description of the "path of knowledge". If we assume that ordinary and sensory-scientific cognition is the first stage, we must first distinguish between the following four stages:
- material cognition,
- imaginative cognition,
- inspired cognition, which can also be called "volitional" cognition
- intuitive cognition
[ 4 ] These stages will be discussed below. We must first clarify what we are dealing with in these different types of cognition. - In ordinary sensory cognition four elements come into consideration: 1. the object, which makes an impression on the senses; 2. the image, which man forms of this object; 3. the concept, through which man arrives at a mental grasp of a thing or a process; 4. the "I", which forms image and concept on the basis of the impression of the object. Before a person forms an image - a "concept" - there is an object that causes him to do so. He does not form this object himself, he perceives it. And the image arises on the basis of this object. As long as one looks at an object, one is dealing with it. The moment one steps away from the object, one possesses only the image. You leave the object, the image "sticks" in your memory. But you cannot stop at merely making "images". You have to arrive at "concepts". The distinction between "image" and "concept" is absolutely necessary if you want to be completely clear here. Imagine that you see an object that is circular. Then turn around and keep the image of the circle in mind. You do not yet have the "concept" of the circle. This only arises when you say to yourself: "A circle is a figure in which all points are equidistant from a center point." Only when you have formed a "concept" of something do you have an understanding of it. There are many circles: small, large, red, blue, etc.; but there is only one concept of "circle". - All of this will be discussed in more detail below; for the time being, we will only outline what is necessary to characterize the first four stages of cognition. - The fourth element that comes into consideration in material cognition is the "I". In it, a unity of images and concepts is created. This "I" preserves the images in its memory. If this were not the case, there would be no continuous inner life. The images of things would only remain present as long as these things themselves had an effect on the soul. Inner life, however, depends on perception being strung together with perception. The "I" orients itself in the world "today" because images of the same objects from "yesterday" appear to it when it sees certain objects. Just imagine how impossible the life of the soul would be if we only had an image of an object as long as it was standing in front of us. - The "I" also forms unity in terms of concepts. It combines its concepts and in this way creates an overview, i.e. an understanding of the world. This connection of concepts takes place in "judgment". A being that only had loose concepts would not be able to find its way in the world. All of man's activity is based on his ability to connect concepts, i.e. on his "judgment".
[ 5 ] The "material cognition" is based on the fact that man receives an impression of things and processes in the outside world through his senses. They have the ability to feel or sensitivity. The impression received "from outside" is also called sensation. Therefore, the four elements come into consideration in "material cognition": sensation, image, concept, ego. - At the next higher level of cognition, the impression on the external senses, the "sensation", is no longer present. An external sensory object is no longer present. Thus, of the elements to which man is accustomed from ordinary cognition, only the three remain: image, concept and ego.
[ 6 ] In a healthy person, ordinary cognition does not form an image or a concept if an external sensory object is not present. The "I" then remains inactive. Anyone who forms images to which sensory objects are supposed to correspond, where in reality there are none, lives in fantasy. - But now the secret disciple acquires the ability to form images even where no sensory objects are present. Another object must then take the place of the "external object". He must be able to have images even if no object touches his senses. Something else must take the place of the "sensation". This is the imagination. With the secret disciple at this stage, images appear exactly as if an object of the senses were to make an impression on him; they are as vivid and true as the sensory images, only they do not come from the "material", but from the "spiritual" and "mental". The senses remain completely inactive. - It is obvious that man must first acquire this ability to have content images without sensory impressions. This is done through meditation, through the exercises described in the book "How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds". Man, who is limited to the world of the senses, lives only in a world of images which have first found their way into him through the senses. The imaginative human being has such a world of images, which receives its influx from a higher world. It requires very careful training to distinguish illusion from reality within this higher world of images. It is only too easy for man to say to himself when such images first appear before his soul: "Oh, they are only imaginations, mere outflows of my imaginative life." This is only too understandable. For man is at first accustomed to call "real" only that which, without his intervention, is given to him by the solid foundation of his sense perception. And he must first find his way into taking things for "real" that are caused from a completely different side. And he cannot be careful enough in this either, if he does not want to become a fantasist. The decision about what is "real" on a higher level and what is only "illusion" can only come from experience. And one must acquire this experience in a quiet, patient inner life. First of all, you have to be prepared for the "illusion" to play nasty tricks on you. Everywhere the possibility lurks that images will emerge which are based only on deceptions of the outer senses, of abnormal life. All such possibilities must first be cleared away. One must first completely block the sources of fantasy, only then can one arrive at the imagination. Once one has reached this point, however, one realizes that the world into which one enters in this way is not only as real as the sensual one, but that it is a much more real.
[ 7 ] At the third stage of cognition, the images also disappear. The human being only has to deal with "concept" and "I". If at the second stage he still has a world of images around him, reminiscent of the moments when the vivid memory conjures up impressions of the outside world before the soul, without having such impressions himself: at the third stage such images are no longer present either. Man lives entirely in a purely spiritual world. Those who are only accustomed to stick to the senses will be tempted to believe that this world is a pale, ghostly one. But it is not that at all. The pictorial world of the second stage also has nothing pale or shadowy about it. Such, however, are the images that remain in the mind when the external things are gone. But the images of the imagination are of a vividness and richness of content with which not only the shadowy memory images of the sense world cannot be compared, but not even the whole colorful, varied sense world itself. This too is but a shadow compared to the realm of the imagination. - And now even the world of the third level of cognition! Nothing in the world of the senses gives any idea of its richness and fullness. What sensation is for the first level, and imagination for the second, is "inspiration" for them. Inspiration gives the impressions, and the "I" forms the concepts. If one wants to compare something sensual with this world, then only the sound world of hearing can be used for such a comparison. However, we are not dealing with sounds as in sensual music, but with a purely "spiritual sound". We begin to "hear" what is going on inside things. The stone, the plant etc. become "spiritual words". The world really begins to express its essence to the soul. It sounds grotesque, but it is literally true: at this level of cognition "one hears spiritually the grass grow". The shape of the crystal is heard as a sound; the opening blossom "speaks" to the human being. The inspired is able to proclaim the inner essence of things; all things are resurrected in a new way before his soul. He speaks a language that comes from another world and yet only makes the everyday world comprehensible.
[ 8 ] On the fourth level of cognition, inspiration finally ceases. Of the elements that one is used to considering from everyday cognition, only the "I" is the one that comes into consideration. The secret disciple realizes that he has ascended to this level by a very specific inner experience. This experience is expressed in the fact that he has the feeling that he no longer stands outside the things and processes which he recognizes, but within them. Images are not the object; they merely express it. Even what inspiration gives is not the object. It only expresses it. But that which now lives in the soul is really the object itself. The I has poured itself out over all beings; it has flowed together with them. The life of the things in the soul is now the intuition. It is to be taken quite literally when one says of intuition: one creeps through it into all things. - In ordinary life, man has only one intuition, that of the "I" itself. For the "I" cannot be perceived in any way from the outside, it can only be experienced within. A simple consideration can make this clear. It is a consideration which, however, is not made by psychologists with the desired acuity. As inconspicuous as it is, however, it is of the most far-reaching significance for those who fully understand it. It is the following: Every thing in the outside world can be called by the same name by all people. The table can be addressed by everyone as "table", the tulip by everyone as "tulip", Mr. Miller by everyone as "Mr. Miller". But there is one word that everyone can only say to themselves. This is the word "I". No one else can say "I" to me, for everyone else I am a "you". Likewise, everyone else is a 'you' to me. Only he himself can say "I" to himself. This stems from the fact that one does not live outside, but within the "I". And so one lives through the intuitive cognition in all things. The perception of one's own "I" is the model for all intuitive cognition. In order to enter into things in this way, however, one must first step out of oneself. One must become "selfless" in order to merge with the "self", the "I", of another being.
[ 9 ] Meditation and concentration are the sure means to reach this level, as well as the previous ones. However, they must be practiced in a quiet, patient manner. He who believes that he can ascend to the higher worlds tumultuously, by violent means, is mistaken. And such a belief would be indulged in by those who expect reality to confront them in the higher realms in the same way as in the senses. However vivid and rich the worlds to which one ascends may be, they are fine and subtle, whereas the world of the senses is coarse and crude. The most important thing to learn is to become accustomed to calling something completely different "real" than what we call it in the realm of the senses. And this is not easy. That is why some people who are so keen to follow the secret path are put off from the very first steps. He has expected to encounter things that are like tables and chairs, and he finds "ghosts". But because "ghosts" are not dense like chairs and tables, they appear to him as "imaginations". This is due to nothing other than unfamiliarity. One must first acquire the right feeling for the spiritual world, then one will not only see the spiritual, but also recognize it. And a large part of the secret training relates to this correct recognition and appreciation of the spiritual.
[ 10 ] If we want to gain insight into imaginative cognition, we must first consider the state of sleep. As long as the human being has not attained a higher level of cognition than the material, the soul lives during sleep, but it cannot perceive anything in the world in which it lives asleep. It is in this world like a blind person in the material world. Such a person lives in the world of light and color, but he does not perceive them. - The soul has withdrawn from the outer sense organs, the eye, the ear, the ordinary brain activity, etc., during sleep. It receives no impressions through the senses. What does it do during sleep? It must be realized that the soul is in constant activity during waking. It receives external sensory impressions and processes them: that is its activity. It ceases this activity during sleep. But it is by no means inactive. It works on its own body while it sleeps. This is worn out during the waking day's work. This is expressed in fatigue. And during sleep, the soul occupies itself with its own body in order to make it suitable for further waking daytime work. This shows how essential proper sleep is for the body to thrive. A person who does not sleep properly does not allow his soul to do the necessary work of improvement on his body. - And the consequence of this must be that the body comes down. - The powers by which the soul works on the body during sleep are the same as those by which it is active in the waking state. Only in the latter they are used to receive the impressions of the external senses and to process them.
[ 11 ] When imaginative cognition occurs in the human being, part of the forces applied to the body during sleep must be used in a different way. Through these powers the spiritual sense organs are now formed, which make it possible for the soul not only to live in a higher world, but also to perceive it. Thus the soul works on itself while sleeping, no longer merely on its body. This work is brought about by meditation and concentration as well as by other exercises. It has often been said in these essays on higher knowledge that the specific instructions for such exercises are given only from person to person. No one should undertake these exercises on his own. For only those who have experience in this field can judge what effect must occur in one person or another when he undertakes to withdraw his soul work from the body and apply it in a higher way.
[ 12 ] Meditation, concentration and other exercises cause the soul to withdraw for a while from its connection with the sense organs. It is then absorbed in itself. Its activity is turned inwards. At the beginning of this immersion, its inner activity does not differ significantly from everyday life. She must use the same ideas, feelings and sensations during her inner work as she does in ordinary life. However, the more she becomes accustomed to being "blind and deaf" to her sensual surroundings, the more she lives within herself, the more capable she becomes of inner work. And what it has achieved by immersing itself in the inner world first bears fruit in the state of sleep. When the soul is freed from the body at night, that which has been stimulated by the exercises during the day continues to work in it. Organs are formed in it through which it comes into contact with a higher environment in exactly the same way as before through the external sense organs with the physical environment. The light phenomena of the higher world emerge from the darkness of the nocturnal environment. At first this contact is tender and intimate. And man must expect that for a long time, on waking, the light of day will immediately draw a thick curtain over the experiences of the night. The remembering that one has perceived in the night only occurs very slowly and gradually. For the pupil does not easily learn to pay attention to the delicate formations of his soul, which in the course of his development mingle with the coarse experiences of everyday sensory life. At first such formations appear to him like what are called accidental impressions of the soul. Everything depends on his learning to distinguish what he owes to the ordinary world from what presents itself through his own being as a manifestation of higher worlds. He must acquire this distinction in a quiet, introspective life of the mind. It is necessary that he should first acquire a sense of the value and significance of those intimate soul-formations which interfere with day-life like "chance occurrences" and which are nevertheless memories of nocturnal intercourse in a higher world. As soon as these things are somehow roughly handled and measured with the yardstick of sensory life, they crumble.
[ 13 ] It is evident from the above that through the work in a higher world the soul must withdraw from the body something of its otherwise caring activity. It leaves the body to itself in a certain respect. It needs a substitute for what it has previously done for it. If it does not receive such a substitute, it is in danger of falling prey to pernicious forces. We must realize that man is constantly exposed to the influences of his environment. He lives only through the effects of this environment. First of all, the realms of visible nature come into consideration within the environment. Man belongs to this visible nature. If he were not surrounded by the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms and those of other human beings, he could not live. Imagine man lifted away from the earth into the universe, he would immediately perish as a physical human being, just as the hand withers when it is separated from the body. As strong would be the illusion of which the human hand would be guilty if it believed that it could live without the body, so strong would be the delusion into which man would fall if he claimed that he could exist as a physical being without the mineral, animal and plant kingdoms and without other human beings. - However, there are three other realms in addition to those mentioned, which usually escape human attention. These are the three elemental kingdoms. They stand in a certain relationship below the mineral kingdom. There are beings that do not reach mineral condensation, but are no less present and have an effect on man. (Compare what is said about these elemental kingdoms in the essays "From the Akashic Chronicle" and the remarks about them in my "Theosophy"). Man is thus exposed to influences from kingdoms of nature, which in a certain sense must be called invisible. When the soul works on the body, an essential part of its activity consists in regulating the influences of the elemental kingdoms in such a way that they are beneficial to man. - The moment the soul withdraws part of its activity from the body, corrupting forces from the elemental kingdoms can take possession of it. This is a danger to higher development. It must therefore be ensured that, as soon as the soul withdraws from the body, it is accessible through itself only to good influences from the elemental world. - If no attention is paid to this, the ordinary human being degenerates in a certain respect physically and also morally, even though he gains access to higher worlds. While the soul lives in higher realms, harmful forces nestle in the dense physical body and in the etheric body. This is the reason why certain bad qualities, which before the higher development were held down by the balancing effect of the soul, can find expression in the absence of caution. People who were previously good, moral natures can, under such circumstances, when they approach higher worlds, bring forth all kinds of low inclinations, increased selfishness, untruthfulness, vindictiveness, anger, etc., etc. - No one should be deterred by this fact from ascending to the higher worlds; but care must be taken to prevent such things from occurring. The lower nature of man must be fortified and made inaccessible to dangerous elementary influences. This happens through the conscious development of certain virtues. These virtues are given in the theosophical manuals dealing with spiritual development. But here we have the reason why care must be taken of them. They are the following.
[ 14 ] First of all, in all things, man must consciously and constantly endeavor to separate the permanent and imperishable from the perishable, and focus his attention on the former. In every thing and being, man can suspect or recognize something that remains when the transient appearance disappears. If I see a plant, I can first look at it as it presents itself to the senses. This is certainly not to be missed. And no one will discover the eternal in things who has not first familiarized himself thoroughly with the transient. Those who are always worried that the "freshness and naturalness of life" will be lost to the person who focuses on the spiritual and imperishable: they do not yet know what this actually means. But when I look at the plant in this way, I can realize that there is a permanent life instinct in it, which will emerge in a new one when the present plant has long since died. Such a way of looking at things must be incorporated into the whole constitution of one's mind. - Then one must set one's heart on what is valuable and worthy and learn to value it more highly than what is temporary and insignificant. In all his feelings and actions he should bear in mind the value that something has in the context of a whole. - Thirdly, one should develop six qualities in oneself: Control of the world of thoughts, control of actions, earnestness, impartiality, trust in the environment and inner balance. Control of the world of thoughts is achieved when one endeavors to counteract the delusion of thoughts and feelings, which always rise and fall in the ordinary person. In everyday life, man is not the leader of his thoughts; he is driven by them. Of course, this cannot be otherwise. For life drives man. And as an agent, he must abandon himself to this driving of life. During ordinary life this cannot be otherwise. But if one wants to ascend to a higher world, one must at least set aside very short times in which one makes oneself master of one's world of thoughts and feelings. One places a thought at the center of one's soul out of complete inner freedom, while otherwise the ideas from outside impose themselves. Then you try to keep away all rising thoughts and feelings and only connect with the first thought that you yourself want it to belong to. Such an exercise has a beneficial effect on the soul and thus also on the body. It brings the latter into such a harmonious condition that it withdraws from harmful influences, even if the soul does not directly affect it. - Control of actions consists in a similar regulation of them through inner freedom. One begins well by setting out to do something regularly which one would not have been able to do in ordinary life. In the latter, man is driven to his actions from without. The smallest act, however, which one undertakes on one's own initiative, has more effect in the direction indicated than anything one is urged to do by external life. - Profitability is keeping away from that mood which can be described as alternating between "rejoicing in heaven and sorrowing to death". Man is driven back and forth between all kinds of moods. Pleasure makes him happy, pain depresses him. This has its justification. But he who seeks the path to higher knowledge must be able to moderate himself in pleasure and also in pain. He must become "productive". He must be able to indulge himself moderately in the pleasurable impressions and also in the painful experiences: he must always walk through both with dignity. Not to be overpowered by anything, not to be upset. This does not justify insensitivity, but makes people a firm center within the waves of life that rise and fall around them. He is always in control.
[ 15 ] A particularly important quality is the "sense of affirmation". It can be developed by those who focus their attention on the good, beautiful and useful characteristics in all things and not primarily on the reprehensible, ugly and contradictory. There is a beautiful legend of Christ in Persian poetry that illustrates what is meant by this quality: "A dead dog lies by a road. Christ is among those who pass by. Everyone else turns away from the ugly sight of the animal; only Christ speaks admiringly of the animal's beautiful teeth. This is how one can feel about things; in everything, even the most adverse, there may be something worth recognizing for those who search earnestly. And what is fruitful about things is not what they lack, but what they have. - It is also important to develop the quality of "impartiality". After all, every person has had their own experiences and formed a certain set of opinions which then become their guiding principles in life. As natural as it is on the one hand to be guided by one's experiences, it is just as important for those who want to undergo a spiritual development towards higher knowledge that they always keep their eyes open for everything new and still unknown to them that comes their way. He will be as careful as possible with the judgment: "that is impossible", "that cannot be". Whatever his opinion may tell him after his previous experiences, he is ready at any moment to be led to a different opinion by something new that comes his way. All self-love of opinion must disappear. - When the five qualities mentioned so far have been acquired by the soul, then a sixth one arises of its own accord: inner balance, the harmony of spiritual forces. Man must find something within himself like a spiritual center of gravity that gives him stability and security against everything that pulls him here or there in life. It is not necessary to avoid living with everything, to let everything affect you. The right thing is not to flee from the tossing and turning facts of life, but on the contrary: to fully surrender to life and despite the secure, firm preservation of inner balance and harmony.
[ 16 ] Finally, the "will to freedom" comes into consideration for the seeker. Someone has it who finds the support and foundation for everything he accomplishes in himself. It is so difficult to attain because a tactful balance is necessary between opening the mind to all that is great and good and at the same time rejecting any kind of compulsion. It is so easy to say that external influence and freedom are incompatible. But the fact that they are compatible in the soul is precisely what matters. If someone tells me something and I accept it under the compulsion of his authority: then I am unfree. But I am no less unfree if I close myself off from the good that I can receive in this way. For then the worse that I have exerts a compulsion on me in my own soul. And with freedom it is not only important that I am not under the compulsion of an external authority, but above all that I am not under the compulsion of my own prejudices, opinions, feelings and emotions. What is right is not blind submission to what is received, but to allow oneself to be inspired by it, to receive it without bias in order to "freely" acknowledge it. A foreign authority should have no other effect than that one says to oneself: I make myself free precisely by following its good, i.e. by making it mine. And an authority based on secret science does not want to work in any other way than this. It gives what it has to give, not in order to gain power over the recipient itself, but solely so that the recipient becomes richer and freer through the gift.
[ 17 ] The significance of these qualities has already been pointed out earlier in the discussion of the "lotus flowers". There it was shown what relationship they have to the development of the twelve-petaled lotus flower in the heart region and the currents of the etheric body that connect to it. From what has now been said it is evident that they have essentially the task of making dispensable to the seeker's physical body those forces which otherwise benefit it during the state of sleep and which must be withdrawn from it because of the training. Under such influences, imaginative cognition develops.