Esoteric Christianity and the Guiding Spirits of Humanity
GA 130 — 17 June 1912, Hamburg
I. The Inauguration of the Christian Rosenkreuz Branch
We are gathered here to seek the blessing of the spiritual powers that stand above our Theosophical movement, the blessing for a working group that has created a place of work for its own deepest satisfaction, which expresses the impulses of our will through the most diverse symbols: namely, devotion to the spiritual powers and the will to serve them in the right way. Much work of the mind and soul has been done to furnish these rooms worthily. The members will always receive the right impetus for their work surrounded by these symbols; but those who have rushed to witness the opening will take a lasting memory with them, as will those who are always connected in spirit with those who have sought a place of work here in order to send invigorating impulses.
Being part of a current such as our Theosophical movement, we must consider it a blessing of spiritual powers, because in the future this Theosophical movement is a necessity, and we may be first in this current, which must flow into the future development of humanity if it is not to dry up and wither. As occultists, we can see that such fertilization is inevitable. And that we in particular can feel obliged to lend a helpful hand in this fertilization, we want to consider as a grace.
The period between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries brought the waves of materialism, which is also a necessity, even if it could only bring blessings that are necessary for the physical world. Few among the leading minds of modern times could understand that from the necessary but also descending bonds of materialism, an ascent must again spring forth.
The theosophical movement is the outpouring of spiritual forces and truths from higher worlds. People should again know things that have been covered up for thousands of years.
If we want to examine the nature of the movement in which we stand, we can identify the most significant characteristic. It is as if the most beautiful and genuine human spirit had been at work in it, because three points, felt in the right way, immediately give the idea that it is something that is entirely in line with the demands of our time. These three points say nothing less than that a spiritual movement is to be introduced into the world in which every human being can participate. The most human current is characterized when it is said: This society forms the core of a universal human brotherhood — and so on. This says nothing less than: On earth, there can be no person who could not become a member of this society. But the most diverse creeds and philosophies are spread across the earth. These cannot all be errors. To claim that would be to accuse the wise order of the world. So it can only be a matter of seeking the objective core of all worldviews that leads to mutual understanding. As something of a motto, the following sentence has emerged from these principles: “No religion stands higher than truth.” The striving for truth can bring all people together, because it will promote mutual understanding. Then the third principle is already there in essence. But one could say that materialists are excluded from the society after all. They are only excluded if their materialistic belief is more important to them than the search for the forces that underlie all phenomena. We do not exclude the materialist, for no one who seriously wants to search has remained at the materialistic point of view. He only excludes himself because he does not want to search for the truth. Our movement does not need any other principles, for if everything is properly understood, there can be no abuse or degeneration within the theosophical movement, for it summarizes the great ideal of soul harmony and peace. Let us realize how peace and harmony can be brought to the world.
The Christian who has not become a Theosophist will have little understanding for that which elevates the Buddhist to the higher worlds. But the Christian who has become a Theosophist must endeavor to understand him, he feels it is his duty based on the guiding principles of the Theosophical movement, which he recognizes. And it becomes clear to the Christian that the life of Gautama Buddha on earth meant something when he knows that a person must have undergone countless embodiments before he can become a Buddha. The Buddhist knows that after attaining the dignity of Buddha, he no longer needs to return to Earth. In Kristiania, reference was made to the mission of Gautama Buddha. It was shown how this soul has a special task to fulfill on Mars. The Buddha has undergone the preliminary stage on Earth in order to play a similar role among the Martians as the Christ did on Earth - not through some kind of Golgotha mystery, not by going through a death, because the Martians have different living conditions than the Earthmen. It is therefore clear to the occultist that the belief of the Buddhists that Gautama Buddha does not need to return to earth in a physical body has its full justification. So we no longer fight their convictions, what is so close to their hearts, but want to show them the deepest interest.
When the Buddhist becomes a theosophist, he learns to recognize what is most sacred to the Christian. He recognizes that in the fact of a certain personality passing through physical death, there lies a world mystery, that the Christ descended from higher worlds for a unique incarnation, and will never again come into a physical body. He begins to understand that this mystery is the compensation for the battle between Christ and Lucifer. When the Buddhist learns this through theosophy, he says to himself: I understand what the Christian means in the deepest sense, I understand the unique incarnation of the Christ and see that the Christ was not on earth before he found a body through Jesus of Nazareth.
If we devote ourselves to the emphasized principles, we learn something that is particularly opposed to a certain fear that is often found among Christians. The fearful person easily believes that his confession loses its luster when the merits of others are also highlighted. The Christian confession acquires a higher luster when one penetrates the individual religious beliefs in an occult way. Those who are so anxiously concerned that their confession might lose out when juxtaposed with the Buddhist faith should remember that there are still many unresolved questions for the Christian theologian, that, for example, it is still an important question as to whether the people who lived before the Mystery of Golgotha also share in the Redemption. But if the Christian adds what the Buddhist knows, he sees that they are the same souls that lived in a body before the appearance of Christ and keep coming back to Earth after the Mystery. Now one might ask: But what about the Buddha soul that was last incarnated six hundred years before Christ and did not return?
Occult research also provides us with a satisfactory answer here. We are shown that the Buddha was a messenger sent in advance who, belonging to a higher hierarchy, was sent down with the Venusians, so that one can rightly speak of a mission of the Buddha in preparation for the Christ. Every religion can understand every other religion if none wants to tyrannize the other out of selfishness. An orthodox Buddhist could want to raise his Buddha above all other beings, although no true Buddhist would do that. If someone wanted to be fanatical in the sense of a limited Buddhism, he could teach that there can be no other being that does not need to return to earth as a human being, except for the Buddha, so he must be the highest. This would give Buddhism an infinite advantage over Christianity, and then put it in second place. Then one religion would be fought by the other. But that would be an un-Theosophical act. For Theosophy is about spreading peace across the earth, through understanding and studying the same truths to lead to the realization of the importance of each. Therefore, let us remember that we cannot just profess our principles with our mouths and then turn them into their opposites.
We must be convinced that the establishment of a working group is not just something to be pleased about, but that it entails a great obligation, especially when it is undertaken to lay claim to the name of the founder, which belongs to the noble martyr who, through his way of working, has suffered and will suffer into the future more than any human being. I say: a man - for what the Christ suffered, a God has suffered. This is connected with the great dangers which the truth will have to undergo in the future. When we baptize ourselves with the name “Christian Rosenkreutz,” we must realize that it is difficult to keep this alliance. We are pledging a loyalty to which we may not be strong enough. Nevertheless, no one should be denied the opportunity to cultivate this loyalty in their soul, a loyalty that makes it necessary for us to take our future into our own hands in a certain direction. When we feel so drawn to something that is already there that we make it our own field of work, we appeal to the powers of idealism, which has already gained strength. But if we found something new, then we have as our ally all the separatism, all unearthly self-seeking: Lucifer has a new hope with every new foundation. Not so when we join something old. Therefore woe to us if we are not mindful of the saying: “The devil is never felt by the people, even if he has them by the collar.” But we can always remove him from our collar if we are of good will.
It is a great but dangerous moment when we associate the founding with a name that was borne by such a great martyr. The founders themselves must take the vow not to take the venture lightly, but to hold fast with all loyalty and with all their strength to what they have vowed. With each founding of a theosophical working group, one takes on a heavy responsibility. If one considers how little has been understood of the impulse given by Christian Rosenkreutz, one can appreciate that tremendous difficulties will arise for those who are willing to follow it.
No one contradicts the Orientals when they speak of the Maitreya Buddha in their own way. But once the principle of Christianity, which basically rests in the three principles of the Theosophical Society, is found across the earth, then strong powers will arise that will accumulate error upon error. Those who can remain loyal to Christian Rosenkreutz will belong to him.
We can already see in our time how difficult it is to understand Christianity and how little goodwill there is to grasp the essence of Christianity. The principles that prevail like good stars within the Theosophical movement and have been characterized today will contribute to both a deepening and a shaking up of the lukewarm. It is necessary to awaken the sense of responsibility. To permeate ourselves with this task is our goal at this point. Even in the narrowest space, many tests will still confront you!
In the moment when only the name of Christian Rosenkreutz is mentioned, the principle is represented: No religion is higher to us than the striving for truth. - Christian Rosenkreutz never demands any personal cult and sees to it that the teachings are brought close to the mind and understood. He does not demand blind faith in the masters. If we first use our own powers, then the possibility will arise to recognize the masters of wisdom and of the harmony of sensations through the truth. Belief in them is not demanded from the outset, because then belief in the masters would stand higher than truth. If ever something like unconditional belief in a master were demanded, the principles of the Theosophical Society would already have been broken.
You can tell whether something is true or not if you pay attention to certain methods. For example, it would have been easy when publishing the book “How to Know Higher Worlds” to write: These teachings are given under inspiration and so on, they come from the Master and the like. However, the principle of the theosophical movement is broken if the writer does not take responsibility for what is written. If it were claimed that a book was written without the responsibility of the author, you can be sure that there is no truth here, but a luciferic-Ahrimanic deception. Today, the Masters do not allow the writer to reject responsibility, so it is always a duty to consult one's reason and not to believe anything on authority. It is, of course, much more convenient to swear allegiance to a personality cult, because reason has to be worked at. Only those who critically examine what is given from the spiritual worlds can remain loyal to Christian Rosenkreuz. Therefore, bear in mind that a working group is being set up here that wants to remain loyal to the principles, beyond the personality of the teacher who is called upon at the time, in order to transform into something that can be grasped by human beings that which flows down from the spiritual worlds through Christ.
If you resolve to think and strive in this way, then I may call down the blessing of the spiritual beings, in whose existence we need not believe if we know ourselves to be in their current. May the good spirits reign here and bless this work, they, of whose existence I am as convinced as of the existence of all those who are sitting here in the physical body. And so this place of work is also inaugurated. Whatever good spiritual work is accomplished in a theosophical way will be able to prevent the darkness that would otherwise inevitably descend upon Christianity. May the Masters of Wisdom and of the Harmony of Feelings reign.