Our Dead

GA 261 — 27 October 1920, Basel

Eulogy at the Cremation of Caroline Wilhelm

Dear mourners!

Now that the priestly word has guided this dear soul up into the spiritual realms, where she already felt at home during her earthly existence, allow me to add a few words from the heart of those with whom our dear friend, Mrs. Wilhelm, was united in shared spiritual striving, shared work. This is in keeping with the heartfelt desire of those who shared the common striving with the dear departed, that here, where her soul separates from us, but we remain united with her in the eternal realms of the spirit, that here spoke the priest who stands within our spiritual community, and that also from me, as the representative of this spiritual community, the thoughts are conveyed, which arise from the hearts and souls of those who were united with our friend. In the last days, when this soul had parted from the earthly body, the image of the dear one stood before my soul, and what spoke to me from this image was spoken to the departing soul:

From the circle of life's duties
The great question of fate spoke How can human knowledge fathom
Where the soul's true home
Is in the vastness of the universe? To your heart's desire,
Spiritual knowledge appeared as the way,
Illuminated by the light. And you followed this urge.
It has given you certainty of soul
brought you soul-assurance and courage to face life. And it has become a comfort and strength
in the difficult days of pain,
in the hour of the turning point of fate. Then what you saw strongly
in the soul's inner vision
as the light of the human spirit, Through suffering it has shone.
So also find it in the mind,
Whose gate now before you The new form of existence
Opens, and your soul
Further way light-full indicates.

My dear mourners!

The close relatives of the dear departed may feel in this hour that the friends who have gathered here to send the last farewell thoughts to the soul parting from us, that all these friends have followed this soul here in warm love. And in warm love, the words that are yet to be spoken will be spoken:

Our dear, dear friend had sensed a ray of that spiritual light that shines in the soul when that human soul reflects on its true, genuine origin, when it reflects on the eternal source of humanity from which every single person is drawn to work in the spiritual and physical world. But, my dear mourners, the great question of fate often arises more intensely for one person than for another: How does the soul find its way in this existence? - in this existence, which surrounds us first as the earthly-physical world, into which shines for the soul's eye that which can spiritually permeate this earthly-physical world. That which this life can offer in the way of joy and uplifting is strong in life. It is easy for a person to get stuck within this physical life. Then the fateful questions do not arise with all their intensity from the pleasures, joys and exaltations of life! The great fateful questions, the great riddles of the world, approach man when pain and suffering afflict him. My dear friends, anyone who has acquired something like knowledge of the world will never speak from his deepest experiences, from his deepest experiences: From my joys, from my pleasures in life, I have gained knowledge. — He will speak of the fact that it is precisely suffering and pain that spring up as the light of knowledge in the soul. And the suffering and pain that penetrate into life are what point more strongly towards the eternal than the joys. And if our friend was already – as her search for spiritual light showed – one of those deeper souls who wanted to unite their own light with the divine light of the world, she has been absorbed in life by severe suffering, by pain.

Dear mourners, especially the next of kin, you can be assured that the doctors of our society who were allowed to care for her during her illness would have liked to have kept this life here on earth for much longer. The voice of fate spoke loudly, the clock of life had run out, and today we can only give each other the consolation that comes from spiritual heights of spiritual light, but which tells us: When this earthly garment is shed, when this physical body passes away, then the one we have grown fond of, who has become dear to us, has not left us. The thoughts that loved him, the thoughts that united with him in common endeavor, those thoughts will find him again.

And those who loved our dear friend, Mrs. Wilhelm, will, inspired by that love, send their thoughts to her again and again in eternal realms. And that which earthly death has separated will be united by life in the eternal realms of the spirit, in the bright heights of the spirit, for the bond that was formed here between our dear friend and those friends who have found union in our community was so strong that this bond certainly cannot be broken. Even those who were distant from her will unite their thoughts with the striving that our dear friend will have in the future as spirit and soul. For anyone who has become aware of the connection in eternity, there is in reality no separation.

Consider, my beloved, the strong confidence that lived in this friend, Mrs. Wilhelm, out of the spiritual consciousness of her soul, which she sought through union with our spiritual striving. We know how dear it was to her to come again and again to Dornach, how dear the place became to her, how dear to her was every single thing she heard there. But we also know how what she heard and experienced there brought her together with the divine light she sought. I myself remember how moving it was to hear her, on her sickbed, speak of the sun shining through her window as the outer expression of the divine permeating the world. Thus she sought the divine in everything physical.

She believed that she could only find the spirit with which she wanted to unite if she could revive the genuine, strong power of Christ in her soul. And so she went out to us, to let this soul grow strong inwardly through her experiences outside, through what happened out there, so that she could feel the Pauline words: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” And she felt this Christ power moving into her soul. She felt that of which man can be conscious, as of his origin; she felt the divine of this human origin, permeated by the power of Christ. She knew that, as truly as man is born out of the depths of the spirit through the power of the divine Father, so must man be borne through life and death by the power of Christ. In the most difficult hours of suffering, she was illuminated by the image she had received of the suffering of Christ on Golgotha, who is victorious over all death. Thus, under the most severe suffering and agony, she defeated death within herself. She felt the Christ-light within her. That was what sustained her under the heavy pressure of the suffering through which she was tested. For that was what the Christ-light told her again and again: No matter how many deaths a person may go through, no matter how much suffering and darkness may enter this life, there is a resurrection in the spirit from all deaths, from all darkness, from all suffering. And out of all suffering come trials for the soul, and out of all trials for the soul comes that great light which awaits the human being and strives towards him.

So, my dear mourners, that is how we knew our friend. We do not want to talk about what she could find outside. Because that she could find what her soul was looking for, her life itself was the living testimony. But we still want to talk about the fact that when she came out, her own appearance was the living testimony of something that spoke from within her, without her being aware of it, but which touched every person who got to know our dear friend: she is a good woman. She is a woman you could love to the depths of her soul. Those who saw her outside, when she was still seeking this spiritual light, could say that to themselves. Right up until the last days when she was still able to make her way out. She was looking for it. And from the way she received it, from the way she looked up from her eyes to unite the inner light with the outer, she spoke from within: a good, loving woman. And she will continue to be loved by those who have come to know her, and from the warmth of that love will spring that light that will shine when we send our thoughts up to her in the certainty of being united with her, even if the soul is separated from this physical existence.

So let me once more repeat to you, dear friend, the image that has been speaking to me these days, reminding me of what you were to us, what you were to all those who got to know you, what you were to the world of the spirit, which you have faithfully and lovingly striven towards with strong courage:

From the circle of life's duties
The great question of fate spoke to your spiritual source with seriousness: How does human knowledge fathom
where the soul's true home is in the vastness of the universe? To your heart's desire, Spirit-knowledge as the way,
Which is illuminated by the light. And you followed this urge.
Soul certainty has brought
You and courage to live. And it is you comfort and strength
In the difficult days of pain,
In the fateful turning point of the hour Then become. What you saw strong
In the soul's memory
As the human spirit's light, Through suffering it has shone.
So also find it in the spirit,
Whose gate now before you The new form of existence
and shows your soul
the way forward, full of light.

In the here and now, your friends have found you. They have united the love for you with the love that your dear relatives have shown you on your journey through life. They saw the love that you showed your dear relatives and friends. May the path of life that has united us give rise to the strength by which our thoughts will always find your thoughts, when you live and strive in eternal realms. For that which is found in true love at the turn of time remains united for eternity from the depths of human nature.