Record: mixed sources The volume draws on more than one kind of record; its own notes say which a text is. Evidence: «Briefe, Rundbriefe, Dokumente und Vorträge … Nachschriften und Notizen von Vorträgen und Ansprachen» (Letters, circulars, documents and lectures … transcripts and notes of lectures and addresses)
The History of the Esoteric School 1904–1914, Volume One
GA 264 — 24 December 1903, Berlin
To Günther Wagner in Lugano
Günther Wagner had written to Rudolf Steiner on 14 November 1903:
Dear Doctor, I am sending you the manuscript of Leadbeater's article “Our Behavior Towards Children” by the same mail, which you asked for when I was in Berlin, to print it in “Lucifer”.1 It was a great pleasure to meet you at the annual conference, and I hope that we will continue to work together and support each other for many years to come. I would be grateful if you could give me some specific information: the hint about a mystery that every race has to solve was completely new to me; I did not find anything about it in “Secret Doctrine”. Would you be able to tell me the four mysteries that the first four races (apparently) solved? I would also like to read H. P. B.'s suggestion about this, perhaps you could give me the exact place.2 In the meantime, yours sincerely, Günther Wagner
Rudolf Steiner replied as follows:
Strictly confidential!
Dear Mr. Wagner!
Page 73 of the (German edition) “Secret Doctrine” reads with reference to verse I, 6 (Dzyan): “Of the seven truths or revelations, only four are given to us, since we are still in the fourth round.” When you were in Berlin, I suggested, in the sense of a certain occult tradition, that the fourth of the seven truths mentioned above goes back to seven esoteric root truths, and that of these seven partial truths (the fourth regarded as a whole) one is delivered to each race as a rule. The fifth will become quite evident when the fifth race has reached its goal of development. Now I would like to answer your question as best I can. At present, the situation is such that the first four partial truths form meditation sentences for the aspirants of the mysteries and that nothing more can be given than these (symbolic) meditation sentences. From them, then, many higher things emerge occultly for the meditator. I therefore set out the four meditation sentences here – translated into German from the symbolic sign language:
I. Sense according to: how the point becomes a sphere and yet remains itself. Have you grasped how the infinite sphere is only a point after all, then come again, for then the infinite will seem finite to you.
II. Sense: how the seed becomes an ear of corn, and then come again, for then you will have grasped how the living lives in number.
III. Sense: how light longs for darkness, heat for cold, how the male longs for the female, then come again, for then you will have grasped what face the great dragon at the threshold will show you.
IV. Sense according to: how to enjoy hospitality in a strange house, then come again, for then you have grasped what is in store for him who sees the sun at midnight.
Now, if the meditation was fruitful, the fifth secret arises from the four. For the time being, let me just say that Theosophy - the partial theosophy that lies, for example, in the “Secret Doctrine” and its esotericism - is a sum of partial truths of the fifth. You will find a hint as to how to go beyond this in the letter from Master K.H. [Kuthumi], quoted by Sinnett, which begins with the following words: “I have every word to read...” In the first (German) edition of Occult World, it can be found on pages 126 and 127.3
I can only assure you that almost the entire fifth secret is hidden in an occult way in the sentence by K.H. (page 127), “When science has learned how impressions of leaves originally come about on stones...”.
That is all I can say for the time being about your questions. More perhaps in response to further questions.
The four sentences above are what are called living sentences, i.e. they germinate during meditation and sprouts of knowledge grow out of them.
With happy Christmas greetings in faithful union,
Rudolf Steiner
Berlin W, Motzstrasse 17
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Published in No. 7 of December 1903 of the journal “Lucifer”, founded and edited by Rudolf Steiner. Journal for the Life of the Soul and Intellectual Culture - Theosophy. ↩
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The question refers to statements made by Rudolf Steiner at the first general assembly of the German Section in Berlin on October 18, 1903, which Günther Wagner attended. See page 255f. in the appendix to “The Masters of Wisdom and the Harmony of Feelings” (section “Rudolf Steiner's Work and the Fifth of the Seven Great Mysteries of Life”). ↩
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The wording from Occult World by A.P. Sinnett reads: Naturally I wanted to know more about this; was it a process by which thoughts could be expressed more quickly than by the ones we know? And with regard to letters received, were they read by the occult recipient in the usual way, or did he understand the content without this? K.H.'s answer was: I have to read every word you write, otherwise I would make a real mess of it. And whether it happens with my physical or my spiritual eye, it takes the same amount of time. The same can be said of my answers; whether I dictate or precipitate them or write them myself, the difference in the time saved is very small. I first have to think them over, then carefully photograph each word, each sentence, in my brain before it can be repeated by precipitation. Just as in photography, the fixing of images on chemically prepared plates, requires a prior arrangement within the focus of the object to be represented – otherwise, as can often be seen in bad photographs, the legs of the seated person are out of proportion to the head, etc. — so too must we first organize our sentences, and imprint on our mind every letter that is to appear on the paper before it can be read. That is all I am allowed to tell you for now. When science has learned more about the secret of lithophyl (or lithobiblion), and how the impressions of leaves originally come about on stones, then it will be possible for me to make the process clearer to you. Above all, you must know and remember one thing: that we only follow nature and copy it exactly in its works. Regarding these so-called precipitated master letters, see the editor's preliminary remarks on the separation from the Esoteric School of Theosophy on page 263f. ↩