Lessons for the Participants of Cognitive-Cultic Work 1906–1924

GA 265a — 28 October 1911

Wisdom, Beauty, Strength

Recorded by Unknown (Or could possibly be Christmas 1911, Record C)

Some of us who are constantly absorbing spiritual truths without being able to pass them on may have wondered whether this is not a form of spiritual enjoyment whereby they withdraw their strength from other things instead of making it useful for their fellow human beings. This is not the case. Those who absorb spiritual truths as much as they can do a great deal for all of humanity when they let these spiritual truths take effect on them with true devotion. There is an occult law here. All material things are destroyed by enjoyment, all spiritual things are only born through enjoyment.

Just as the plant, when it has reached the fruit, must entrust its seed to the earth again in order to continue to live, so must people be there to receive the spiritual truths. And those who receive revelations from the higher worlds should examine themselves very carefully to see if they are allowed to pass on the wisdom they have received, and always regard it as karma and pay attention to whether karma is calling them to do so.

If you still enjoy sharing spiritual truths, then it is better to refrain from doing so. But if it is associated with pain, if your heart's blood is in it, then you may confidently do so, it will bring blessings. Even the books of external science are only of value if they are born out of suffering and pain. Those who have not gone through misery and suffering should not write books. They would do better to read a good book in the quiet of their room than to write a bad one. The spiritual truths gained are of more use than all the materialistic books of our time put together. Raphael's Madonna would have no lasting value if there were no people to admire it. It is only through being looked at by others that a work of art acquires eternal value. It is not the work of art itself that is immortal, but the lasting feelings and sensations of those who enjoy it. The artist has fulfilled his main task and exhausted his enjoyment before he begins to create, that is, to depict externally. Then he was in connection with the spiritual world, and for the true artist it is a sacrifice to shape his ideas into solid forms - it is imbued with heart's blood. 1911

Therefore, if you want to learn about Raphael or Michelangelo in the Akasha Chronicle, it is wrong to go to them yourself. You have to observe the people who lived in his time, who were influenced by him.

It is much more necessary for humanity if we absorb spiritual truths with true devotion than if, for example, we make a donation that often only brings about an apparent happiness. Because if you look into it, you can see how often unhappiness arises from it in the next generation. These materialistic things pass away, while spiritual truths remain permanently. There is a hundred times more to be enjoyed now that we live in such a materialized atmosphere, that this is far from being balanced.

All occult associations recognize that all progress is based on [wisdom, beauty, strength].

I. When man on the physical plane strives to penetrate to the truth of thought, he will notice that it flows to him as wisdom from the astral plane. The wisdom that is at home in the astral plane casts its shadow into the physical world as the truth of thought. Therefore, we should be careful not to speak of wisdom in any other sense than this highest sense, not to apply it, for example, to material knowledge. On the other hand, a naive person can be wise who sees the beneficent work of the deity in a green flower petal.

II. Beauty, as it is at home on the lower Devachan plan, finds its shadow image on the physical plane in true piety. But this is something different from what is called beauty on earth. Those who want to see this beauty must be pure and true. Those who lie will not be admitted here, because lying would appear as ugliness here. Now it is possible that a person who, for example, was developed in a previous incarnation, might now, due to certain circumstances, have come to practise black magic. Such a person is now very much exposed to error; he may believe that he sees wonderful angelic figures, weaving a magnificent garment of beauty out of his memories; but in reality they are hideous devilish entities.

III. Strength has its earthly reflection in active virtue. It is at home in the higher devachan plan. There is no vice there, simply because there is no evil there; that is not allowed there.

That is why a person must first go through Kamaloka after his death, must purify himself of his desires and passions before he can enter Devachan; because only the good that he has worked for in life is accepted here. When he then proceeds to a new incarnation, his desires will reunite with him so that he can work them off as karma in a new life. Now there is the possibility that someone who is very bad will bring nothing good from his incarnation. Such a person does not enter Devachan at all, but proceeds from the astral plane to a new incarnation.

How does a person attain active virtue? Above all, he must conquer his egoism, that is, his ambition, vanity, timidity, fearfulness. A truly pious person always feels surrounded by the World Spirit and cannot be timid. He will also soon realize that vanity and ambition are foolish on the higher planes. Nevertheless, there is a certain difficulty for those who have already progressed, receive certain occult truths and are allowed to pass them on to their fellow human beings. It is very easy for the feeling of personal veneration, even worship, to arise among his listeners. He must completely free himself from this, always lock away in his innermost being as the deepest secret what flows to him from higher worlds. Then the recognition from the spiritual worlds will not fail to materialize, but will trickle down to him in the form of strength.