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

GA 265a — 25 December 1911, Hanover

The Three Lights: Wisdom, Beauty, Strength

Notes by Camilla Wandrey

The reason why there is no ceremony at the meetings of our occult brotherhood in the days from December 24 to January 6, the day of the Epiphany of Christ, no ceremony takes place at the meetings of our occult brotherhood is because those whom we call the “wise masters of the East” withdraw to the sanctuary during this time to gather their strength, which they then give to both all of humanity and our occult brotherhood with renewed vigor. When we surround ourselves with all the symbols that we encounter in our occult temple, we must always remember that we are not dealing with imaginative things, but with something very real: we should feel within the walls of our temple that with these symbols surrounding us, the forces of the wise masters of the East are flowing to us. When we look up to those who have guided us, the whole of human development from the very beginning of the world, through the development of Saturn, Sun, Moon, to the development of the Earth, to our present time, we turn in prayer, seeking help for our present development to those whom we call “Brothers of the Past”. And so we pray:

Brothers of the Past...

As we look up to those who are currently guiding us spiritually, we pray:

Brothers of the Present...

And those who will be the guides of humanity in the future, we address as:

Brothers of the Future...

As we say our prayers, we look at the three lights that are lit before us. From the altar of the East, in the light that is lit there, wisdom shines for us; from the altar of the South, strength; and from the altar of the West, beauty. In all the mysteries, it was known that what we see in these lights is the basis of all human progress. But the one who spoke these three words as Master knew that they do not have their true meaning in the physical plane, that what we ignite in our souls here at our meetings is only a reflection that is brought to us from the spiritual world.

The wisdom that radiates back to us from the altar of the East in the kindled flame as a mirror image, we find in its true essence on the astral plane. It can only be found on the astral plane. In us human beings it is reflected as the truth of thinking.

If a person really makes an effort to penetrate to the wisdom of the world in their thinking – not in a pantheistic sense, but in such a way that they perceive the workings of the world spirit, which has created the smallest and the greatest in our physical world with wisdom, which reigns in a green flower petal and in all the great and majestic things surrounding us. Only in this highest sense may we speak of “wisdom.” What is called “wisdom” in science is not such; wiser is the one who looks out into the world and sees in every plant a wisdom-filled imprint of the creating God. This can be done by the most naive mind.

If we now bear in mind that we are always surrounded by this spirit of the world, then we also know that we stand before it as we truly are, not as we want to appear before the world, through dishonesty and untruthfulness. In the higher worlds, there is nothing that could hide our vices from us. There we stand completely abandoned by all that we would like to surround ourselves with here as deception. Lies, deception, dishonesty have no access to this world. There are no words for them there, since these qualities do not exist there. And if a person is really so bad that he brings no good qualities from his incarnation into the higher worlds, he would not even enter the lower Devachan, but would have to re-embody himself as soon as possible. Therefore, before he can ascend, man must discard his vices in Kamaloka, because only good is received in the higher worlds; there is no evil there. What man has worked out as good and true is received there; he takes up his bad qualities, desires, passions and faults again as his karma, which he must work off. The second flame is an image of the true beauty that dwells in the lower Devachan plan and radiates into people as true piety. The truly pious soul power looks up into the sky and looks at the stars as an expression of the divine spiritual beings weaving behind them, and the deepest piety penetrates through such a soul. And at sunset, it feels: Yes, now the sun is sinking, darkness is setting in – but in this darkness another sun can rise, shining brighter and more radiantly than the physical sun. The soul can rise, the midnight sun. So we must learn to think, to feel in every moment, that what radiates down from the spiritual world is felt here as true piety, and lives there in Devachan as beauty. But this is something different from what is called “beauty” on earth. This “true beauty” of the devachanic world is hidden from us as if by a veil. We do not see it until we have prepared ourselves through true devotion, through true purity, through absolute truth here on earth, to see it in its splendor up there in devachan. Everything we believe we see as “beauty” before we are worthy to enter this sphere of beauty, what we may see as angelic figures, as sublime images – that is all deception. This transforms into ugliness when we conquer deception. We only come to true beauty through true devotion.

It may happen that a person, through special circumstances between death and birth, has truly seen this beauty – even if he himself was not pure. Through this, he has received such strong powers that in a new incarnation he is able to weave a garment for himself that surrounds him with radiant beauty. But that is not the truth, that is a lie. He appears before the eyes of the world in this radiant beauty, but those who can see behind it know that it is the work of the devil. There are many such people now - outwardly beautiful people - but inwardly they are all the uglier, more evil, worse.

It could also be that a person who was quite developed in a previous incarnation then came into contact with black magic due to certain circumstances. Such a person is now very much exposed to all kinds of errors. He may believe that he sees wonderful angelic figures – from his memories of his earlier stage of development he weaves a magnificent garment of beauty for them – but in reality they are devilish entities.

The third flame, the flame of strength, has its shadow on earth as active virtue, as morality in the exercise of the will. This flame is at home in the higher Devachan. Only the person who develops these qualities can hope to penetrate into this higher Devachan. — The higher worlds reject everything that does not belong in them. All egoism, vanity, ambition, timidity, fearfulness cannot enter. Man must learn to see that these qualities are great stupidities.

A truly pious person always feels surrounded by the World Spirit, he feels secure in it – how can he be afraid? How can he harbor vanity or ambition in his soul?

Nevertheless, there is a great danger, especially for those who have already progressed, received certain occult truths and are allowed to pass them on. It is very easy for a feeling of personal veneration, even worship, to arise among his listeners. He must completely free himself of this, so that the qualities that had already been cast off do not reappear. He must keep as the deepest secret within himself what flows to him from the higher worlds. If he is completely free of the longing for adoration and so on, then recognition will flow down to him from the higher worlds as strength.

In all the mystery centers, the student would recite these words as his creed:

Wisdom, Beauty, Strength.

Notes B by Lonise Clason

First and Second Degree

The three flames that shine on the altars signify: wisdom, beauty, strength.

In all occult associations, the deep significance of these three principles has been known and it has been known that all progress is based on them.

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

2. The second flame symbolizes beauty: it is at home in the lower Devachan and finds its shadow image on the physical plane in true piety. But this is different from what is understood by beauty on earth. Those who want to get to know this beauty must be pure and true. Those who lie will not be allowed here, because lying would appear here as ugliness.

Now it could be that a person who was quite developed in a previous existence has now, due to some circumstances, come to black magic. Such a person is exposed to error: he can believe he sees wonderful angelic forms, from his memories he weaves a magnificent garment of beauty for them - but in truth they are hideous, devilish entities.

1. The third flame, strength, has its shadow image on earth in active virtue. It is at home in the higher Devachan plan. There is no virtue there, for the simple reason that there is no vice, no evil, because that is not allowed there. That is why a person must first go through Kamaloka after his death, cleanse 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. If he then progresses to a new existence, his desires and passions will reunite with him so that he can work them off as karma in a new existence. Now there is the possibility that someone is completely bad, that he brings nothing good from an existence. Such a person does not enter Devachan at all, but soon passes from the astral plane to a new existence.

How does a person attain the virtue that allows him to enter the Devachan plan? If he conquers his egotism above all, that is, his ambition, vanity, timidity, fearfulness. The truly pious person is always surrounded by the World Spirit and can never be timid. He will also soon realize that vanity and ambition are great foolishness on the higher planes.

Nevertheless, there is a certain difficulty for those who have already progressed a little, who receive certain occult truths and are allowed to share them with their fellow human beings. It is easy for the feeling of personal veneration and worship to arise among these listeners, and this can lead him to awaken these qualities, which he thought he had discarded, despite his higher level. He must completely free himself from this, and keep more and more of the revelations as his deepest secret. Then recognition from the higher worlds will descend upon him in the form of strength.

The three flames that shine on our altars signify: wisdom, beauty, strength.

All occult associations recognize them as the basis for all progress.

Firstly: 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 than this highest sense, not to apply it to material knowledge, for example. On the other hand, a naive person can be wise who sees the beneficent work of the deity in a green flower petal.

The second flame symbolizes beauty. This is at home in the lower devachan plan and finds its shadow image on the physical plane in true piety. But this is different from what is called beauty on earth. Those who want to see this beauty must be pure and true. (A liar would not be admitted here, because lying would appear here as ugliness.) Now it is possible that a person who was [relatively] developed in a previous existence might now, due to some circumstances, have come to black magic. Such a person is now very much exposed to error; he can believe that he sees wonderful angelic figures; from his memories he weaves a magnificent garment for them; but in truth they are hideous, devilish entities.

The third flame: 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 pass through Kamaloka after his death before he can enter devachan. For only the good that he has worked for in life is accepted here. When he then moves on to a new existence, his desires will reunite with him so that he can work off his karma in a new existence. Now there is the possibility that someone is completely bad, that he brings nothing good with him from an existence. Such a person does not enter Devachan at all, but passes from the astral plane to a new existence.

How does a person acquire this 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 great foolishness on the higher planes.

Nevertheless, there is a certain difficulty for those who have already progressed, received 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.

Many of us who constantly absorb spiritual truths without being able to pass them on have wondered whether this is not a spiritual enjoyment that draws his strength from other things instead of making it useful for his fellow human beings. This is not the case: those who can absorb so much spiritual truth within themselves do a great deal for all of humanity when they allow these realities to take effect on them with true devotion. There is an occult law: everything material is destroyed by enjoyment, everything spiritual is only born with 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 people must 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 truths they have received, and always regard it as karma and pay attention to whether karma calls 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 attached to 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 contemplate her. It is only through being contemplated by the world around it 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 contact with the spiritual world, and for the true artist it is a sacrifice to shape his ideas into a solid form - his heart's blood is attached to them. Therefore, if you want to learn something about Raphael and Michelangelo in the Akashic Records, 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 closely, you will see how often unhappiness arises from it in the next generation. These material things pass away, while spiritual truths remain permanently. There is a hundredfold more to be enjoyed spiritually now that we live in such a materialized atmosphere of thought, but it is far from being balanced.

Record D by Alice Kinkel

We may always have the attitude:

The All-Spirit is with me and He knows what is going on with me.

Wisdom, beauty, strength

are actually only present in the spiritual world; down here, only their reflection is present.

Anyone who utters the words: wisdom, beauty, strength, should be mindful that they are expressing a creed:

“I believe in an astral world,“ he says when he speaks the word ‘Wisdom’.

“I believe in a lower Devachan,” it is said when he speaks the word “Beauty”.

“I believe in an upper Devachan,” he says when he speaks of ‘Strength’.

The reflection of wisdom down here is truth, that of beauty down here is piety, that of strength down here is virtue.

Wise Master – who is that? “In everything, in every leaf, the deity comes to meet me.”

Lucifer has almost complete control over the blood and thus over the human being; however, he cannot reach the nerves, muscles or bones.