Esoteric Life, Truth, and Spiritual Discipline in Crisis

GA 266II — 20 September 1912, Basel

Esoteric Lesson

Record A

It might seem that in the current disputes with the Theosophical Society, esoteric life must face particular difficulties. For some souls may ask themselves, looking at much of what the outer movement now makes necessary and seeing how the present difficult times are driving people to criticism: how is this criticism compatible with the training in positivity that is contained in and required by our esoteric basic exercise? In the course of this hour, we will learn how this is possible.

In the way that esoteric life is cultivated today, it was not possible in the past for a large number of students to sit together as we do now: that did not exist in the past. And it is precisely this kind of esoteric life of the present that various forces are now fighting against. Above all, esoteric life must be taken seriously and with dignity. We must be clear about how enormously important the step from exoteric to esoteric life is. Exoteric life must gradually appear to the esotericist in a completely different light.

Let me illustrate this with an example. We can all remember our childhood, a time when we played as children and took these games seriously. Let us now ask ourselves: if we wanted to play with children now as adults, how would that happen? Certainly, we could play along with the children, perhaps even better than they do, because we could use our intellect. But something essential would have to happen if we really wanted to be part of the game: we would have to put ourselves into a different state of mind.

The esotericist's relationship to outer life is very similar to that of an adult to children's play. When he withdraws from esoteric exercises and returns to outer, exoteric life, he gradually learns to view it as if he were an adult wanting to play with children. And just as the adult has to put himself into a different state of mind in order to play with children, so the esotericist feels himself being transported into a different state of mind when he passes into exoteric life. The esotericist will be not less capable, but more capable and efficient in everyday life than he was before he entered esotericism. The transition from exoteric to esoteric life therefore represents a unique turning point in human life, and esoteric life cannot be taken seriously and with enough dignity.

Let us now take a closer look at esoteric life. We know that the exercises we have received bring about changes in our soul life, as described in the Munich lectures (August 1912). These changes are of various kinds. For example, passions that people already had before become stronger. Old inclinations, drives, and passions that one believed one had already overcome and discarded reappear from the depths of the soul life and reassert themselves with vehemence. Or the esotericist does something, often without thinking about it, that he would certainly have been ashamed of before beginning his esoteric training, or that he would not have done at all. Furthermore, sympathies and antipathies toward personalities become stronger than before, and the entire soul life is stirred up. In short, it is only now that the person actually learns to recognize what he is like at the bottom of his soul; only now does he learn true self-knowledge. Strict self-control and powerful self-discipline are therefore indispensable for the esoteric student.

However, if the exercises are continued with patience and energy, the changes in the soul life that occur after the beginning of esoteric training may be something like the following. Experiences of a special kind do not necessarily have to occur immediately during or after the concentration and meditation exercises. It may well be that the exercises come to an end without anything special happening and the student calmly returns to their exoteric activities. They must simply remember and realize that the first experiences can be very subtle and delicate. So subtle and delicate that they can only be noticed with a certain amount of attention. For example, it may be that during the course of everyday life, the esoteric student suddenly has a thought that seems to jump out of his other thoughts, a thought that apparently does not belong in this everyday life, a thought that concerns his own being. If he is not sufficiently attentive, such a thought will pass unnoticed. The important and necessary thing now is that we become attentive enough to notice such thoughts that seem to fall out of our ordinary life of thoughts, and that we bring to our consciousness that thoughts (they can also be grotesque) arise in our soul without the ordinary waking ego-consciousness being involved. We then learn to recognize that behind our ordinary ego there is something living of which we have previously known nothing, that behind this ego there is something active that weaves thoughts. If we direct our attention more and more to these thoughts that fall out of everyday life, they will occur more and more frequently until they can finally be experienced at will. Then the student sees, as if consciously through a gate, that this weaving is always present, that there is continuous weaving on what we are accustomed to calling the thought body. Work is constantly being done on this thought body, without our being aware of it in everyday life. Every student will come to experience this if they continue to work patiently and energetically. However, they will not come to such experiences if they stop their exercises. What can cause the student to stop working and give up the exercises are obstacles in their outer and inner life. Just as difficulties can arise in external life that oppose esoteric life, so resistance can arise from weakness and inertia that prevent the continuation of esoteric work. If the student allows such obstacles to prevent him from continuing on the path, he will retain the fruits of his previous esoteric striving, but he will no longer be able to progress. With proper cultivation of the esoteric life, such weakness cannot arise, because it is precisely in the course of our esoteric striving that firmness, steadfastness, and perseverance are increasingly developed, which prevent the decision once made from being abandoned or overturned.

So if the student energetically and patiently continues the exercises given to him, and after the meditation has ended, establishes silence in which the consciousness is completely empty and waits calmly to see if anything from the spiritual world wants to reveal itself to him, then such steadfast and patient work will gradually lead to experiences from the spiritual world. The state of mind with which the student receives the revelations from the supersensible world is also important. The student should respond to every thought, every experience from the supersensible world with a feeling of gratitude toward the divine-spiritual hierarchies. He should develop such feelings of gratitude more and more intensely; their sincere cultivation facilitates the entry of revelations and brings progress. We must be grateful that we are allowed to do exercises at all. The student must put himself in a prayerful mood that prepares him to receive the revelations from the spiritual world in the right way. If an experience from the spiritual world presents itself to him, he must tell himself and be clear that something has been given to him out of grace from the spiritual world. When we look at everything that has flowed into exoteric and esoteric Theosophical life here in Central Europe during the last ten years from this state of mind, we must be overwhelmed by the realization that during this time, through the grace of the Masters, a wealth of spiritual truths has been handed over to us. An immense spiritual treasure has been entrusted to us during this time, and it is difficult for many souls to take in and hold together all that has been said in recent years, for example, about the four Gospels. Yes, and let us say this with full responsibility, some souls even reject this wisdom that has been given to them, or even feel and express aversion to it. Because it must be admitted that it is not easy to master the teachings given, such behavior is understandable. But it is now our task to strive for an ever more comprehensive understanding of Christ and to penetrate deeper and deeper into the mystery of Golgotha. All the wisdom of past ages, all the proclamations of Krishna and Elijah have flowed into it. Therefore, we must not slacken, but must pull ourselves together, willingly cooperate, learn, and learn again and again. We must conquer each page of a cycle and not allow ourselves to slacken.

Accordingly, from an esoteric point of view, our current difficult situation can be described as follows: It has often been pointed out, and we know from experience, that the earth is a battlefield between different forces. Recently in Munich (August 1912 cycle), we saw and heard once again how the Luciferic and Ahrimanic forces can take possession of human beings. What do these forces say to each other? They say to each other: There are lazy souls who do not want to go along with what has flowed down from the spiritual worlds. We can work on these souls; we can catch them. — Thus these beings take possession of such souls and lead them astray by introducing them to deception and error and making them instruments of their opposition. But our path, if we work diligently and do not slacken, is the straight line of Krishna—if we do not want to go further back—via Buddha, Elijah, and John to Christ. We will be able to withstand the attacks of the hostile powers, which aim to hinder the development of esotericists, if we strive earnestly, if we devote effort, thought, and time to understanding everything that has been said and is being said about Christ and the event of Golgotha. But all those who falter and do not want to follow will succumb to the attacks of the opposing forces. They are the ones who arise as opponents of our movement and create the resistance whose growth we have clearly noticed for several years.

What the esotericist must also cultivate in particular is a sense of truth. Under no circumstances should anything ever prevent us from speaking the truth freely and openly. Every attempt to bend the truth must be atoned for at some point. It would be cruel if the principle of brotherhood in the Theosophical Society were to prevent us from speaking the truth, even if that truth differs from what is said by a personality revered by many. Certainly, in the Theosophical Society, in which we are to remain according to the advice of the Masters, all opinions can be expressed. That goes without saying. However, it is not permissible to spread something completely different from what we have actually said. This happened recently in a theosophical magazine. What was said there appears like a caricature of what we actually said. It is easy and convenient to say in this way: What is being said in Germany is not correct. Christianity is being misinterpreted there. But turn your gaze to the near future and wait until the great teacher appears, who will then tell you everything. One can only reply: If a great teacher is referred to in this way, then he will certainly not come. It will suffice for understanding to point out here what has been said previously about the preconditions for the intervention of Luciferic and Ahrimanic beings. In the behavior described, we find these preconditions for the approach of those powers. And indeed, it is these hostile powers that cause something like what has been mentioned above to be said and to be said in the Theosophical Society; it is they who are behind such words. If, after recognizing this, we then criticize with a bleeding heart in the service of truth, in such a way that our love for the personality we are dealing with is not affected or diminished, then we will not go wrong, even if this personality has no insight into this and perceives our response as an attack. That does not matter. If we can manage to not let our love for this person suffer when we speak the truth with a bleeding heart, then we're on the right track, and we'll overcome any difficulties that come our way in the right way.

This is how we came to realize that when we hold the exoteric and the esoteric together and gain an overview, a unity emerges. We had to try to gain this overview in order to find unity. Just as someone who always listens only to individual notes can never gain an understanding of a symphony, finding at most only arabesques of sound, and just as only someone who grasps and feels the movement of the whole mass of sound as a unity can have a true understanding of a symphony, so we also recognize that, alongside the exoterically necessary criticism of the present state of affairs in our society, we can nevertheless maintain and carry out our practice of positivism if we can find, out of a comprehensive overview, the unified movement flowing through the events. in our society if we can find the unified movement flowing through events from a comprehensive overview. And if we take this to heart, we need not fear any weakening of our esoteric life; on the contrary, we can hope and expect to see it strengthened.

But let us take care that no feelings of antipathy mingle with our dreams or our sacred meditations. If this happens, we must eliminate them. And let us learn to combine truth with love.

Thus, from the present situation of the Theosophical Society, we also see how the supersensible stands behind everything sensual. This is also contained, among many other things, in the saying of the Masters:

In the spirit lay the seed of my body ...

Record B

It is understandable that in the present times, with everything that is currently happening in the outer theosophical movement, the esotericist feels that his esoteric life could be endangered. For everything we are now experiencing and learning must inevitably invite criticism, and yet one of our most important exercises is that of positivism, of seeing the positive, the good in everything.

On the other hand, it must be said that esotericists must realize what is important, what is meant by positivism in the true sense of the word. Let us consider what an esotericist should be toward life in general. You will all remember a time in your childhood when you played your childish games with complete seriousness, when these games were your purpose in life. When you see children playing as an adult, when you play their games with them, you will immediately feel the difference between how you play now and how you played then. You may play better than the children, but that is because you are now above it, no longer devoting your entire interest to it. The esotericist should relate to everyday life in the same way as adults relate to children's games. His seriousness and dignity should belong to his esoteric life, and he should always clearly feel the boundary that separates him from his exoteric activities, otherwise he is not a true esotericist. He should therefore perform his exoteric duties just as well as before; indeed, he may even perform them better, but he should always do them as something above him. He will gradually notice how his meditative life changes his state of mind. If he does not notice this, it is solely his own fault, because he is not observing himself subtly enough in the right direction. Let us assume that an esotericist has done his morning meditation with true love, devotion, and fervor; he has also succeeded in emptying himself afterwards and opening himself to the spiritual worlds, but he has to tell himself that he has experienced nothing. Now it may be that during the following exoteric activity – no matter how external, such as tidying up the room, putting away laundry, etc. – he suddenly has the feeling that he should reflect on himself, look within himself. If he does not give in to this feeling, he misses an opportunity to make progress. If he gives in to it, he will notice that thoughts flit through his soul, some of which are very beautiful, some of which may seem grotesque to him, but very often, indeed mostly, they quickly disappear from his memory. What is important is to feel that, independently of our intellectual thinking, something is thinking within us, of which we can say: “It is not I who think, but something thinks in me.”

Even if such thoughts mean little to us at first, we can strengthen and encourage them through a feeling of gratitude toward the higher powers. If, after each such moment—it may have been as brief as the blink of an eye; it is enough if we have merely noticed it—if we say after such a moment, “I thank you, powers of the higher hierarchies, for allowing me to notice this,” then through this feeling of gratitude and reverence, such moments will multiply in which higher worlds want to reveal themselves to us. We will be able to retain in our memory what was initially dark, like dreams passing through our soul, and eventually we will be able to bring about such states at will, and then it will gradually become clear to us that this thinking is always within us, independent of intellectual thinking, of everything that comes to us from outside through life. That is why an esotericist can never say that external life prevents him from leading his esoteric life properly. It always depends on him, on the mood he creates for himself. If we awaken this feeling of gratitude and reverence—a feeling we can call a prayerful mood—within ourselves after every meditation, and become aware of the grace we receive when we enjoy nature, when we look at a rose, when we listen to a symphony, and feel the true beauty behind it, then one day the spiritual worlds will open up.

Just as you are sitting here together as an esoteric school, this has not been possible in the same way in the development of humanity until now, and the forces that oppose the masters of wisdom and the harmony of feelings, the Luciferic and Ahrimanic forces, naturally make a special effort to attack the weak points of esotericists. You will notice that before and during your meditation, the sympathies and antipathies you feel for people are particularly strong, that desires and passions which you might previously have been ashamed of do not seem at all wrong to you, that such qualities, which previously only came to the surface weakly, especially in well-educated people, now break free with elemental force. There is only one remedy for this: self-discipline.

We will talk more about these things on Sunday; now let us see how we can apply what we have heard to what is currently happening in the Theosophical Society. What is now allowed to flow down from the spiritual worlds, with the permission of the Masters of Wisdom and the harmony of feelings, is such a wealth of wisdom, and what is given to us in explanations of the Gospels and the mystery of Golgotha is so deep and extensive that the true esotericist must sacrifice time, devotion, energy, strength, and much more if he wants to take it all in and gain an understanding. And one understands why some have already fallen away and say they cannot go on, for we must learn, learn, and learn again and again in order to penetrate these depths, and it is only a test of the soul when we think we cannot go on.

But there are also lazy souls who do not want to learn; they are seized by the Luciferic powers, which whisper to them that instead of learning, instead of seeking the straight path themselves — and that path leads only through unceasing study, down from Krishna on the one hand, on the other hand, through Elijah, Buddha, and Socrates, to find Christ—that they should rather wait for a world teacher who will then give them everything with both hands so that they do not need to make any effort themselves.

In order not to fall into such error, we must always cherish truthfulness as the highest and most sacred good we have, never making concessions that violate the truth, for the esotericist must never sin against the truth. It is terrible and serious when an esoteric twists the truth for the sake of brotherhood, when he clouds the truth even in the slightest in order not to offend someone, because in doing so he also harms the person concerned. And even if we have to see with a bleeding heart that a person we may love violates the truth, we should nevertheless remain true to the truth we recognize, whatever the consequences for us. But there is one thing we can do, and that should be the answer to the question posed at the beginning: Even if we have to condemn a person's actions, we should not criticize the person himself, but love him. Whether we truly love them will then become clear to us in the moments of our meditation. Do not carry any of your sympathies, antipathies, petty worries, and so on over into the spiritual worlds—this will open them up to us and allow us to enter them in the right way.

Record C

It is conceivable that some of us today might be confused, since exoteric theosophical life brings with it so many difficulties and so much negativity must be produced (meaning the Alcyone affair), while positive striving has always been emphasized. Thus, it could happen that some of us would not see clearly how we should behave in our esoteric life in relation to all this. We must be deeply aware of the seriousness and dignity of our esoteric striving.

We can compare ourselves to adults who share children's games with children. The child does everything with the utmost seriousness. He is completely absorbed in his game, while the adult, although he may play much better than the child, stands on a completely different level and is aware that the game is something that leaves his inner self untouched. Just as we stand between children as adults, we must carry out our ordinary, everyday activities, we must stand in the ordinary life that is still so important and significant for the exoteric, on which so much depends for him.

If we perform our exercises faithfully and persistently and really try to remain completely in a higher consciousness during the time we devote to our exercises, then we will notice that changes occur in our soul life. It may be that during our meditation or immediately afterwards we feel in touch with something that comes from higher worlds. But it can also be different. It may also be that during the exercise and also during the rest that we have acquired at the end of our exercise, we feel nothing, that nothing rises from the soul. But later, while we are going about our usual activities, it may happen that we suddenly feel compelled to reflect on ourselves, to divert our thoughts for a moment from our usual activities. It can happen during the most mundane activities, such as moving a chair or clearing the table, that we suddenly notice that behind our profane thought life in the brain, a deeper thought life reveals itself to us, with which we are now suddenly in contact for a brief, fleeting moment. Such moments are very important, even if, especially in the beginning, they are very short. If we succeed in always noticing them, holding on to them, and remaining conscious of them, we will eventually be able to consciously and, if we so desire, enter into a relationship with this deeper life of thought. For we sense that it is always present behind our ordinary, everyday life. We then become aware of the weaving in our mind body: “it thinks in us,” we can say; and what is thought in us are revelations of the divine world.

Now we can notice that, alongside many sublime and great things that come to us in this way, it can also happen that grotesque thoughts arise in us that do not fit into the sacredness of the mood; but if we know that Luciferic and Ahrimanic beings are at work in the spiritual world, this observation cannot surprise us. In any case, we must strive to become aware of what is flowing to us from the spiritual world. And what should arise in our souls as feelings is a continuous welling up, a rising of feelings of gratitude toward the spiritual beings who want to connect with us through our thinking. We should arouse a prayerful mood within ourselves, which should become a permanent attitude of soul, as we become more conscious of the continuous inflow of spiritual beings into us.

Those who attain this consciousness will also notice that the sympathies and antipathies in their soul life gradually become much stronger. Something that previously only half penetrated our consciousness is now felt strongly and clearly. It may happen that certain inclinations arise, even certain passions, but one is not ashamed, nor does one try to hide them; they are simply there. What is needed now is to practice self-discipline, genuine esoteric discipline. More will be said about this next time.

The only thing that can help us now (in the Alcyone crisis) to shape our esoteric life harmoniously despite the external disharmony is to stand firmly on the ground of truth. The truth must be told, even if it breaks our hearts. For if, in order to spare someone's feelings, we did not tell the full, naked truth in all these matters, it would be something terrible in our movement, because it would mean that we were placing a personal feeling above the truth. However, in order that we do not experience any discord in our higher striving, the following is also necessary: that nothing of harshness or dislike toward the personalities about whom the truth must be spoken should enter into our esoteric life, whether in our meditation or even in our dreams.

The truth must be told, even if it breaks our hearts; but all the more should love prevail in our esoteric life toward those whom we must criticize or rebuke in exoteric life. That is the positive aspect: love toward personalities, even where negativity must prevail in outer life at present. All esotericists will still face difficult trials. One cannot sufficiently appreciate the seriousness of being an esoteric seeker, for much will be demanded of us. We should accept everything that is given to us as a blessing from the spiritual worlds as something to be learned. This requires unceasing effort, study, and ever-increasing learning, delving ever deeper into all that is given. No sacrifice should be too great for us; we must devote all our effort and time to this. However, not everyone is capable of this. A certain feeling of sluggishness may arise, the desire to finally not have to learn anymore. That is understandable. But this is precisely where the Luciferic powers can intervene. They use this sluggishness in people; they cause them, out of a certain complacency, to stop studying altogether and only look forward to the coming world teacher, who will then give them everything. This is how the Luciferic forces work against the good gods; but this is certainly not how a world teacher will come to indulge people's comfort. Truth must be spoken as sharply and clearly as possible, but love must reign within people. Not a single one of the exoteric disharmonies must creep into our meditation; they must be completely excluded.

Record D

Especially in the present, it seems to many esotericists that everything negative that comes their way, everything that provokes criticism, is hindering their progress in the esoteric life. So it seems! For the esotericist knows that one of his main exercises is positivism. And now he asks himself, how am I to carry out these exercises at a time like the present, when so much negativity comes my way? But that should not be the concern of the esotericist, but rather that of making his esoteric striving more and more serious and dignified.

Imagine for a moment that you are a child again, engaged in childish games, and that now that you have outgrown that time, you are playing with children again. You would play even better than the children do! You would immerse yourself in the childish games, but with your current experience and state of mind, you would be able to play the games better. This is also how it must be for the esotericist when he has taken the step from exoteric life into esoteric life. He must regard it as something that no longer has the same meaning for him as it did before, that seems to him as if he were playing along with the children as he could play with them. In exoteric life, too, the esotericist can now work better than before.

We should rejoice in the outer world, rejoice in nature in its manifestations. But nevertheless, our state of mind must be completely different when we have been living an esoteric life for a while. If the esotericist has devoted himself to his meditations with complete seriousness and fervor for a long time, he will notice that a transformation of his soul is taking place, must have taken place. Only, some people do not notice it themselves and then believe that they have made no progress. The spiritual worlds shine into every meditation and can approach the meditator either during or immediately after meditation. This is probably what happens most often and what should happen. But it does not always happen that way. And when the esotericist, as advised, allows complete silence to enter his soul after meditation and listens for the spiritual worlds to flow in, he will often have to say to himself: I do not notice anything of these spiritual worlds. But if he continues to work patiently and persistently, intensively and with effort, then the spiritual worlds will approach him. The time will come for everyone who perseveres.

But there is something else that can be noticed, which can occur either immediately after meditation or later in the course of the day. When the meditator rises from his morning meditations and goes about his usual activities (performing the tasks he performs every day, for example, moving a chair, devoting himself completely to his duties), then suddenly the moment may come—it only takes as long as the blink of an eye— that the meditator may reflect on themselves, as if only fleetingly. Then the thought is forgotten. This is very important for the development of the soul. At this moment, the person is not thinking through their brain, to which they are bound in their ordinary life of thinking, but their ego is thinking within them. They feel very clearly: “there it is thinking within me.” He feels his ego body, his thought body. One should therefore pay attention to such moments, for spiritual insights can arise in them. And the more often they appear, the more fruitful they are. And it is precisely this fleetingness, this immediate forgetting, that is right. For everything that comes to a person very clearly, for example visions that cannot be forgotten, does not come from good powers. Genuine, true experiences come to us in a modest way, if this expression is permitted in relation to the high spiritual powers. The devils also come to people and show them clear visions. Atavistic clairvoyance through heredity also occurs in this way, but it is not the right thing.

And when the esotericist has progressed further, he will also see — as if through a glass window into the spiritual world — how the great spiritual beings weave and work on this ego body, allowing the knowledge of the higher worlds to flow to him.

But alongside lofty, sublime thoughts, everyday, even grotesque thoughts also enter the soul. And especially in the advanced esotericist, it happens that he sees his faults magnified to enormous proportions without feeling ashamed of them. They are there, he cannot dispel them. It is also quite natural that they must be there, because they are within him. Especially in the most sacred moments of meditation, desires and passions arise in us that we are not aware of in exoteric life, at least not in this intensity. Esoteric self-discipline is the best remedy. We should practice truthfulness, be true in all our feelings and emotions in life. And we must feel something else as well: gratitude toward the great spiritual beings, the divine hierarchies. We should be grateful for everything we consider to be knowledge that is given to us through them, no matter how abstract it may be.

We should feel reverence and gratitude toward those who allow the wisdom of the higher worlds to flow into us. These feelings are those of true piety and have a special effect on the development of our souls, enabling us above all to overcome the enemies of the soul, desires and passions. After each meditation, we should surrender ourselves to these feelings of gratitude. There have not always been times when spiritual life flowed in as it does now. Such esoteric connections, as we have here today, have not always existed.

The forces working against humanity want to prevent pure spiritual teachings from spreading and becoming common knowledge. There are powerful beings at the top, and they are eagerly at work.

The basic conditions for a pure esoteric life are truthfulness, diligence, and perseverance. That is why we must be truthful in every moment of our lives. This also means that we must not suppress the truth by remaining silent when a person makes a mistake, simply because it is that person. We must not remain silent about something that we recognize as a mistake. That would mean suppressing the truth; it would be downright appalling if we wanted to suppress the truth in this way.

And there is something else we must bear in mind: the diligence and perseverance of the esoteric student, as mentioned above. It happens that some souls become lazy and no longer want to take in the higher truths. It takes very intensive work to arrive at what we have to grasp, namely, to make our own the latest occult research on the mystery of Golgotha and what is always said here in the Gospels, which refer to the mystery of Golgotha. Page after page must be worked through in order to understand the great truths that have flowed to us from Krishna to Elijah, and then to unite in the Christ impulse (which we have discussed in exoteric lectures).

Our worst enemies are not the materialists and Bible critics, but those who have already worked with us in spreading theosophical teachings but have become lax in the sense I have just indicated. The Luciferic powers find it easiest to gain a foothold where laxity and laziness prevail in spiritual life. Every esotericist must make sacrifices, sacrifices of comfort and time, in order to fully penetrate what is our task to proclaim: the mystery of Golgotha.

Over the last ten years, Central Europe has been struck by a spiritual impact that can lead to supersensible vision, and that is why we must approach this task with complete seriousness and dedication.

We should not play like children. It would be abnormal for adults to play with dolls and clowns. The same is true when esotericists do not take their task seriously once they have embarked on the esoteric path. It happens that after a while, esotericists abandon their path. This is often due to external circumstances. However, what they have worked for remains with them and is not lost. True esotericists, however, cannot abandon the path.

What do the opposing forces say to such casual souls as we have just described? Do they say to these souls: Work so that you may advance? No! They say: “Someone” will come who will give you everything, pour all knowledge upon you! If one waits impatiently for “him,” he will certainly not come. If one now considers objectively what is happening on the other side, one must say to oneself: One cannot feel sympathy for what one has recognized as error on the physical plane. However, we must not allow feelings of sympathy or antipathy to enter into our meditations; all such feelings must be silenced. It is often said in the Theosophical Society, in which we still remain, according to the judgment of the Masters of Wisdom and the harmony of feelings, that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, that this is brotherly.

Everyone can also have their own opinion; but it is not brotherly to allow an error to stand, and one cannot remain silent when, in Theosophical magazines, where we have the mission of proclaiming the truth, this is disparaged, even distorted into caricature.

It now remains to be shown how we can arrive at the feelings of positivism from all these things. We must feel love for those whom we must oppose outwardly. With a bleeding heart, the master must say what he has to say, but he does so with a feeling of love, even if it is not felt on the other side, where everything is regarded as an attack.

In our esoteric life, we must not suppress criticism, but learn to look at things objectively. These things must be discussed, but one should not become unkind toward one's opponents.

The best love is to look at the truth objectively and keep the warm feeling of love in one's heart. If we have developed feelings of love, devotion to the spiritual worlds, self-sacrifice, and perseverance within ourselves in this way, then we will also grow more and more into the spiritual worlds from which we originate. Then we will also come more and more to the true understanding of the saying given to us by the Masters: We cannot feel this step from exotericism to esotericism as serious and worthy enough. We should approach everyday life and its tasks as an adult approaches children's games. We feel and know that our true home lies in another world. We carry out all our business, perhaps better than before, but during our meditation we switch off our entire outer life, and in all our outer activities we always feel that we are citizens of another world. Only then, of course, will we truly understand our task, when we are also aware that everything sensual is the expression of something spiritual. Therefore, we should not disregard the sensual, but only assess it correctly.

In the spirit lay the seed of my body ...

Record E

It might seem as if esoteric life is being greatly hindered at this critical time. As if those spiritual powers that are hostile to the course of our development and our striving want to become ever stronger. But this need not be the case, and it is not the case for those who are striving in the right direction. One will certainly often remark that, despite the greatest fervor and devotion to meditation, despite the greatest effort to allow the period of rest to follow, in which all thoughts of outer life are switched off, nothing of the supersensible impressions shows itself or sets in. Then one goes about one's daily business, immerses oneself completely in the demands of everyday life, and there it can happen that suddenly, fleetingly, “like a dream,” a thought arises in one that has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the earthly affairs one is currently engaged in, that comes in like something supernatural. It “thinks itself” within us. This may occur only very briefly and fleetingly, and one may ignore it. However, it is good and beneficial for the esotericist to pay attention to such occasions when something takes place like a weaving in the thought body, in the ego body, to observe it subtly, and then each time to send a feeling of gratitude up to the higher hierarchy. This feeling of gratitude, which we should develop more and more within ourselves, can be extremely beneficial for us. Whenever we are able to meditate, we should also cherish this feeling of gratitude—as well as reverence, piety, and fervor. This should be the basic attitude of our meditation toward the spiritual-divine world.

If we learn to pay more and more attention to the subtle appearance of thoughts in the midst of our daily work, these phenomena will repeat themselves more and more. As a result, our thought body (?) will become more and more densely woven by the spiritual powers.

We should remember our childhood and the games we played, which were serious to us at the time. Now let us imagine that, as adults, we were somehow able to resume these childish games with children and play along with them. We would probably do it better than the children, but we would not feel at home in this world of games. This is how the esotericist should behave toward outer life.

Above all, however, one thing must guide us: the love of truth. Nothing of personal feelings should creep into our meditation and concentration, not even into our dreams. And when we see that someone we love is mistaken, this does not prevent us from loving that person more and more, but never, never must it happen that the truth is crucified out of supposed brotherly love. For it is not love to leave another in error.

It may be said with confidence that in Theosophy everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Everyone can and should be. But there is one thing they must not do: misinterpret the opinions and views of others, twist them, or deliberately present them as untrue. They must not do that – as was done against us just a few weeks ago in a theosophical magazine.

It was our mission and task on behalf of the spiritual powers that guide our movement to awaken understanding here in Central Europe at this time for the profound meaning of the mystery of Golgotha.

If someone becomes casual and no longer wants to draw their insights from what flows down from the spiritual world and process them, this is understandable; but the reason lies within them. We must make sacrifices for our insights, sacrifices of thought power, sacrifices of will, and sacrifices of time. For we cannot acquire insights in the blink of an eye. We must learn, learn, learn again and again so that we can better and better assimilate all that has been said about the mystery of Golgotha from occult wisdom—spoken in a straight line from the beginning.

This is our mission here in Central Europe: to advance ever further in our understanding of the mystery of Golgotha, where the forces of Elijah and Krishna have come together. When others say that it is not necessary to acquire knowledge about Christ through difficult, hard, and laborious work, because the World Teacher is coming and will then scatter his treasures of wisdom, this is a concession to everything that is lax and comfortable. It is akin to allying oneself with elements of the spiritual world that are hostile to the upward course of human evolution. If one harbors such thoughts, then the World Teacher will certainly not come!

Even if we do not feel any success in our exercises and meditations for a long, long time, we should not become complacent, but continue to strive with patience, perseverance, and energy, always making further efforts. The hour will come for everyone when they truly “see.”

The seed of my body lay in the spirit ...