Theosophy and Occultism

GA 90c — 1 September 1903, Berlin

III. Secrets and Secrecy

Today, in this “occult hour,” I would like to continue from where we left off last time and say something else, this time from a different perspective, about the last lecture. I would like to say something about the question of why the esoteric teachings are being revealed in our time in particular.

The theosophical movement differs from other movements in that it has made public various elementary esoteric teachings and will continue to do so in the future. It is a necessity for our time. These are esoteric teachings that were also available in the past. The teachings that we find in the “Secret Doctrine” are not new. These esoteric teachings are ancient wisdom. The way in which this wisdom has been preserved was and is still secret today and will remain secret in the future. It should only be passed on from mouth to ear, and only after a period of strict examination should it be passed on to the candidate. Because this knowledge can also be misused, so it is said. And there is some truth to this view.

If certain elementary parts of this esoteric wisdom are made public, then Theosophy has to ensure that no potentially harmful influence or even abuse arises. When elementary parts of the esoteric teachings appeared in publicly available books, there was great consternation in certain occult circles. And the Theosophists were reproached for divulging secrets that were otherwise reserved for only a few. We must therefore now ask ourselves: May some things of this knowledge be published at all?

Last time, I already referred to a secret society, namely the mysteries of the Knights Templar, which had the goal of reestablishing Christianity. The Theosophical movement has a similar goal. From an even deeper point of view than we discussed last time, I will explain today why it has become necessary to share some of the world's occult knowledge. In the past, it was considered wrong to pass on this esoteric knowledge. It was only accessible to initiates. It was kept in closed secret societies. But over the last millennia and centuries, there were always traitors who betrayed individual parts of the “secret knowledge” and carried them out of the temples. But external science also researched and found former “secrets” and thus contributed to their publication.

So today there are two schools of thought within the occultists: one says that it is not right and that it is harmful to publish even a part of the knowledge. Therefore, the question arose within the responsible occultists: How should the secret teachings be treated in the future? Secrecy or publication? What is now more correct for the future of humanity? This question also had to be answered from another side. Because the serious occultists had realized that humanity would have to morally degenerate due to its sinking into materialism if parts of the secret knowledge for the salvation of humanity were not published. Therefore, Helena P[etrowna] Blavatsk[y] set about collecting and publishing what had already been published, that is, the parts of the various secret teachings that had already been “betrayed” and published. The published teachings, which can be found, for example, in Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine, were tested. In essence, the occultists had to admit that they had withstood the test. We Theosophists are on the side of occultists who believe that these publications of “Isis unveiled” and “The Secret Doctrine” are not only useful, but that it was even necessary to make them public and popular.

Human knowledge cannot be acquired all at once, nor even throughout an age. Knowledge is in a state of constant evolution. This can be observed in the astral realm. The astral realm does not always remain the same, it undergoes small changes. They are not significant, but they can still be clearly perceived. The general scenery of the astral plane was different in the time of the Atlanteans and is different in our time. It changed from year to year. Certain changes in the astral world have led to the realization that it is necessary to share some of the occult knowledge with people, and to share it publicly and popularly, not just with a few initiates. This is the deepest occult knowledge, and only part of it can ever be told.

Around the year 1900, very special signs appeared in the astral world, which prove to the knower with absolute certainty that the greatest secret, which must be expressed in our race, now shows a slightly different character than it did before. There are leading truths, and these lead up to what we call the secrets of existence. Man is not capable of assimilating the deepest truths of his time in any age. Nor is man of today capable of understanding the deepest secret of his race. He must first mature for the understanding.

The basic secret was always only in the possession of the adepts. Through the possession of the secret, they were the leaders of the respective race. We are now members of the fifth [root] race. First there were two [root] races that were organized differently. Then came the third [root] race, which was already organized similarly to ours. The Atlanteans were the fourth [root] race. After this previous human and racial development, we come as the fifth [root] race. Two further [root] races, the sixth and the seventh, will follow. Each [root] race has a great secret of existence. The realization of this great secret of existence brought access to the great truths, which are living forces. These are the great laws that are effective in the world. These great laws cannot intervene in the world in this way from the outset. They must first be in the possession of the masters and the initiated. Only through these masters do they then indirectly affect people.

In “Lucifer”, which is now being published, the subject under discussion here will be touched upon. Only at the end of the fifth [root] race will it become known and understood by a larger number of people. The earlier root races were such that these secrets could only be obtained by a few. In our root race, the ability of the intellect, the mind, has already been developed very far. But the deepest depths are closed to the intellect. But some of the secret's outer aspects can be guessed by the intellect. Before the year 1875, nothing was known about these things, or at least they were not considered. The secret of the fifth [root] race can now be passed from the intellect to the intellect without being spiritualized. The secret that has been guessed can then also be passed on to the unspiritualized mind in this way. I cannot explain what the signs in the astral are that occurred around the year 1900. But it is an indisputable fact that some pieces were actually guessed by personalities who are far removed from any occult current. This is due to the character of the fifth human race. There will soon be many who will guess some of it.

But guessing the secrets is something very dangerous. It is disadvantageous both for the person concerned and for humanity as a whole. It is dangerous for the reason that communicating the secret of the fifth root race would actually divide people into a few very good people and many others who are radically immoral. This is a paradoxical and daring statement at first. But it is true. It is not possible to communicate the central secret of the fifth root race. If someone were to communicate the secret, he would be at the mercy of the other. He would lose the opportunity to exert the beneficial effect of this secret on humanity. Besides, it is quite futile to share the secret because it could only lead to harmful effects. There is no initiate who has shared this secret. And there is no way to discover the secret to a person. Even torture would be useless. The person would go insane or die from the torture.

Theosophy is to prepare humanity so that when the secret is partially revealed, the bad effects will be paralyzed.

One fundamental difference between the secret of the fifth root race and the secrets of the earlier root races is that the secret of the fifth root race can be partially guessed by the mind. In the past, the secret was strictly in the hands of adepts, who thus had the power to lead humanity. This danger [of guessing] now exists. However, humanity could outgrow the adepts in some respects. Some must therefore be prepared when the secrets confront them from outside. Then the time will come when individuals who can guess can emerge with pieces of truth. But that would be terrible and a disaster would occur among people. There would then be a few good people, and the great mass of the others would then be lost to the good. These truths are only to be used under the premise of the theosophical basic teachings.

If the adepts had not gained influence, humanity would have been divided into three parts:

— firstly, the thoughtless masses,
— secondly, the destructive rationalists with the guessed secret, and
— thirdly, the occultists.

[People] would wage a life-and-death struggle against each other. Those who had guessed the secret would not realize why the secret must not be revealed. The clairvoyant gift could also prevent disaster.

The Theosophical Society therefore strives not for the three parts of humanity to arise, but for a core of universal brotherhood to be created. One may object: there will never be a universal brotherhood. We reply: what you say is true, but we know the foundations and we know that such a nucleus will protect humanity. This is a kind of prophecy, but it is based on objective perception in the astral world.

The [fifth] root secret is one that can be guessed to a certain extent. Therefore, the time for guessing must be prepared. We therefore know of an even deeper reason for the astral laws, which compels the person concerned to use his powers for the theosophical movement. This is because he knows where humanity is heading.

If I am to describe how devastating the divination of a piece of the [fifth] secret can be, I can only say that the person is able to divine through the aforementioned character traits. But precisely because of this, he is also unable to do anything to paralyze the harmful effects. Those personalities who have already guessed something have proved that they do not know how to handle such a secret. Anyone who has guessed or found out something is exposed to many dangers. Usually the most adventurous ideas prevail about this. Nevertheless, what is said about the dangers is absolutely true, even if it is not literally true. The man of the fifth [root] race has so-called inhibitors. His Kama-Manas has braking devices that act on the astral and mental bodies. There are a lot of forces present in the astral body that are kept in check by these devices. The morality of the fifth [root] race, as it relates to actions, is far better than the morality of the astral and mental qualities. Many often have very little morality. It is difficult to make them understand that there is a morality of feeling and of thought. The least of what is in their inner being comes to the surface. There it appears much dirtier than is usually observed.

The moment a part of the secret is revealed to man, all restraints fall away and the full power of the forces is released. The wild inner forces must be directed into the right channels by the theosophical movement. Outwardly good people, apparent angels, would become devils under the influence of the aforementioned moment [the revelation of the fifth secret].

People must therefore support each other, they must work together. All thoughts directed towards the immediate present will have a harmful effect. There are enormous masses of thought that are directed only towards the temporal. These are ideal things, certain legal demands that relate only to the temporal and not to the eternal.

I have already described how an initiation took place in the Pythagorean school. These were preliminary stages of initiation. In “Lucifer” I have already spoken publicly about higher questions of initiation. Now I would like to say something else that cannot and must not be said in a public journal.

In the various stages of initiation, the person to be initiated was first made aware of the vanity of physical existence. Secondly, the person to be initiated was introduced to a world of a very different nature from our visible world. The person being initiated was introduced to a world that is more real, more powerful and more directive, to a world that underlies our world but cannot be perceived by our senses.