{"corpus":"steiner","locus":"GA 10/l08/p015","lang":"en","edition":"HR1960","edition_basis":null,"is_original":false,"is_default_edition":false,"text":"The fact that one does not oppose some communication which has been made, but gives to it due attention and even sympathy, does not imply a lack of independent judgment. Those who have arrived at a somewhat advanced stage of knowledge are aware that they owe everything to a quiet attention and assimilation, and not to a stubborn personal judgment. One should always remember that one does not need to learn what one is already able to understand. Therefore, if one only desires to judge, one cannot learn any more. What is of importance in an occult school, however, is study: one ought to desire, with heart and soul, to be a student: if one cannot understand something it is far better not to judge, lest one wrongly condemn; far better to wait until later for a true understanding. The higher one climbs on the ladder of knowledge, the more does one require this faculty of calm and devotional listening. All perception of truths, all life and activity in the world of spirit, become in these higher regions delicate and subtle in comparison with the activities of the ordinary mind, and of life in the physical world. The more the sphere of a man's activity widens out before him, the more transcendent is the nature of the task to be accomplished by him. It is for this reason that although there is in reality only one possible opinion regarding the higher truths, men come to see them from such different points of view. It is possible to arrive at this one true standpoint if, through work and devotion, one has so risen that one can really behold the truth. Only he who, without sufficient preparation, judges in accordance with preconceived ideas and habitual ways of thought, can arrive at any opinion which differs from the true one. Just as there is only one correct opinion concerning a mathematical problem, so also with regard to things of the higher worlds; but before one can arrive at this opinion one must first prepare oneself. If this were only sufficiently considered, the conditions laid down by the occult teacher would be surprising to no one. Truth and the higher life do, indeed, abide in every human soul, and it is true that everyone can and must find them for himself; but they lie deeply hidden, and may only be brought up from their deep shafts after the clearance of certain obstacles. Only he who has had experience in occult science can advise how this may be done. It is advice of this kind that is given by the occult teacher. He does not urge a truth on anyone; he proclaims no dogma, but points out a way. It is true that everyone could find this way alone, but only, perhaps, after many incarnations. By this occult training the way is shortened. A person, by means of it, more quickly reaches a point from which he becomes able to co-operate in those worlds wherein the salvation and evolution of man are assisted by spiritual work. Thus we have outlined, as much as may at present be communicated concerning the attainment of knowledge relating to the higher worlds.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"title":"The Conditions of Discipleship","site_heading":null,"date":null,"location":null,"word_count":533,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/10/l08/p015?edition=HR1960","alignment_confidence":"low","alignment_reason":"count_diverges","two_voice_volume":false,"translation_credit":null,"edition_coverage":{"de":["original"],"en":["HR1960","MAC1909","RSPC1947"]},"available_versions":[{"lang":"en","edition":"HR1960","edition_basis":null,"is_original":false,"is_default_edition":false,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/10/l08/p015?edition=HR1960"}],"witness_completeness":{"ratio":1.53,"band":"fuller_than_original","note":"This witness is longer than the original — paraphrastic or padded. That makes it a less faithful witness to wording, not a more complete one. Verify quotations against the original.","word_count":3651,"original_word_count":2387,"may_be_abridged":false},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"status":"unknown","warning":"No translator is recorded for this edition. An unattributed translation cannot be weighed as a witness: you cannot tell which hand made the choices in it. Cite the German for anything load-bearing."},"entity_parity":{"status":"not_checkable","note":"No verified paragraph alignment covers this passage, so its names cannot be compared with the German."},"note":"quote_safe certifies the bytes of this text. This block is about the translation as a WITNESS: who made it, and whether it carries the same names as the original. See witness_completeness for how much of the original this witness holds."}}