Reading the Pictures of the Apocalypse
GA 104a
8, May 1907, Munich
Lecture I-III
A day of remembrance such as we have today1Day of remembrance of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (born 1831) who died on May 8, 1891. In 1875 with Henry Steel Olcott (1832 – 1907) she founded the Theosophical Society. means much to those who belong to the theosophical movement, who feel that they belong to a spiritual movement. It means something entirely different from a day of remembrance for others, for those departed human beings who were firmly anchored in our materialistic culture. Such a day for us is also a day of gathering together; for what would the teachings of Theosophy be if they did not enter into every fiber of our hearts and there enrich our innermost life of feeling? If a soul has been separated from its physical body, that means only that a person's inner being has entered into a different relationship to us. It is just such a relationship to the founder of the theosophical movement that we would like to especially enliven on this day. We want to be filled with a feeling for our connectedness with the founder of our movement. We want to become fully conscious that thoughts and feelings are invisible powers in our soul, that they are facts. Feelings are living forces. If we today unite all our thoughts with what is included in the name “Helena Petrovna Blavatsky,” if we are united with the spirit who left her earthly sheaths behind on May 8, 1891, then our feelings and thoughts are real forces and create a real, spiritual bridge to another form of existence. Another world finds access to our souls across this bridge. For human beings who see, such thoughts and feelings are really living rays, rays of spiritual light that shoot forth from a human being, and are then united in a point that meets with the spiritual being. Such a festive moment is a reality. When our soul, dwelling in our body, wants to work on the physical plane, then it must form a body for itself: it must build and form matter and forces in such a way that it can express itself through them. If the matter and forces did not fit together then this soul could no longer live its life on the physical plane. Just as it is here on the physical plane, so it is also on the higher planes for spiritual beings. If we want to understand correctly Helena Petrovna Blavatsky then we must realize that all of her efforts are bound up with the proper progress of the theosophical movement. And so it has been since her soul freed itself from her physical body. Even now she is working as a living being within the Theosophical Society. If she is to be able to work then matter and forces must be at her disposal. From where could they be better taken than from the souls of those who understand her being within the theosophical movement. As our souls take hold of matter and forces on the physical plane, so also does such a being take hold of the matter and forces in human souls in order to work through them. If those people who are members of the theosophical movement were not willing to place themselves at the disposal of this being, then she could not find expression on the physical plane. We ourselves must create a place in our souls for reverence, love, and devotion, thus creating the forces through which Helena Petrovna Blavatsky can work, just as our soul works trough our bodies of flesh. We must become aware that we are truly creating something when, in this moment, we are loving and receptive. It is true that all the love and devotion that today streams up to the soul of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky are powerful forces that are called upon to connect with her.
We must correctly understand what this personality signifies within our cultural life. The nineteenth century will one day be described as the materialistic century in the history of humankind. The people of the twentieth century cannot really imagine how deeply the nineteenth century was entangled in materialism. Only later when people have again become spiritual will that be possible. Everything, even the religious life, was permeated by materialism. Anyone who can look upon human evolution from higher planes knows that in the forties of the nineteenth century there was an extreme low point in the spiritual life. Science, philosophy, and religion were in the grip of materialism. It was incumbent upon the leaders of humankind gradually to allow a stream of spiritual life to flow into humanity. It is most telling that, within the widest circumference of spiritual life in Occidental culture, no one was found as suitable as Helena Petrovna Blavatsky to guide the stream of spiritual life into the world, the stream that should refresh humankind and begin to pull it out of materialism. In the light of this one fact, the impact of all the attacks against her swirling around in the world today fade away. For, among many other things, the Theosophical Society must teach us the feeling of positivity. We must acquire an attitude that seeks, above all, to see what speaks of greatness in a human being. Then, in comparison to this greatness, all the little faults that incite criticism must fade away. Just as with other great personalities many things that were seen by their contemporaries with critical eyes have disappeared, so too will all these things fall away from her. But the great things she has accomplished will remain.
Let us learn to regard the mistakes of human beings as their own affair and the accomplishments of human beings as something that concerns all of humankind. People's errors belong to their karma; their deeds concern humanity. Let us learn not to be troubled by people's mistakes; they themselves must atone for them. Let us rather be thankful for their accomplishments, for the entire evolution of humanity lives from them.
This year's White Lotus Day, a day of remembrance for souls who have struggled free from the body and lift their experiences in another form up into the heights like a lotus flower, is the first day of this kind that we are not celebrating in community with Henry Steel Olcott, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's associate. He, too, has left the physical plane, he who stood there as the great organizer, as the form-giving power. [Here follows an indecipherable sentence.] To him we direct our grateful, revering, and love-filled thoughts; these thoughts will flow into the spiritual world and we ourselves will thereby be strengthened. We should continue the celebration on the other days of the year as we send out our thoughts as rays of light, as we apply the strength we have received to the work that we call the theosophical movement. We will only work as they would if we are devoted to the spiritual life in an entirely undogmatic, nonsectarian way. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky did not ask for blind faith. What can be asked of her followers is that they let themselves be stimulated by her spirituality. There is a spring of spiritual power in what Helena Petrovna Blavatsky left to the physical plane, a spring that will be a blessing to us if we let it influence us in a living way. The letters on the page can stimulate us, but the spirit must become alive within. One thing that can be said of the writings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky is this: Only someone who does not understand them can underestimate them. But someone who finds the key to what is great in these works will come to admire her more and more. That is what is significant about these works—the more one penetrates them the more one admires them. It is not the case that there are no mistakes to be found in them. But those who really take hold of life know, if they strive to evermore penetrate these works, that what is therein expressed could only have come from the great spiritual beings who are now guiding world evolution. This is how we must read Isis Unveiled,2Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology, 2 vols. (New York: J.W. Bouton, 1877). a book containing truths which, although sometimes caricatured like a beautiful face seen in a distorting mirror, are truly great.
A person who would merely like to speak out of a critical spirit might perhaps say: It would have been better not to give any such distortion. But anyone seeing matters in the proper light will say: If someone places their weak spiritual forces at the disposal of spiritual powers who wish to reveal themselves, and knows that these forces will produce only a distorted picture but that there is no one else who could do it any better, then that person, through their devotion, is making a great sacrifice for the world. All renderings of the great truths are distortions. If someone wanted to wait until the whole truth could be manifested, then they would have a long wait. Selfless are those who devote themselves to the spiritual world saying: It doesn't matter if people tear me apart, I must present the truth as I can. This sacrifice is much greater than a moral sacrifice, this noble sacrifice of the intellect—an expression so often misused by a wrong-headed conception of religion—it signifies the yielding up of the intellect for in-streaming, spiritual truth. If we are unwilling to offer up our intellect then we cannot serve the truth. When we look toward Helena Petrovna Blavatsky with gratitude, we do so above all because she is a martyr in the sense just described, a martyr among the great martyrs for the truth. This is how we consider her when we gladly and willingly regard her as a model in the Theosophical Society. Therefore, when I speak about regions of the spirit inaccessible to her it will not profane this day.
I will speak about spiritual streams in the world that Helena Petrovna Blavatsky least understood on the physical plane. We serve her best by placing ourselves in the service of that to which she could find no access. She would much prefer to have followers rather than worshipers. Although much of what I say may sound opposed to her, nevertheless we know that we are acting according to her wishes; by taking this liberty we esteem her the most.
Our transition now to the Apocalypse is not sought after, not forced. For if we wish to understand more deeply the world mission of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, then we must imagine evolution as consisting of two streams. Eighteen forty-one was the low point of humanity's spiritual life. The opponents of spiritual life had, in 1841, the strongest point of attack in the evolution of humankind.3Compare Rudolf Steiner's lecture of October 14, 1917 in The Fall of the Spirits of Darkness (GA 177) (Forthcoming from Rudolf Steiner Press). They did the groundwork necessary to prepare for many of the things described in the Apocalypse as prophetic visions of the future. What is represented by the beast with the horns of the ram and the number 666, the beast with the seven heads and so forth—that is prepared by the powers who, in 1841, found their moment for attacking the evolution of humankind. Those elemental beings who, at that time, found suitable soil, those powers have taken possession of a large part of humanity and, from that position, are exerting their influence. Otherwise, the adversarial powers that find expression in the two beasts would not reside in humanity pulling it down. Against this downward pull there is another movement drawing us upward. What is accomplished today for this upward movement is a preparation for all those who are to be sealed, who enter the stream of spiritual evolution. This stream found an instrument precisely in Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. We do not understand our present age if we do not recognize the deep necessity for this spiritual stream. We stand now in the fifth sub-race of the fifth root race and are living toward the sixth and seventh sub-race, then the sixth ground-race. What does it mean to say that we are living toward these races?4Steiner uses the old theosophical term “root race” to designate the seven epochs of earth evolution: the Polarian, the Hyperborean, the Lemurian, the Atlantean, Post-Atlantean and the last two, the sixth and seventh epochs. Each of these epochs consists of seven “sub-races” It should be noted that Steiner used the word “race” only in the early, the theosophical, period of his work. Furthermore, his use of the word has little in common with the word's use today. On June 20, 1908 he said, “... we speak of ages of civilization, in contradistinction to races. All that is connected with this idea of race is still the remains of the epoch preceding our own, namely, the Atlantean. We are now living in the age of cultural epochs. Atlantis was the age in which seven great races developed one after another. Of course, the fruits of this race development extend into our epoch, and for this reason races are still spoken of today, but they are really mixtures and are quite unlike those distinct races of the Atlantean epoch. Today the idea of civilization has already superseded the idea of race” (The Apocalypse of St. John, London: The Anthroposophical Publishing Co., 1958, 61). It means that an understanding of Christ is contained in the sixth epoch—be it in the sixth epoch of the sixth subrace prophetically announced, or the sixth root race—for the human being who wants it.
At that time there will be human beings who are Christ filled, who have been sealed; in the ages of future spirituality the opening up, the breaking of the seals of human souls will take place. That the five wise virgins have oil burning in their lamps, that the bridegroom finds illuminated souls, signifies that a portion of humanity will have revealed to it the mystery that is still today closed to humankind. The book with the seven seals will be deciphered for a portion of humankind. The writer of the Apocalypse, John, wants through signs to point to this time, wants to proclaim prophetically this age. In one sentence we read: “And a great sign appeared in heaven ...” (Rev. 12:1) That means we are dealing in the Apocalypse with signs representing the great phases of the evolution of humanity. We must then decipher these signs. We remember that our present fifth root race was preceded by the Atlantean race, which was destroyed by a flood. What will destroy the fifth race? The fifth race has a special task: the development of egotism. This egotism will, at the same time, create what causes the downfall of the fifth root race. A small part of humankind will live toward the sixth main race; a larger part will not yet have found the light within. Because egotism is the fundamental power in the soul, the war of all against all will rage within this larger part of humanity. As the Lemurian race found its end through the power of fire, the Atlantean through water, so will the fifth race find its destruction in conflict between selfish, egoistic powers in the war of all against all. This line of evolution will descend deeper and deeper; when it arrives at the bottom everyone will rage against everyone else. A small part of humankind will escape this, just as a small part escaped during the destruction of the Atlantean race. It is up to every individual to find a connection to the spiritual life in order to be one of those to go over into the sixth root race. Mighty revolutions stand before humankind; they are described in the Apocalypse.
First, seven letters to seven communities are placed before us. If human beings are to find the path to that great point in time, they must have something to hang on to, something that enables them to ennoble the seven sheaths of their human constitution, so that they are prepared when the time comes. There are places on the earth where, through religious exercises, the main emphasis is on the development of the physical body. In other places the emphasis is on the development of the etheric body. In other locations the emphasis is on the development of the astral body, or the I. There will also be more and more places where special attention will be given to the development of manas, or budhi, or atma.5Characterized by Rudolf Steiner in his book Theosophy. as Spirit-self, Life-spirit, and Spirit-Man. We would not believe in reincarnation in the proper sense unless we would say: If a person has once been born in a location where the primary emphasis is on the physical body, then, another time, he or she would be born in a place where more attention was paid to the other bodies, and so forth.
Seven letters are directed to seven separate geographical regions where particular emphasis is placed on one of the seven parts of the human being. The first letter is directed to the Ephesians. They put great stock in the development of the physical body. The Phrygians in Smyrna emphasized the etheric body; in Pergamon people worked especially on the astral body.
We want to consider why seven geographical regions signify special kinds of development for humankind in relation to the seven members of the human being. Let us assume that someone lives in a region where the physical body is especially developed; if that person then neglects the physical body, it then becomes a caricature of what it might have become. If what is supposed to be brought to a certain perfection is not developed, then something arises inwardly that makes such a person receptive to the evil manifestations in the evolution of humankind.
The first letter is directed to the community in Ephesus, the place consecrated to Diana.6Ancient Roman goddess of the forest, protector of wilderness and women. She was identified with the Greek goddess Artemis. It emphasizes the beautiful formation of the human body. Where does the development of the physical body lead? We can become increasingly clear about this if we realize that the physical body must be evermore purified, and must become more and more an expression of the etheric body. The etheric body must itself become an expression of the astral body, which in turn should become an expression of the I.
Numbers played a large role in the ancient Pythagorean schools. Let us remember that in the world of devachan, everything is ordered according to measure and number. Of course, this is the case with everything. What would it mean to seek the laws of nature, if they did not already exist? We weigh and measure the bodies of the world as we do substances on a smaller scale. We must put this fact together with another. We can think of this space as filled with the “sound forms” of a sublime musical composition, for example, the sounds of the “Good Friday Spell” from Wagner's opera Parzifal. That is the higher, soul form for what a physicist would express in numbers for the frequency of the sound vibrations. The spirit of these vibrations of the music flows through our souls. If we think of the numbers being heard by the ear of the spirit, then we have the music of the spheres. If a physicist would record in numbers the vibrations in the air he or she would record the magic of “Good Friday” just as little as a mathematician describes Pythagorean ideas in measure and number. The numbers express only the harmonies. When Pythagoreans wanted to express the four members of the human being, they expressed the harmony in the ratio: 1:3:7:12. That signifies the sound wherein the four numbers harmonize in the same way as do the four parts of the human being. The three sounds: I, the sound of the sun; II,—the sound of the moon; III, the sound of the earth—resound into the astral body.
- Physical body: 12 Ephesus
- Etheric body: 7 Smyrna
- Astral body: 3 Pergamon
- I: 1
- Spirit self
- Life spirit
- Spiritualized human being
What comes forth from the earth, sun, and moon sound together in our astral body. But what comes forth from the planets sounds in our etheric body. There is a sevenfold influence from the planets on the etheric body, as there is from the seven musical intervals: the unison interval, major second, major third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, major sixth, major seventh—Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus. These seven planets resound into our etheric body. There are twelve influences from the signs of the zodiac that resound into our physical body. The seer experiences twelve fundamental tones on the devachanic plane. They influence our physical body. Everything in the I, astral body, etheric body, and in the physical body resounds in tones. One tone resounds in the I, three tones in the astral body, seven tones in the etheric body and twelve tones in the physical body. Altogether this results in harmony or disharmony.
There is an expression in occultism: the twelve goes into the seven, which means that the physical body is constantly becoming more like the etheric body. If the physical body sounds right then we can hear the seven tones of the stars through the twelve tones. “Become such that the twelve becomes the seven, that the seven stars appear” is said to the Ephesians, because with them the physical body is especially developed. They should turn to look at the seven stars. We know that the development of Christianity means a transition from the old forms of community based on blood ties to spiritual love, that the spiritual will take over from the flesh. Those who tell us that we should endeavor, above all, to insure that the sensual, the elemental gets its due—those people were called the Nicolaitans: They wanted to remain rooted in the material forces of the blood; hence, the warning concerning the Nicolaitans.7The Nicolaitans mentioned in chapter 2 of the Book of Revelation are pagan Christians from Pergamon. They disregarded the Old Testament proscriptions concerning the consumption of food sacrificed to idols and certain marital unions characterized as sexually immoral. They are the ones who will bring about the downfall.
Opposing them are those who want to overcome material evolution, who want spiritual life. The letter closes with the symbol of the tree of life: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna ...” (Rev. 2:17)
The second letter is directed to the community that is supposed to be most concerned with the cultivation of the etheric body. The etheric body must gradually be developed into life spirit. The human being now goes through birth and death, but later this etheric body will become life spirit. Then it will have overcome death. In the Sermon on the Mount we read: “Blessed are those who pray for spirit, for they find through themselves the Kingdom of Heaven” (compare: Matt. 5:3) Those who pray for spirit are blessed; that means that soul permeates their life. Just as the physical body is developed by the Ephesians, so, too, in the second community, is the etheric body developed into a body of soul. When they strive for this blessing they are called “beggars for spirit”; they pray for a blessing through the enlivening of the etheric body. This is indicated by the words: “Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life.” With these words the development of the etheric body is clearly expressed.
The Apocalypse is one of the greatest spiritual documents. There are hardly any great spiritual truths whose significance is not to be found there. The study of the Apocalypse is not without its connections to theosophical evolution.
By understanding such a work we allow ourselves to be stimulated by the spirit who spoke through Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. What the Theosophical Society seeks to achieve must strike us like a trumpet proclamation sent to humankind. The more we understand the Apocalypse the more we understand the task of our movement.
Dritter Vortrag
Ein solcher Erinnerungstag, wie wir ihn heute haben, bedeutet für die Angehörigen der theosophischen Bewegung, die sich angehörig fühlen einer spirituellen Bewegung, etwas ganz anderes als ein Erinnerungstag an andere Menschen, als das Hinsterben eines in unserer materiellen Kultur fest verankerten Menschen. Es ist ein solcher Tag für uns auch ein Tag der Vereinigung; denn was wäre die theosophische Lehre, wenn sie nicht einginge in alle Fasern unseres Herzens und da zu innerster Empfindung, zum unmittelbaren Gefühl würde? Hat sich eine Seele vom physischen Leib gelöst, so bedeutet es nur, daß das innerste Wesen eines Menschen zu uns in ein anderes Verhältnis getreten ist. Ein solches Verhältnis zur Stifterin der theosophischen Bewegung wollen wir an diesem Tage besonders lebendig in uns machen. Wir wollen uns mit dem Gefühl der Zusammengehörigkeit mit der Stifterin unserer Bewegung erfüllen. Wir wollen uns das Bewußtsein ganz zu eigen machen, daß Gedanken und Gefühle unsichtbare Mächte in unserer Seele, daß sie Tatsachen sind. Gefühle sind lebendige Kräfte. Wenn wir heute alle unsere Gedanken verbinden mit dem, was der Name «Helena Petrowna Blavatsky» einschließt, wenn wir mit dem Geist, der sich am 8. Mai 1891 seiner irdischen Hülle entledigt hat, verbunden sind, dann sind unsere Empfindungen und Gedanken reale Kräfte und bilden eine wirkliche geistige Brücke zu einer anderen Daseinsform. Eine andere Welt findet den Zugang zu unseren Seelen durch diese Brücke. Für den sehenden Menschen sind solche Gedanken und Gefühle wirklich lebendige Strahlen, Strahlen geistigen Lichtes, die hervorsprießen aus dem Menschen und sich vereinigen in einem Punkte und dann zusammentreffen können mit der geistigen Wesenheit. So ist ein solcher feierlicher Moment eine Wirklichkeit. Wenn unsere Seele, die in unserem Leibe wohnt, wirken will auf dem physischen Plan, dann muß sie sich einen Leib formen; sie muß die Stoffe und Kräfte so aufbauen, daß sie durch diese ihren Ausdruck finden kann. Würden sich die Stoffe und Kräfte der Seele nicht fügen, so könnte diese Seele sich nimmermehr auf dem physischen Plan ausleben. Wie es hier auf dem physischen Plan ist, so ist es auch mit den geistigen Wesenheiten auf den höheren Planen. Wollen wir Helena Petrowna Blavatsky richtig verstehen, so müssen wir sie so auffassen, daß all ihr Sinnen und Trachten an dem richtigen Fortgang der theosophischen Bewegung hängt. So ist es, seitdem ihre Seele sich herausgelöst hat aus dem physischen Leib. Sie wirkt als eine lebendige Wesenheit auch jetzt innerhalb der theosophischen Bewegung. Soll sie wirken, so müssen sich Stoffe und Kräfte ihr zur Verfügung stellen. Wo können sie besser hergenommen werden als aus den Seelen derjenigen, die innerhalb der theosophischen Bewegung diese Wesenheit verstehen? Wie unsere Seele die Stoffe und Kräfte auf dem physischen Plan ergreift, so ergreift eine solche Wesenheit die Stoffe und Kräfte der Seelen, um durch sie zu wirken. Würden diejenigen, die Glieder der theosophischen Bewegung sind, sich nicht willig zur Verfügung stellen dieser Wesenheit, so könnte diese Wesenheit nicht zum Ausdruck kommen auf dem physischen Plan. Wir müssen in unseren Seelen selbst die Stätten bilden für Verehrung, Liebe, Hingabe und dadurch die Kräfte bilden, durch die Helena Petrowna Blavatsky wirken kann, wie unsere Seele durch unseren fleischlichen Leib. Wir müssen uns bewußt werden, daß wir da etwas Tatsächliches tun, indem wir lieben und verehren in diesem Augenblicke. Wahr ist es, daß alle Liebe und Verehrung, die heute hinaufströmen zu der Seele Helena Petrowna Blavatskys, berufen sind als Kräfte, mit ihr in Verbindung zu treten.
Recht verstehen müssen wir, was gerade diese Persönlichkeit innerhalb unserer Geisteskultur bedeutet. Das 19. Jahrhundert wird einstmals in der Geschichte der Menschheit als das eigentlich materialistische Jahrhundert geschildert werden. Wie tief das 19. Jahrhundert in den Materialismus verstrickt war, davon können die Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts sich gar keine Vorstellung machen; erst später wird das möglich sein, wenn die Menschen wieder spirituell geworden sind. Alles, auch das religiöse Leben, ist durchdrungen vom Materialismus. Wer von höheren Planen einen Blick tun kann auf die Entwickelung, der weiß, daß in den 40er Jahren ein besonderer Tiefstand war im geistigen Leben. Wissenschaft, Philosophie und Religion waren ergriffen vom Materialismus. Den Führern der Menschheit oblag es, nach und nach einen Strom spirituellen Lebens in die Menschheit einströmen zu lassen. Viel ist damit gesagt, wenn es heißt, daß im weiten Umkreis des Geisteslebens innerhalb der Kultur des Abendlandes niemand sich fand, der so geeignet war, den Strom spirituellen Lebens in die Welt zu leiten, der das Leben der Menschheit auffrischen und aus dem Materialismus herausreißen sollte, als Helena Petrowna Blavatsky. Was auch heute gegen sie an Angriffen in der Welt herumschwirrt, gegenüber dieser einen Tatsache schwindet die Tragweite aller solcher Angriffe. Denn unter vielen anderen muß die theosophische Bewegung uns das Gefühl der Positivität beibringen. Wir müssen es zu einer Empfindung bringen, daß wir vor allem das, was groß an einem Menschen ist, sehen können; demgegenüber können alle diejenigen kleinen Lichter verlöschen, welche die Kritik gegenüber einer solchen Persönlichkeit ansteckt. Ebenso wie an anderen großen Persönlichkeiten manche Dinge geschwunden sind, welche die Zeitgenossen mit kritischen Augen betrachtet haben, so wird auch von ihr alles das hinwegschwinden. Aber was sie Großes getan hat, wird bleiben.
Lernen wir der Menschen Fehler als ihre eigene Angelegenheit betrachten, und lernen wir der Menschen Taten als die Angelegenheit der ganzen Menschheit betrachten. Worin die Menschen fehlen, das gehört zu ihrem Karma; was sie tun, ist Angelegenheit der Menschheit. Lernen wir, uns nicht zu bekümmern um der Menschen Fehler; die müssen sie selbst büßen. Aber lernen wir, dankbar zu sein für ihre Leistungen, denn von diesen lebt die ganze Menschheitsentwickelung.
Der diesjährige weiße Lotustag, der ein Erinnerungstag ist daran, daß eine Seele sich losgerungen hat vom Leibe und ihre Erfahrungen in anderer Form zur Höhe emporträgt, der Lotusblume gleich, ist der erste Tag dieser Art, den wir nicht mehr in Gemeinschaft mit Henry Steel Olcott, dem Genossen Helena Petrowna Blavatskys, begehen. Auch er hat den physischen Plan verlassen, er, der als der große Organisator dasteht, als die formgebende Kraft. [Folgt ein unverständlicher Satz.] Zu ihm lenken wir unsere dankbaren, verehrenden und von Liebe erfüllten Gedanken hinauf; einströmen werden diese Gedanken in die geistige Welten, und wir selbst werden Kraft dadurch gewinnen. So sollen wir die Feier auch an den anderen Tagen des Jahres fortsetzen, indem wir die Kräfte, die wir erhalten haben, indem wir unsere Gedanken hinaussenden als Lichtstrahlen, indem wir die Kräfte anwenden in der Arbeit, die wir theosophische Bewegung nennen. Arbeiten in ihrem Sinne werden wir nur dann, wenn wir ganz und gar dogmenfrei, sektenfrei hingegeben sind dem spirituellen Leben. Von niemand hat Helena Petrowna Blavatsky einen blinden Glauben verlangt. Was verlangt werden kann von ihren Bekennern, ist, daß sie sich von ihrer Spiritualität befruchten lassen. In dem, was durch Helena Petrowna Blavatsky dem physischen Plan überliefert worden ist, in dem liegt ein Quell von spiritueller Kraft, der uns so segensreich sein wird, wenn wir ihn lebendig auf uns wirken lassen. Befruchten können wir uns lassen von den Buchstaben, aber es muß der Geist in uns lebendig werden. Von den Schriften Helena Petrowna Blavatskys gilt eines: Unterschätzen kann sie nur der, der sie nicht versteht. Wer aber immer mehr den Schlüssel findet zu dem, was Großes ist in diesen Werken, der wird ihr immer größerer Verehrer. Das ist das Bedeutsame dieser Werke, daß, je mehr man sich in sie vertieft, man ein um so größerer Verehrer wird. Daß man etwa keine Fehler darinnen sehen könnte, das ist nicht der Fall; wer aber das lebendige Leben ergreift, weiß, wenn er sich immer mehr in diese Werke vertieft, daß solches, was da ausgesprochen ist, nur herüberkommen konnte von den großen spirituellen Wesenheiten, die heute die Weltentwickelung leiten. So müssen wir die «Entschleierte Isis» lesen, ein Buch, das wirklich die größten Wahrheiten enthält, aber manchmal verzerrt und karikiert, wie ein schönes Antlitz in einem Spiegel, der es verzerrt zurückwirft.
Wer den bloß kritischen Geist anlegen möchte, wird vielleicht sagen, es sei besser, kein solches Zerrbild zu geben. Wer aber die Sache im richtigen Lichte sieht, der sagt sich: Wenn jemand seine schwachen Geisteskräfte zur Verfügung stellt den geistigen Mächten, die sich offenbaren wollen, und weiß, daß diese Kräfte nur ein Zerrbild geben können, daß aber niemand sonst es besser zu tun vermag, der vollzieht durch diese Hingabe ein großes Opfer für die Welt. Alle Wiedergabe der großen Wahrheit ist ein Zerrbild. Wollte man warten, bis die ganze Wahrheit zum Vorschein kommen könnte, da müßte man lange warten. Selbstlos sind die, die sich hingeben wollen und sagen: Mögen die Menschen mich zerreißen, ich muß die Wahrheit so bringen, wie ich sie bringen kann. — Ein viel größeres Opfer als ein moralisches Opfer ist dies Opfer, dies hohe Opfer des Intellekts - ein Wort, das von einer mißbräuchlichen Religionsauffassung so mißbraucht ist. Es bedeutet die Hinopferung des Intellekts für die einströmende spirituelle Wahrheit. Wollen wir den Intellekt nicht opfern, so können wir der Wahrheit nicht Dienste leisten. Wenn wir dankbar hinblicken auf Helena Petrowna Blavatsky, so ist es vor allen Dingen, weil sie, in dem eben geschilderten Sinne, eine Märtyrerin ist unter den großen Märtyrern der Wahrheit. So blickt man auf sie hin, wenn man sie gern und willig als ein Vorbild in der theosophischen Gesellschaft betrachtet. Man weiß, daß man den Tag nicht entweiht, wenn man über die Gebiete spricht, zu denen ihr der Zugang fehlte.
Über die spirituelle Weltenströmung soll gesprochen werden, die auf dem physischen Plan Helena Petrowna Blavatsky am wenigsten verstanden hat. Am besten dienen wir ihr, wenn wir uns in den Dienst dessen stellen, zu dem sie nicht den Zugang gefunden hat. Viel lieber wird es ihr sein, wenn sie statt Nachbeter Nachfolger findet. Wenn auch manches ihr entgegengesetzt klingt, wissen wir doch, daß wir in ihrem Sinne handeln; durch diese Freiheit würdigen wir sie am allermeisten.
Der Übergang zur Apokalypse ist nicht gesucht, nicht etwa weit hergeholt. Wenn wir nämlich die welthistorische Mission Helena Petrowna Blavatskys noch tiefer verstehen wollen, so müssen wir die Entwickelung uns vorstellen als aus zwei Strömungen bestehend. 1841 war der Tiefstand des spirituellen Lebens. Die Gegner des spirituellen Lebens hatten 1841 den stärksten Angriffspunkt in der Menschheitsentwickelung. Sie bereiten den Boden vor für viele derjenigen Dinge, die als prophetische Zukunftsgedanken in der Apokalypse geschildert sind. Das, was ausgedrückt ist durch das Tier mit den Widderhörnern und die Zahl 666, das Tier mit den sieben Köpfen, und so weiter, das wird vorbereitet durch die Mächte, die 1841 ihren Angriffspunkt gefunden haben in der Menschheitsentwickelung. Jene Elementarwesen, die damals den ihnen geeigneten Boden gefunden haben, jene Mächte haben heute von einem großen Teil der Menschheit Besitz ergriffen und üben da ihren Einfluß aus. Sonst würden die Gegenkräfte, die in den beiden Tieren zum Ausdruck kommen, nicht in der Menschheit sein und sie hinunterziehen. Dagegen ist ein anderer Gang vorhanden, der aufwärts geht. Was heute geleistet wird zum Aufwärtssteigen, ist die Vorbereitung für alle diejenigen, die versiegelt werden sollen, die in die geistige Entwickelungsströmung hineinkommen. Dieser Strom des spirituellen Lebens hat sich gerade in Helena Petrowna Blavatsky ein Instrument geschaffen. Wir verstehen unsere Zeit nicht, wenn wir diese spirituelle Strömung nicht als eine tiefe Notwendigkeit erkennen.
Wir stehen in der fünften Unterrasse der fünften Wurzelrasse und leben entgegen der sechsten Unterrasse und der siebenten Unterrasse, dann der sechsten Grundrasse. Was heißt das: wir leben diesen Rassen entgegen? Das heißt, daß für den Menschen, der es will, in dem sechsten Zeitraum - sei es in dem sechsten Zeitraum der prophetisch verkündeten sechsten Unterrasse oder der sechsten Wurzelrasse — das Verständnis für den Christus enthalten ist. Es wird da ChristusMenschen geben, die Versiegelten; es wird in den Zeiten der künftigen Spiritualität das Aufschließen der Menschenseelen stattfinden. Daß die fünf Jungfrauen Öl in den Lampen brennen haben, daß der Bräutigam beleuchtete Seelen findet, bedeutet, daß sich dann einem Teil der Menschheit das enthüllen wird, was heute noch der Menschheit verschlossen ist. Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln wird sich einem großen Teil der Menschheit enträtseln. Hindeuten will auf diese Zeit der Apokalyptiker Johannes, vorausverkünden will er diese Zeit durch Zeichen.
In einem Satz heißt es: «Und es erschien ein großes Zeichen im Himmel...» (Apk. 12, 1) Das bedeutet, daß wir es in der Apokalypse zu tun haben mit Zeichen für die großen Entwickelungsphasen der Menschheit. Diese Zeichen haben wir zu entziffern. Wir erinnern uns, daß unserer jetzigen fünften Hauptrasse die atlantische Rasse vorangegangen ist, die durch eine Flut zugrunde gegangen ist. Was wird die fünfte Rasse zugrunde richten? Die fünfte Rasse hat eine besondere Aufgabe: Die Egoität zur Entfaltung zu bringen. Diese Selbstsucht wird zugleich dasjenige bilden, was der fünften Hauptrasse den Untergang bereiten wird. Ein geringer Teil wird entgegenleben der Zeit der sechsten Hauptrasse. Der größere Teil der Menschen wird das Licht im Innern noch nicht gefunden haben. Und weil der Egoismus die Grundkraft bildet, wird innerhalb dieses Teiles der Menschheit der Krieg aller gegen alle wüten. Wie die lemurische Rasse durch Feuergewalten, wie die Atlantis durch Wasser untergegangen ist, so wird die fünfte Rasse den Untergang durch ein Gegeneinanderwüten selbstsüchtiger Gewalten und einen Krieg aller gegen alle finden. Immer tiefer wird die Linie dieser Entwickelung gehen; wenn sie unten angelangt ist, werden alle gegen alle wüten. Dem wird sich ein kleiner Teil entziehen, wie es auch beim Untergang der atlantischen Rasse geschehen ist. Es ist an jedem selbst gelegen, die Verbindung mit dem spirituellen Leben zu finden, um mit hinüberzugehen zur sechsten Hauptrasse. Gewaltige Revolutionen stehen der Menschheit bevor, und das schildert die Apokalypse.
Zuerst werden uns vorgeführt sieben Briefe an sieben Gemeinden. Wenn die Menschen den Weg finden sollen zu jenem großen Zeitpunkt, dann müssen sie etwas haben, woran sie sich halten können, wodurch sie ihre sieben menschlichen Wesensglieder veredeln können, so daß man sie bereit findet, wenn der große Zeitpunkt eingetreten ist. Es gibt Orte auf der Erde, wo durch religiöse Übungen hauptsächlich Rücksicht genommen ist auf die Ausbildung des physischen Leibes. An anderen Orten wird mehr Rücksicht genommen auf die Ausbildung des Ätherleibes. Wieder an anderen Orten wird mehr Rücksicht genommen auf die Ausbildung des Astralleibes oder des Ichs. Es wird auch immer mehr Orte geben, wo man besonders achtgeben wird auf die Ausbildung des Manas, oder der Budhi, oder des Atma. Man würde nicht im richtigen Sinne an die Wiederverkörperung glauben, wenn man sich nicht sagen würde: Ist ein Mensch einmal geboren an einem Orte, wo hauptsächlich Rücksicht genommen wird auf den physischen Leib, so wird er ein anderes Mal geboren an einem Orte, wo man mehr Rücksicht nehmen wird auf die anderen Leiber, und so weiter.
Sieben Briefe werden gerichtet an sieben gesonderte geographische Bezirke, in denen besondere Rücksicht genommen wurde auf einen der sieben Teile der menschlichen Wesenheit. Der erste Brief ist gerichtet an die Epheser. Bei ihnen wurde starkes Gewicht gelegt auf die Ausbildung des physischen Leibes. Bei den Phrygiern, in Smyrna, wurde besonders berücksichtigt der Ätherleib, in Pergamon der Astralleib.
Wir wollen sehen, warum sieben geographische Bezirke in bezug auf die sieben Glieder der menschlichen Wesenheit besondere Entwickelungsarten der Menschheit bedeuten. Nehmen wir an, ein Mensch lebt in einer Gegend, wo vorzugsweise der physische Leib ausgebildet wird; wenn er dann seinen physischen Leib vernachlässigt, wird dieser ein Zerrbild werden dessen, was er hätte werden sollen. Wird das, was zu einer gewissen Vollkommenheit gebracht werden soll, nicht ausgebildet, dann entsteht etwas in ihm, was ihn vorbereitet zu den schlimmen Erscheinungen in der Menschheitsentwickelung.
Das erste Sendschreiben ist gerichtet an die Gemeinde zu Ephesus, den der Diana geweihten Ort. Es betont die schöne Gestaltung des physischen Leibes. Wohin neigt die Entwickelung des physischen Leibes? Das können wir uns immer mehr klarmachen, wenn wir wissen, daß der physische Leib sich immer mehr läutern und immer mehr werden muß ein Ausdruck des Ätherleibes, und dieser wiederum des Astralleibes, und dieser des Ichs.
In den alten Pythagoreerschulen spielten die Zahlen eine große Rolle. Erinnern wir uns daran, daß in der Devachanwelt, wie auch sonst, alles geordnet ist nach Maß und Zahl. Was würde es heißen, die Naturgesetze suchen, wenn sie nicht da vorhanden wären? Wir wägen und messen die Weltenkörper, wie wir es mit Substanzen im kleinen tun. Diese Tatsache müssen wir mit einer anderen Tatsache zusammenstellen. Wir denken uns diesen Raum ausgefüllt mit den Klanggebilden einer hohen musikalischen Komposition, zum Beispiel den Tönen des Karfreitagszaubers. Das ist die seelische höhere Form für das, was der Physiker uns in den Zahlen der Luftschwingungen ausdrücken würde. Unsere Seelen durchflutet der Geist dieser Schwingungen in der Musik. Man denke sich nun die Zahlen vom Ohr des Geistes gehört, dann haben wir die Sphärenmusik. Wenn ein Physiker die Vibrationen der Luft in Zahlen aufzeichnen würde, so würde er uns ebensowenig den Karfreitagszauber aufzeichnen, wie der Mathematiker die pythagoreischen Vorstellungen in Maß und Zahl. In den Zahlen wurden nur die Harmonien ausgedrückt. Wenn der Pythagoreer die vier Glieder der menschlichen Wesenheit ausdrücken will, so klingen sie zusammen in dem Verhältnis von 1:3:7:12. Das bedeutet jenen Klang, in dem die vier Zahlen zusammenklingen wie die vier Wesensteile des Menschen. Die 3 Töne: I Ton von der Sonne, II- Ton von dem Monde, III - Ton von der Erde selbst — tönen hinein in den astralischen Leib.
Physischer Leib 12 Ephesus
Ätherleib 7 Smyrna
Astralleib 3 Pergamon
Ich 1
Geistselbst
Lebensgeist
Geistesmensch
Was von der Erde, der Sonne und dem Mond ausgeht, das klingt zusammen in unserem astralischen Leib. In unseren Ätherleib aber klingt hinein, was ausgeht von den sieben Planeten. Es ist da ein siebenfacher Einfluß von den Planeten auf den Ätherleib, wie von den sieben Tönen: Prime, Sekunde, Terz, Quarte, Quinte, Sexte, Septime — Saturn, Sonne, Mond, Mars, Merkur, Jupiter, Venus. Diese sieben Planeten tönen hinein in unseren Ätherleib. Es tönen zwölf Einflüsse, von den Zeichen des Tierkreises ausgehend, hinein in den physischen Leib. Der Seher erfährt zwölf Grundtöne auf dem Devachanplan. Die beeinflussen unseren physischen Leib. Alles, was im Ich, im Astralleib, Atherleib und im physischen Leib ist, klingt in Tönen.
In das Ich klingt hinein 1 Ton,
in den Astralleib klingen 3 Töne,
in den Ätherleib klingen 7 Töne,
in den physischen Leib klingen 12 Töne.
Das gibt zusammen eine Harmonie oder auch eine Disharmonie.
Es gibt einen Ausdruck im Okkultismus: die 12 geht in die 7, das heißt der physische Leib wird immer ähnlicher dem Ätherleib. Klingt der physische Leib richtig, so hört man durch die 12 Töne hindurch die 7 Töne der Sterne. Werdet so, daß die 12 zur 7 wird, daß die 7 Sterne erscheinen, wird den Ephesern gesagt, weil da der physische Leib besonders ausgebildet wird. Sie sollen den Blick wenden zu den 7 Sternen. Wir wissen, daß die Entwickelung des Christentums bedeutet den Übergang von den alten Stammesgemeinschaften zu der geistigen Liebe, daß das Fleischliche vom Geistigen abgelöst werden soll. Diejenigen, welche uns sagen, wie wir vor allen Dingen trachten müssen, daß das Sinnliche, das Elementarische zu seinem Recht kommt, die nannte man damals die Nikolaiten; es waren solche, die stecken bleiben wollten im materiellen Blute; daher die Warnung vor dem Nikolaitismus. Diese Nikolaiten sind jene, die den Untergang herbeiführen werden.
Ihnen stehen die anderen gegenüber, welche die materielle Entwikkelung überwinden wollen, die das geistige Leben wollen. Der Brief schließt mit dem Symbolum des Lebensbaumes: «Wer Ohren hat, der höre, was der Geist den Gemeinden sagt: Wer überwindet, dem will ich zu essen geben von dem verborgenen Manna...» (Apk. 2, 17)
Der zweite Brief ist an die Gemeinde gerichtet, welche im besonderen die Pflege des Ätherleibes sich angelegen lassen sein soll. Der Ätherleib muß allmählich vergeistigt werden zum Lebensgeist. Der Mensch geht jetzt durch Geburt und Tod hindurch; aber später wird dieser Ätherleib Lebensgeist werden; dann wird er den Tod überwunden haben. In der Bergpredigt heißt es: «Selig sind, die da betteln um Geist, denn sie finden durch sich selbst die Reiche der Himmel.» (Vgl. Mt. 5, 3) Die da betteln um Geist, sind selig, das heißt Seele durchdringt ihr Leben. So wie der physische Leib bei den Ephesern sich hinaufentwickelt, so entwickelt sich der Ätherleib bei der zweiten Gemeinde zu dem Seelenleib. Wenn sie streben nach dieser Beseligung, dann werden sie genannt «die Bettler um Geist»; sie betteln um die Beseligung durch die Verlebendigung des Ätherleibes. Das wird angedeutet in den Worten: «Sei getreu bis an den Tod, so will ich dir die Krone des Lebens geben.» (Apk. 2, 10) Da ist die Entwickelung des Ätherleibes klar und deutlich ausgedrückt.
Eine der größten spirituellen Urkunden ist die Apokalypse. Es gibt kaum große geistige Wahrheiten, deren Bedeutung nicht in der Apokalypse zu finden ist. Nicht ohne Zusammenhang mit der theosophischen Entwickelung steht die Betrachtung der Apokalypse selbst.
Indem wir ein solches Werk verstehen, lassen wir uns in Wirklichkeit befruchten von dem Geiste, der durch Helena Petrowna Blavatsky gesprochen hat. Was die theosophische Bewegung will, muß uns erscheinen wie ein Posaunenton, in die Menschheit hineingesandt. Je mehr wir die Apokalypse verstehen, desto mehr verstehen wir die Aufgabe unserer Bewegung.
Third Lecture
A day of remembrance such as we have today means something quite different to members of the Theosophical Movement, who feel themselves to be part of a spiritual movement, than a day of remembrance for other people, the passing away of a person firmly rooted in our material culture. For us, it is also a day of union, for what would theosophical teaching be if it did not penetrate every fiber of our hearts and become our innermost feeling, our immediate emotion? When a soul has detached itself from the physical body, it only means that the innermost being of a human being has entered into a different relationship with us. On this day, we want to make such a relationship with the founder of the theosophical movement particularly alive within us. We want to fill ourselves with a feeling of belonging to the founder of our movement. We want to make ourselves fully aware that thoughts and feelings are invisible powers in our soul, that they are facts. Feelings are living forces. When we connect all our thoughts today with what the name “Helena Petrovna Blavatsky” encompasses, when we are connected with the spirit that shed its earthly shell on May 8, 1891, then our feelings and thoughts are real forces and form a real spiritual bridge to another form of existence. Another world finds access to our souls through this bridge. For the seeing person, such thoughts and feelings are truly living rays, rays of spiritual light that spring forth from the human being and unite in a point and can then meet with the spiritual entity. Thus, such a solemn moment is a reality. When our soul, which dwells in our body, wants to work on the physical plane, it must form a body; it must build up the substances and forces in such a way that it can find expression through them. If the substances and forces of the soul did not conform, this soul could never live out its life on the physical plane. As it is here on the physical plane, so it is with the spiritual beings on the higher planes. If we want to understand Helena Petrovna Blavatsky correctly, we must understand her in such a way that all her thoughts and aspirations are connected with the proper progress of the theosophical movement. This has been the case since her soul detached itself from the physical body. She is still working as a living entity within the theosophical movement. If she is to work, substances and forces must be made available to her. Where better to obtain them than from the souls of those within the theosophical movement who understand this being? Just as our soul grasps the substances and forces on the physical plane, so such a being grasps the substances and forces of souls in order to work through them. If those who are members of the theosophical movement did not willingly place themselves at the disposal of this entity, it could not express itself on the physical plane. We must create places of worship, love, and devotion in our own souls, thereby forming the forces through which Helena Petrovna Blavatsky can work, just as our soul works through our physical body. We must become aware that we are doing something real by loving and worshipping at this moment. It is true that all the love and worship that flow up to the soul of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky today are called upon as forces to connect with her.
We must understand correctly what this personality means within our spiritual culture. The 19th century will one day be described in the history of humanity as the truly materialistic century. People of the 20th century cannot even imagine how deeply the 19th century was entangled in materialism; this will only be possible later, when people have become spiritual again. Everything, including religious life, is permeated by materialism. Anyone who can look at development from a higher perspective knows that the 1940s were a particularly low point in spiritual life. Science, philosophy, and religion were gripped by materialism. It was incumbent upon the leaders of humanity to gradually allow a stream of spiritual life to flow into humanity. Much is said when it is stated that in the wide circle of spiritual life within Western culture, no one was found who was as suited as Helena Petrovna Blavatsky to channel the stream of spiritual life into the world, to refresh the life of humanity and tear it out of materialism. Whatever attacks are being hurled at her today, the significance of all such attacks pales in comparison to this one fact. For among many other things, the Theosophical Movement must teach us a sense of positivity. We must bring ourselves to feel that we can see above all what is great in a person; in contrast, all those little lights that criticism of such a personality ignites can be extinguished. Just as many things have faded away from other great personalities that their contemporaries viewed with critical eyes, so too will everything fade away from her. But what she has done that is great will remain.
Let us learn to regard people's mistakes as their own business, and let us learn to regard people's deeds as the business of all humanity. What people lack is part of their karma; what they do is the business of humanity. Let us learn not to worry about people's mistakes; they must atone for them themselves. But let us learn to be grateful for their achievements, for it is from these that the entire development of humanity lives.
This year's White Lotus Day, which is a day of remembrance that a soul has broken free from the body and carries its experiences upward in another form, like the lotus flower, is the first day of its kind that we no longer celebrate in the company of Henry Steel Olcott, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's comrade. He too has left the physical plane, he who stands as the great organizer, as the formative force. [An incomprehensible sentence follows.] We direct our grateful, reverent, and loving thoughts to him; these thoughts will flow into the spiritual worlds, and we ourselves will gain strength from them. We should continue the celebration on the other days of the year by sending out the forces we have received as rays of light, by applying these forces in the work we call the Theosophical Movement. We will only work in her spirit if we are completely free of dogma and sectarianism and devoted to spiritual life. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky did not demand blind faith from anyone. What can be demanded of her followers is that they allow themselves to be enriched by their spirituality. In what Helena Petrovna Blavatsky has handed down to the physical plane lies a source of spiritual power that will be so beneficial to us if we allow it to work on us in a living way. We can allow ourselves to be enriched by the letters, but the spirit must become alive within us. One thing is certain about Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's writings: only those who do not understand them can underestimate them. But those who increasingly find the key to what is great in these works will become ever greater admirers of them. That is the significance of these works: the more one delves into them, the greater an admirer one becomes. It is not the case that one cannot see any mistakes in them; but those who grasp the living life know, as they delve deeper and deeper into these works, that what is expressed there could only have come from the great spiritual beings who are guiding the development of the world today. This is how we must read “Isis Unveiled,” a book that truly contains the greatest truths, but sometimes distorted and caricatured, like a beautiful face reflected in a mirror that distorts it.
Those who wish to adopt a purely critical attitude may say that it would be better not to present such a distorted picture. But those who see things in the right light will say to themselves: if someone places their weak mental powers at the disposal of the spiritual powers that want to reveal themselves, and knows that these powers can only give a distorted picture, but that no one else is capable of doing better, then through this devotion they are making a great sacrifice for the world. All reproduction of the great truth is a distorted picture. If one wanted to wait until the whole truth could come to light, one would have to wait a long time. Selfless are those who want to give themselves and say: Let people tear me apart, I must bring the truth as I can bring it. This sacrifice, this high sacrifice of the intellect—a word so misused by a misguided religious view—is a much greater sacrifice than a moral sacrifice. It means sacrificing the intellect for the spiritual truth that is pouring in. If we do not sacrifice the intellect, we cannot serve the truth. When we look gratefully upon Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, it is above all because she is, in the sense just described, a martyr among the great martyrs of truth. This is how we look upon her when we gladly and willingly regard her as a model in the Theosophical Society. We know that we do not desecrate the day when we speak of the realms to which she had no access.
We should speak of the spiritual world current that Helena Petrovna Blavatsky understood least on the physical plane. We serve her best when we place ourselves in the service of that to which she did not find access. She would much rather find followers than imitators. Even if some things sound contrary to her, we know that we are acting in her spirit; it is through this freedom that we honor her most.
The transition to the Apocalypse is not sought, nor is it far-fetched. For if we want to understand Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's world-historical mission more deeply, we must imagine its development as consisting of two currents. 1841 was the low point of spiritual life. In 1841, the opponents of spiritual life had their strongest point of attack in human development. They prepared the ground for many of the things that are described as prophetic thoughts about the future in the Apocalypse. What is expressed by the beast with the ram's horns and the number 666, the beast with the seven heads, and so on, is being prepared by the forces that found their point of attack in human development in 1841. Those elemental beings who found suitable ground for themselves at that time, those powers, have now taken possession of a large part of humanity and are exerting their influence there. Otherwise, the opposing forces expressed in the two beasts would not be in humanity, pulling it down. However, there is another path that leads upward. What is being accomplished today in order to ascend is the preparation for all those who are to be sealed, who are to enter the spiritual stream of development. This stream of spiritual life has created an instrument for itself in Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. We do not understand our time if we do not recognize this spiritual stream as a profound necessity.
We are in the fifth subrace of the fifth root race and live in opposition to the sixth subrace and the seventh subrace, then the sixth root race. What does it mean to live in opposition to these races? It means that for those who want it, the sixth period—whether it be the sixth period of the prophetically announced sixth subrace or the sixth root race—will contain the understanding of Christ. There will be Christ-people, the sealed ones; in the times of future spirituality, the human souls will be unlocked. The fact that the five virgins have oil in their lamps, that the bridegroom finds illuminated souls, means that what is still hidden from humanity today will then be revealed to a part of humanity. The book with seven seals will be unraveled for a large part of humanity. John the Apocalyptic wants to point to this time; he wants to foretell this time through signs.
In one sentence it says: “And there appeared a great sign in heaven...” (Rev. 12:1). This means that in the Apocalypse we are dealing with signs for the great phases of human development. We have to decipher these signs. We remember that our present fifth main race was preceded by the Atlantean race, which was destroyed by a flood. What will destroy the fifth race? The fifth race has a special task: to bring egoism to fruition. This selfishness will also be what brings about the downfall of the fifth main race. A small portion will live in opposition to the time of the sixth main race. The greater part of humanity will not yet have found the light within. And because egoism is the fundamental force, war will rage within this portion of humanity, with everyone fighting against everyone else. Just as the Lemurian race perished through the forces of fire, and Atlantis through water, so will the fifth race meet its downfall through the raging of selfish forces against each other and a war of all against all. This line of development will go ever deeper; when it reaches the bottom, all will rage against all. A small portion will escape this, as happened at the downfall of the Atlantean race. It is up to each individual to find the connection with spiritual life in order to pass over to the sixth main race. Great revolutions await humanity, and this is what the Apocalypse describes.
First we are presented with seven letters to seven churches. If people are to find the way to that great moment, they must have something to hold on to, something through which they can refine their seven human members, so that they will be ready when the great moment comes. There are places on earth where religious practices focus mainly on the development of the physical body. In other places, more attention is paid to the development of the etheric body. In yet other places, more attention is paid to the development of the astral body or the ego. There will also be more and more places where special attention will be paid to the development of the manas, or the budhi, or the atma. One would not believe in reincarnation in the true sense if one did not say to oneself: Once a person is born in a place where the physical body is mainly taken into consideration, he will be born again in a place where more consideration will be given to the other bodies, and so on.
Seven letters are addressed to seven separate geographical regions in which special consideration was given to one of the seven parts of the human being. The first letter is addressed to the Ephesians. Among them, great importance was attached to the development of the physical body. Among the Phrygians, in Smyrna, special consideration was given to the etheric body, and in Pergamon to the astral body.
Let us see why seven geographical regions, in relation to the seven members of the human being, signify particular modes of human development. Let us suppose that a person lives in a region where the physical body is predominantly developed; if he then neglects his physical body, it will become a caricature of what it should have become. If that which is to be brought to a certain perfection is not developed, then something arises within him that prepares him for the terrible phenomena of human evolution.
The first epistle is addressed to the community in Ephesus, the place dedicated to Diana. It emphasizes the beautiful design of the physical body. Where is the physical body headed? We can understand this more and more when we know that the physical body must become more and more purified and more and more an expression of the etheric body, and this in turn of the astral body, and this of the I.
In the ancient Pythagorean schools, numbers played an important role. Let us remember that in the Devachan world, as elsewhere, everything is ordered according to measure and number. What would it mean to seek the laws of nature if they did not exist? We weigh and measure the bodies of the world as we do with substances on a small scale. We must combine this fact with another fact. We imagine this space filled with the sound structures of a high musical composition, for example, the tones of the Good Friday spell. This is the higher soul form of what the physicist would express to us in the numbers of air vibrations. Our souls are flooded by the spirit of these vibrations in music. Now imagine the numbers heard by the ear of the spirit, and we have the music of the spheres. If a physicist were to record the vibrations of the air in numbers, he would record the Good Friday spell just as little as a mathematician could record Pythagorean ideas in measurements and numbers. Only the harmonies were expressed in the numbers. When the Pythagoreans want to express the four limbs of the human being, they sound together in the ratio of 1:3:7:12. This means that sound in which the four numbers sound together like the four parts of the human being. The three tones: I tone from the sun, II tone from the moon, III tone from the earth itself — resound into the astral body.
Physical body 12 Ephesus
Etheric body 7 Smyrna
Astral body 3 Pergamon
I 1
Spiritual self
Life spirit
Spiritual human being
What emanates from the earth, the sun, and the moon resonates together in our astral body. But what emanates from the seven planets resonates in our etheric body. There is a sevenfold influence from the planets on the etheric body, like the seven tones: prime, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh — Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus. These seven planets resonate within our etheric body. Twelve influences, emanating from the signs of the zodiac, resonate within the physical body. The seer experiences twelve fundamental tones on the Devachan plane. These influence our physical body. Everything that is in the I, in the astral body, etheric body, and physical body resonates in tones.
One tone resonates in the ego,
three tones resonate in the astral body,
seven tones resonate in the etheric body,
twelve tones resonate in the physical body.
Together, this creates harmony or disharmony.
There is an expression in occultism: the 12 goes into the 7, which means that the physical body becomes more and more like the etheric body. If the physical body sounds right, you can hear the seven tones of the stars through the twelve tones. Become so that the 12 becomes 7, that the 7 stars appear, the Ephesians are told, because there the physical body is particularly well developed. They should turn their gaze to the 7 stars. We know that the development of Christianity means the transition from the old tribal communities to spiritual love, that the physical must be replaced by the spiritual. Those who tell us that we must strive above all else to give the sensual, the elemental, its due were called Nicolaitans in those days; they were those who wanted to remain stuck in material blood; hence the warning against Nicolaitanism. These Nicolaitans are those who will bring about the downfall.
Opposite them stand those who want to overcome material development, who want spiritual life. The letter closes with the symbol of the tree of life: “He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who overcomes, I will give to eat of the hidden manna...” (Rev. 2:17)
The second letter is addressed to the community, which should be particularly concerned with the care of the etheric body. The etheric body must gradually be spiritualized into the life spirit. Man now passes through birth and death; but later this etheric body will become the life spirit; then it will have overcome death. In the Sermon on the Mount it says: “Blessed are those who hunger for spirit, for they shall find the kingdom of heaven.” (cf. Matthew 5:3) Those who hunger for spirit are blessed, that is, their lives are permeated by the soul. Just as the physical body develops upward in the Ephesians, so the etheric body develops into the soul body in the second community. When they strive for this bliss, they are called “beggars for spirit”; they beg for bliss through the enlivenment of the etheric body. This is indicated in the words: “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). Here the development of the etheric body is clearly expressed.
One of the greatest spiritual documents is the Apocalypse. There are hardly any great spiritual truths whose meaning cannot be found in the Apocalypse. The consideration of the Apocalypse itself is not unrelated to theosophical development.
By understanding such a work, we allow ourselves to be truly inspired by the spirit that spoke through Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. What the theosophical movement wants must appear to us like a trumpet blast sent forth to humanity. The more we understand the Apocalypse, the more we understand the task of our movement.