The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Are They "Spirits of Light" or "Goblins Damn'd"?

Enq. Who are they, finally, those whom you call your "Masters"? Some say they are "Spirits," or some other kind of supernatural beings, while others call them "myths."

Theo. They are neither. I once heard one outsider say to another that they were a sort of male mermaids, whatever such a creature may be. But if you listen to what people say, you will never have a true conception of them. In the first place they are living men, born as we are born, and doomed to die like every other mortal.

Enq. Yes, but it is rumoured that some of them are a thousand years old. Is this true?

Theo. As true as the miraculous growth of hair on the head of Meredith's Shagpat. Truly, like the "Identical," no Theosophical shaving has hitherto been able to crop it. The more we deny them, the more we try to set people right, the more absurd do the inventions become. I have heard of Methuselah being 969 years old; but, not being forced to believe in it, have laughed at the statement, for which I was forthwith regarded by many as a blasphemous heretic.

Enq. Seriously, though, do they outlive the ordinary age of men?

Theo. What do you call the ordinary age? I remember reading in the Lancet of a Mexican who was almost 190 years old; but I have never heard of mortal man, layman, or Adept, who could live even half the years allotted to Methuselah. Some Adepts do exceed, by a good deal, what you would call the ordinary age; yet there is nothing miraculous in it, and very few of them care to live very long.

Enq. But what does the word "Mahatma" really mean?

Theo. Simply a "great soul," great through moral elevation and intellectual attainment. If the title of great is given to a drunken soldier like Alexander, why should we not call those "Great" who have achieved far greater conquests in Nature's secrets, than Alexander ever did on the field of battle? Besides, the term is an Indian and a very old word.

Enq. And why do you call them "Masters"?

Theo. We call them "Masters" because they are our teachers; and because from them we have derived all the Theosophical truths, however inadequately some of us may have expressed, and others understood, them. They are men of great learning, whom we term Initiates, and still greater holiness of life. They are not ascetics in the ordinary sense, though they certainly remain apart from the turmoil and strife of your western world.

Enq. But is it not selfish thus to isolate themselves?

Theo. Where is the selfishness? Does not the fate of the Theosophical Society sufficiently prove that the world is neither ready to recognise them nor to profit by their teaching? Of what use would Professor Clerk Maxwell have been to instruct a class of little boys in their multiplication-table? Besides, they isolate themselves only from the West. In their own country they go about as publicly as other people do.

Enq. Don't you ascribe to them supernatural powers?

Theo. We believe in nothing supernatural, as I have told you already. Had Edison lived and invented his phonograph two hundred years ago, he would most probably have been burnt along with it, and the whole attributed to the devil. The powers which they exercise are simply the development of potencies lying latent in every man and woman, and the existence of which even official science begins to recognise.

Enq. Is it true that these men inspire some of your writers, and that many, if not all, of your Theosophical works were written under their dictation?

Theo. Some have. There are passages entirely dictated by them and verbatim, but in most cases they only inspire the ideas and leave the literary form to the writers.

Enq. But this in itself is miraculous; is, in fact, a miracle. How can they do it?

Theo. My dear Sir, you are labouring under a great mistake, and it is science itself that will refute your arguments at no distant day. Why should it be a "miracle," as you call it? A miracle is supposed to mean some operation which is supernatural, whereas there is really nothing above or beyond NATURE and Nature's laws. Among the many forms of the "miracle" which have come under modern scientific recognition, there is Hypnotism, and one phase of its power is known as "Suggestion," a form of thought transference, which has been successfully used in combating particular physical diseases, etc. The time is not far distant when the World of Science will be forced to acknowledge that there exists as much interaction between one mind and another, no matter at what distance, as between one body and another in closest contact. When two minds are sympathetically related, and the instruments through which they function are tuned to respond magnetically and electrically to one another, there is nothing which will prevent the transmission of thoughts from one to the other, at will; for since the mind is not of a tangible nature, that distance can divide it from the subject of its contemplation, it follows that the only difference that can exist between two minds is a difference of STATE. So if this latter hindrance is overcome, where is the "miracle" of thought transference, at whatever distance.

Enq. But you will admit that Hypnotism does nothing so miraculous or wonderful as that?

Theo. On the contrary, it is a well-established fact that a Hypnotist can affect the brain of his subject so far as to produce an expression of his own thoughts, and even his words, through the organism of his subject; and although the phenomena attaching to this method of actual thought transference are as yet few in number, no one, I presume, will undertake to say how far their action may extend in the future, when the laws that govern their production are more scientifically established. And so, if such results can be produced by the knowledge of the mere rudiments of Hypnotism, what can prevent the Adept in Psychic and Spiritual powers from producing results which, with your present limited knowledge of their laws, you are inclined to call "miraculous"?

Enq. Then why do not our physicians experiment and try if they could not do as much? ^*

Theo. Because, first of all, they are not Adepts with a thorough understanding of the secrets and laws of psychic and spiritual realms, but materialists, afraid to step outside the narrow groove of matter; and, secondly, because they must fail at present, and indeed until they are brought to acknowledge that such powers are attainable.

Enq. And could they be taught?

Theo. Not unless they were first of all prepared, by having the materialistic dross they have accumulated in their brains swept away to the very last atom.

Enq. This is very interesting. Tell me, have the Adepts thus inspired or dictated to many of your Theosophists?

Theo. No, on the contrary, to very few. Such operations require special conditions. An unscrupulous but skilled Adept of the Black Brotherhood ("Brothers of the Shadow," and Dugpas, we call them) has far less difficulties to labour under. For, having no laws of the Spiritual kind to trammel his actions, such a Dugpa "sorcerer" will most unceremoniously obtain control over any mind, and subject it entirely to his evil powers. But our Masters will never do that. They have no right, except by falling into Black Magic, to obtain full mastery over anyone's immortal Ego, and can therefore act only on the physical and psychic nature of the subject, leaving thereby the free will of the latter wholly undisturbed. Hence, unless a person has been brought into psychic relationship with the Masters, and is assisted by virtue of his full faith in, and devotion to, his Teachers, the latter, whenever transmitting their thoughts to one with whom these conditions are not fulfilled, experience great difficulties in penetrating into the cloudy chaos of that person's sphere. But this is no place to treat of a subject of this nature. Suffice it to say, that if the power exists, then there are Intelligences (embodied or disembodied) which guide this power, and living conscious instruments through whom it is transmitted and by whom it is received. We have only to beware of black magic.

Enq. But what do you really mean by "black magic"?

Theo. Simply abuse of psychic powers, or of any secret of nature; the fact of applying to selfish and sinful ends the powers of Occultism. A hypnotiser, who, taking advantage of his powers of "suggestion," forces a subject to steal or murder, would be called a black magician by us. The famous "rejuvenating system" of Dr. Brown-Sequard, of Paris, through a loathsome animal injection into human blood — a discovery all the medical papers of Europe are now discussing — if true, is unconscious black magic.

Enq. But this is mediaeval belief in witchcraft and sorcery! Even Law itself has ceased to believe in such things?

Theo. So much the worse for law, as it has been led, through such a lack of discrimination, into committing more than one judiciary mistake and crime. It is the term alone that frightens you with its "superstitious" ring in it. Would not law punish an abuse of hypnotic powers, as I just mentioned? Nay, it has so punished it already in France and Germany; yet it would indignantly deny that it applied punishment to a crime of evident sorcery. You cannot believe in the efficacy and reality of the powers of suggestion by physicians and mesmerisers (or hypnotisers), and then refuse to believe in the same powers when used for evil motives. And if you do, then you believe in Sorcery. You cannot believe in good and disbelieve in evil, accept genuine money and refuse to credit such a thing as false coin. Nothing can exist without its contrast, and no day, no light, no good could have any representation as such in your consciousness, were there no night, darkness nor evil to offset and contrast them.

Enq. Indeed, I have known men, who, while thoroughly believing in that which you call great psychic, or magic powers, laughed at the very mention of Witchcraft and Sorcery.

Theo. What does it prove? Simply that they are illogical. So much the worse for them, again. And we, knowing as we do of the existence of good and holy Adepts, believe as thoroughly in the existence of bad and unholy Adepts, or — Dugpas.

Enq. But if the Masters exist, why don't they come out before all men and refute once for all the many charges which are made against Mdme. Blavatsky and the Society?

Theo. What charges?

Enq. That they do not exist, and that she has invented them. That they are men of straw, "Mahatmas of muslin and bladders." Does not all this injure her reputation?

Theo. In what way can such an accusation injure her in reality? Did she ever make money on their presumed existence, or derive benefit, or fame, therefrom? I answer that she has gained only insults, abuse, and calumnies, which would have been very painful had she not learned long ago to remain perfectly indifferent to such false charges. For what does it amount to, after all? Why, to an implied compliment, which, if the fools, her accusers, were not carried away by their blind hatred, they would have thought twice before uttering. To say that she has invented the Masters comes to this: She must have invented every bit of philosophy that has ever been given out in Theosophical literature. She must be the author of the letters from which "Esoteric Buddhism" was written; the sole inventor of every tenet found in the "Secret Doctrine," which, if the world were just, would be recognised as supplying many of the missing links of science, as will be discovered a hundred years hence. By saying what they do, they are also giving her the credit of being far cleverer than the hundreds of men, (many very clever and not a few scientific men,) who believe in what she says — inasmuch as she must have fooled them all! If they speak the truth, then she must be several Mahatmas rolled into one like a nest of Chinese boxes; since among the so-called "Mahatma letters" are many in totally different and distinct styles, all of which her accusers declare that she has written.

Enq. It is just what they say. But is it not very painful to her to be publicly denounced as "the most accomplished impostor of the age, whose name deserves to pass to posterity," as is done in the Report of the "Society for Psychical Research"? ^**

Theo. It might be painful if it were true, or came from people less rabidly materialistic and prejudiced. As it is, personally she treats the whole matter with contempt, while the Mahatmas simply laugh at it. In truth, it is the greatest compliment that could be paid to her. I say so, again.

Enq. But her enemies claim to have proved their case.

Theo. Aye, it is easy enough to make such a claim when you have constituted yourself judge, jury, and prosecuting counsel at once, as they did. But who, except their direct followers and our enemies, believe in it?

Enq. But they sent a representative to India to investigate the matter, didn't they?

Theo. They did, and their final conclusion rests entirely on the unchecked statements and unverified assertions of this young gentleman. A lawyer who read through his report told a friend of mine that in all his experience he had never seen "such a ridiculous and self-condemnatory document." It was found to be full of suppositions and "working hypotheses" which mutually destroyed each other. Is this a serious charge?

Enq. Yet it has done the Society great harm. Why, then, did she not vindicate her own character, at least, before a Court of Law?

Theo. Firstly, because as a Theosophist, it is her duty to leave unheeded all personal insults. Secondly, because neither the Society nor Mdme. Blavatsky had any money to waste over such a law-suit. And lastly, because it would have been ridiculous for both to be untrue to their principles, because of an attack made on them by a flock of stupid old British wethers, who had been led to butt at them by an over frolicksome lambkin from Australia.

Enq. This is complimentary. But do you not think that it would have done real good to the cause of Theosophy, if she had authoritatively disproved the whole thing once for all?

Theo. Perhaps. But do you believe that any English jury or judge would have ever admitted the reality of psychic phenomena, even if entirely unprejudiced beforehand? And when you remember that they would have been set against us already by the "Russian Spy" scare, the charge of Atheism and infidelity, and all the other calumnies that have been circulated against us, you cannot fail to see that such an attempt to obtain justice in a Court of Law would have been worse than fruitless! All this the Psychic Researchers knew well, and they took a base and mean advantage of their position to raise themselves above our heads and save themselves at our expense.

Enq. The S. P. R. now denies completely the existence of the Mahatmas. They say that from beginning to end they were a romance which Madame Blavatsky has woven from her own brain?

Theo. Well, she might have done many things less clever than this. At any rate, we have not the slightest objection to this theory. As she always says now, she almost prefers that people should not believe in the Masters. She declares openly that she would rather people should seriously think that the only Mahatmaland is the grey matter of her brain, and that, in short, she has evolved them out of the depths of her own inner consciousness, than that their names and grand ideal should be so infamously desecrated as they are at present. At first she used to protest indignantly against any doubts as to their existence. Now she never goes out of her way to prove or disprove it. Let people think what they like.

Enq. But, of course, these Masters do exist?

Theo. We affirm they do. Nevertheless, this does not help much. Many people, even some Theosophists and ex-Theosophists, say that they have never had any proof of their existence. Very well; then Mme. Blavatsky replies with this alternative: — If she has invented them, then she has also invented their philosophy and the practical knowledge which some few have acquired; and if so, what does it matter whether they do exist or not, since she herself is here, and her own existence, at any rate, can hardly be denied? If the knowledge supposed to have been imparted by them is good intrinsically, and it is accepted as such by many persons of more than average intelligence, why should there be such a hullabaloo made over that question? The fact of her being an impostor has never been proved, and will always remain sub judice; whereas it is a certain and undeniable fact that, by whomsoever invented, the philosophy preached by the "Masters" is one of the grandest and most beneficent philosophies once it is properly understood. Thus the slanderers, while moved by the lowest and meanest feelings — those of hatred, revenge, malice, wounded vanity, or disappointed ambition, — seem quite unaware that they are paying the greatest tribute to her intellectual powers. So be it, if the poor fools will have it so. Really, Mme. Blavatsky has not the slightest objection to being represented by her enemies as a triple Adept, and a "Mahatma" to boot. It is only her unwillingness to pose in her own sight as a crow parading in peacock's feathers that compels her to this day to insist upon the truth.

Enq. But if you have such wise and good men to guide the Society, how is it that so many mistakes have been made?

Theo. The Masters do not guide the Society, not even the Founders; and no one has ever asserted that they did: they only watch over, and protect it. This is amply proved by the fact that no mistakes have been able to cripple it, and no scandals from within, nor the most damaging attacks from without, have been able to overthrow it. The Masters look at the future, not at the present, and every mistake is so much more accumulated wisdom for days to come. That other "Master" who sent the man with the five talents did not tell him how to double them, nor did he prevent the foolish servant from burying his one talent in the earth. Each must acquire wisdom by his own experience and merits. The Christian Churches, who claim a far higher "Master," the very Holy Ghost itself, have ever been and are still guilty not only of "mistakes," but of a series of bloody crimes throughout the ages. Yet, no Christian would deny, for all that, his belief in that "Master," I suppose? although his existence is far more hypothetical than that of the Mahatmas; as no one has ever seen the Holy Ghost, and his guidance of the Church, moreover, their own ecclesiastical history distinctly contradicts. Errare humanum est. Let us return to our subject.

The Abuse of Sacred Names and Terms

Enq. Then, what I have heard, namely, that many of your Theosophical writers claim to have been inspired by these Masters, or to have seen and conversed with them, is not true?

Theo. It may or it may not be true. How can I tell? The burden of proof rests with them. Some of them, a few — very few, indeed — have distinctly either lied or were hallucinated when boasting of such inspiration; others were truly inspired by great Adepts. The tree is known by its fruits; and as all Theosophists have to be judged by their deeds and not by what they write or say, so all Theosophical books must be accepted on their merits, and not according to any claim to authority which they may put forward.

Enq. But would Mdme. Blavatsky apply this to her own works — the Secret Doctrine, for instance?

Theo. Certainly; she says expressly in the PREFACE that she gives out the doctrines that she has learnt from the Masters, but claims no inspiration whatever for what she has lately written. As for our best Theosophists, they would also in this case far rather that the names of the Masters had never been mixed up with our books in any way. With few exceptions, most of such works are not only imperfect, but positively erroneous and misleading. Great are the desecrations to which the names of two of the Masters have been subjected. There is hardly a medium who has not claimed to have seen them. Every bogus swindling Society, for commercial purposes, now claims to be guided and directed by "Masters," often supposed to be far higher than ours! Many and heavy are the sins of those who advanced these claims, prompted either by desire for lucre, vanity, or irresponsible mediumship. Many persons have been plundered of their money by such societies, which offer to sell the secrets of power, knowledge, and spiritual truth for worthless gold. Worst of all, the sacred names of Occultism and the holy keepers thereof have been dragged in this filthy mire, polluted by being associated with sordid motives and immoral practices, while thousands of men have been held back from the path of truth and light through the discredit and evil report which such shams, swindles, and frauds have brought upon the whole subject. I say again, every earnest Theosophist regrets to-day, from the bottom of his heart, that these sacred names and things have ever been mentioned before the public, and fervently wishes that they had been kept secret within a small circle of trusted and devoted friends.

Enq. The names certainly do occur very frequently now-a-days, and I never remember hearing of such persons as "Masters" till quite recently.

Theo. It is so; and had we acted on the wise principle of silence, instead of rushing into notoriety and publishing all we knew and heard, such desecration would never have occurred. Behold, only fourteen years ago, before the Theosophical Society was founded, all the talk was of "Spirits." They were everywhere, in everyone's mouth; and no one by any chance even dreamt of talking about living "Adepts," "Mahatmas," or "Masters." One hardly heard even the name of the Rosicrucians, while the existence of such a thing as "Occultism" was suspected even but by very few. Now all that is changed. We Theosophists were, unfortunately, the first to talk of these things, to make the fact of the existence in the East of "Adepts" and "Masters" and Occult knowledge known; and now the name has become common property. It is on us, now, that the Karma, the consequences of the resulting desecration of holy names and things, has fallen. All that you now find about such matters in current literature — and there is not a little of it — all is to be traced back to the impulse given in this direction by the Theosophical Society and its Founders. Our enemies profit to this day by our mistake. The most recent book directed against our teachings is alleged to have been written by an Adept of twenty years' standing. Now, it is a palpable lie. We know the amanuensis and his inspirers (as he is himself too ignorant to have written anything of the sort). These "inspirers" are living persons, revengeful and unscrupulous in proportion to their intellectual powers; and these bogus Adepts are not one, but several. The cycle of "Adepts," used as sledge-hammers to break the theosophical heads with, began twelve years ago, with Mrs. Emma Hardinge Britten's "Louis" of Art Magic and Ghost-Land, and now ends with the "Adept" and "Author" of The Light of Egypt, a work written by Spiritualists against Theosophy and its teachings. But it is useless to grieve over what is done, and we can only suffer in the hope that our indiscretions may have made it a little easier for others to find the way to these Masters, whose names are now everywhere taken in vain, and under cover of which so many iniquities have already been perpetrated.

Enq. Do you reject "Louis" as an Adept?

Theo. We denounce no one, leaving this noble task to our enemies. The spiritualistic author of Art Magic, etc., may or may not have been acquainted with such an Adept — and saying this, I say far less than what that lady has said and written about us and Theosophy for the last several years — that is her own business. Only when, in a solemn scene of mystic vision, an alleged "Adept" sees "spirits" presumably at Greenwich, England, through Lord Rosse's telescope, which was built in, and never moved from, Parsonstown, Ireland, (vide "Ghost Land," Part I., p. 133, et seq.) I may well be permitted to wonder at the ignorance of that "Adept" in matters of science. This beats all the mistakes and blunders committed at times by the chelas of our Teachers! And it is this "Adept" that is used now to break the teachings of our Masters!

Enq. I quite understand your feeling in this matter, and think it only natural. And now, in view of all that you have said and explained to me, there is one subject on which I should like to ask you a few questions.

Theo. If I can answer them I will. What is that?

• *. Such, for instance, as Prof. Bernheim and Dr. C. Lloyd Tuckey, of England; Professors Beaunis and Liegeois, of Nancy; Delboeuf of Liege; Burot and Bourru, of Rochefort; Fontain and Sigard, of Bordeaux; Forel, of Zurich; and Drs. Despine, of Marseilles; Van Renterghem and Van Eeden, of Amsterdam; Wetterstrand, of Stockholm; Schrenck-Notzing, of Leipzig, and many other physicians and writers of eminence.
• **. Publisher’s Note: This document, published by the SPR in 1885, was discredited in an examination by Dr. Vernon Harrison, a senior member of the SPR and an expert in forgery. His findings were published in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, April 1986, and in his 1997 monograph, H. P. Blavatsky and the SPR: An Examination of the Hodgson Report of 1885.

These instructions are for those ignorant of the dangers of the lower IDDHI.¹

He who would hear the voice of Nâda,² "the Soundless Sound," and comprehend it, he has to learn the nature of Dhâranâ.³

Having become indifferent to objects of perception, the pupil must seek out the râja of the senses, the Thought-Producer, he who awakes illusion.

The Mind is the great Slayer of the Real.

Let the Disciple slay the Slayer.

For: —
When to himself his form appears unreal, as do on waking all the forms he sees in dreams;

When he has ceased to hear the many, he may discern the ONE — the inner sound which kills the outer.

Then only, not till then, shall he forsake the region of Asat, the false, to come unto the realm of Sat, the true.

Before the soul can see, the Harmony within must be attained, and fleshly eyes be rendered blind to all illusion.

Before the Soul can hear, the image (man) has to become as deaf to roarings as to whispers, to cries of bellowing elephants as to the silvery buzzing of the golden fire-fly.

Before the soul can comprehend and may remember, she must unto the Silent Speaker be united just as the form to which the clay is modelled, is first united with the potter's mind.

For then the soul will hear, and will remember.

And then to the inner ear will speak —

THE VOICE OF THE SILENCE

And say: —

If thy soul smiles while bathing in the Sunlight of thy Life; if thy soul sings within her chrysalis of flesh and matter; if thy soul weeps inside her castle of illusion; if thy soul struggles to break the silver thread that binds her to the MASTER; ⁴ know, O Disciple, thy Soul is of the earth.

When to the World's turmoil thy budding soul ⁵ lends ear; when to the roaring voice of the great illusion thy Soul responds; ⁶ when frightened at the sight of the hot tears of pain, when deafened by the cries of distress, thy soul withdraws like the shy turtle within the carapace of SELFHOOD, learn, O Disciple, of her Silent "God," thy Soul is an unworthy shrine.

When waxing stronger, thy Soul glides forth from her secure retreat: and breaking loose from the protecting shrine, extends her silver thread and rushes onward; when beholding her image on the waves of Space she whispers, "This is I," — declare, O Disciple, that thy soul is caught in the webs of delusion.⁷

This Earth, Disciple, is the Hall of Sorrow, wherein are set along the Path of dire probations, traps to ensnare thy EGO by the delusion called "Great Heresy".⁸

This earth, O ignorant Disciple, is but the dismal entrance leading to the twilight that precedes the valley of true light — that light which no wind can extinguish, that light which burns without a wick or fuel.

Saith the Great Law: — "In order to become the knower of ALL SELF ⁹ thou hast first of self to be the knower." To reach the knowledge of that self, thou hast to give up Self to Non-Self, Being to Non-Being, and then thou canst repose between the wings of the GREAT BIRD. Aye, sweet is rest between the wings of that which is not born, nor dies, but is the AUM ¹⁰ throughout eternal ages.¹¹

Bestride the Bird of Life, if thou would'st know.¹²

Give up thy life, if thou would'st live.¹³

Three Halls, O weary pilgrim, lead to the end of toils. Three Halls, O conqueror of Mâra, will bring thee through three states ¹⁴ into the fourth ¹⁵ and thence into the seven worlds,¹⁶ the worlds of Rest Eternal.

If thou would'st learn their names, then hearken, and remember.

The name of the first Hall is IGNORANCE — Avidyâ.

It is the Hall in which thou saw'st the light, in which thou livest and shalt die.¹⁷

The name of Hall the second is the Hall of Learning.* In it thy Soul will find the blossoms of life, but under every flower a serpent coiled.¹⁸

[*The Hall of Probationary Learning.]

The name of the third Hall is Wisdom, beyond which stretch the shoreless waters of AKSHARA, the indestructible Fount of Omniscience.¹⁹

If thou would'st cross the first Hall safely, let not thy mind mistake the fires of lust that burn therein for the Sunlight of life.

If thou would'st cross the second safely, stop not the fragrance of its stupefying blossoms to inhale. If freed thou would'st be from the Karmic chains, seek not for thy Guru in those Mâyâvic regions.

The WISE ONES tarry not in pleasure-grounds of senses.

The WISE ONES heed not the sweet-tongued voices of illusion.

Seek for him who is to give thee birth,²⁰ in the Hall of Wisdom, the Hall which lies beyond, wherein all shadows are unknown, and where the light of truth shines with unfading glory.

That which is uncreate abides in thee, Disciple, as it abides in that Hall. If thou would'st reach it and blend the two, thou must divest thyself of thy dark garments of illusion. Stifle the voice of flesh, allow no image of the senses to get between its light and thine that thus the twain may blend in one. And having learnt thine own Ajñâna,²¹ flee from the Hall of Learning. This Hall is dangerous in its perfidious beauty, is needed but for thy probation. Beware, Lanoo, lest dazzled by illusive radiance thy Soul should linger and be caught in its deceptive light.

• 1. Pali word Iddhi, is the synonym of the Sanskrit Siddhis, or psychic faculties, the abnormal powers in man. There are two kinds of Siddhis. One group which embraces the lower, coarse, psychic and mental energies; the other is one which exacts the highest training of Spiritual powers. Says Krishna in Śrîmad Bhâgavatam: —
  "He who is engaged in the performance of yoga, who has subdued his senses and who has concentrated his mind in me (Krishna), such yogis all the Siddhis stand ready to serve."
• 2. The "Soundless Voice," or the "Voice of the Silence." Literally perhaps this would read "Voice in the Spiritual Sound," as Nâda is the equivalent word in Sanskrit, for the Sen-sar term.
• 3. Dhâranâ, is the intense and perfect concentration of the mind upon some one interior object, accompanied by complete abstraction from everything pertaining to the external Universe, or the world of the senses.
• 4. The "great Master" is the term used by lanoos or chelas to indicate one's "Higher Self." It is the equivalent of Avalokiteśvara, and the same as Âdi-Budha with the Buddhist Occultists, Âtman the "Self" (the Higher Self) with the Brahmins, and Christos with the ancient Gnostics.
• 5. Soul is used here for the Human Ego or Manas, that which is referred to in our Occult Septenary division as the "Human Soul" (Vide the Secret Doctrine) in contradistinction to the Spiritual and Animal Souls.
• 6. Mahâ Mâyâ "Great Illusion," the objective Universe.
• 7. Sakkâyaditthi "delusion" of personality.
• 8. Attavâda, the heresy of the belief in Soul or rather in the separateness of Soul or Self from the One Universal, infinite Self.
• 9. The Tattvajñânin is the "knower" or discriminator of the principles in nature and in man; and Âtmajñânin is the knower of Âtman or the Universal, One Self.
• 10. Kala Hamsa, the "Bird" or Swan (Vide No. 11). Says the Nâda-Bindu Upanishad (Rig Veda) translated by the Kumbakonam Theos. Society — "The syllable a is considered to be its (the bird Hamsa's) right wing, u, its left, m, its tail, and the Ardha-mâtra (half metre) is said to be its head."
• 11. Eternity with the Orientals has quite another signification than it has with us. It stands generally for the 100 years or "age" of Brahmâ, the duration of a Kalpa or a period of 4,320,000,000 years.
• 12. Says the same Nâda-Bindu, "A Yogi who bestrides the Hamsa (thus contemplates on Aum) is not affected by Karmic influences or crores of sins."
• 13. Give up the life of physical personality if you would live in spirit.
• 14. The three states of consciousness, which are Jâgrat, the waking; Svapna, the dreaming; and Sushupti, the deep sleeping state. These three Yogi conditions, lead to the fourth, or —
• 15. The Turîya, that beyond the dreamless state, the one above all, a state of high spiritual consciousness.
• 16. Some Sanskrit mystics locate seven planes of being, the seven spiritual lokas or worlds within the body of Kala Hamsa, the Swan out of Time and Space, convertible into the Swan in Time, when it becomes Brahmâ instead of Brahma (neuter).
• 17. The phenomenal World of Senses and of terrestrial consciousness — only.
• 18. The astral region, the Psychic World of super-sensuous perceptions and of deceptive sights — the world of Mediums. It is the great "Astral Serpent" of Éliphas Lévi. No blossom plucked in those regions has ever yet been brought down on earth without its serpent coiled around the stem. It is the world of the Great Illusion.
• 19. The region of the full Spiritual Consciousness beyond which there is no longer danger for him who has reached it.
• 20. The Initiate who leads the disciple through the Knowledge given to him to his spiritual, or second, birth is called the Father guru or Master.
• 21. Ajñâna is ignorance or non-wisdom the opposite of "Knowledge," jñâna.
• 22. Mâra is in exoteric religions a demon, an Asura, but in esoteric philosophy it is personified temptation through men's vices, and translated literally means "that which kills" the Soul. It is represented as a King (of the Mâras) with a crown in which shines a jewel of such lustre that it blinds those who look at it, this lustre referring of course to the fascination exercised by vice upon certain natures.
• 23. The inner chamber of the Heart, called in Sanskrit Brahmapura. The "fiery power" is Kundalinî.
• 24. The "Power" and the "World-mother" are names given to Kundalinî — one of the mystic "Yogi powers." It is Buddhi considered as an active instead of a passive principle (which it is generally, when regarded only as the vehicle, or casket of the Supreme Spirit Âtma). It is an electro-spiritual force, a creative power which when aroused into action can as easily kill as it can create.
• 25. Khechara or "sky-walker" or "goer." As explained in the 6th Adhyâya of that king of mystic works the Jñâneśvari — the body of the Yogi becomes as one formed of the wind; as "a cloud from which limbs have sprouted out," after which — "he (the Yogi) beholds the things beyond the seas and stars; he hears the language of the Devas and comprehends it, and perceives what is passing in the mind of the ant."
• 26. Vînâ is an Indian stringed instrument like a lute.
• 27. The six principles; meaning when the lower personality is destroyed and the inner individuality is merged into and lost in the Seventh or Spirit.
• 28. The disciple is one with Brahmâ or the Âtman.
• 29. The astral form produced by the Kâmic principle, the Kâma rûpa or body of desire.
• 30. Mânasa rûpa. The first refers to the astral or personal Self; the second to the individuality or the reincarnating Ego whose consciousness on our plane or the lower Manas — has to be paralyzed.
• 31. Kundalinî is called the "Serpentine" or the annular power on account of its spiral-like working or progress in the body of the ascetic developing the power in himself. It is an electric fiery occult or Fohatic power, the great pristine force, which underlies all organic and inorganic matter.
• 32. This "Path" is mentioned in all the Mystic Works. As Krishna says in the Jñâneśvari: "When this Path is beheld . . . whether one sets out to the bloom of the east or to the chambers of the west, without moving, O holder of the bow, is the travelling in this road. In this path, to whatever place one would go, that place one's own self becomes." "Thou art the Path" is said to the adept guru and by the latter to the disciple, after initiation. "I am the way and the Path" says another Master.
• 33.

regarding the fundamentals of esoteric schooling ¹

Dear Mrs. Langen!

Only today can I answer your letter. ² However, the answer could only be given orally in full; but I would like to send you a few comments in writing first, so that you can see whether it is currently practical and desirable for you to make the journey to Hannover.

The way in which Theosophy has to be spread in our time only too easily gives rise to misunderstandings about its foundations, for example about occultism and its training. One such misunderstanding, for example, is that Theosophy must urge every person who accepts it in any form to undergo occult training. But that is absolutely not the case. Occult truths can only be discovered by those who have undergone occult training; they can be understood by the most ordinary human intellect. And they can be applied in life on the basis of such an understanding acquired by the ordinary powers of the soul. I myself will never publicly teach anything that, though found by occult means, could not be grasped by the ordinary powers of the soul if one only chose to apply them. Theosophy is necessary for our age; and humanity would have to fall into absolute desolation and universal infertility at the present point in its development if Theosophy did not flow to it as a mighty stream of power. However, it would be a bad thing if every Theosophist also wanted to become an occult disciple. That would be – forgive the trivial comparison – just as if, because all people need clothes, everyone had to become a tailor. All people need Theosophy under certain conditions; esoteric training, few.

On the other hand, however, no one can be denied this training if they are suited to it. For however many may seek it, there will not be too many of them for the time being. So in a sense, nothing stands in the way of anyone's occult training. Since many people today are seeking this training under such circumstances, misunderstandings cannot be avoided even among students. Today everyone thinks that what is good for him must also be good for others. Thus general opinions about the training are formed which are basically as incorrect as possible. The occult teacher is naturally obliged to say that the path taken by a person who is more austere in sexual matters is different from that taken by a person who does not shirk the task of serving humanity in this respect. Whatever the occult teacher says in this direction is soon reinterpreted: asceticism is a condition of occult development. In fact, something quite different is true. Asceticism in the sexual relationship facilitates the occult path, makes it more comfortable in a certain respect. Thus, anyone who, out of pure egoism of knowledge, wants above all to “see” can promise himself that he will soon reach a certain goal through a certain asceticism in this direction. But there can be no obligation to such asceticism, only an entitlement that one must first acquire. It consists solely in the possibility of giving mankind a full substitution if one withdraws from the otherwise existing obligation to give the opportunity to embody souls. So you see that asceticism in this direction must not be a rule, but can only be granted to some occultists under certain conditions.

In any case, if you approach occultism with these prerequisites in mind, you will easily understand that any kind of selfishness, even if it is the most hidden and masked, will not get you far in occult training. Of course, a woman who does not shirk her feminine duties will soon make more progress than one who, regardless of the fate of humanity, strives for “knowledge” in basically selfish renunciation, provided she does the right thing.

This probably answers a large part of the questions in your letter. No one can be distracted from their life's work in occult training if they are not going the wrong way. Of course, you can find many so-called “students” who are unsuitable for useful work. But one forms a false judgment when one compares these “students” with those who, without wanting to know anything about Theosophy, are solving their life's tasks. One should not compare the former with the latter, but ask oneself: How useless would these first be without Theosophy? And regarding the second, the right question would be: How would the content of their work be enhanced if they could incorporate Theosophy, or even schooling, into their lives?

I could not recommend that you “practice” without guidance either. I would not like to persuade anyone to entrust themselves to the “training”. It must be each person's own free decision.

The processes of your inner and outer life push you towards this training. With the help of the training you will certainly be able to solve your life's tasks more easily and more surely. Your husband has a much harder time with Theosophy than you do. Only someone who knows that a scholarly education today piles up almost insurmountable inner obstacles to the theosophical truths can judge that. And on the other hand, perhaps nothing is as suitable for overcoming these obstacles as a practical occupation, as it is currently opening up for your husband.

Your training will only be the right one if it takes nothing away from you and adds a great deal to what you already have: health, the strength to live, the security to work and the inner peace that a person needs not for themselves but for their fellow human beings. No work serves humanity that does not arise from inner peace. Every work that arises from an inwardly unsatisfied soul destroys the healthy development of humanity, wherever it takes place.

If you want to try it, after these remarks, I will offer you every possible support. I will be in Hanover from September 21 in the evening until October 4. If you would like to announce your presence there by card, I will arrange everything for a thorough discussion. Address: Dr. Rudolf Steiner, currently in Hanover, Ferdinandstraße 11 at Fleissner.

Give your dear husband my warmest regards and accept warm greetings from

Dr. Rudolf Steiner

• 1. The letter of September 20, 1907 was placed at the beginning because it contains fundamental information about esoteric training. Then, in chronological order, follow the letters that Rudolf Steiner wrote as an esoteric teacher, insofar as they have been preserved and are known. The letters to Mathilde Scholl were provided by the Goetheanum.
  The times given in the letters for the beginning of meditation are related to the phases of the moon. 1
• 2. This letter is not available.

On February 11, 1903, Mathilde Scholl had written to Rudolf Steiner:

...In connection with our conversation, I would now like to ask the following. On plate XXVI of Leadbeater's book [“Man visible & invisible”] is the aura of one of Buddha's disciples, a disciple who has reached the fourth stage on the path, the stage of an arhat. The aura is concentrically arranged, the color sequence from the center:

1) yellow = intelligence
2) pink = love
3) light blue = devotion
4) green = compassion (sympathy)
5) violet = spirituality

all this surrounded by a rainbow-colored or rather mother-of-pearl-colored halo and permeated by living rays of light emanating from the body of the Arhat. - Leadbeater says that the order of the colors can be used to identify the type of Arhat or Master.

To which species or hierarchy could a being belong whose aura, starting from the center, first shows 1) light blue = devotion and then 2) pink = love. The arrangement is also concentric, just like the aura shown - but no colors other than light blue and pink were visible. [In a dream experience.] However, the physical body appeared only in outline and transparent, not three-dimensional, and in it appeared centers (like the swastika or like wheels) that turned in the fastest motion around themselves and emitted light. The face had the features and expression of Master M.

If you can or may tell me who this being is or how I can find an explanation myself, I would be happy.

Should a merger of the E.S. in Germany be possible at a later date, I would be delighted. Some external things are still of help to me. For example, I would love to have proper instructions for my studies. At the beginning, that is, two and a half years ago, the instruction was given as to which verses I should memorize each evening. But since no further instructions were given, I went through the Bhagavad Gita in this way and then the “Voice of Silence,” which I have now reached at the end of the second book. It would be a help for me not to study without guidance and to know, for example, in the morning during meditation that many are focusing their thoughts on the same thing as me – to know that others are studying the same book as me, and many other things.

Rudolf Steiner replied as follows:

Dearest Miss Scholl!

I should have written to you long ago. However, my obligations regarding “Lucifer” ¹ had a somewhat oppressive effect on everything else. Now it will finally come out in a few days; and then I will hopefully also get down to quite regular work. In any case, I will not wait so long to answer in the future as has unfortunately been the case up to now.

First, let me address your main question. The aura you describe is not clear enough for me to be able to say anything substantial about it. You say nothing about rays emanating from the being described. Now, in a more advanced human being, rays are always present in the causal body. These rays are namely the expression of the active forces that the person inflicts on his advancing karma. It seems that what you describe is not a causal body image. However, I do not want to say that we are not dealing with a highly developed being in your case. But then it could only be the projection of the causal body in mental matter. And in this case, I do not understand the swastikas, which again point to an astral element. I therefore request that you write to me with more details about this matter. I would like us to be clear about this.²

It would be quite nice if the newer members of the E.S. in Germany would in some way join together more closely. We need this in Germany in particular. For the E.S. must become the soul of the Theosophical Society. In Germany it must do so even more so because for a long time to come we can only hope for deeper, inner cooperation among individuals, and larger circles will only join externally. But the individuals will form a more loyal, secure and powerful base. And we need that, because we have come so far astray.

In Weimar, everything went quite well. We now also have a lodge there. The lectures were extremely well attended. I would like to come to Cologne for a variety of reasons, to give a lecture there as well. Please, maybe you can prepare the ground there a little. Much, very much depends on us creating new centers. Up to now almost all German Theosophists have sought a connection with the English mother movement that was much too loose. And only from this, in the most intimate connection with it, must we now work. There was too much of a tendency towards dogmatics in Germany, towards the mere intellectual grasp of doctrines, while there is no real understanding of living spirituality. Only when we awaken this latter, when we open our eyes to the fact that for the progress of the theosophical current it is not enough to learn the dogmas (Hartmann), but to belong spiritually to the central individualities from whom wisdom originates and in whom it has its continuous source: - only then can we move forward. We must make it clear, not through words but through imponderables, that it is a matter of the continuous fertilization of the bearers of the T.S. by central individualities. Only those who work esoterically will fully understand all these things; but for that, they must also stand together in a clearly conscious and forceful way, awakening the others.

It was deeply satisfying for me to be able to spend a few hours with you in Düsseldorf. It is the kind of satisfaction we feel when we see others on the road where the mile markers always point forward. For the Theosophist, there is only one gate through which one should pass only once, and which one should not enter a second time, to go back.

In Germany, we have only four or five very secure personalities. And that is why we have to work intensively. If we do that, we will find the ways and means to move forward. If we do not find these ways and means in Germany, then we would be neglecting something now that cannot be remedied so quickly.

My next exoteric task is to spread the teaching as much as I can. I hope, my dearest and most esteemed Miss Scholl, that you are settling in well in Cologne and are able to work there for our cause and to your satisfaction. How are the people in your care?

Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain sincerely yours

Rudolf Steiner

• 1. The journal founded and edited by R. Steiner. See GA 34.
• 2. In response, Mathilde Scholl wrote the following on May 7, 1903: “...Thank you very much for answering my question. The vision I described to you did indeed radiate light, and this light seemed to bubble up from the swastikas located on the head and upper body. In fact, only the head and upper body were visible, and only in outline. The being did not appear corporeal, but seemed to be only a luminous apparition. But the impression was so strong that I believed in the dream that I threw myself at the feet of this being and lost consciousness. Upon awakening, everything was vividly before my eyes and I felt the inner emotion for a long time afterwards. At first I did not look for an explanation at all. It was only through Leadbeater's book that I understood how it is possible to see such an arrangement of colors. But I would like to know who this being was, because even if it seemed to have the features of Master M., it may just as well have been based on my individual mood as on reality.” [The answer to this question is not known.]

Günther Wagner had written to Rudolf Steiner on 14 November 1903:

Dear Doctor,

I am sending you the manuscript of Leadbeater's article “Our Behavior Towards Children” by the same mail, which you asked for when I was in Berlin, to print it in “Lucifer”. ¹

It was a great pleasure to meet you at the annual conference, and I hope that we will continue to work together and support each other for many years to come.

I would be grateful if you could give me some specific information: the hint about a mystery that every race has to solve was completely new to me; I did not find anything about it in “Secret Doctrine”. Would you be able to tell me the four mysteries that the first four races (apparently) solved? I would also like to read H. P. B.'s suggestion about this, perhaps you could give me the exact place.²

In the meantime, yours sincerely,

Günther Wagner

Rudolf Steiner replied as follows:

Strictly confidential!

Dear Mr. Wagner!

Page 73 of the (German edition) “Secret Doctrine” reads with reference to verse I, 6 (Dzyan): “Of the seven truths or revelations, only four are given to us, since we are still in the fourth round.” When you were in Berlin, I suggested, in the sense of a certain occult tradition, that the fourth of the seven truths mentioned above goes back to seven esoteric root truths, and that of these seven partial truths (the fourth regarded as a whole) one is delivered to each race as a rule. The fifth will become quite evident when the fifth race has reached its goal of development. Now I would like to answer your question as best I can. At present, the situation is such that the first four partial truths form meditation sentences for the aspirants of the mysteries and that nothing more can be given than these (symbolic) meditation sentences. From them, then, many higher things emerge occultly for the meditator. I therefore set out the four meditation sentences here – translated into German from the symbolic sign language:

I. Sense according to: how the point becomes a sphere and yet remains itself. Have you grasped how the infinite sphere is only a point after all, then come again, for then the infinite will seem finite to you.

II. Sense: how the seed becomes an ear of corn, and then come again, for then you will have grasped how the living lives in number.

III. Sense: how light longs for darkness, heat for cold, how the male longs for the female, then come again, for then you will have grasped what face the great dragon at the threshold will show you.

IV. Sense according to: how to enjoy hospitality in a strange house, then come again, for then you have grasped what is in store for him who sees the sun at midnight.

Now, if the meditation was fruitful, the fifth secret arises from the four. For the time being, let me just say that Theosophy - the partial theosophy that lies, for example, in the “Secret Doctrine” and its esotericism - is a sum of partial truths of the fifth. You will find a hint as to how to go beyond this in the letter from Master K.H. [Kuthumi], quoted by Sinnett, which begins with the following words: “I have every word to read...” In the first (German) edition of Occult World, it can be found on pages 126 and 127.¹

I can only assure you that almost the entire fifth secret is hidden in an occult way in the sentence by K.H. (page 127), “When science has learned how impressions of leaves originally come about on stones...”.

That is all I can say for the time being about your questions. More perhaps in response to further questions.

The four sentences above are what are called living sentences, i.e. they germinate during meditation and sprouts of knowledge grow out of them.

With happy Christmas greetings in faithful union,

Rudolf Steiner

Berlin W, Motzstrasse 17

• 1. Published in No. 7 of December 1903 of the journal “Lucifer”, founded and edited by Rudolf Steiner. Journal for the Life of the Soul and Intellectual Culture - Theosophy.
• 2. The question refers to statements made by Rudolf Steiner at the first general assembly of the German Section in Berlin on October 18, 1903, which Günther Wagner attended. See page 255f. in the appendix to “The Masters of Wisdom and the Harmony of Feelings” (section “Rudolf Steiner's Work and the Fifth of the Seven Great Mysteries of Life”).
• 1. The wording from Occult World by A.P. Sinnett reads: Naturally I wanted to know more about this; was it a process by which thoughts could be expressed more quickly than by the ones we know? And with regard to letters received, were they read by the occult recipient in the usual way, or did he understand the content without this?
  K.H.'s answer was: I have to read every word you write, otherwise I would make a real mess of it. And whether it happens with my physical or my spiritual eye, it takes the same amount of time. The same can be said of my answers; whether I dictate or precipitate them or write them myself, the difference in the time saved is very small. I first have to think them over, then carefully photograph each word, each sentence, in my brain before it can be repeated by precipitation. Just as in photography, the fixing of images on chemically prepared plates, requires a prior arrangement within the focus of the object to be represented – otherwise, as can often be seen in bad photographs, the legs of the seated person are out of proportion to the head, etc. — so too must we first organize our sentences, and imprint on our mind every letter that is to appear on the paper before it can be read. That is all I am allowed to tell you for now. When science has learned more about the secret of lithophyl (or lithobiblion), and how the impressions of leaves originally come about on stones, then it will be possible for me to make the process clearer to you. Above all, you must know and remember one thing: that we only follow nature and copy it exactly in its works.
  Regarding these so-called precipitated master letters, see the editor's preliminary remarks on the separation from the Esoteric School of Theosophy on page 263f. 1

Berlin, December 28, 1903

Dearest Madam!

I trust you have continued the exercises in the manner you began. I would now ask you to proceed in January in exactly the same way as I described in my last letter.¹ I would only ask you to replace the sentence I gave at the time with the following:

Every being you give your love to opens up its nature to you; for unkindness is a veil that covers the things of the world. As much as you radiate love, so much knowledge flows to you.

I would like to add a few words to help us understand this meditation sentence. It is absolutely true that we receive as much knowledge from the world as we ourselves radiate love. However, we must not believe that we are immediately aware of all knowledge in every phase of life. Much is unconscious in us at first. And that is why I ask you to continue the meditation steadfastly. Only by doing this, and by realizing that every day we dedicate to it is not lost, will we make progress. Every day stores knowledge in us; and the day will surely come when it will appear to us in full consciousness. The sentences we meditate on are not intellectual constructs that we are merely supposed to grasp. I can only say again and again: these are living sentences, and we are meant to live with them as we do with children. We know children very well, of course, and yet we deal with them anew every day. So it should be with our meditation sentences.

So everything else in your meditation remains the same in January as it was; only the sentence from December is replaced by the one given above. I ask you, dearest gracious lady, always to continue everything as it was given, until I write to you again. You can be sure that you will receive the appropriate letter from time to time. If it happens a few days after the expected time, it will not hurt.

It was very nice that I also saw you for the last time in Cologne. I would have liked to have visited you again then - but time was so pressing. Lohf has now opened up the prospect that at least 6 people will be found in Düsseldorf with whom he can reconstruct the branch. That would be highly desirable. I know, dear lady, that you are doing all you can. I also know how difficult everything is. But our combined efforts must succeed, as the Theosophical movement demands of those who recognize its importance. No one can then evade this movement once they have recognized its significance.

I hope to see you again very soon.

Sincerely,

Dr. Rudolf Steiner
Berlin W, Motzstrasse 17

• 1. This letter is not available.

Zurich, April 14, 1904

Dearest Mrs. and Dr. Paulus!

Before the 16th approaches, I would like to write you a few lines about the next days of meditation. So I ask you to fill in the part indicated in my remarks with the “Voice of Silence” in such a way that during the first fortnight the first two sentences of the writing are in the field of vision of consciousness. I mean (omitting the very first sentence) the following:

"He who wants to understand the voice of the spirit apart from itself must first experience the nature of his own spirit. When the seeker no longer wants to hear the world of the senses alone, he must seek out that which produces this world; he must live in thoughts that make the world of the senses into an illusory world.

It is not a matter of speculating about these sentences, but of spending a few minutes living with them. To do this, one must have previously appropriated their content in such a way that one can survey it with a spiritual gaze, place it spiritually before oneself, and let it take effect without over-analysing it. Only by letting the thoughts to be meditated flow over you in complete calm will meditation bear fruit.

Should anything be unclear or amiss, I request that you ask me about it, and I will answer immediately. From Lugano, I will write to you about the promised interpretation of the Seven Voices, which cannot be done for another fortnight.¹

I will also write to you immediately upon my arrival regarding the Bresch remarks.²

Today I just want to tell you both that I am deeply gratified by your interest in Theosophy. When one is aware of the worldwide reputation of Theosophy, one comes to appreciate the interest of deeper natures. I will have much to write about in the next few days regarding the messages from Dr. [Marie] von Martens. In Munich, every hour was filled, and here in Zurich, too, the Theosophists from here and the surrounding area have gathered. But the train is leaving soon.

So for the time being, warm greetings to you both and Arenson's

from your

Rudolf Steiner

Temporary Address:
Dr. Rudolf Steiner
at Mr. Günther Wagner's
Lugano Castagnola (Switzerland)

• 1. Done in a letter dated August 11, 1904.
• 2. It is not known

London, May 14, 1904

Strictly confidential.

Dearest Mrs. and Dr. Paulus!

A lot of work and travel have not allowed me to answer your kind letters in detail until today. I am particularly pleased to receive your last letter because I see that you have continued the meditation work, and I ask you to always keep it that way. You can be assured that you will always receive the necessary information from me at the right time. Because of our esoteric work in Germany, I had to spend the last few days in London here with our spiritual leader, Mrs. Besant, in order to obtain full esoteric authorization from her for everything I do in this field. You can be assured that in the esoteric, every instruction and every piece of advice is given in the most careful way and under the real guidance of the great spiritual leaders of the human race. Do not doubt that sooner or later you will find your way to these guides through meditation work itself. Only someone who has experienced what I have experienced can speak like that. I now ask you to continue meditating on the parts of the “voice” that precede the seven voices in the coming weeks. I will interpret these seven voices under authorization in the next few days and you will then receive a first copy of the interpretation. It will then be of much more value to you than if I had given it to you 14 days ago without full authorization. Because my esoteric work has only received the full consecration in the last few days.

Now I turn to your questions, dear Doctor. If I were not an esoteric and did not live a spiritual life, I might say: Your questions in Stuttgart and later by letter surprised me. But through the qualities mentioned, I was fully prepared for the realization of your deep psychological insight. I can only tell you: you have good psychic gifts and a beautiful precondition for both spiritual knowledge and for working in the physical world from the spiritual planes. What you experience simply shows that you have contact with the spiritual powers of the world, and your whole nature shows again that you are called to apply these spiritual gifts in a noble way to help people. Among other things, you repeatedly asked me who I was. The time will come when we can talk about it. But today I will only tell you that I have reason to believe that you did me a great service in an earlier life. Don't misunderstand me. Of course, errors cannot be ruled out in spiritual observations either. But I am not a person who lives in illusions. In the spiritual fields, I am one of those people who are called cautious and also 'sober'. That is why I can speak of justified belief. In my earlier life, centuries ago, a personality played a role in my life that snatched me from a certain family sphere and opened up the paths for me that were necessary for my former profession, a Catholic priest. Those were times when the church had not yet completely fallen into disrepair as it has today. At that time, you showed the lack of prejudice that still appears to me today as so great in you. At that time, you probably also created the conditions for your present life. These are suggestions that I ask you to take as critically as possible; but I can only tell you that I consider them fully justified. If what I say seems plausible to you, it will also be clear to you that you are called to psychic life. Do not be frightened by this predisposition. We must regard such gifts as a sanctuary; we must live with them as intimately as we live with the tables and persons in our physical environment. We must accept them objectively, and our self-confidence, our “I”, must always remain intact and at our core.

We must never allow ourselves to be enslaved by such influences. They are given to us; but never with the intention of overwhelming us. Whatever may come, hold fast to the principle that all the powers of the world, physical as well as spiritual, are there in the present epoch of the world's development for the purpose of helping man to fulfill his mission here on this earth as a free, self-conscious, thinking, self-supporting being. The spiritual powers and influences are only meant to guide him to find the right way here. And today woman in particular is called upon to find and assert her self. Everything that happens in this field will contribute to the welfare of mankind.

I will be back in Berlin on May 17 and will continue this letter then.¹ For now, I send you both my warmest regards in good faith.

Yours Truly,

Rudolf Steiner

• 1. Letter dated August 11, 1904

On July 13, 1904, Mathilde Scholl wrote to Rudolf Steiner:

Mrs. Lübke has just written to me that she has signed the “pledge” in England and draws my attention to the fact that I should ask you to have me sign the “pledge” as well, if you are not yet able to send me the other papers. She writes that some changes have been made at the school, but she cannot give me any details about them until I have signed the pledge.

I have not said anything about not having signed yet or not having received any papers because I did not think it was that important. However, since Mrs. Lübke seems to be concerned about this, I am letting you know. Since you and Mrs. Besant have taken me in, I consider this alone to be important. You know my attitude completely, regardless of whether I make a special promise orally or in writing. You know that I am basically willing to do

whatever might be demanded of me.

I do not understand how external changes in the school can influence the degree of development of the human being.

However, there must be something serious and important in this, since Mrs. Lübke, whose right hand is unusable and under medical treatment, wrote to me with great difficulty with her left hand. I am certainly grateful to her for it, but I believe she is worrying in vain. You will see what you want to do...

Rudolf Steiner replied as follows:

Dear Miss Scholl!

I am sending you the pledge in the attachment. Please copy it out and send me your copy with your signature to pass on to Mrs. Besant.¹ The pledge contains what unites the members of the E.S. Of course, all the obligations that the Shrâvaka has already taken on continue to apply. As soon as you have sent me the signed pledge, I will also send you some provisional papers. Nothing else can be provided at the moment, but soon.

Please do not worry about possible changes at the school. Such things never affect the inner development of the individual members, but rather the school's work on the physical plane, as it extends from the higher to the physical plane in the world. Of course, one must always consider what is good for the world. You, who are a loyal and devoted student of E.S., and who are definitely on the right path, will not be significantly affected by the changes.²

The individual points of the pledge must be kept if we want to make progress on the occult path. But there is no need to be pedantic about everything. It depends solely on the attitude. How one can support the Theosophical movement is entirely up to one's own decision. It may be necessary, due to one's position or circumstances, not to say to the world that one is a Theosophist. But if one works seriously, however quietly, one has kept one's word.

It is important to watch one's speech so that one offends fewer and fewer others by it. This leads to the opening of the gate that the masters close. The weaknesses of others should never find our censure – at least not in our hearts – but we should try to understand them in every way.

Every E.S. disciple takes on the study as a duty.

You will soon receive the interpretation of “L.a.d. W.” [“Licht auf den Weg” – “Light on the Path”].³ I will answer everything else this week as well.

Best Wishes,

Dr. Rudolf Steiner
Berlin W, Motzstrasse 17

• 1. Sent on July 15 with the following cover letter:
  "I am sending you the ‘pledge’ enclosed. I give it gladly and wholeheartedly in every respect. I hope to fulfill it as faithfully as possible.
  Thank you very much for your kind words. I always draw a great deal of strength, courage and peace of mind from what you tell me, and also from what you say in your writings, such as the last issue of “Lucifer”. Much as I rejoice in every line from you and much as I shall enjoy the continuation of the exegesis of “Licht auf den Weg zu bekommen,” I beg you to write it only when you can find time, without taking anything from the time that is absolutely necessary for your rest. Above all, your strength must be preserved for us. Therefore, you should not overwork yourself physically either. We are all concerned about this. But I trust that you also see it as necessary to maintain yourself for the world and for us. We all want to and need to hear and learn so much from you.
• 2. Further details not known.
• 3. See letter dated 9 August 1904

Berlin, August 2, 1904

Dear, dear Miss Wagner!

Today I am able to send you the first information regarding the E.S. It is necessary to start by talking about the meaning of the school. The Esoteric School is an occult institution, that is, it is under the direction of highly developed individuals. These are people who have already gone through the path that the majority of people still have to take. Such highly developed individuals possess a high degree of wisdom, are endowed with an unlimited source of love for humanity and with the gift of helping those who want to walk the path of perfection.

Those who enter the order of the Shrâvakas undertake nothing more than to consciously work towards their own perfection, so that they may increasingly become servants in the perfection of the whole human race. Of course, everyone can only do as much as is within their power. The school demands nothing. It only wants to provide the means by which everyone can perfect themselves as is necessary for themselves and for humanity. And to achieve this, the aforementioned perfect individuals provide occult assistance. Those who sign the “promise” begin to be influenced by these perfect individuals in a way that they may initially be completely unaware of. In this way, he works for the benefit of all humanity simply by belonging to the school. All the obligations that the [shrâvaka] takes on are only for his own benefit. For without keeping these obligations, it is impossible to achieve the set goal; and membership of the school would be pointless.

Dear Miss Wagner! I will now explain to you very briefly what needs to be done. You can only start with everything on August 18. And at that time, I would ask you to begin. For reasons known only to the occultist, the beginning must be made at very specific times. All this will become clear to you later.

Then the following would be to be done. 1. In the evening, before you go to rest - preferably before you fall asleep - I ask you to repeat the following sentence in your mind every evening:

Brighter than the sun
Purer than the snow
Finer than the ether
Is the Self,
The Spirit in my heart.
That Self is me,
I am that Self.¹

Once you have thought this through, but thought it through in such a way that no extraneous thought intrudes into your consciousness while you hold this sentence in front of you, then spend four to five minutes looking back over the experiences of the day. I ask you to let these experiences of the day pass before your mind's eye and to realize how you feel about these events. You observe yourself and ask yourself whether and to what extent you are in agreement with yourself, what you could have experienced better, what you could have done better. In this way you become your own observer. The idea is to observe yourself from a higher point of view, and gradually the “higher self” becomes the ruler over the everyday person. In doing so, however, everything that is equivalent to worry or grief about what has been experienced should be avoided. We should merely learn from our own lives, make it a lesson. We should not think of the past with regret – there is time enough for that during the rest of the day – but bravely use this past for the future. Then we learn for our present personal existence, and we learn above all for the time that lies beyond death.

When you have completed this kind of review of the day, you fall asleep with thoughts of the people you love and want to help. This may be followed by the presentation of an ideal of life with which you are particularly involved.

Now in the morning. As soon as possible after awakening, a little meditation is to be done. It consists of the following:

1. Recalling the above thought: “Radiant...”

2. The actual meditation (6-8 minutes)

I ask you to take a sentence each day from the “Nachfolge Christi” (The Imitation of Christ) by Thomas a Kempis. This is done as follows.

For the first eight days, take a sentence from the third chapter, “Happy the man whom truth...” Memorize this sentence so that it is completely in your mind. Then, for the indicated six to eight minutes, fill your entire consciousness with this sentence. All other thoughts should be excluded. In this way we absorb such a spiritually living sentence into our entire being. We permeate ourselves with it. And its power radiates through everything we do and are. You keep the same sentence every day for 8 days. Then comes the next sentence and so on.

The third part of the morning meditation is devotion to that which is divine and sacred to us, for example to Christ. This should take at least 4 to 6 minutes and consist of devotional worship of our Holy Being.

These are all the exercises for the time being. Through these exercises, it becomes possible for the perfect beings (masters) to approach us and to take us up into the stream that leads to perfection. Regarding 6. of the rules ² I only note that the only exception in which a sip of wine may be taken is at the Holy Supper; there is no harmful effect because it is a ceremony. This abstinence should, however, be strictly observed. It is not a matter of fulfilling a duty towards the school, but of promoting perfection. Especially for the Shrâvaka it will suffice if alcohol consumption is avoided in the main. But here too, better is better.

I shall write the third book shortly.³ Engel is [Julius] Engel in Berlin. He translated the “letters that helped me”.⁴ However, I ask you not to practice the things that are indicated there for the time being, but... [end of letter missing].

• 1. See page 447.
• 2. The letter was accompanied by rules and a promise text, see page 139.
• 3. This presumably refers to “Occult Science: An Outline” as the third Theosophical book (the first book is “Christianity as Mystical Fact” (1902), the second “Theosophy” (May 1904). Secret Science was originally planned as the second part of Theosophy and announced as being in preparation from 1905, but due to overwork it could not appear until the end of 1909. 3
• 4. “Letters that helped me”. Collected by Jasper Niemand [pseudonym for Julia Campbell Ver Plank, who has been Archibald Keightley's wife since 1891]. Translation from English by Julius Engel. Self-published, Charlottenburg, no year. The original English edition was published in 1891. New edition “Letters That Have Helped Me” by William Q. Judge (compiled by Jasper Niemand), Theosophical University Press, Pasadena, California. 1981).