Lecture I
The Significance of Supersensible Knowledge Today
Berlin 11th October, 1906
This lecture is
meant as an introduction. The aim is to acquaint the
audience with the kind of issues investigated by spiritual
science, for example, our relation to the spiritual world,
evolution and destination, the riddle of birth and death, the
origin of life and that of evil, health and illness, and
problems of education. During the winter lectures, the scope
of spiritual investigation will become apparent. These
lectures will also deal — from a spiritual-scientific
viewpoint — with subjects such as burning social problems
and the tasks facing modern humans. The discourses will
demonstrate that spiritual science is not a mere theory, but
an inherent necessity in present-day life.
Although a
great variety of age groups are represented in the audience,
the subjects to be discussed should contain something of
interest for everyone. Each lecture will be self-contained,
yet also have a connection with the rest. The title of the
next lecture, “Blood is a very special fluid,”
may sound rather sensational, but it is in fact a subject
that points to significant aspects of humanity's evolution,
on which only spiritual science can throw light. Later
lectures will deal with subjects such as, “Man's
Existence in the Light of Spiritual Science”;
“Who are the Rosicrucians?”; “Richard
Wagner and Mysticism”; “What Do Educated People
Know About Theosophy?”; and a lecture about religion,
“The Bible and Wisdom.”
Those in the
audience who attended lectures last winter will hear about
things that are familiar, though presented from a different
aspect. The results of spiritual-scientific investigation can
only be fully understood when illumined from different sides.
As I said, today's lecture is to serve as an introduction to
this winter's programme that will demonstrate what is meant
by spiritual-scientific investigation, and the significance
of such research of the supersensible for humanity now and in
the future.
The
Theosophical movement emerged thirty years ago,
[
Theosophical Society was founded in 1895.
]
and soon spread world wide. Yet, after
thirty years of intensive work, it has not the best
reputation. Many people regard Theosophy as something
fantastic with no relation to facts, something that belongs
in a cloud-cuckoo-land. It cannot be denied that it has often
been badly presented, usually through overeagerness and lack
of knowledge; at times perhaps even charlatans helped to
undermine its reputation. However, today we are concerned
with the significance Theosophy can have in the lives of
individuals.
The prejudices
that exist against Theosophy are strong and widespread. Some
regard it on a par with spiritism, as something
irreconcilable with modern science. People who are engaged in
scientific pursuits, or those that simply feel that solution
to significant questions can be found in modern science, see
no point in devoting themselves to something which seems to
contradict well-documented scientific discoveries. They
regard Theosophy as illogical, and its appeal restricted to
dreamers.
Another kind of
prejudice comes from religious quarters. There are people
who, because of their calling, feel they must protect
religion from Theosophy, or they fear that if they accept it,
it will create conflict with their religious conscience. They
assume that Theosophy aims to establish a new religion or
sect.
Yet another
kind of prejudice stems from the mistaken view that Theosophy
is a revival of ancient Buddhism. Here the fear is that in
place of Christianity the world is to be inoculated with a
kind of neo-Buddhism. Nothing that one can say appears to
dispel these three kinds of prejudice.
If Theosophy
aimed to transplant an ancient religious system into Europe,
it would sin against its own fundamental principle, which is
to understand every religion and spiritual aspiration. Every
great philosophy or world outlook has arisen out of the
configuration of a specific civilization; it is not possible
to transplant it into a completely different culture. If
modern human beings, standing within the European-American
civilization, are to receive the impulse for true spiritual
progress, it must spring from the vigorous life of their own
time. Such impulses cannot be derived from views and ideas of
a bygone age; they must have their roots where the human soul
has its home. What is needed is the recognition that the
inherent possibility in our own culture must be widened and
deepened. While every civilization has within it fully
matured abilities and inclinations, it also contains seeds
for its further evolution. If these seeds are allowed to lie
fallow, they become burning questions weighing on the human
soul. The seeds for future development in the hidden recesses
or a person's inner being must evolve out of necessity.
There is no
conflict between the world outlook of spiritual science and
the great religions. Spiritual science, while resting on its
own foundation, seeks to understand all religions. It wishes
to show that all the great world religions are based on the
same fundamental truth. From these lectures it will become
apparent that spiritual science reflects an aspect of all of
them. Far from wanting to become another religion, spiritual
science aims to awaken understanding for the views of the
past as well as for those which, because they are right for
the present time, will truly further mankind's progress in
the future.
Let us
objectively consider why spiritual science would neither wish
to be a religion nor found a new sect. The lectures to be
held this winter will increasingly demonstrate that the time
is past for founding new religions. Spiritual truths can no
longer be presented the way they were in former times.
Founding new religions came to an end with the central
religion, Christianity. Christianity is capable of endless
development far into the future. Spiritual science should be
a means to make Christianity more accessible to the scholarly
mind. Its foremost task is to contribute to the comprehension
of religion by illumining the wisdom it contains, and by
enabling people to find their way into spiritual life. There
is no need for new religions; the old ones contain all the
wisdom and knowledge we require. What is needed is to present
that wisdom in a new form. In so doing, the old forms will
also become understandable. The true value of the ancient
religions will be restored by spiritual science.
Greater
tolerance in regard to religious views has come about in
recent times. Modern human beings feel that to hate and
persecute those who confess a different faith serves no
purpose. In fact, the hatred and intolerance that formerly
caused so much blood to flow in the name of religion is no
longer understood. This tendency to accept and tolerate will
continue for a time, but eventually it will prove too weak,
too insipid an attitude for progress. When in the nineteenth
century the transition took place to a more tolerant
attitude, it was a blessing. At that time it was justified
and it helped to develop love and humanness. However, what is
right and good in one age is not necessarily so in another.
The various epochs of world evolution provide human beings
with different tasks. The feeling and attitude that was fully
justified in the nineteenth century, which kindled noble
hopes in human hearts, will prove too feeble and ineffective
in the twentieth century when other soul forces are called
upon.
What is
required now is complete mutual understanding, not just
tolerance and patience. So far, Christians have tended to
take the attitude that, while they do not understand the
faith of Muslims or of the Jewish people, and equally they do
not understand Christianity, each one tolerates the other's
views. This attitude will prove insufficient. In the future,
complete understanding is necessary. Human beings must be
able to recognize that their faith has developed within a
certain culture and that it determines their thoughts and
ideals. But life is shared with people of different cultures
and with different views, and these a person must endeavor to
understand. The truth should result in more than mere
patience and tolerance; it should enable a person to enter
with understanding into what the others feel and experience.
A person's comprehension of Truth must encompass all other
faiths.
This is an
attitude that is very different from that of mere tolerance.
Through spiritual science a person should be able to progress
to complete understanding. The followers of particular faiths
must realize that they have reached certain aspects of Truth,
and that Truth takes on different forms in different souls.
This is to be expected and should be no cause for division;
rather Truth in all its forms should act as a unifying force.
Such an attitude is positive and humane, and brings people
together. Also, it is on a higher level than tolerance, and
has a greater ennobling effect on the human soul because it
is based on insight and love.
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky,
[
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831–1891) was the founder of the
Theosophical Society and a Russian occultist.
]
founder, always saw Theosophy as having the mission to provide
knowledge. She recognized that modern human beings are always
bound to ask (a) questions about a person's fate and
destination, birth and death, infinity and eternity; (b)
questions about illness and pain; and (c) about what happens
after death when a person has laid aside the body. Every
human being asks these questions. The task of religion has
always been to provide spiritual rather than merely
theoretical answers, to give a person strength, consolation
and reassurance.
From religion,
we are meant to obtain answers to the crucial questions of
existence. Religion should enable us to go through life
fulfilling daily tasks, feeling calm and secure, and
possessing knowledge that reaches beyond everyday affairs to
encompass immortality. If we understand the human soul, then
we know that no one can be strong and capable unless a
certain comprehension of the riddles of life are reached.
Only knowledge prevents them weighing on the soul, giving
rise to doubt and uncertainty that makes a person weak.
Without inner security of knowledge, a person is lost when
faced with greater issues and unable to cope even with
everyday affairs.
It will
increasingly be recognized that insightful knowledge is the
only true basis for vitality and strength of soul. The
theosophical movement acknowledges this fact and sees it as
its task to provide such knowledge. But why the need for
spiritual science when through all the epochs of evolution,
religion has existed to answer life's burning questions? The
answer is that times have changed. What satisfied our
ancestors no longer satisfies modern people. There is plenty
of evidence of that today, and it will become even more
obvious as time goes on. Religion does of course answer many
questions, but the answers are formulated in a way that
leaves people dissatisfied. The reason is that human nature
has changed, and this leads people to attempt to find
substitutes for the answers that no longer satisfy them
either in history or in natural science.
People who
longingly seek answers in modern science are especially those
to whom the Bible and religion no longer speak. But modern
science has to acknowledge that it has no answers to life's
most important questions. Its enormous achievements in the
realm of physical data are fully acknowledged by spiritual
science; the results arrived at through painstaking research
spanning the whole globe are indeed impressive. But when it
comes to questions about the meaning of life or mankind's
future evolution, it fails to provide answers. Those who have
tried, and the many who are still trying, to find through
natural scientific investigation what religion no longer
provides, discover only disappointment. By contrast,
spiritual science exists for the very purpose of throwing
light on life's riddles and burning questions. However, those
who still find satisfaction in what traditional religion has
to offer will be unable to recognize what spiritual science
is about, but what satisfies one today may not do so
tomorrow. The founder of the Theosophical Society saw it as
an ideal to provide concrete knowledge about life's deepest
riddles. The claim that spiritual research is scientific is
fully justified, as anyone will acknowledge who becomes
acquainted with the methods whereby it is carried out. It
aims to provide a spiritual world view with a scientific
basis that will speak to the most erudite and also the
simplest mind.
Yet there are
those who feel that Theosophy is an interference and that it
is better to leave people with their old faith, or better
still to do something to restore the old faith, as science is
incapable of providing answers to spiritual questions. That
is an unrealistic view; people who hold it do not see what is
happening all around them. Theosophy endeavors to be fully
conscious of the tendencies that are coming to the fore. Let
one example suffice to illustrate the urgent necessity for a
world outlook based on spiritual insight.
Let us consider
for a moment what is taking place in a country where for
centuries religion has had a strange history. In Spain,
orthodox religious faith has up till now had a strong grip on
its people. But a change is taking place in this country
where religious influence extends even to trivial everyday
affairs. Who would have thought, a few years ago, that what
we are now witnessing could possible occur in Spain. Only a
short time ago the ruling power would have nothing to do with
any so-called modern ideas. Just consider how rigid was the
faith of the woman who preceded her son, the present king,
Alphonso XIII. She has had no inclination to deviate one iota
from the ways and customs that over the centuries have become
firmly entrenched in the whole fabric of the state. Imagine
the contrast to what is taking place now: This woman sits in
Lourdes where she can indulge in the old ways and customs,
while in Spain the young king is obliged to allow new ideas
to saturate the rigid system. A liberal minister is shaking
up the establishment, and is ruthlessly introducing new laws
on education and marriage.
This is a sign
that the impulses of the time (Zeitströmungen)
are making themselves felt, and against that, mere human
opinion is powerless. What must come about is proper
understanding of the change in attitude that is taking place.
Most of those in office are blind to such changes. They are
unprepared and do not know what to do. It is not realized
that neither such impulses are stronger than arbitrary
opinions, nor that the needs of humanity at a particular time
must be met with understanding and open minds. In our time
people are too conscious to just accept what is imposed upon
them. But everyone is required to understand the impulses of
the times in which we live, and guide these impulses in the
right direction. In no other way can healthy progress be
ensured. History is made by human beings, but when it is made
in spite of them, the result is chaos. Harmony and justice
can come about only through cooperation. The age one lives in
makes demands; it is up to the individual to recognize what
they are. Just to sit-back in comfort and let things take
their course is not enough. That is an attitude that rather
hampers progress. The impulses of one's age must not be
ignored. Human beings are destined to absorb into their heart
and mind, into their whole being, impulses from the
supersensible realm so that they become effective in the
world.
What does that
imply? A thoughtful person will recognize that very much is
implied in what has just been said. It is obvious to deeper
insight that without a foundation of spiritual life, no
material civilization can prosper. No state, no community has
ever endured without a religious foundation. Let someone
earnestly try to found a community consisting solely of
people whose interests are purely materialistic, that is
people with no knowledge of spiritual things, who accept as
valid only materialistic views. Things would not deteriorate
into chaos straightaway only because people would still have
a vestige of ideas and ideals. No social system can endure
unless it is built upon the foundation of religious wisdom.
An individual is a bad practitioner who believes that
practical minds are enough to ensure success. A person who
wants to see material conditions continue to make progress
must recognize that a foundation of spiritual insight and
religion is imperative. If we want to give a human being
bread, we must also give him something that will nourish the
soul. In the periodical Lucifer, I once wrote that
no one should be given bread without receiving also a world
outlook that to give bread without giving also spiritual
sustenance could only do harm. At first sight, this statement
may not seem valid, but in the article it is
substantiated.
What is taking
place in Spain is only a special instance of what is
happening everywhere. One must be an ostrich with one's head
in the sand not to see it. But what is it that is needed at
the present time to further true progress? The need is for
specialized knowledge. Just as special knowledge is necessary
for the provision and distribution of material necessities
like clothing, so is special knowledge necessary for meeting
a human's spiritual needs.
Ancient
civilizations have depended upon the trust placed in priests
and wise men. We must not criticize the systems of past
cultures; they have been suitable for their particular epoch.
When a culture is no longer acceptable, for the people can no
longer live according to the old customs, the remedy does not
lie in fighting it, but — in change and progress of the
spiritual life. In earlier times people turned to the priest
for words of comfort and assurance. Today we need spiritual
investigators, people who can speak about the supersensible
world in wes that correspond to our time, and are therefore
acceptable and understandable to modern humans.
Let us consider
what is to be done if things remain the way most of our
contemporaries find satisfactory. The situation in Spain can
be regarded as symptomatic. Perhaps you think that old
arrangements will give way to new ones and people will become
accustomed. But no new arrangement will have a chance of
success unless there is also a change of heart. A spiritual
outlook must begin to pulsate like life-blood through our
whole modern civilization. When conflict arises nowadays over
spiritual or social issues, there is nowhere people can turn
for counsel concerning life's most important questions.
Let us look at
what usually happens in such cases. Many people expect to
find through natural science, that is, through knowledge of
physical data, the kind of answers that have formerly been
obtained from religion. Recently a conference of scientists
took place in Stuttgart where weighty problems were
discussed. (But can it be said that modern human beings are
able at such places to find answers to spiritual questions?
To questions concerning eternity or the meaning of death? At
such conferences it becomes apparent that modern physical
research is embarking an some strange investigations.) For
those with interest in these things, I may mention that at
Stuttgart methods were discussed in detail concerning the way
organs from one organic being could be transplanted into
another. Another point of great interest was the way the
advent of the microscope had transformed all research. Now it
was possible, by mixing and dissolving certain substances, to
produce from lifeless matter something with the semblance of
life. Many more things were mentioned, all of which called
for respect and admiration in regard to modern scientific
research.
But people
wonder about the sense and purpose of all the extraordinary
things physical researchers are busy investigating. Who is
there among the scientists of this modern Olympus of cultural
life that can answer questions about the meaning of life? No
attention was given to questions of this nature at the latest
scientific conference, whereas only two years ago Ledebur
[
Ledebur (?) was a chemist from Breslau.
]
a chemist from Breslau, made an extraordinary speech in which
he pleaded for psychological research to be stopped. And it is
noteworthy that at a gathering of scientists Theodor Lipps
[
Theodor Lipps (1851–1914) was a philosopher.
]
could still speak on the
subjects: natural science and philosophy. In the midst of
reports on purely physical research, he threw in remarks to
the effect that, unless natural science is able to arrive at
a spiritual understanding of the phenomenon of man, it will
never reach the status of a world view. “When
man,” he said, “looks into his inner being, he
finds the ‘I,’ and when he widens it to encompass
the ‘world-I,’ he finds contentment.”
The situation
is truly extraordinary. After all, the theosophical movement,
where you will not find such vague general answers given to
important questions, has existed for thirty years. Theosophy
discusses subjects, such as a person's life before birth and
after death, his experiences when attaining spiritual sight
and so on, concretely and in detail. But what happens? After
such specific knowledge has been available for thirty years,
these issues are dealt with in commonplace and trivial ways
that cannot possibly satisfy anyone. When the most important
questions of life are discussed, all that is offered is a web
of unworldly abstract thought — nothing but a play on
meaningless words that appeals only to people with an
interest in abstract philosophy. When those who long for
answers to the heart's deepest questions turn to official
authorities, they find nothing but powerlessness and
ignorance.
Yet it is of
utmost importance that there should exist, within external
science, advancing as it does at great speed, a center of
spiritual life, a place where human beings can find concrete
knowledge about supersensible issues — a knowledge that
would throw light also on the spiritual content preserved in
old religious faiths and customs. If knowledge of the
spiritual world is presented with the same scientific acumen
as natural science, it would speak to the human soul and
influence social life, just as was formerly the case with
religion. Once that happens, religious life will assume new
forms, while the old forms that have become influenced by
materialism will disappear.
It is very
important that the full significance of religion is
recognized. Today there are many people — in France it is
very much the fashion — who say that morality can be
established without religion. It is maintained that humans
[can] be moral without religion. This shows no comprehension
whatever of spiritual laws. If religious worship is traced
through the consecutive historical epochs, it will be found
that a new cult arose in each, with special significance for
that particular time. The cult of Hermes arose in Egypt, in
India, the Rishis, in Persia, Zarathustra, and among the
Hebrews emerged the cult of Moses. In our time, it is Christ
Jesus, the greatest founder of religion in modern times.
These cultures became great because their exponents
understood the needs of their time. The exponents of
Christianity will also work effectively when once again the
needs of the human heart are understood.
When a
civilization comes into being, the primary constituent is
always religious faith, that is, a sum of views, feelings and
ideas about what is regarded as spiritually the most exalted.
There will be awareness that the world's foundation is of
divine origin, and that death is vanquished. All the great
civilizations draw their spiritual creativity from the faith
on which they are founded. The great creative works of
ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece, and Christian times would
never have come into existence had they not originated from
human thought and beliefs. Indeed, even the most
materialistic culture stems originally from a person's
knowledge of the supersensible. Thus, the most basic
constituent of a civilization is faith.
The second
thing of importance to consider is the effect of this faith
on an individual's inner life. The thoughts and ideas a
person formulates about supersensible matters have an
uplifting effect; they fill a person's soul with feelings of
harmony and joy. Whenever people have felt inwardly happy and
secure, aware that their lives have a higher meaning, it has
always been due to religious faith. Such feelings transform
themselves into contentment and confidence in life. Thus, it
can be said that when a civilization comes into being, we
first of all recognize the presence of faith, and second
feelings of exaltation, contentment and confidence in
life.
The third thing
to consider belongs to the sphere of the will. This is the
sphere of morality and ethics. Ethics, that is, moral
philosophy, influences not only morals, and acts of will, but
also all social arrangements, all laws, and all affairs of
state. It influences art, which belongs to the sphere of
feeling. To think that morality can exist without religion is
an illusion. Morality arises in the sphere of feeling. At
first a person will have certain opinions about spiritual
issues; second these will give rise to feelings of
contentment and security; and third to will impulses that
tell him: This is good; that is evil.
How does it
come about that so many are subject to the illusion that
morality can be established without the foundation of
religion? It happens because morality, this third component
of a culture, is the last to disappear. When a civilization
declines, the first to diminish is faith, that is, doubt
arises about religion. However, even if the invigorating
certainty of faith is absent for a long time, people still
retain the feelings engendered by faith. When at last even
inherited religious feelings have vanished, the morality that
originated from the faith will still persist. Those who today
believe that morality exists without a foundation of
religious faith do not themselves have to rely on such an
impossibility. They subsist on the remnant of inherited moral
qualities. It is only because they have retained the morality
of the past that people who think spiritual qualities are
mere fantasy can act morally. Many believe they have overcome
the need for religion, yet their moral life originated from
religion.
Socialists tend
to want to establish morality without a foundation, that is,
without religion. The reason they can talk about the subject
at all, and the reason also for things not collapsing into
chaos straightaway, is solely that they retain in the bodily
organism the old morality that they want to eradicate. Even
the political changes socialists want to bring about are
based on the old morality. If progress is to come about,
there must be a renewal of spiritual knowledge. When it is
possible to draw people's attention to the spiritual forces
that are streaming into our world all around us, this
knowledge will create feelings of security and impulses
towards moral actions in their soul. Then we will no longer
have to rely on riches inherited from the past, but on those
that spring from our own culture.
There is
nothing illogical in the knowledge of higher worlds of which
spiritual science speaks. The supersensible is not treated as
something remote and inaccessible; it is extraordinary that
certain philosophic views maintain that no educated person
can believe in a supersensible world. Such views demonstrate
ignorance of the specific sense in which spiritual science
speaks about the supersensible. I have often made clear by
means of the following comparison what I mean by that.
For someone
born blind, the world of color and light is a
“beyond” in relation to the accessible world. In
other words, we have access to a world only if we have organs
with which to perceive it. The moment sight is restored an
individual no longer has to rely on others in order to
determine that light and color exist. Then, a person
experiences a new world but one which in reality was always
there. In regard to the spiritual world of which spiritual
science speaks, the situation is exactly the same.
Knowledge of
the spiritual world is again attainable through spiritual
science. Just as there always were enlightened human beings
able to see into the spiritual world, so there are
individuals today who have developed spiritual organs. They
are able to perceive the spiritual aspect of physical
phenomena and see beyond the portal of death. They perceive
that part of the human being constitutes the immortal being
that survives after death. Their task is to impart detailed
information of this spiritual research, thus making spiritual
knowledge possible once more.
It is cheap to
say: Give me the means to see for myself. Actually, anyone
can attain the means, provided that person seeks guidance of
the right kind. Spiritual science constitutes such guidance
and it is accessible to everyone. The very first requirement,
however, is the ability to rise above the usual way of
looking at things. The person must, as it were, say: Here is
someone who tells me he can see into the spiritual world, and
who relates many specific details. He speaks about what
happens to humans after death, about spiritual forces and
beings that are invisible to ordinary sight, and that
permeate the world about us. As yet I cannot see that world,
but if I keep an open mind and pay attention to my feelings
and inner sense for Truth, I shall know whether what I hear
sounds probable or the reverse. I can further apply logical
thinking to the matter, and see if life itself bears out what
I am told. Having listened calmly to everything and found
nothing to contradict common sense, I shall attempt to look
at the world in light of this knowledge and see if it
explains human destiny. By assuming spiritual scientific
views to be correct, I will be able to test whether they
explain things and make life understandable. I shall also
gradually discover if spiritual knowledge does give one inner
strength, joy and confidence in life. In other words, I will
discover whether there is a basis for accepting the words of
the initiate. This attitude I adopt is the same in regard to
spiritual knowledge as that adopted by a remarkable person in
regard to the ordinary world of light and color.
The life of the
deaf, mute and blind Helen Keller
[
Helen Adams Keller (1880–1968) was an author and lecturer.
She was born deaf, blind and mute. She became famous for her
triumph over her disabilities.
]
was often described. Up to the
age of seven, she was like a little wild animal. Then there
came to her a teacher of genius, Anne Sullivan,
[
Anne Sullivan (1866–1936) was Helen Keller's teacher.
She was partially blind herself.
]
and then her education was far
above average. She had never heard sound or seen color and
light; all her life had been one of silent darkness. But she
had allowed everything that those around her experienced of
color, light and sound to affect her soul. Recently a new
book of hers was published, entitled Optimism. This
small volume showed that not only was she knowledgeable about
the affairs of the present time, but also about the life and
language of the Greeks and Romans. Although she had never
experienced it herself, she described the beauty of creation
conveyed by sight and hearing. Her little book showed that
she had gained more than just mental pictures from what had
been described to her; she had gained inner strength and
confidence in life.
In the same
way, people who do not close their mind will gain strength,
confidence and hope for the future from listening to the
description of someone with spiritual sight and hearing.
Inner uncertainty causes weakness, and creates an inability
to cope with life. Individuals who listen to someone with
spiritual sight will gradually become aware of things that
they were not aware of before. Spiritual knowledge will make
people efficient and capable. Impulses must flow from the
spiritual world like new life-blood and permeate our
political and social systems, bringing about a transformation
of our whole civilization. You must realize that spiritual
knowledge is in our time closely connected with the most
important questions and problems. When these press in upon us
from all sides in various forms, we must acknowledge the need
for deeper understanding. That the spiritual-scientific view
of the world is shaped through prophetic knowledge of what
must come will be born out by the lectures to be held this
winter. They will throw light not only on the great
civilizations, but also on everyday life. The results of
spiritual research show clearly what is needed to ensure the
healthy progress of mankind, and also what provides the
individual with inner strength, courage, and joy in life.
There are still
many who laugh at what spiritual science has to say about
supersensible issues. As they believe they are practical
folks, they will have nothing to do with such unpractical
nonsense. But the spiritual-scientific movement will carry on
its work. The time will come when even people who are now
among the fainthearted, skeptical doubters will turn to those
who have absorbed spiritual knowledge because they need
solutions to the great riddles and questions that will burden
the soul — not arbitrary human questions, but questions
posed by life with great force. Already in the near future,
spiritual knowledge will be needed more and more if human
evolution is to progress.
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