Part II
56. EL, Kassel, 2-6-'10
It
sometimes happens that a man who begins an esoteric training is soon
disappointed and says that he thought that the exercises would be
much more energetic and that the exercises' effects would be
much more incisive. One who says this should make it clear to himself
that he's making a big mistake there which he should correct as
soon as possible. It's the man who's not energetic
enough — not the exercises. It's not that the exercises
have no effect — the man just doesn't make them effective
in himself. A pupil must become a completely different man through an
esoteric life; he must acquire something new to add to the old.
In
earlier times one was placed before the choice of esoteric training
or death. One had to subject oneself to exercises and trials which
put one on the esoteric path — if one was mature enough — or
one fell by the wayside during these trials and died. The pupil told
himself: If I can't pass these tests, I'm not mature
enough for an esoteric life, and so further life in a physical body
has no value for me. It's better for me to die physically and
to prepare myself for a new incarnation in Devachan, which can then
lead to an esoteric life.
Such
trials aren't possible today; our whole organization is no
longer up to it. But a pupil should get to the point where all
physical happenings become indifferent to him. A man must become
completely different, but anyone who says that he has already
overcome the physical after doing a few exercises can easily be
deceiving himself. A pupil must be honest with himself. Truthfulness
is the first virtue that one who wants to tread an esoteric path must
acquire; one must be extremely honest with oneself.
Another
magic word for esoteric strivers is patience. Just look at the sun;
imagine how the spirit of the sun makes the sun rise and set day
after day, that he's already done that for a long time and will
do it for a long time to lead the earth to its goal. One should think
of this patience, and then shouldn't think that an exercise is
ineffective just because it hasn't had any effect after three
to five years.
The
Lord's Prayer, this wonderful reflection of seven-membered
world lawfulness, is a very significant meditation which some pupils
do every day. I know a master of wisdom and of the harmony of
feelings who said: I only take the Lord's Prayer as a
meditation once a month; the rest of the time I try to make myself
mature and worthy so that I might be permitted to immerse myself in
even one line of this meditation. That's the attitude that one
should have about a meditation — that one wants to make oneself
worthy to be allowed to use it.
Theosophy is living practice and not just theoretical study.
We must
feel the analogies in nature. There's something spiritual
behind all physical things. If we do the meditations correctly and
get further on the esoteric path, we'll soon feel something
that corresponds to what we see in nature: germination and growth in
spring and summer, and the melancholy of dying in the fall. Just as
we go to sleep at night, so plants go into a plant night in autumn.
Only the seeds remain. In them are the capacities that were acquired
during summer life. These capacities become reactivated in spring,
just as our forces and abilities from the preceding eve reawaken in
the morn. We must go to sleep and wake up again repeatedly, use our
capacities during the day and gather new forces at night. Behind
physical plants are sublime spirit beings who must stride to new
activities each spring, and who sink into a plant night in the fall
when only plant seeds remain These beings are so far advanced that
they only have to make this change once a year, whereas a man must go
through the change of going to sleep and awakening every 24 hours.
The higher beings don't have to do it as often.
Feeling
oneself to be united with the pan-spirit should not remain a phrase.
One must really feel and experience what lies hidden in the sequence
of spring, summer, fall, in coming to life and dying.
Spiritual life flows into us during meditation. We must prepare
ourselves in the right way so that we can receive this spiritual life
properly. We do this through study. Just as the sun which sends out
its rays and forces would only find an empty spot if the earth
wasn't prepared to receive and use them, so our meditations
would find no soil to work on; they would find a kind of an empty
place if we didn't prepare ourselves through study, if we
didn't make ourselves receptive for the spiritual life that
flows into us through meditation. Thus we can see the macrocosm in the
microcosm.
A pupil
should devote himself to his meditations with complete devotion and
concentration. He should put his everyday thoughts aside completely
and only open himself to high spiritual forces. The meditator should
look upon every meditation as a sacrifice, as a sacrificial smoke
that rises to the Gods. Thereby we contribute to harmonization and
progress, whereas low, egotistical thoughts are the basis for
catastrophes; and no human protective devices can prevent
catastrophes such as the many we've had recently and like the
even more terrible ones that are yet to come; one can do whatever one
wants to stop them — they'll happen anyway.
We must
have the spiritual in view and in our feelings in all of our deeds
and thoughts. We came down from the spirit, and enriched and
perfected we'll reascend to the spiritual.
In
the spirit lay the germ of my body.
And the spirit has imprinted in my body
The eyes of sense,
That through them I may see
The lights of bodies.
And the spirit has imprinted in my body
Reason and sensation
And feeling and will,
That through them I may perceive bodies
And act upon them.
In the spirit lay the germ of my body.
In my body lies the germ of the spirit.
And I will incorporate into my spirit
The super-sensible eyes
That through them I may behold the light of spirits.
And I will imprint in my spirit
Wisdom and power and love,
So that through me the spirits may act
And I become a self-conscious organ
Of their deeds.
In my body lies the germ of the spirit.
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