VI
The
Sermon on the Mount
The day before yesterday we spoke of how at this point
in time humanity is confronted by difficult events. We will be able
to understand better why this is so if we consider our times
retrospectively in terms of the whole of human evolution and thus
bring ourselves up to date regarding many things known and unknown.
You know that one of the most significant pronouncements made as the
Christ event approached was, “Change the disposition of your
souls, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” These are words
of the deepest meaning, because they indicate that something most
significant took place in man's entire soul development at that time.
When these words were spoken, more than 3,000 years had passed since
the beginning of what we call Kali Yuga, or the Dark Age. What is the
significance of this age? It was the era in which it was normal for
man to depend solely upon what was accessible to his outer senses and
also to the understanding that was bound up with the instrument of
the brain. This was all that man could experience, know, and
understand in the dark period of Kali Yuga.
This Dark Age was preceded by an age in which man was
not dependent only upon his outer senses and intellect, but he still
retained a memory, more or less, of the ancient dreamlike condition
in which he was able to feel a connection with the spiritual world.
It is of these ancient human times that we wish to create a picture.
Not only could man see the mineral, plant, and animal realms, as well
as himself within the physical, human realm, but he could also, in a
condition between waking and sleeping, see a divine world. He saw
himself as the lowest member of the lowest realm in the hierarchical
order, above which were the angels, archangels, and so forth. He knew
this through his own experience, so that it would have been absurd
for him to deny the existence of this spiritual world, just as it
would be absurd today to deny the existence of the mineral, plant,
and animal realms. Not only did he possess a knowledge of what
streamed toward him as wisdom from spiritual realms, but he had the
capacity to become completely permeated with the forces of this
domain. He was then in a state of ecstasy; his sense of I was
submerged, but the spiritual world with its forms really flowed into
him. He thus not only had a knowledge, an experience of the spiritual
world, but he could, if he were ill, for instance, derive healing and
refreshment by means of this ecstasy.
Oriental wisdom refers to those ages in which man still
had a direct connection with the spiritual world as Krita Yuga, Treta
Yuga, and Dvapara Yuga. In the last age, however, a direct glimpse
into the spiritual world was no longer possible but only a
remembering that took place in the same way that an old man might
remember his youth. Then the doors to the spiritual world closed. Man
could no longer frequent the spiritual world in his normal state of
consciousness, and the time came when only on the basis of a long and
rigorous preparation in the mystery schools could he turn again
toward the spiritual world.
During Kali Yuga, however, something did occasionally
penetrate into the physical world from spiritual realms. As a rule,
it did not come from the good powers but was ordinarily of demoniacal
nature. All the strange illnesses described in the Gospels in which
people are described as possessed are attributable to demoniacal
forces. In them we must recognize the influence of spiritual beings.
This lesser Kali Yuga began in about the year 3000 BC and is
characterized by the fact that the doors to the spiritual world have
gradually been completely closed to man's normal consciousness, so
that one must draw all knowledge from the world of the senses. If
this process had continued unabated, all possible connection with the
spiritual world would have been lost to man. Up until the time of
Kali Yuga, man remembered some things that had been retained by way
of tradition, but now even these connections have gradually faded.
Even the teacher, the preserver of tradition, could not speak to him
directly about spiritual worlds, because the receptivity no longer
existed. The knowledge of humanity gradually extended only to the
physical world.
It this development had continued, man would never again
have been able to find a connection with the spiritual world, try
though he might; this connection would have been lost had not
something occurred from another direction, that is, the embodiment on
the physical plane of that divine being to Whom we refer as the
Christ.
Formerly, man had been able to raise himself up to the
spiritual beings, but now they had to come close to him, to descend
fully into his realm, through which he could recognize them with the
essence of his I. This moment had been foretold by the prophets of
ancient times. It was said that man would be able to find his
relationship to God with and in his own I. When this time came,
however, it had to be brought forcefully to man's attention that the
promised moment had actually come. The one who did this most
powerfully was John the Baptist. He announced that the times had
changed, saying “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Later
this was indicated in a similar way by Christ Jesus, but the most
significant sign was given in advance through the many baptisms
performed by John in the Jordan and through the teaching itself.
Still, by these means alone the change would not have
been possible. A number of human beings would have had to have a much
greater experience of the spiritual world through which the
conviction could begin to live in them that a divine being would
reveal himself. This was achieved by submerging them in water. When a
person is about to drown, the connection of the etheric body to the
physical body is loosened — the etheric body is even partly
withdrawn — and he can then experience a sign of the new
impulse in world evolution. From this comes the powerful admonition:
“Change the disposition of your soul, for the kingdoms of
heaven are near. The disposition of soul is come upon you through
which you will enter a relationship to the descended Christ. The
times have been fulfilled.”
Christ Jesus Himself expressed the fulfillment of the
times in the most penetrating teachings in the Sermon on the Mount,
as it is called. This was by no means a sermon for the masses. The
Gospels read, “When Christ saw the multitudes of people, He
withdrew from them and revealed Himself to His disciples.” To
them He revealed that man, in ancient times, could become filled with
God during ecstasy. While outside his I, he was blissful and had
direct experience of the spiritual world from which he could draw
spiritual and health-giving forces. Now, however — so said
Christ Jesus to His disciples — a man can become filled with
God by permeating himself with the God and Christ impulse and uniting
himself as an I with this impulse. In the past, he alone could ascend
to the spiritual world who was filled with streamings from the
spiritual world. Only such a person, rich in the spirit, could be
called blessed. Such a person was a clairvoyant in the old sense, and
he was a rare personality. Most people had become beggars in the
spirit. Now, however, those who sought the kingdom of heaven could
find it through their own I's.
What occurs in such a significant epoch of humanity
always affects all people. If only a single member of a man's being
is touched, the others all respond. All the members of man's being —
the physical and etheric bodies, the sentient, rational, and
consciousness souls, the I, and even the higher members of the soul —
receive new life through the nearness of the kingdom of heaven. These
teachings are in complete accord with the great teachings of primeval
wisdom.
To enter the spiritual world in earlier times, the
etheric body had to be slightly separated from the physical body,
which was thus formed in a special way. Christ Jesus therefore said
this when alluding to the physical body, “Blessed are the
beggars, the poor in spirit, for if they develop their I-ruled outer
bodies in the right way, they will find the kingdom of heaven.”
Of the etheric body He said, “Formerly, men could be healed of
illnesses of the body and soul by ascending into the spiritual world
in a state of ecstasy. Now those who suffer and are filled with the
spirit of God can be healed and comforted, and they can find the
source, the comfort, within themselves.” Of the astral body He
said, “In former times those whose astral bodies were beset by
wild and tempestuous passions and impulses could be subdued only when
equanimity, peace, and purification streamed to them from
divine-spiritual beings.” Now, however, human beings should
find the strength within their own I's, under the influence of
Christ, to purify their astral bodies. The place in which the astral
body can be purified is now the earth. Thus the new influence in the
astral body had to be presented by saying, “Blessed and filled
in their astral bodies with God are those who foster calmness and
equanimity within themselves; all comfort and well-being on earth
shall be their reward.”
The fourth Beatitude refers to the sentient soul. He who
thoroughly purifies himself in his sentient soul and undergoes a
higher development will receive in his I a hint of the Christ. He
will notice in his heart a thirst for righteousness; he will become
pervaded with godliness, and his I will become sufficient unto itself
The next member is the rational or feeling soul (Verstandes —
oder Gemuetseele). In the sentient soul the I slumbers dully; it
awakens only in the rational or feeling soul. If we slumber with our
I in the sentient soul, we cannot find in another person what makes
him a true human being, the I. Before a person has developed the I
within himself, he must allow his sentient soul to grow into higher
worlds in order to be able to perceive something there. When he has
developed himself in his rational or feeling soul, however, he can
perceive the person next to him. Where all those members previously
referred to are concerned, we must bear in mind what was given them
in earlier realms. It is only the rational or feeling soul that can
fill itself with what streams from man to man. In the fifth Beatitude
the sentence structure will have to take on a special form. The
subject and the predicate must be alike, since it concerns what the I
develops within itself. The fifth Beatitude says, “He who
develops compassion and mercy shall find compassion in others.”
This is a test of the cross (Kreuzprobe), an indication that we are
here dealing with an occult document. Christ has promised everything,
harmonized everything, in relation to the single members of human
nature.
The next sentence of the Beatitudes refers to the
consciousness soul. Through it the I comes into being as pure I and
becomes capable of receiving God into itself. If man can therefore
elevate himself to such a degree, he can perceive within himself that
drop of the divine, his I; through his purified consciousness soul he
can behold God. This sixth sentence of the Beatitudes must,
therefore, refer to beholding God. The outer physical expression for
the I and the consciousness soul is the physical blood, and where it
brings itself most particularly to expression is in the human heart,
as expression of the purified I. Christ said, therefore, “Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they shall behold God.” We are thus
shown how in the most intimate sense the heart is the expression of
the I, the divine in man.
Now let us advance to what is higher than the
consciousness soul, to Manas, Buddhi, and Atman. Contemporary man may
well cultivate the three members of the soul, but not until the
distant future will he be able to develop these higher members,
spirit self, life spirit, and spirit man. These cannot as yet live in
themselves in man; for this to occur he must look up to higher
beings. His spirit self is not yet in him; it will flow into him only
later. Man is not yet sufficiently evolved to receive fully the
spirit self into himself. In this respect he stands at the beginning
of his development and is like a vessel that is gradually to receive
it. This is indicated in the seventh sentence of the Beatitudes. At
first, the spirit self can only weave into man and fill him with its
warmth. Only through the deed of Christ is it brought down to earth
as the power of love and harmony. Therefore, Christ says, “Blessed
are those who draw the spirit self, the first spiritual member, down
into themselves, for they shall become the children of God.”
This points man upward to higher worlds.
Further on, mention is made of what will be brought
about in the future, but it will encounter in ever-increasing measure
the opposition of the present time and be fiercely rejected. This is
indicated in the eighth sentence of the Beatitudes, “Filled
with God or blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness
sake, for they will be fulfilled in themselves with the kingdom of
heaven, with life spirit or Buddhi.” In connection with this,
we find references also to the special mission of Christ Himself, in
the sentence that reads, “Christ's intimate disciples may
consider themselves blessed if they must suffer persecution for His
sake.” This is a faint allusion to spirit man or Atman, which
will be imparted to us in the distant future.
In the Sermon on the Mount, therefore, the great message
is proclaimed that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In the course of
these events the mystery of human evolution was fulfilled in
Palestine. Man had reached a degree of maturity in all the members of
his being so that he was able with his purified physical forces to
receive the Christ impulse directly into himself So it came to pass
that the God-man, Christ, merged with the human being, Jesus of
Nazareth, and they permeated the earth for three years with their
united forces. This had to happen so that man would not lose
completely his connection with the spiritual world during Kali Yuga.
Kali Yuga, the Dark Age, however, continued until the
year 1899. This was a particularly important year in human evolution,
because it marked the end of the 5,000 year period of Kali Yuga and
the beginning of a new stage in the evolution of humanity. In
addition to the old faculties present during Kali Yuga, man would now
develop new spiritual faculties. We thus approach a period in which
new natural faculties and possibilities for looking into the
divine-spiritual worlds will awaken. Before the first half of the
twentieth century has passed, some people will, with full
I-consciousness, experience the penetration of the divine-spiritual
world into the physical, sensible world in the same way as Saul did
during his transformation into Paul before Damascus. This will then
become the normal condition for a number of people.
Christ will not incarnate again in a physical body as He
did at that time in Jesus; nothing would be achieved by it now. It
was necessary then because of profound laws of cosmic-earthly
evolution; otherwise, people would not have been able to recognize
Him. Now, however, human beings have evolved further and have become
capable of penetrating into etheric vision through their soul forces.
Christ will thus become visible to human beings in an etheric and not
in a physical body. From the middle of the twentieth century on, and
continuing for the next 2,500 years, this will happen more and more
often. Enough people will by then have experienced the event at
Damascus that it will be taken as a common occurrence on the earth.
We occupy ourselves with spiritual science so that these
newly appearing faculties, which are at first barely perceptible, may
not be overlooked and lost to humanity and that those blessed with
this new power of vision may not be considered dreamers and fools but
may instead have the support and understanding of a small group of
people who in their common purpose may prevent these delicate soul
seeds and soul qualities from being roughly trampled to death for
lack of human understanding. Spiritual science shall indeed prepare
the possibility for attaining this development. Recently, I explained
that these new qualities give us an insight into the land of
Shamballa, through which we may learn to know the significance and
true nature of Christ, whose second coming indicates a maturing of
humanity's cognition.
Generally speaking, the ages of history repeat
themselves, but always in a new way. In spiritual science the
beginning of Kali Yuga is seen as the closing of the portals of the
spiritual world. After the first millennium of Kali Yuga had passed,
there was the first compensation for the loss: in the individuality
of Abraham, after his initiation by Melchizedek, it became possible
for a human being to recognize God in the outer world through true
insight and a proper evaluation of the outer world spread out, as it
were, like a carpet before his senses. With Abraham, we see the first
dawning of a knowledge of what an I-God is, a God related to man's
I-nature. Abraham realized that behind the phenomena of the world of
the senses was something that made it possible for the human I to
conceive itself as a drop of the infinite, unfathomable world-I.
A second state of this revelation of God was experienced
in the time of Moses, when God approached man through the elements.
In the burning bush, in the thunder and lightning upon Sinai, He
revealed Himself to man's senses and spoke to his innermost being. A
third millennium followed in which a knowledge of God was penetrating
man, the age of Solomon, in which God revealed Himself through the
symbols of the Temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem. The divine
revelation thus proceeded in stages. God first appeared to Abraham as
the I-God, or the Jahve-God, then to Moses in fire in the burning
bush, in thunder and lightning, and then to Solomon in the symbols of
the Temple.
What is representative of a particular age repeats
itself later in reverse order. The turning point is the appearance of
Christ Jesus in Palestine. What immediately preceded that time is the
first to reappear. Consequently, the first millennium after Christ is
again a Solomon epoch; the spirit of Solomon works in the best human
beings of that time so that the Mystery of Golgotha may penetrate. In
those early centuries after Christ, Solomon's symbols could be
interpreted most readily and inwardly by those who could experience
the deed on Golgotha most deeply.
In the second millennium after Christ we can recognize a
repetition of the age of Moses. What Moses experienced outwardly now
appears in the mysticism of men such as Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, and
so on. The mystics experienced in their inner beings what Moses
experienced outwardly in the burning bush, in the thunder and
lightning. They spoke of how the I-God revealed Himself to them when
they withdrew into themselves. When they perceived within their souls
the spark of their I's, then the I-God, the One God Jahve, revealed
Himself to them. This was the case with Tauler, who was a great
preacher and could make powerful revelations. To him came the layman
who was called, “The Friend of God, of the Mountain,” of
whom it was thought that he wished to become Tauler's pupil. He soon
became Tauler's teacher instead, however, after which Tauler was able
to speak of God from his inner being with such force that a number of
pupils and listeners were reported to have fallen prostrate, lying as
if dead, as he preached. This is reminiscent of the events that
occurred when Moses received the Laws on Sinai.
The centuries up to our present time have been filled by
this spirit. Now, however, we are entering an era that recalls and
revives the age of Abraham, but in the sense that human beings are
being led away from the world accessible to our physical senses. The
spirit of Abraham will influence our knowledge so that human beings
will renounce the old mentality that only laid store in the sensible
world. In contrast to Abraham, however, for whom the spirit of God
was only to be found in the world of the senses, we shall now grow
beyond the world of the senses and into the spiritual world.
Although human beings knew nothing of all this in the
past, one can well say that it has not interfered with our evolution.
In the era now approaching, however, we will be placed in
circumstances that will require human beings to take their destiny
consciously into their own hands. They must know how Christ will be
perceptible in the future. The legend is true that after the event of
Golgotha Christ descended to the dead in the spiritual world to bring
them the Word of Salvation. The Christ event works today in the same
way. It is therefore the same whether a person lives in the physical
world here on earth or has already passed through death: if he has
gained an understanding for the Christ event here on earth, he can
still experience it in the spiritual world. This will show that man
has not lived upon this earth without a reason. If, however, a person
fails to acquire an understanding for the Christ even here on earth,
the effects of the event of Golgotha will pass him by without a trace
during the period between death and a new birth. He will then have to
wait until his next return to the earth, until a new birth, in order
to be able to prepare himself.
Man must not believe that Christ will reappear in the
flesh, as some false teachings claim, for in that case it would be
impossible for one to believe in the progressive evolution of human
faculties, and we would have to say that events repeat themselves in
the same way. This is not the case however; they do repeat
themselves, but on ever higher levels.
In the next centuries it will often be proclaimed that
Christ will return and again reveal Himself. False messiahs or
Christs will appear. Those armed by the above explanations, however,
with a true understanding of Christ's actual appearance, will reject
such manifestations. The knowledgeable ones who can see the history
of the last centuries in this light will be neither astonished nor
exalted by the appearance of such messiahs. As examples, this
happened just before the Crusades and also in the seventeenth century
when a false messiah, Shabattai Tzevi, appeared in Smyrna. Pilgrims
flocked to him even from France and Spain.
At that time such a deceptive belief did not do so much
damage. Now, however, when one with more advanced faculties should be
able to recognize that it is a mistake to believe in Christ's second
coming in the flesh and that it is true that He will reappear in the
etheric body — now it is necessary to distinguish such things
plainly. A confusion will have serious consequences. An alleged
Christ who reappears in the flesh is not to be believed but only a
Christ Who appears in the etheric body. This appearance will take the
form of a natural initiation, just as now the initiate experiences
this event in a special way.
We are thus approaching an age in which man will feel
himself surrounded not only by a physical, sensible world but also,
according to the measure of his knowledge, by a spiritual kingdom.
The leader in this new kingdom of the spirit will be the etheric
Christ. No matter what religious community or faith to which people
belong, once they have experienced these facts in themselves they
will acknowledge and accept the Christ event. The Christians who
actually have the experience of the etheric Christ are perhaps in a
more difficult situation than adherents to other religions, yet they
should endeavor to accept this Christ event in just as neutral a way
as the others. It will, in fact, be man's task to develop, especially
through Christianity, an understanding for the possibility of
entering the spiritual world independently of any religious
denomination but simply through the power of good will.
Anthroposophy above all should help us in this. It will
lead us into that spiritual land, described in ancient Tibetan
writings as a remote fairyland, which means the spiritual world, the
land of Shamballa. Not in a trance but in full consciousness man
should enter this land under the guidance of Christ. Even now the
initiate can and must go often to the land of Shamballa in order to
draw from there new forces. Later, other human beings, too, will
enter the land of Shamballa. They will see its radiant light, as Paul
saw above him the light that streamed from Christ. This light will
stream toward them, also. The portals of this realm of light will
open to them and through them they will enter the holy land of
Shamballa.
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