The Mission of Rudolf Steiner

In this article some of the first letters of the "secret writing" are translated into English. The translator would be grateful for any corrections.

Written in November 2002.

 

In occult language the words richness and treasure mean spiritual knowledge or abilities. Someone who had spiritual knowledge or abilities was a "rich man", had "great possessions". Those who do not have such but who longed for such were "poor".

In a previous life Rudolf Steiner was embodied as the personality whom history knows as "Plato". It would be possible to say that Plato was, in the above-mentioned sense, a "rich man". Rudolf Steiner himself best characterizes Plato in his book The Riddles of Philosophy: "Plato, who was born in Athens in 427 B.C., felt, as a disciple of Socrates, that his master had helped him to consolidate his confidence in the life of thought. What the entire previous development tended to bring into appearance reaches a climax in Plato. This is the conception that in thought life the world spirit reveals itself." (English translation: Anthroposophic Press; Spring Valley, NY, USA; 1973)

Formerly, ascent into the higher worlds was attained with the assistance of a spiritual being, of a so-called "Daemon". A Man had to descend into the Abyss, cross Hell, in order to be able to be resurrected as a god. The "Daemon" was not selected by man himself. With Plato begins a time in which man himself could consciously search for a "Daemon" and analyze it with thinking. Knowledge about the facts of the spiritual worlds had been gotten with the assistance of such a "Daemon". This knowledge was retained in secret spiritual schools, in the form of a few symbols or objects, and it continued to be transmitted secretly. At that time there were no libraries where the knowledge in today's scientific sense was systematically analyzed from all sides and retained.

This was also the period in which man developed the rational soul. Increasingly the old natural ability of clairvoyance was lost, and man was increasingly cut off from observation of the spiritual world, in order to be able to develop his reason. Increasingly, ordinary man had become a barbarian regarding the spiritual world. He could no longer understand the symbols of the secret knowledge. With his thought-life Plato attains at that time entrance to the so-called "spiritual library". One is to understand such a spiritual library as some kind of a stage of consciousness in which knowledge about the Ideas is stored, as it were. This spiritual knowledge was stored by those human souls who no longer needed for their development of consciousness to incarnate themselves into physical bodies. Plato speaks words which may be paraphrased thus: "Increasingly men become barbarians. We must guard knowledge against the barbarians." This decision was at that time justified. One could see the proof for this justification today in the ruins of the Greek temples.

Plato organized for the first time in the history of mankind a school-library, which on the one hand was similar to the earthly libraries of today and on the other hand was some kind of image of the spiritual library. The stored knowledge in this school-library was protected by certain rituals. Not everyone had access to the knowledge of this school-library. The first guardians of this library were the initiates, who were the successors of Plato himself.

After his death Plato continued his development in the spiritual world. He had experienced the event of Golgatha in the spiritual world. His meeting with the "second, Greater Guardian of the Threshold" in the spiritual world may best be characterized with the words from the Gospel of Matthew (19; 21): "Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me".

Plato made his choice and was born as Rudolf Steiner. One should understand this event correctly also. Plato had also the free choice not to incarnate himself in a physical body on Earth again if such a choice concerned only him alone; for the sake of only his own development such an incarnation actually was no longer necessary. It would also have made no sense to embody himself before modern times, since conditions for the development of the human consciousness were not yet ripe. He was thus born as Rudolf Steiner in the period wherein men are to develop the consciousness soul. This epoch can be designated as the European cultural epoch, in contrast to the preceding Greco-Latin cultural epoch, in which Plato had worked. The name "European" cultural epoch, in contrast with the names of the preceding cultural epochs, points to the fact that the development of the consciousness soul of a man is no longer dependent on any affiliation to a nation. Such names are not for one to invent, for they are to be read from the "secret writing". One can use the name "Continental" Age for the period which follows the Atlantean one.

In course of his life Rudolf Steiner was led to a secret school, which may be called the successor of the first school-library of Plato. The initiates, who preserved the secret knowledge from many different spiritual schools into our time, rightly earned great respect. Rudolf Steiner could use this secret knowledge to verify his own spiritual researches, and he could continue to lead this secret school-library. Here in this school-library were the "rich"; the "poor" had no access there. But just the "poor" need methods which are accessible to everyone and which correspond to today's human consciousness. Such methods should not work by the destruction of the old school-libraries, but by the impulse of the Christ, by the principle "I am the I-am". And these methods of Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition were given to the "poor".

To where does one attain by Intuition? To the self-consciousness "I am the I-am". One learns by Imagination to know the spiritual letters of the "I am the I-am". One learns by Inspiration to read the spiritual words of the "I am the I-am" and wins admission to the spiritual library. One does not need the secret outer school in order to come to the self-consciousness "I am the I-am". Every man has the secret school inside, and the teacher is the Christ himself.

Who is the Christ? This is the Jesus self-consciousness "I am the I-am", which continues to work as spiritual being. It is the general law: "If one man attains to some consciousness, then this consciousness is also accessible to other men." And if one man comes to the self-consciousness of the "I am the I-am" by Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition, then he comes to the Christ; he becomes then finally the Christ himself. Who could give to the "poor" such methods, which lead the men in full consciousness to the Christ? Only an initiate who himself came to the Christ by these methods and who by the Christ-initiation, by the "I am the I-am" initiation, went in full consciousness on Earth through Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition. The external proof for this principle is to be found in the "Fifth Gospel". Rudolf Steiner was the first initiate of this kind, and if Rudolf Steiner, as a man, attains to some consciousness, then this consciousness is also accessible to other men.

If these methods of Imagination, Inspiration, and Intuition are still effective, are not yet exhausted, then it makes no sense at all that Rudolf Steiner would incarnate again on Earth. This incarnation could happen only if mankind becomes ripe for new consciousness, if new methods for attaining to self-consciousness of "I am the I-am" would be necessary, and if Rudolf Steiner would be the best one to bring the new methods to the mankind; in that case this embodiment of Rudolf Steiner would be his last on Earth. Chronologically seen, this incarnation could happen at the end of our "Continental" Age, which has a tendency to end with a fiery catastrophe. What can thus cause this catastrophe?

Human development is the development of the self-consciousness "I am the I-am". One can with the concept of "threefoldness" differentiate three kinds of this consciousness. One can regard the whole world-structure as the outer manifestation of the "I am the I-am" consciousness. There one can notice, as it were, "lower", "middle" and "top" parts of the "I am the I-am" consciousness. Moses had the "I am the I-am" consciousness in the elements of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. That which the outer senses supply to man of these elements one can term the "lower", the "ahrimanic" part of the "I am the I-am" consciousness, if that consciousness has the other parts subordinated. If the "top" part has a preponderance, then one has "luciferic" consciousness. The "middle" part, which encloses both kinds harmoniously in itself, is the "Christian" consciousness. In every man these three kinds of consciousness are effectively mingled with each another.

Rudolf Steiner's drawing which is placed at the beginning of the article can illustrate the development of consciousness. The drawing is an Imaginative picture of the world-structure. One can also find some similarity with a flying "Eagle" which carries three degrees, three main stages of consciousness on itself. The lower dark part corresponds to the degree of consciousness that makes it possible for a man to be conscious of only one object at the same time. The middle dark part corresponds to the degree of consciousness that makes it possible to a man to be conscious of several objects at the same time. This is the stage of the Teachers of mankind, the stage at which is the consciousness of Rudolf Steiner. The upper dark part corresponds to that degree of consciousness which one can call cosmic consciousness. If every man attains to this consciousness, then the goal of the development of consciousness in the world-structure would be achieved. The threefoldness is represented by three lower parts of "Eagle". The middle lower part corresponds to the Christ, the right lower part to Ahriman, and the left lower part to Lucifer, in whose direction the "Eagle" flies. In this way the development of consciousness in the world-structure is inclined to the wisdom of Lucifer. The duality is represented in the drawing with the dark and bright areas. The surface of the dark areas corresponds to the time which man spends on one stage of consciousness before he ascends to the next one. Access to the next main stage of consciousness is determined by the attributes of man which he acquires himself. The bright areas correspond to the innumerable intermediate stages of consciousness in the world-structure, which there are between three main stages of consciousness.

In the second half of the year 1999 one man in America brought his ahrimanic part of the "I am the I-am" consciousness to the point that he became Ahriman. That is the event of the incarnation of Ahriman. The embodied Ahriman is the "I am the I-am" self-consciousness of this man, the ahrimanic part of the "I am the I-am" that continues to act as a spiritual being. And if one man attains to some consciousness, this consciousness is also accessible to other men. The consequence of this embodiment has the tendency that it will lead to further technical progress. That will at first be perceived as beneficial for mankind. Technology will be changed so quickly that man will be forced to exert all his abilities and life-forces to not fall behind technical progress; one will then find hardly any strength or time for spiritual development. This trend can go so far that man will become helpless without technology; he will be forced to live in a rhythm of technology, in a rhythm of the ahrimanic and luciferic beings.

The forgoing can be illustrated by an example, by imagining a man who plays a computer game and regards his activity as a harmless occupation. At first the man experiences much pleasure. Gradually, the play-rhythm accelerates itself, the tension grows, and the man no longer notices that he increasingly gives his forces, his energy, his consciousness to this playing. He forgets the world that surrounds him, forgets his self-consciousness, and his goal becomes to not fall behind the play-rhythm. The playing does not have any meaning for the development of the self-consciousness; the purpose of this play is pleasure. Playing is ended only if he has no more strength. After recuperation this man strives for more play, which can offer him more rhythm, more pleasure. If one understands the embodied ahrimanic beings behind the computer, and the embodied luciferic beings behind the computer program - which man created himself - and behind the life the play, then one has an approximate conception of the life in the rhythm of the ahrimanic and luciferic beings.

Man follows luciferic or ahrimanic consciousness, because they offer pleasure to him. Striving for pleasure through ahrimanic consciousness will destroy the balance of the "I am the I-am" consciousness in the elements. The relationship between the elements of Fire and Air will be so changed that air will become self-igniting. The "Continental" Age has a tendency to end in a fiery catastrophe. One can thus picture to oneself this catastrophe as the re-establishment of balance in the parts of the "I am the I-am" consciousness.

Man is free to choose which consciousness he wants to develop. Whether our "Continental" Age will end with the fiery catastrophe depends on the free choice of every man.

You are free. What is your next choice?

The Goetheanum

The same principles of the development of consciousness, which are represented in the drawing by Rudolf Steiner, were also represented in the architecture of the Goetheanum. It was built as a worthy temple of the "I am the I-am" consciousness, as the center from which Anthroposophic knowledge will be spread. And if one looks on the web page of the Goetheanum, then one finds names, addresses, and prices. One has the impression that one is looking at the web page of a merchandise house where Anthroposophic knowledge is sold, where the materialistic, ahrimanic part of the "I am the I-am" consciousness prevails, and of which the Christ spoke the words that stand in Gospel of John (2; 16): "And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Fathers house an house of merchandise".

The temple of body, where the "I am the I-am" consciousness lives, is the house of God. If a man with materialistic consciousness tries to sell spiritual knowledge, then he closes to himself the entrance to the spiritual library, then he is instructed only through outer writings, and then man can come to strange conclusions. For example, from GA 238 were drawn the conclusions that the incarnation-sequence Plato - Hroswitha of Gandersheim - Karl Julius SchrÃer was correct.

If that were correct, then it would be also correct that the Plato, as an initiate, had met his end, in his incarnation as a Karl Julius SchrÃer, in senility, which for an initiate is impossible. Then that outcome would not be a spiritual evolution, but a spiritual degradation. It is indeed correct that an initiate cannot unfold all his spiritual forces in one incarnation, however it is impossible that his spiritual forces could so degrade that he would die in senility. That result could only mean that the Plato was not an initiate. And if one nevertheless accepts that an initiate could die in senility, then it is also acceptable that Rudolf Steiner himself and all Anthroposophists who strive for initiation will die sometime in senility. Thus one comes to a contradiction. GA 238 concerns a Platonically formed spirit, a Plato-essence, which lived in Plato, but not Plato himself. The personality Hroswitha of Gandersheim achieved a certain consciousness of this Plato-essence. That is a specific embodiment of the spirit of the Platonism. If Plato attains to some consciousness, then this consciousness is also accessible to other men. Plato worked at that time from the spiritual world; it was not necessarily for him to be incarnated.

In the present article are communicated spiritual facts, which one can approach by his own Imaginations and Inspirations. The most important of these facts is the incarnation of Ahriman. One could say that the great War of All against All has begun. Each man, consciously or unconsciously, stands before the decision: what kind of consciousness does he wish to develop? Everyone can decide that question only for himself. However, one can, for example, affect the development of human consciousness by placing the works of Rudolf Steiner free of charge on the Internet. If the Anthroposophists at the Goetheanum do not do this, then they work in an ahrimanic sense and draw themselves into the War of All against All through the simple fact of their own survival. If they nevertheless do this, then they work consciously in a Christian sense and open the entrance to knowledge in the spiritual library. The knowledge in the spiritual library is free for everyone, but only those who are ready to give knowledge are able to receive it.

From the axiom of Anthroposophy: "the outer world is the physiognomy of the spiritual", it follows that the Anthroposophists should consciously imitate the spiritual world. If in the spiritual world knowledge is free, then the Anthroposophists should imitate this practice also. If, however, the Anthroposophists sell knowledge to each other, then money, the ahrimanic power, is placed between men, and then they are in the War of All against All. If, however, one uses money in order to offer something free of charge, then the ahrimanic power is used in a Christian sense and placed in the service of mankind.

Spiritual science is a corpse if it is not able to react to the events of life. The incarnation of Ahriman is a fact whether one believes in it or not, and living spiritual science must be able to pass over from theory to practice, to find effective solutions independently of whether one believes in it or not. The theoretical solution says: explain and give freely. In order to find a practical solution one should trace out the sources of the ahrimanic effect on men. One of the sources is schoolbooks, in which the materialistic conception prevails, and in which the scientific theory that the earth circles the sun is taught as a reality. Men will be brought up according to this statement, who do not strive for reality, because they already know "reality".

Instruction is an art, and in order to teach reality in school a teacher must have exemplary statements, which without the word spirit can teach spiritual science.

"A conception that the earth circles the sun is a scientific theory which does not correspond to reality, because the axis of the earth always points to the Pole Star." That is a very important statement, because it has to do with the existence of men on earth and their connection with the sun and the stars. Here spiritual science is hidden and works unconsciously, although no word is spoken about the spirit. This statement can lead students to Imagination.

"A scientific theory describes not reality, but the relations which belong to reality". Both the Ptolemaic and the Copernican world-system can describe the same relations correctly while both do not describe reality. It would be also possible to describe the same relations with a lemniscate, but this lemniscatic world-system also could not describe reality. This statement can lead students to Inspiration.

"From relations it is not possible to get a correct conception of reality, likewise it is not possible, for example, from a cardiogram to form a correct conception of a heart." This statement can lead students to the Intuition. A cardiogram is strictly speaking nothing else than a transformed lemniscate. In order to come to a correct conception of the reality, one must talk about spiritual beings with different stages of consciousness, and one must be able to come to Intuition. It is important that one does not talk at all about the spirit with students, because such a practice is very dangerous. It is particularly dangerous if one talks about all kinds of spiritual beings with children, since most children are still able to experience themselves these spiritual beings and get into dependence on them. Only an initiate may do this practice with children, because only he can come to assistance.

One can recognize in these three statements a general paradigm, which is applicable not only in astronomy and which can lead students to Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition, to spiritual science: "A conception that ... is a scientific theory which does not correspond to reality, because ...". "A scientific theory describes not the reality, but relations, which belong to reality". "From relations it is not possible to get the correct conception of reality, likewise it is not possible for example ...". Men who strive for reality will be brought up according to this paradigm, because they do not yet know reality. But it is also not as easy to use this paradigm in other branches of science.

In order to introduce this paradigm into schoolbooks one does not need Imaginations, Inspirations, or Intuitions. One needs however a society which consists of men who understand spiritual science, who are ready to explain and give freely, and who can pacify the War of All against All. The Goetheanum and the publishing house can then only be winners in these times. Unfortunately the tendency at present is that ever fewer young people find the way to the spiritual science. The Goetheanum can change this tendency.