The neutral occultism - a truth of all times
Extract of lecture no 1 in Oslo 1912, pages 39-48 from Dr. Rudolf Steiner in the book „Lehrgang Esoterik“
The occult view is always the same in its results about the whole human beings. There are no different occult views. There are no more different occult views than different mathematics.
It is only necessary in the occultism to have access to the correct media to attain awareness. Then you attain the same awareness, everybody else attains who has the correct media. It is not true, that there are different views in occultism, no more than there are different views in mathematics. The occultism has been present everywhere it asserted itself, always the uniform occultism.
And if there have been varieties in those theosophies that happened and that show the outer cover of occult truths then it’s because for the one people, for the one humanity epoch a different cover was needed than for another people or another humanity epoch.
The diversity of theosophies in this world lies in the cover and in the way of thinking. What is at the bottom of occultism is the same everywhere.
Because religions have emerged from the humanitarian cover of the occultism, they have been different according to people and eras. The occultism doesn’t know any diversity, not anything, that distinguishes itself in a way, that one man could be provoked against another or an enmity of others. This is not possible within the occultism, because it is exactly what can be obtained as the uniform property of humanity everywhere.
In that humanity must seek to be a suitable cover of the occultism for the present, especially in these days, it must tend to absorb as little diversities that happened in humankind as possible.
It must strive to be a true expression of occult truths. Humanity will have to strive to overcome especially the special philosophies of life and the religious differences.
We must learn to get over having one humanity with one special colour more every day. It has become more and more important in the development of humanity, that the theosophy has received special shades according to religious pre-sentiments and pre-opinions. But theosophy should always be a report of the uniform occultism.
This is why there cannot be a Buddhist or a Hindu, a Zarathustrian or a Christian humanity. Of course beliefs and definitions of certain peoples must be respected when they meet occultism, but at the same time humanity should have the ideal to be an expression of occult truths.
Therefore is was a denial of the principle of all occultisms of the world, when in certain communities in the middle of Europe a humanity appeared, that called itself a “Christian humanity”. In truth there cannot be a Christian humanity nor a Buddhist or a Zarathustrian one.
In the face of religion humanity will have to stand in the position of the explanation of religious truths, in the position of sympathy. Then it will show, that these religious truths as such are special forms or special definitions of one or the other sides of the occultism and that one can realize the occultism only when one can understand it independently of such differences.
We have noticed already, that what has been characterized here is considered as ideal. Even though it is understandable, that the humanitarian covers of occultism have different forms all over the world, then on the other hand there must also be the possibility of talking uniformly about the occultism.
This can only be achieved, when there is the volition to strip off the certain differences that result from pre-opinions and pre-sentiments. We must be glad, if there is demand for unambiguous opinion about the most elementary things of the occult awareness.
This will be possible mainly with reference to the important occult truths of reincarnation and karma. As much as humanity wants to be a report of occult awareness, it will endeavour to spread the truths of reincarnation and karma over the whole world. These truths will have the fate, that also humans with religious prejudices everywhere on our earth strike their sails.
A further ideal will be that the work of peace that is done by humanity is achieved in reference to the higher realms of occult awareness of unity and harmony. This can be understood as an ideal, but a difficult one.
If you consider how deeply man is still interwoven with his religious prejudices, his religious pre-opinions - with what he understands, how he has been raised - one can understand the difficulty to give humanity something that is not coloured by religious prejudices, but is such a true picture of the occult awareness as at all possible.
It is understandable, that a Buddhist is opposed to the point of view of a Christian as long as he insists on the point of view of the Buddhist denomination. And if humanity gets a Buddhist colour it is also needless to say, that this „Buddhist humanity“ will behave in an adverse or misunderstood way against Christianity. It is also understandable that in a region where Christian dogmas prevail it is again difficult to come to an objective awareness of those parts of the occultism that are expressed by the Buddhism. But the ideal is to understand the one as much as the other and to establish a harmonic and peaceful understanding all over the world.
The Buddhist and the Christian, as soon as they will have become humanists, will communicate with each other; will find the point of view of a harmonic balance.
The humanist will envision the ideal to receive a picture of the overall uniform occultism and to detach this picture from religious prejudices.
The Christian who has become a humanist will understand the Buddhist who says: It is impossible, that such a Bodhisattva, after becoming Buddha, can return into his human body.
Such a high step of human development is reached by the Buddhist dignity that the respective individuality need not return into the human body.
The Christian will tell the Buddhist: I haven’t been disclosed anything about beings like the Bodhisattvas, but because I submit myself to humanity, I learn not only, that you know the truth, but that I must acknowledge this truth also.
The Christian humanist will face the Buddhist in a way that he says: I understand what a Bodhisattva is. I know that the Buddhist believes in a truth for certain beings that can be true where Buddhism has spread. I understand, when the Buddhist says, that a Buddha doesn’t return into his fleshy organism. The Christian who has become a humanist understands the Buddhist that has become a humanist.
And if this Christian faces the Buddhist, he can tell the Buddhist: If one follows the Christian denomination according to the contents that have been taught in occult schools in regard to the occult facts that are at the bottom of it, then it shows, that the name of Christ stands for a being, that hasn’t been on the earth before the mystery of Golgotha; - a being, that has walked other ways than those of an earthen incarnation, that has had to be in a human body to experience its own death within this body. Because of this death it has become what it has had to be for the entire mankind: a being, that can’t return in a physical body, because that would contradict the nature of Christ.
When the Buddhist who has become a humanist has heard this from the Christian, then the Buddhist will say: I can understand that there isn’t a teacher but an act at the beginning of Christianity.Because the Christian occultist doesn’t put Jesus from Nazareth at the beginning, but Christ. He puts the mystery of Golgotha at the beginning.
The Buddhism differs from Christianity in that it has a personal teacher at the beginning. The Christianity has an act at the beginning, the act of deliverance by death on the cross. Not a teacher, but an act is the requirement for Christian development.
This understands the Buddhist who has become a humanist. And he accepts what is the occult basis of Christianity to build harmony within mankind. The Buddhist would break the harmony, if he executed his Buddhist terms in Christianity.
As it is impossible, to connect what is called by the name of Christ with what is called by the name of Bodisattva, it is also impossible to execute the Bodhisattva features in Christ, as long as they are true to humanity. This would prevent the mission of peace of humanity. This is achieved though, when humanity strives to transport the humanitarian form that is appropriate for this time to mankind.
Like we understand Buddhism, Brahmanism and Zarathustrism without prejudice at the occident, it will be possible to realize the foundation of Christianity in that form, that is compulsory to understand and to find followers for such a foundation of Christianity.
Not always has the truth been accepted, that at the beginning of Christianity stands an act and that it is not true that Christ can return. For centuries there repeatedly appeared assumptions speaking of the return of Christ. They were always overcome and will always be overcome, because they contradict the mission of peace of humanity that shall be the expression of a uniform occultism.
The occultism has always been uniform and is independent of every Buddhist or Christian colour. It can understand objectively the Islamic as well as the Zarathustric and the Buddhist, like it can also understand the Christian.
We also understand why the ideal must persist in these times, so that one religious form of expression can’t prevail over the other, but that the religious forms of expression communicate with each other.
Pre-condition for understanding of each other is the understanding of the occult principles that are the same in all religions!
Extract of lecture no 1 in Oslo 1912, pages 39-48 from Dr. Rudolf Steiner in the book „Lehrgang Esoterik“
The occult view is always the same in its results about the whole human beings. There are no different occult views. There are no more different occult views than different mathematics.
It is only necessary in the occultism to have access to the correct media to attain awareness. Then you attain the same awareness, everybody else attains who has the correct media. It is not true, that there are different views in occultism, no more than there are different views in mathematics. The occultism has been present everywhere it asserted itself, always the uniform occultism.
And if there have been varieties in those theosophies that happened and that show the outer cover of occult truths then it’s because for the one people, for the one humanity epoch a different cover was needed than for another people or another humanity epoch.
The diversity of theosophies in this world lies in the cover and in the way of thinking. What is at the bottom of occultism is the same everywhere.
Because religions have emerged from the humanitarian cover of the occultism, they have been different according to people and eras. The occultism doesn’t know any diversity, not anything, that distinguishes itself in a way, that one man could be provoked against another or an enmity of others. This is not possible within the occultism, because it is exactly what can be obtained as the uniform property of humanity everywhere.
In that humanity must seek to be a suitable cover of the occultism for the present, especially in these days, it must tend to absorb as little diversities that happened in humankind as possible.
It must strive to be a true expression of occult truths. Humanity will have to strive to overcome especially the special philosophies of life and the religious differences.
We must learn to get over having one humanity with one special colour more every day. It has become more and more important in the development of humanity, that the theosophy has received special shades according to religious pre-sentiments and pre-opinions. But theosophy should always be a report of the uniform occultism.
This is why there cannot be a Buddhist or a Hindu, a Zarathustrian or a Christian humanity. Of course beliefs and definitions of certain peoples must be respected when they meet occultism, but at the same time humanity should have the ideal to be an expression of occult truths.
Therefore is was a denial of the principle of all occultisms of the world, when in certain communities in the middle of Europe a humanity appeared, that called itself a “Christian humanity”. In truth there cannot be a Christian humanity nor a Buddhist or a Zarathustrian one.
In the face of religion humanity will have to stand in the position of the explanation of religious truths, in the position of sympathy. Then it will show, that these religious truths as such are special forms or special definitions of one or the other sides of the occultism and that one can realize the occultism only when one can understand it independently of such differences.
We have noticed already, that what has been characterized here is considered as ideal. Even though it is understandable, that the humanitarian covers of occultism have different forms all over the world, then on the other hand there must also be the possibility of talking uniformly about the occultism.
This can only be achieved, when there is the volition to strip off the certain differences that result from pre-opinions and pre-sentiments. We must be glad, if there is demand for unambiguous opinion about the most elementary things of the occult awareness.
This will be possible mainly with reference to the important occult truths of reincarnation and karma. As much as humanity wants to be a report of occult awareness, it will endeavour to spread the truths of reincarnation and karma over the whole world. These truths will have the fate, that also humans with religious prejudices everywhere on our earth strike their sails.
A further ideal will be that the work of peace that is done by humanity is achieved in reference to the higher realms of occult awareness of unity and harmony. This can be understood as an ideal, but a difficult one.
If you consider how deeply man is still interwoven with his religious prejudices, his religious pre-opinions - with what he understands, how he has been raised - one can understand the difficulty to give humanity something that is not coloured by religious prejudices, but is such a true picture of the occult awareness as at all possible.
It is understandable, that a Buddhist is opposed to the point of view of a Christian as long as he insists on the point of view of the Buddhist denomination. And if humanity gets a Buddhist colour it is also needless to say, that this „Buddhist humanity“ will behave in an adverse or misunderstood way against Christianity. It is also understandable that in a region where Christian dogmas prevail it is again difficult to come to an objective awareness of those parts of the occultism that are expressed by the Buddhism. But the ideal is to understand the one as much as the other and to establish a harmonic and peaceful understanding all over the world.
The Buddhist and the Christian, as soon as they will have become humanists, will communicate with each other; will find the point of view of a harmonic balance.
The humanist will envision the ideal to receive a picture of the overall uniform occultism and to detach this picture from religious prejudices.
The Christian who has become a humanist will understand the Buddhist who says: It is impossible, that such a Bodhisattva, after becoming Buddha, can return into his human body.
Such a high step of human development is reached by the Buddhist dignity that the respective individuality need not return into the human body.
The Christian will tell the Buddhist: I haven’t been disclosed anything about beings like the Bodhisattvas, but because I submit myself to humanity, I learn not only, that you know the truth, but that I must acknowledge this truth also.
The Christian humanist will face the Buddhist in a way that he says: I understand what a Bodhisattva is. I know that the Buddhist believes in a truth for certain beings that can be true where Buddhism has spread. I understand, when the Buddhist says, that a Buddha doesn’t return into his fleshy organism. The Christian who has become a humanist understands the Buddhist that has become a humanist.
And if this Christian faces the Buddhist, he can tell the Buddhist: If one follows the Christian denomination according to the contents that have been taught in occult schools in regard to the occult facts that are at the bottom of it, then it shows, that the name of Christ stands for a being, that hasn’t been on the earth before the mystery of Golgotha; - a being, that has walked other ways than those of an earthen incarnation, that has had to be in a human body to experience its own death within this body. Because of this death it has become what it has had to be for the entire mankind: a being, that can’t return in a physical body, because that would contradict the nature of Christ.
When the Buddhist who has become a humanist has heard this from the Christian, then the Buddhist will say: I can understand that there isn’t a teacher but an act at the beginning of Christianity.Because the Christian occultist doesn’t put Jesus from Nazareth at the beginning, but Christ. He puts the mystery of Golgotha at the beginning.
The Buddhism differs from Christianity in that it has a personal teacher at the beginning. The Christianity has an act at the beginning, the act of deliverance by death on the cross. Not a teacher, but an act is the requirement for Christian development.
This understands the Buddhist who has become a humanist. And he accepts what is the occult basis of Christianity to build harmony within mankind. The Buddhist would break the harmony, if he executed his Buddhist terms in Christianity.
As it is impossible, to connect what is called by the name of Christ with what is called by the name of Bodisattva, it is also impossible to execute the Bodhisattva features in Christ, as long as they are true to humanity. This would prevent the mission of peace of humanity. This is achieved though, when humanity strives to transport the humanitarian form that is appropriate for this time to mankind.
Like we understand Buddhism, Brahmanism and Zarathustrism without prejudice at the occident, it will be possible to realize the foundation of Christianity in that form, that is compulsory to understand and to find followers for such a foundation of Christianity.
Not always has the truth been accepted, that at the beginning of Christianity stands an act and that it is not true that Christ can return. For centuries there repeatedly appeared assumptions speaking of the return of Christ. They were always overcome and will always be overcome, because they contradict the mission of peace of humanity that shall be the expression of a uniform occultism.
The occultism has always been uniform and is independent of every Buddhist or Christian colour. It can understand objectively the Islamic as well as the Zarathustric and the Buddhist, like it can also understand the Christian.
We also understand why the ideal must persist in these times, so that one religious form of expression can’t prevail over the other, but that the religious forms of expression communicate with each other.
Pre-condition for understanding of each other is the understanding of the occult principles that are the same in all religions!
