The Christian Mystery
GA 97
19 January 1907, Stuttgart
IX. The Sermon on the Mount
The sermon on the mount (Matthew 5) is the most significant revelation of the Christian faith. It is usually thought of as a sermon Jesus gave to the people, speaking from a mountain. But ‘to go up the mountain’ is an ancient key term found in all occult languages. ‘To love’ is another occult key word. ‘The disciple whom the Lord loved’—and ‘Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus’, ‘See how he loved his friend’.94John 11: 1-45. It always has to be realized that the disciple whom the Lord loved was the writer of John's gospel. His name never appears in the gospel, however, not even at the crucifixion. There we read: ‘When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there ...’95John 19:26. This term ‘love’ has profound significance. The pupil of a master who has been received and taken most deeply into occult knowledge was called ‘the disciple whom the Lord loved’. To ‘go up the mountain’ means to enter into the deepest mystery and teach words which the disciples will then speak to the people. People do not read the Bible properly but literally skip over the words.
Properly translated, the first verse reads: ‘And seeing the multitudes, he went away and up a mountain and sat down, and his disciples came to him.’ Jesus therefore actually went away from the people and spoke only to his disciples. Jesus Christ always had to speak in two ways. He would speak in parables to the people, and he would explain the occult meaning of the words to his disciples when he was ‘up the mountain’ with them.
Verse 3: ‘Blessed are the souls who are beggars for the spirit, for they will find the realms of the heavens in themselves.’ The words, even the letters, all have deep occult meaning. Our German ich [meaning ‘I’], with the letters I, C, H, contains the initials of Jesus Christ: I-Ch. The great initiates guided the word so that it would be ich, Jesus Christ. Only one nation would be able to find the birth of the name Jesus Christ out of the I—and that is how Christian mysticism developed in Germany. Other words also have profound occult meaning. An example is ‘holy’, to be whole or healthy. To be selig [blessed] is to be full of soul [Seele], finding the content of the soul in oneself. Blessed are those who have the urge, the drive to let the soul come more and more to the spirit. People often say ‘We have to look inside ourselves to find God’, but that is not right. For if we look only inside ourselves we find only whatever there is inside us. We must watch our desire; our individual nature must go beyond itself. This is what the words ‘Know yourself’ mean. The authority given to human beings is to give us a stimulus, not certain knowledge.
Verse 4: ‘Blessed are those who accept suffering, for they will find consolation in themselves.’ Suffering is one of the greatest riddles in the world. The ancient Greeks, an independent, happy people who were greatly attached to earthly existence, with sensual pleasure the breath of life to them, had Silenos the Wise answer, when he was asked what was the best thing for mankind: ‘Miserable race that lives for but one day... The very best is utterly beyond your reach—not to be born, not to be, but to be nothing. The second best things for you is—to die soon.’96 See Nietzsche, Friedrich, Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geiste der Musik (The birth of tragedy out of the spirit of music). Publications from the literary estate 1869-73, Bd 1, S. 62 f., Leipzig 1924. On the other hand Aesop said that we learn through suffering.97 Aesop said: paqhmata maqhmota. Fable no. 232, ‘The dog and the cook.’ And Job, having much suffering imposed on him, came to the conclusion: ‘Pain purifies, it takes man to a higher level.’ Why do we leave the theatre feeling contented when we have been listening to a tragedy? The hero overcomes his suffering. There is a connection between man ascending higher and the pain that has to be borne. The soul's suffering and pain are apparent in the physiognomy to one who is able to read it. Man must create an organ that will enable him to bear the pain. Just as the eye was created by light and the ear by sound, so do pain and suffering create organs for themselves. Man bears in him the consolation that comes when he recognizes that suffering can be borne. Man enters into higher development through suffering.
Verse 5: ‘Blessed are those of a gentle spirit, for they will have the earth for their own.’ Two powers are active in the world—on the one hand egotism, and on the other love and compassion. If love is to grow, egotism must wane. Sensual love must develop into a higher love that is of the spirit. This is also expressed in the third sentence in Light on the Path: ‘Before the voice can speak in the presence of the Masters it must have lost the power to wound’.98Collins, M. Light on the Path. London: The Theosophical Publishing House Ltd. Rudolf Steiner wrote an exegesis on this book in Steiner R. Guidance in Esoteric Training (in GA 245). Tr. C. Davy, O. Barfield. London: Rudolf Steiner Press 1977. If our approach to everyone else is a loving one, so that the voice no longer wounds, we are gentle in spirit, which is the meaning of the term in the sermon on the mount. Love is the goal and purpose of earth evolution; it will make the earthly realm its own.
Verse 6: ‘Blessed are those who hunger for justice, for they will have their hunger satisfied out of themselves.’ Here the Christ is presenting the whole significance of the deeper, inmost powers of the human soul to the disciples—to give love to others, not seek love; love will become general if everyone does it himself.
Verse 7: ‘Blessed are the compassionate, for they will gain compassion out of themselves.’ We must enter into the feelings of every individual person, then the compassion we have shown in our doing and giving will shine out to us from the others.
Verse 8: ‘Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they shall find the power in themselves to see God.’ This is an instruction in mysticism. We must cleanse and purify our hearts. The heart is the eye with which to see God. It is the organ of the future, not the brain. It is to God as unclouded eyes are to the light.
Verse 9: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will find the power in themselves to be God's children.’ The soul comes from God, and goes through the human being to God. Souls were peaceable and peace is the way by which we return to the divine spirit.
Verse 10: ‘Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of justice, for the realm of heaven is theirs.’ Christ Jesus asks human beings to demand justice of themselves, and justice will quench their thirst. Things demanded on earth and those demanded by heaven are always kept clearly distinct.
Verse 11: ‘Blessed are you if people revile and persecute you for my sake and say evil things about you in a lying way.’ Christianity must not be confused with other religions. In Buddhism it is important to do everything the Buddha taught. It is the same with the teaching Hennes gave in Egypt, Zarathustra in Persia, and so on. The Christ was there in person. The disciples were called on to bear witness—We have heard him speak, have put our fingers in the imprint of the nails. John the evangelist said most about Christ Jesus in his gospel. Christianity must believe in Christ Jesus himself not only his teaching. The logos came down to human I-beings, the word became flesh in a human being and has truly dwelt among us. All are blessed if they believe in the one and only one in whom the logos itself was embodied. Only one was able to say: ‘Blessed are you if people persecute you for my sake.’
Verse 12: ‘Be of good cheer and wholly comforted; it will bear fruit for you in heaven, for that is how they persecuted the prophets.’ This refers to I-human beings inspired by God.
Verse 13: ‘You are the salt of the earth.’ It is salt which gives the earth wisdom.
Someone might refer to the end of chapter 7, verses 28 and 29: ‘And it came to pass, when Jesus had said these things, that the people were appalled at the things he taught, for he spoke with great power and not like the scripture experts.’ One might think, therefore, that Jesus did speak to the people after all. But these verses do not at all relate to the sermon on the mount, which is actually the opposite of the things which in the meantime had caused uproar among the people. The people were appalled at a talk given by Jesus, but this was a completely different one, not the sermon on the mount, and it had caused tumult and uproar among the people. One has to follow the things that happen in the Bible carefully and know how to read the words correctly. Then new insight is gained for many things which one has so far simply passed over when reading.
Questions and Answers
What can be said about the two evildoers who were crucified with Jesus?
We must above all consider that symbolic interpretation does not mean something did not also happen. Some people want to go by the letter, taking Jesus to have been someone who really lived, and cannot believe that there is also a deeper meaning behind it all. Others, however, want to interpret everything in an occult way and cannot believe in the historical reality. The fact of Christianity can only be grasped if it is taken as something real. The secret of human evolution: the Christ between the two criminals, one who repents and one who remains unrepentant. Again we have the balance between egotism and love. Love is based on blood relationship, and self seeking wants to separate people. The Christ wants to balance this out; that is the meaning of the three crosses on Golgotha. The one is the principle of goodness, the other of evil. ‘Truly I say to you, today you'll be with me in paradise.’99Luke 23: 43. Paradise is a key term, meaning that you'll be with me in a place that lies beyond the ordinary day. Before man fell into sin he was in the keeping of the godhead. How can he regain the right to be God's child again? With peacefulness. How does one move away from it? With selfishness!
Do other nations also have the I-CH initials in their word for ‘I’?
This applies only to the German language. The German ich gives power to the soul. The fact that these letters are the initial of the Christ's name should bring the word alive in us. The Christ is with us all days and alive in all languages. The further east we go the richer the language, the further west, the poorer it is, America is therefore the poorest, its vocabulary being most limited. Prayers in the ancient languages lose their power when they are translated into more modern languages. The Latin words of the Lord's Prayer have much more power in them than our own version. The original language of this prayer was Aramaic. People who said it in Aramaic felt its magic powers. We need to gain the right approach again that will allow the power of words to come alive in language again. The four sentences in Light on the Way do not have the same power in English, for instance, as they do in German. These four sentences sound more beautiful in German than in any other language; the German translation is the most beautiful.
Third question could not be heard.
Those earlier naturalists had a great reverence for the Bible. Pastor X. said that Moses either knew just as much as modern scientists do, or he was inspired. Pastor X altogether has a brilliant, fine way of expounding the Bible. Reverence and respect for the Bible came to be lost when biblical criticism developed. But nothing will ever come of biblical criticism. One thing is characteristic of the science of the spirit, and that is its approach to things. And what is this approach? We have our own particular approach to the natural world, but we do not criticize it. With the science of the spirit we seek to understand things in the world of mind and spirit, doing so without bias and with real understanding, and look at everything in life. Understanding is the keynote in the science of the spirit. If one seeks to use the methods of modern science to study the life of mind and spirit, one learns things.
The Bible should be a book we do not approach in a critical mood. If we read it in the right way and without prejudice, we find that we begin to get a feeling for it that we would not have dreamt of before. We then discover profound wisdom where before we put obstacles in our own way. The science of the spirit must provide the key to reading the Bible in the right way. And we shall find that key. Bible criticism will then give way to deep, profound exposition. Modern science deals only with material phenomena, leaving aside the fact that they have arisen from a spiritual process of evolution. The work that needs to be done in the science of the spirit is to investigate the essential nature of the human being and the evolution of man in the universe. The science of the spirit begins where conventional science stops, for modern scientists see only the outer aspect, they want to study the atoms. But the very things which they cannot explain may be found there. Haeckel's work is the truth for someone working in the science of the spirit in so far as it describes external things. But someone working in the science of the spirit wants to look back to the subtle beginnings, using higher, spiritual eyes, and discover the spiritual realities that go hand in hand with external realities. If you observe with the eyes of the spirit and the ears of the spirit, you perceive the principle of the human being that goes beyond anything perceived with the senses.
What we perceive of the outside world depends on the number of sense organs we have. Someone who objects, saying: ‘Only what I can see with my physical eyes does exist,’ has not yet developed his powers of mind and spirit. Every time we gain a new organ we perceive a new world. Eyes and ears of the spirit can be acquired. Anyone with sufficient energy and patience can become an initiate. Anything an initiate sees with eyes of the spirit has to be expressed in images belonging to the physical world. This is what Goethe, who was an initiate, meant when he said: ‘All things transient are but parables.’100Faust 2, 12 To find suitable images for great spiritual truths is a process known as ‘imaginative perception’. The science of the spirit thus does not take us away from the material world. Matter is seen as condensed spirit, which is to matter as ice is to water.
The seven days of creation reflect great spiritual realities. Once you have the key to reading the Bible, you can always take it literally. No other document contains the truths of theosophy more perfectly than the Bible. In the science of the spirit the aim is to explain the Bible and offer a way of understanding it without bias. The division of the story of genesis into two101See also Steiner R. Foundations of Esotericism (GA 93A), lecture of 2 Oct. 1905. Tr. V. & J. Compton-Burnett, London: Rudolf Steiner Press 1982. can be understood if one learns to distinguish the human being who is sexless—this is the spiritual, astral human being. Then a reversal occurred and the sexless spiritual human being became physical and bisexual. This is why there have to be two stories of creation. You often hear it said that the letter kills but the spirit makes alive, with each person meaning his own spirit. Goethe wrote:
So long as you don't have it, this word: ‘Die and become!’ you're but a miserable guest here on this earth.
This ‘die’ has nothing to do with killing the physical body but with giving birth to a new human being out of yourself who will give you the tool you need for the world of the spirit. It is to be a tool of strength. ‘Die and become’ is something we must also say to the letter. Everything has its value in the science of the spirit, even the smallest thing reflects condensed spirit. Anyone who goes against the Bible does not understand it; he is going against the figment of his own deluded imagination. Many people presume to found a religious confession. It is small and indeed immodest then to stop and say: ‘It's glorious how far we have advanced!’102Goethe, Faust 1, 573. The science of the spirit helps us to go more and more deeply into things, lovingly enter into the letter of the word and open up a path for the soul to the divine world.
Die Bergpredigt
Die Bergpredigt (Matthäus 5) ist die bedeutendste Offenbarung des Christentums. Gewöhnlich wird darunter eine Predigt verstanden, die Jesus von einem Berge herunter an das Volk gehalten hätte. Aber «auf den Berg gehen» ist ein Schlüsselwort, das sich in allen Geheimsprachen findet und uralt ist. «Liebhaben» ist ebenfalls ein okkultes Schlüsselwort. «Der Jünger, welchen der Herr lieb hatte» — und bei der Auferweckung des Lazarus: «Jesus hatte Martha lieb und ihre Schwester und Lazarus», «Siehe, wie hat er ihn so lieb gehabt». Immer ist unter dem Jünger, welchen der Herr lieb hatte, der Verfasser des Johannes-Evangeliums zu verstehen. Aber im ganzen Johannes-Evangelium steht nie sein Name, selbst nicht bei der Kreuzigung. Da heißt es: «Da nun Jesus seine Mutter sah und den Jünger dabeistehen, den er lieb hatte.» Dieses Wort «liebhaben» hat eine tiefe Bedeutung. Derjenige Schüler eines Meisters, der am tiefsten in die okkulte Wissenschaft aufgenommen und eingeführt wird, heißt «ein Jünger, den der Herr lieb hat». «Auf den Berg gehen» bedeutet: Ins tiefste Mysterium gehen und Worte lehren, welche die Jünger dann wieder zum Volke sprechen. Man liest eben die Worte der Bibel nicht in ordentlicher Weise, sondern liest geradezu über die Worte hinweg.
Vers 1 heißt in richtiger Weise übersetzt: «Da er aber das Volk sah, ging er hinweg auf einen Berg und setzte sich, und seine Jünger traten zu ihm.» Jesus ging also gerade hinweg vom Volk und redete nur zu seinen Jüngern. Jesus Christus mußte stets die doppelte Sprache führen. Er redete in Gleichnissen, wenn er populär zum Volke sprach. Den Jüngern aber legte er den okkulten Sinn der Worte aus, wenn er mit ihnen «auf dem Berge» war.
Vers 3: «Selig sind, die da Bettler sind um Geist, denn sie werden in sich selbst finden die Reiche der Himmel.» Die Worte, ja selbst die Buchstaben, haben alle einen geheimen, tiefen Sinn. Unser deutsches Ich, mit seinen Buchstabenverbindungen I, C, H, enthält in sich die Initialen von Jesus Christus: I-Ch. Die großen Eingeweihten leiteten das Wort darauf hin, daß das Ich = Jesus Christus herauskam. Nur ein Volk konnte die Geburt des Namens Jesu Christi aus dem Ich heraus finden — und so ist die deutsche christliche Mystik entstanden. Es gibt noch mehr solcher Wörter, die einen tiefen, wörtlichen Sinn enthalten; zum Beispiel «heilig» = heil oder grundgesund sein. «Selig sein» = voll der Seele sein, den Inhalt der Seele in sich selbst finden. Selig, wer Drang und Trieb hat, die Seele immer mehr zum Geist zu führen. Wenn viele immer sagen: In sich selbst soll man schauen, dann werden wir Gott finden -, so ist das nicht richtig. Denn wenn wir nur in uns selbst schauen, dann finden wir nur, was eben in uns selbst ist. Wir sollen unser Streben bewachen, unsere Individualität soll herausgehen aus sich selbst, das heißt: Erkenne dich selbst. - Die Autorität der Menschen soll uns nicht Überzeugung, sondern Anregung geben.
Vers 4: «Selig sind, die da Leid auf sich nehmen, denn sie werden durch sich selbst den Trost finden.» Das Leid stellt sich in die Welt wie eines der größten Welträtsel. Schon die Griechen, dieses freie, frohe Geschlecht, das so sehr am Dasein hing, dem Sinnengenuß Lebensluft war, lassen den weisen Silen auf die Frage, was das Beste für den Menschen sei, die Antwort geben: «Elendes Eintagsgeschlecht ... Das Allerbeste ist für dich gänzlich unerreichbar: nicht geboren zu sein, nicht zu sein, Nichts zu sein. Das Zweitbeste aber ist für dich - bald zu sterben.» Äsop sagt indessen, daß man aus dem Leid Lehre gewinnt. Und Hiob kommt durch alle seine Leiden, die ihm auferlegt werden, zu dem Schluß: Das Leiden läutert, es bringt den Menschen höher. - Warum gehen wir nach Anhörung einer Tragödie doch befriedigt vom Theater weg? Der Held siegt gegenüber dem Leid. Zwischen dem Höhersteigen des Menschen und dem Schmerz, wenn er getragen wird, besteht ein Zusammenhang. Leid und Schmerz der Seele sprechen durch die Physiognomie zu den Erkennenden. Der Mensch muß sich ein Organ schaffen, damit er das Leid tragen kann. Wie das Auge durch das Licht, das Ohr durch den Ton gebildet wurde, so schaffen sich Leid und Schmerz geistige Organe. In sich selbst trägt der Mensch den Trost der Erkenntnis, daß er das Leid tragen kann. Der Mensch wird höher entwickelt durch das Leid.
Vers 5: «Selig sind, die da sanften Geistes sind, denn sie werden das Erdenreich besitzen.» Zwei Kräfte sind in der Welt tätig: einerseits der Egoismus, andererseits die Liebe und das Mitleid. Soll sich die Liebe entwickeln, muß der Egoismus schwinden. Die sinnliche Liebe muß sich zur höheren geistigen Liebe entwickeln. Sanften Geistes sein, das ist auch im dritten Satz in «Licht auf den Weg» gemeint: «Eh’ vor den Meistern kann die Stimme sprechen, muß das Verwunden sie verlernen.» Man soll allen mit liebevoller Gesinnung entgegenkommen, daß die Stimme nicht mehr verwundet, dann sind wir sanftmütig, wie es in der Bergpredigt gemeint ist. Das Ziel der Erdenentwickelung ist die Liebe, sie wird das Erdenreich besitzen.
Vers 6: «Selig sind, die da hungern nach der Gerechtigkeit, denn sie werden durch sich selber gesättigt werden.» Hier sagt Christus den Jüngern die ganze Bedeutung der tieferen, innersten Kräfte der menschlichen Seele: Gebt den andern Liebe -— nicht: strebt nach Liebe -, dann wird die Liebe allgemein, wenn es jeder selbst tut.
Vers 7: «Selig sind, die barmherzig sind, denn sie werden durch sich selbst Barmherzigkeit erlangen.» Wir sollen uns hineinfühlen in jeden einzelnen Menschen, dann wird unsere getane und gegebene Barmherzigkeit aus den andern uns entgegenstrahlen.
Vers 8: «Selig sind, die da Reinheit im Herzen haben, denn sie werden durch sich selbst Gott anschauen.» Dieser Satz ist eine Anleitung zur Mystik. Wir sollen unser Herz läutern und reinigen. Das Auge, das da gemeint ist, um Gott zu schauen, das ist das Herz. Es ist das Zukunftsorgan, nicht das Gehirn. Es ist Gott gegenüber das, was ungetrübte Augen dem Licht gegenüber sind.
Vers 9: «Selig sind diejenigen, die da Frieden stiften, denn sie werden Kinder Gottes durch sich selbst sein.» Die Seele macht den Weg von Gott durch den Menschen zu Gott. Friedfertig waren die Seelen, und der Friede führt wieder hin zur göttlichen Wesenheit.
Vers 10: «Selig sind, die Verfolgung leiden um der Gerechtigkeit willen, denn ihrer ist das Himmelreich.» Jesus Christus verlangt, der Mensch stelle an sich selbst die Forderung der Gerechtigkeit, dann wird ihm der Durst durch die Gerechtigkeit gestillt. Eine Erdenforderung und eine Himmelsforderung werden immer auseinandergehalten.
Vers 11: «Selig seid ihr, wenn euch die Menschen um meinetwillen schmähen und verfolgen und reden allerlei Übels wider euch, so sie daran lügen.» Das Christentum darf nicht verwechselt werden mit andern Religionen. Beim Buddhismus kommt es darauf an, daß alles befolgt wird, was Buddha gelehrt hat. So ist es mit der Lehre des Hermes in Ägypten, des Zarathustra in Persien und so weiter. Christus aber war selbst da. Die Jünger waren berufen, Zeugnis abzulegen: Wir haben ihn selbst gehört, haben unsere Finger in seine Naägelmale gelegt. Der Evangelist Johannes spricht am meisten in seinem Evangelium von Jesus Christus. Das Christentum muß an den Christus Jesus selbst glauben, nicht nur an die Lehren von ihm. Der Logos kam herunter zu den Ich-Menschen, das Wort ist in einem Menschen Fleisch geworden und hat wirklich unter uns gewohnt. Alle sind selig in dem Glauben an den Einzigen, in dem der Logos selbst verkörpert ist. Nur Einer kann sagen: «Selig seid ihr, so ihr um meinetwillen verfolgt werdet.»
Vers 12: «Seid frohen Mutes und voll von Trost, es wird für euch die Frucht im Himmel tragen, denn also haben sie verfolgt die Propheten.» Gemeint sind damit die von Gott inspirierten Ich-Menschen.
Vers 13: «Ihr seid das Salz der Erde.» Salz bedeutet das, was der Erde Weisheit gibt.
Nun könnte jemand auf den Schluß von Kapitel 7, 28 und 29 verweisen: «Und es begab sich, da Jesus diese Rede vollendet hatte, entsetzte sich das Volk über seine Lehre, denn er predigte gewaltig und nicht wie die Schriftgelehrten.» Man könnte also meinen, daß Jesus doch wirklich zu dem Volke gesprochen hätte. Allein diese Verse stehen in gar keinem Zusammenhang mit der Bergpredigt, diese kontrastiert sogar mit dem, was unterdessen im Volk Aufruhr verursacht hatte. Das Volk entsetzte sich über eine Rede Jesu, aber über eine ganz andere als die Bergpredigt - und darüber entstand im Volke Tumult und Aufruhr. Man muß nur allen Vorgängen in der Bibel genau nachgehen und die Worte richtig zu lesen wissen, so geht einem für vieles, über das man bisher einfach weggelesen hat, ein neues Verständnis auf.
Fragenbeantwortung
Was ist von den beiden Übeltätern zu sagen, die mit Jesus gekreuzigt wurden?
Man muß vor allen Dingen ins Auge fassen, daß die sinnbildliche Deutung die wirkliche Tatsache nicht ausschließt. Manche wollen nur alles nach dem Buchstaben auslegen, halten Jesus nur für einen Menschen, der wirklich gelebt hat, und können nicht glauben, daß hinter alldem noch ein tieferer Sinn steckt. Die andern dagegen wollen alles auf geheime Weise deuten und können nicht an die geschichtlichen Begebenheiten glauben. Aber das Sinnbild ist zugleich wirklich geschichtliche Tatsache. Die Tatsache des Christentums ist überhaupt nur zu fassen, wenn sie als wirkliche Tatsache betrachtet wird. Es ist das Geheimnis der Menschheitsevolution: Christus zwischen den beiden Verbrechern, dem, der bereut, und dem, der verstockt bleibt. Es ist dies wieder der Ausgleich zwischen Egoismus und Liebe. Die Liebe ist auf Blutsverwandtschaft gegründet, und die Selbstsucht will sie auseinanderbringen. Christus will dies ausgleichen, das bedeuten die drei Kreuze auf Golgatha. Das eine ist das Prinzip des Guten, das andere ist das Prinzip des Bösen. «Wahrlich, ich sage dir, heute wirst du mit mir im Paradiese sein.» Paradies ist ein Schlüsselwort und heißt: Du wirst mit mir an einem Orte sein über den gewöhnlichen Tag hinaus. Bevor der Mensch schuldig geworden ist, lebte er im Schoße der Gottheit. Wie erlangt er ein Anrecht, wieder ein Kind Gottes zu werden? Durch Friedfertigkeit! Wie kommt man davon weg? Durch Selbstsucht!
Haben auch andere Völker in ihrem Ich die Initialen I-CH?
Es gilt nur für die deutsche Sprache. Das deutsche Ich gibt Kraft in die Seele. Daß diese Initialen den Namen Christus ergeben, soll uns das Wort lebendig machen. Christus ist da alle Tage und wirkt durch alle Sprachen. Je weiter wir nach Osten kommen, desto reicher ist die Sprache, je weiter nach Westen, desto ärmer. Amerika ist darum am ärmsten; es hat den geringsten Wortschatz in seiner Sprache. Die Gebete der alten Sprachen verlieren ihre alte Kraft, wenn sie in neuere Sprachen übertragen werden. In den lateinischen Worten des Pater noster liegt viel mehr Kraft als im Vaterunser. Die Sprache des alten Vaterunser ist die aramäische. Wer es sprach in der aramäischen Sprache, hat Zauberkraft empfunden. Durch die richtige Erfassung der Sachen müssen wir wieder die Gewalt der Worte in die Sprache hineinbringen. Die vier Sätze in «Licht auf den Weg» zum Beispiel haben englisch nicht dieselbe Kraft wie im Deutschen. Diese vier Sätze lauten in keiner Sprache so schön, wie in der deutschen; sie hat die schönste Übersetzung dieser vier Sätze.
Die dritte Frage ist unverständlich.
Diese früheren Naturforscher haben mit der größten Ehrfurcht zur Bibel aufgesehen. Pfarrer X. sagte: Moses hat ebenso viele Dinge gewußt wie der moderne Naturforscher, oder er war inspiriert. Pfarrer X. hat überhaupt eine brillante, feine Art, wie er die Bibel erklärt. Als die Bibelkritik anfing, da ging die Ehrfurcht und Achtung vor der Bibel verloren. Aber aus der Bibelkritik wird nie anderes erwachsen. Für die Geisteswissenschaft ist eines charakteristisch, und dieses eine ist Gesinnung. Jeder Gedanke wird durchströmt von dieser Gesinnung, alles wird davon durchdrungen. Und was ist diese Gesinnung? Der Natur gegenüber haben wir auch eine Gesinnung, aber die Natur kritisieren wir nicht. Die Geisteswissenschaft will im Geistesleben unbefangen und mit Verständnis verstehen, alles im Leben verfolgen; nicht den Maßstab von Sympathie und Antipathie anlegen, sondern unbefangen alles verstehen, so im Menschenleben, so in der geistigen Welt. Um Verständnis handelt es sich in der Geisteswissenschaft. Man muß sich eine Gesinnung aneignen im Geistesleben wie in den Forschungen der Natur, dann macht man Erfahrungen. Die Bibel soll ein Buch werden, vor dem die Kritik anfängt zu schweigen. Wenn man sie dann richtig und unbefangen liest, so erlebt man, daß man anfängt, etwas als Ausdruck und Erfahrung zu empfinden, was man sich vorher nicht träumen ließ. Man findet dann tiefe Weisheiten, während man vorher sich Hindernisse in den Weg gelegt hat. Aus der Geistesforschung muß der Schlüssel gefunden werden, wie die Bibel richtig zu lesen ist; und sie wird ihn finden. Dann wird die Bibelkritik abgelöst von einer tiefen und tiefgründigen Auslegung. Die Naturwissenschaft hat es nur mit materiellen Erscheinungen zu tun und sieht davon ab, daß diese eine geistige, ihnen zugrunde liegende Entwickelung haben. Die Aufgabe der Geisteswissenschaft ist, das Wesen des Menschen zu erforschen und die Entwickelung des Menschen im Weltenall. Wo Naturforscherweisheit stehenbleiben muß, da tritt die Geistesforschung ein, denn der Naturforscher sieht nur das Äußere, er will die Atome ergründen. Aber gerade das, was der Naturforscher nicht erklären kann, das ist da. Auch der Haeckelismus ist für den Geistesforscher Wahrheit, insofern er äußere Dinge beschreibt. Der Geistesforscher will aber mit höheren, geistigen Augen zurückblicken auf das zarte Werden und will erforschen, welche geistigen Tatsachen neben den äußeren Tatsachen hergehen. Wenn man mit Geistesaugen und Geistesohren die Dinge betrachtet, dann nimmt man das Übersinnliche am Menschen wahr.
So viel physische Sinnesorgane wir haben, so viel nehmen wir von der äußeren Welt wahr. Wer also streitet und sagt: Es gibt nur, was ich physisch sehe -, der hat noch keine Geisteskräfte entwikkelt. So oft der Mensch ein neues Organ erwirbt, so oft nimmt er eine neue Welt wahr. Die Seelenaugen und Seelenohren können erworben werden. Wenn der Mensch Energie und Geduld genug hat, dann wird er ein Eingeweihter. Was ein Eingeweihter mit geistigen Augen schaut, muß er mit Bildern aus der physischen Welt ausdrükken. Das meinte Goethe, der ein Eingeweihter war, in dem Vers: «Alles Vergängliche ist nur ein Gleichnis.» Die großen geistigen Wahrheiten in zutreffenden Gleichnissen ausdrücken, nennt man imaginative Erkenntnis. Also nicht wegführen von der Materie will die Geisteswissenschaft, sondern sie sieht in der Materie den verdichteten Geist, der sich zu der Materie verhält wie das Eis zum Wasser.
Das Siebentagewerk ist ein Vergleich mit großen geistigen Tatsachen. Wer den Schlüssel zum Lesen der Bibel hat, der kann immer wieder die Bibel ganz wörtlich nehmen. Kein Dokument enthält die Wahrheiten der Theosophie besser als die Bibel. Die Erklärung der Bibel und den Zugang zum unbefangensten Verständnis der Bibel strebt die Geisteswissenschaft an. Die Zerspaltung des Schöpfungswerkes in zwei Teile wird man verstehen lernen, wenn man zu unterscheiden lernt den Menschen, der ungeschlechtlich ist — das ist der geistige astrale Mensch. Dann fand eine Umdrehung statt: der ungeschlechtlich-geistige Mensch wurde zum physischen zweigeschlechtlichen Menschen, deshalb muß von einer doppelten Schöpfung die Rede sein. So oft hört man sagen: Der Buchstabe tötet, der Geist macht lebendig -, wobei dann jeder seinen eigenen Geist meint. Goethe sagt:
Und solang du das nicht hast,
Dieses: Stirb und Werde! Bist du nur ein trüber Gast
Auf der dunklen Erde.
Dieses «Stirb» heißt nicht: töte den physischen Leib, sondern: gebare einen neuen Menschen aus dir heraus, daß er dir das Werkzeug gibt für die geistige Welt. Er soll ein Werkzeug der Stärke werden. «Stirb und Werde» müssen wir auch zum Buchstaben. sagen. In der Geisteswissenschaft ist eben alles wertvoll, auch das Kleinste ist ein Ausdruck von verdichtetem Geist. Wer die Bibel bekämpft, versteht sie nicht, er bekämpft sein eigenes Wahngebilde. Viele Menschen vermessen sich, ein Bekenntnis zu begründen. Aber klein und unbescheiden ist es, wenn man sich dann zufrieden gibt im Bewußtsein: Wie haben wir es so herrlich weit gebracht! — Die Geisteswissenschaft will immer tiefer dringen, sie will liebevoll in den Buchstaben sich vertiefen und der Seele den Weg zum Göttlichen eröffnen.
The Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) is the most important revelation of Christianity. It is usually understood to be a sermon that Jesus gave to the people from a mountain. But “going up the mountain” is a key phrase that is found in all secret languages and is ancient. “To love” is also an occult key phrase. “The disciple whom the Lord loved” — and at the raising of Lazarus: “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus,” “See how he loved him.” The disciple whom the Lord loved is always understood to be the author of the Gospel of John. But his name never appears in the entire Gospel of John, not even at the crucifixion. It says: “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there.” This word “love” has a deep meaning. The disciple of a master who is most deeply initiated into occult science is called “a disciple whom the Lord loves.” “Going up the mountain” means entering into the deepest mystery and teaching words which the disciples then repeat to the people. One does not read the words of the Bible in an orderly manner, but rather reads right over the words.
Verse 1 is correctly translated as: “But when he saw the people, he went up on a mountain and sat down, and his disciples came to him.” So Jesus went away from the people and spoke only to his disciples. Jesus Christ always had to speak in a double language. He spoke in parables when he spoke popularly to the people. But he explained the occult meaning of the words to his disciples when he was with them “on the mountain.”
Verse 3: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” The words, even the letters, all have a secret, deep meaning. Our German word for “I,” with its letter combinations I, C, H, contains the initials of Jesus Christ: I-Ch. The great initiates interpreted the word to mean that the ‘I’ = Jesus Christ. Only one people could discover the birth of the name Jesus Christ from the “I” — and thus German Christian mysticism came into being. There are more words like this that have a deep, literal meaning; for example, “holy” = to be whole or fundamentally healthy. “To be blessed” = to be full of soul, to find the content of the soul within oneself. Blessed are those who have the urge and drive to lead the soul ever closer to the spirit. When many people always say, “Look within yourself, and you will find God,” that is not correct. For if we only look within ourselves, we will only find what is already within ourselves. We should guard our aspirations; our individuality should come out of itself, that is, know yourself. The authority of people should not give us conviction, but inspiration.
Verse 4: “Blessed are those who suffer, for they will find comfort through themselves.” Suffering presents itself to the world as one of the greatest mysteries of the world. Even the Greeks, that free, joyful race that was so attached to existence, for whom the enjoyment of the senses was the breath of life, let the wise Silenus answer the question of what is best for man: “Miserable one-day generation ... The very best is completely unattainable for you: not to be born, not to be, to be nothing. But the second best for you is to die soon.” Aesop, meanwhile, says that one learns from suffering. And Job, through all the suffering imposed on him, comes to the conclusion: Suffering purifies, it elevates man. Why do we leave the theater satisfied after hearing a tragedy? The hero triumphs over suffering. There is a connection between man's elevation and the pain he endures. Suffering and pain of the soul speak to those who recognize them through physiognomy. Man must create an organ for himself so that he can bear suffering. Just as the eye was formed by light and the ear by sound, so suffering and pain create spiritual organs. Within themselves, people carry the consolation of knowing that they can bear suffering. People become more highly developed through suffering.
Verse 5: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Two forces are at work in the world: on the one hand, egoism, and on the other, love and compassion. If love is to develop, egoism must disappear. Sensual love must develop into higher spiritual love. Being meek of spirit is also meant in the third sentence of “Light on the Path”: “Before the voice can speak before the masters, it must unlearn how to wound.” One should approach everyone with a loving attitude, so that one's voice no longer wounds, then we are meek, as meant in the Sermon on the Mount. The goal of earthly development is love; it will possess the earthly realm.
Verse 6: "Blessed are those who hunger for righteousness, for they will be satisfied by themselves. “ Here Christ tells the disciples the whole meaning of the deeper, innermost powers of the human soul: Give love to others — not: strive for love — then love will become universal when everyone does it themselves.
Verse 7: ”Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." We should empathize with each individual person, then the mercy we have done and given will shine back at us from others.
Verse 8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God through themselves.” This sentence is a guide to mysticism. We should purify and cleanse our hearts. The eye that is meant to see God is the heart. It is the organ of the future, not the brain. It is to God what unclouded eyes are to light.
Verse 9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” The soul makes the way from God through man to God. The souls were peaceful, and peace leads back to the divine essence.
Verse 10: “Blessed are those who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus Christ demands that man impose the requirement of righteousness on himself, then his thirst will be quenched by righteousness. Earthly demands and heavenly demands are always kept separate.
Verse 11: “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” Christianity must not be confused with other religions. In Buddhism, it is important that everything Buddha taught is followed. The same is true of the teachings of Hermes in Egypt, Zarathustra in Persia, and so on. But Christ was there himself. The disciples were called to bear witness: We heard him ourselves, we put our fingers in his nail marks. The evangelist John speaks most about Jesus Christ in his Gospel. Christianity must believe in Christ Jesus himself, not just in his teachings. The Logos came down to the ego-people, the Word became flesh in a human being and truly dwelt among us. All are blessed in their faith in the One in whom the Logos himself is embodied. Only One can say, “Blessed are you when you are persecuted for my sake.”
Verse 12: “Be of good cheer and full of comfort, for it will bear fruit for you in heaven, for thus they persecuted the prophets.” This refers to the I-people inspired by God.
Verse 13: “You are the salt of the earth.” Salt means that which gives wisdom to the earth.
Now someone might refer to the end of chapters 7, 28, and 29: “And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, the people were astonished at his teaching, for he preached with authority and not like the scribes.” One might therefore think that Jesus really did speak to the people. However, these verses are completely unrelated to the Sermon on the Mount, which even contrasts with what had caused turmoil among the people. The people were astonished by a speech of Jesus, but one quite different from the Sermon on the Mount—and this caused turmoil and uproar among the people. One only has to examine all the events in the Bible closely and know how to read the words correctly, and then a new understanding dawns on one for many things that one had simply skipped over before.
Questions and Answers
What can be said about the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus?
First and foremost, it must be borne in mind that symbolic interpretation does not exclude the actual facts. Some people want to interpret everything literally, considering Jesus to be only a human being who really lived, and cannot believe that there is a deeper meaning behind it all. Others, on the other hand, want to interpret everything in a secret way and cannot believe in historical events. But the symbol is also a real historical fact. The fact of Christianity can only be grasped if it is regarded as a real fact. It is the mystery of human evolution: Christ between the two criminals, the one who repents and the one who remains obstinate. This is again the balance between selfishness and love. Love is based on blood relationship, and selfishness wants to tear it apart. Christ wants to balance this out, which is what the three crosses on Golgotha signify. One is the principle of good, the other is the principle of evil. “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Paradise is a key word and means: You will be with me in a place beyond the ordinary day. Before man became guilty, he lived in the bosom of the Godhead. How does he regain the right to become a child of God again? Through peacefulness! How does one stray from this? Through selfishness!
Do other peoples also have the initials I-CH in their ego?
This only applies to the German language. The German Ich gives strength to the soul. The fact that these initials form the name Christ should bring the word to life for us. Christ is there every day and works through all languages. The further east we go, the richer the language; the further west, the poorer. America is therefore the poorest; it has the smallest vocabulary in its language. The prayers of the old languages lose their ancient power when they are translated into newer languages. There is much more power in the Latin words of the Pater noster than in the Lord's Prayer. The language of the old Lord's Prayer is Aramaic. Those who spoke it in the Aramaic language felt its magical power. By correctly understanding things, we must bring the power of words back into language. The four sentences in “Light on the Way,” for example, do not have the same power in English as they do in German. These four sentences do not sound as beautiful in any other language as they do in German; it has the most beautiful translation of these four sentences.
The third question is incomprehensible.
These early natural scientists looked up to the Bible with the greatest reverence. Pastor X said: Moses knew as many things as modern natural scientists, or he was inspired. Pastor X has a brilliant, subtle way of explaining the Bible. When biblical criticism began, reverence and respect for the Bible were lost. But nothing else will ever come of biblical criticism. One thing is characteristic of spiritual science, and that is attitude. Every thought is permeated by this attitude, everything is imbued with it. And what is this attitude? We also have an attitude toward nature, but we do not criticize nature. Spiritual science wants to understand everything in spiritual life impartially and with understanding; not to apply the yardstick of sympathy and antipathy, but to understand everything impartially, both in human life and in the spiritual world. Spiritual science is about understanding. One must acquire an attitude in spiritual life as in the research of nature, then one gains experience. The Bible should become a book before which criticism begins to fall silent. When one reads it correctly and impartially, one experiences that one begins to feel something as an expression and experience that one would not have dreamed of before. One then finds deep wisdom, whereas before one had placed obstacles in one's way. The key to reading the Bible correctly must be found in spiritual research, and it will be found. Then biblical criticism will be replaced by a deep and profound interpretation. Natural science deals only with material phenomena and disregards the fact that these have a spiritual development underlying them. The task of spiritual science is to investigate the nature of human beings and their development in the universe. Where natural science wisdom must stop, spiritual research begins, for the natural scientist sees only the outer, he wants to fathom the atoms. But precisely what the natural scientist cannot explain is there. Haeckelism is also true for the spiritual researcher insofar as it describes external things. But the spiritual researcher wants to look back with higher, spiritual eyes on the delicate process of becoming and wants to investigate which spiritual facts accompany the external facts. When one looks at things with spiritual eyes and spiritual ears, one perceives the supersensible in human beings.
We perceive as much of the outer world as we have physical sense organs. So anyone who argues and says, “Only what I physically see exists,” has not yet developed spiritual powers. Every time a person acquires a new organ, they perceive a new world. The eyes and ears of the soul can be acquired. If a person has enough energy and patience, they will become an initiate. What an initiate sees with spiritual eyes must be expressed with images from the physical world. This is what Goethe, who was an initiate, meant in the verse: “Everything transitory is only a parable.” Expressing the great spiritual truths in apt parables is called imaginative knowledge. Spiritual science does not want to lead us away from matter, but rather sees in matter the condensed spirit, which relates to matter as ice relates to water.
The seven-day work is a comparison with great spiritual facts. Those who have the key to reading the Bible can always take the Bible literally. No document contains the truths of theosophy better than the Bible. Spiritual science strives to explain the Bible and provide access to the most unbiased understanding of it. One will learn to understand the division of the work of creation into two parts when one learns to distinguish between the human being who is asexual—that is, the spiritual astral human being. Then a reversal took place: the asexual spiritual human being became the physical bisexual human being, which is why we must speak of a double creation. We often hear it said: The letter kills, but the spirit gives life — whereby everyone means their own spirit. Goethe says:
And as long as you do not have that,
This: Die and become! You are only a dull guest
On the dark earth.
This “die” does not mean kill the physical body, but give birth to a new human being from within yourself, so that it gives you the tool for the spiritual world. It should become a tool of strength. We must also take “die and become” literally. In spiritual science, everything is valuable; even the smallest thing is an expression of condensed spirit. Those who fight against the Bible do not understand it; they are fighting their own delusions. Many people presume to establish a creed. But it is petty and immodest to then be satisfied with the thought: How wonderfully far we have come! Spiritual science always wants to penetrate deeper, it wants to delve lovingly into the letter and open the way to the divine for the soul.