The Rudolf Steiner Archive

A broad picture of contemporary culture “as reflected in ‘Theosophy’ ‘ is presented in Annie Besant's four lectures on the ’four major religions”. The same were held before the twenty-first annual meeting of the “Theosophical Society” at Adyar near Madras. They have now been translated into German by the tireless worker and helper of the theosophical cause in our country, Günther Wagner (published by Altmann in Leipzig).

In the preface, Annie Besant explains the aim she had in mind with these lectures. “The following four lectures do not claim to be more than a popular explanation of the four great belief systems and are not written for an actual study of them.” They were given to an audience that consisted almost entirely of Hindus, with only a few Zoroastrians and Christians among them. “Their purpose is to make it easier for the followers of each of the four religions to recognize the value and beauty of the three other faiths and to explain the common ground they all share.” This must be kept in mind. Had Annie Besant been speaking to an audience composed mostly of Christians, she would certainly have structured the lectures differently. Nevertheless, every member of a European nation who delves into these lectures will find plenty of food for thought and for the heart. And the fact that she approaches her reflections from a point of view that is not immediately his own will only serve to broaden his own horizons. The basic truths of Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Christianity are explained. A spirit speaks about these four great religions, which has their truth in clear ideas before the soul and which feels the fire that flows from them in its own heart as its own fire. And this fire also radiates from the lectures, and, through the way of contemplation, leaves calm clarity in the soul of the reader. Annie Besant's relationship to the great religions is beautifully expressed in the end of the preface: “May this little book, which I am now sending out in respect for all religions that purify the life of man, uplift his feelings and comfort him in suffering, may it be a messenger of peace and not a fomenter of strife; for I have endeavored to outline each religion in its best, its purest, its most occult form, and each as if belonging to myself and proclaiming it as my own. To the Theosophist nothing human is alien, and he has only respectful sympathy for every expression of human yearning for God. He tries to understand all, not to convert any; he seeks to share the knowledge that has come to him with others, and hopes thereby to deepen the faith of each by adding understanding to faith and revealing the foundation that is common to all religions."

This sentence could characterize the tenor of every true theosophical lecture and every theosophical book. The theosophist does not create sects; he does not want to force anything alien upon anyone. He knows that the divine original spirit loves and dwells in all its creatures. Therefore, Theosophy does not preach individual dogmas, but becomes a guide to each person's own heart; it helps each person to find within themselves that which is divine. And truly, we need such guidance. For, as right as it is that we have the deepest source of truth in our own hearts, self-knowledge is difficult, and the wrong turns we take in it can be disastrous. We should never be overcome by pride and arrogance, which tell us: you do not need an external guide, you can find everything through yourself. However high a person's level of knowledge, if he searches in the right way, he will always find someone higher still who will open the paths to what he possesses himself but cannot find without help. Those who rely solely on intellectual scholarship will have many objections to this book by Annie Besant. For the author relies not only on such scholarship, but on two other, much more important foundations. One is the ancient records of secret researchers and secret teachers, which are well kept and inaccessible to secular research, and which will remain inaccessible to such research as long as it clings to its materialistic prejudices and to its purely external comparison of religions. There are those among us to whom these documents are accessible. But they have acquired the right to them by purifying their souls from all materialistic prejudices, by devotion to the demands of the spirit. Why access is only granted to such people is explained in the preface to H.P. Blavatsky's “Secret Doctrine” (Volume 1). In addition to this source, Annie Besant relies on the “Akasha Chronicle,” that eternal, living book that can be read by those who are able to leave the physical plane and go to the higher worlds to read the eternal in things.

Thus, in Annie Besant's account, some things must be different from those in the intellectual scholars'. “This world of scholars will, of course, describe the occult view as completely wrong. There is nothing that can be done about this; occultism can wait until it is justified by discoveries, as has already happened with many a much-laughed assertion regarding great antiquity. The earth is a faithful custodian, and when the archaeologist rediscovers the cities buried in her womb, he will find many an unexpected testimony confirming the claimed great age.” (Preface, page vii.)

Those who “have eyes to see” need only observe what religious research, cultural history and natural science are bringing to light today. They will find confirmation everywhere of assertions that occultists have long since made. And the fact that such confirmations are not noticed by so many today is only because they are not trained in spiritual observation. What Annie Besant says about the true nature of Hinduism and Zoroastrianism in their advanced age is particularly important. The wisdom religion of Hinduism takes hold of the heart and mind of the simplest person, and leads the spiritual one up into the highest metaphysical realms. It gives man guidance for his everyday behavior, and leads him up the narrow but exalted paths that lead to participation in the life of the Eternal. It is wisdom that takes hold of the whole person through its fire, and it is religion that leads to wisdom through devotion. “When we examine the religion given to the ancient Indian people, we find that it contains a training for all of human nature at its various stages of development, and that it guides him not only in his spiritual and intellectual life, but in all his relationships with fellow human beings in national and family life.” (Page 4.)

The Zoroastrianism is shown in its most ancient form, the one that the learned world has not yet been able to penetrate because its judgment is clouded by materialistic shadows. Annie Besant shows how, over time, advancing science is forced to admit more and more of what the occultist says. And through these explanations, she opens up the prospect of how Western science will continue to fare in this regard. Through its discoveries, it will gradually approach the teachings presented by occult science. But it is in its nature that it will deny everything that it has not come up with itself until it is forced to accept it. This is how it has happened so far, and this is how it will continue to be. The occultist does his duty, points out the similarities between science and his teachings, and otherwise lets the great law of time prevail, which brings everything that is to be brought and which he serves. The materialistic form that Western research has given to Zoroastrianism can no longer be sustained in the light of the documents that this research itself has brought. Annie Besant also shows this most convincingly.

The lecture on Buddhism should be followed with particular attention. It is shown here how little justification there is for giving this form of religion the character of atheism and for claiming that it denies the continuation of the human soul. Annie Besant explains how these two basic truths are precisely the deepest source from which the Buddha drew. She shows how he gained from them the high moral philosophy to which so many millions of people still profess to be held. She shows that there is no antagonism between ancient Brahmanism and Buddhism. Annie Besant describes in a most moving way the path of knowledge of the Buddha and the way in which he spoke to the people. The image of the great teacher must come alive in the soul of every person who allows himself to be touched by it in this way. “In the lecture on Buddhism, I was particularly concerned with the misconception that the Buddha is alienated from the hearts of his countrymen, and I tried to dispel it with quotations from the traditional scriptures that contain recognized accounts of his own sayings. There is no greater service that can be done for any religion than to attempt a rapprochement of these separate systems of belief that divide the Oriental world in two.” (Preface page 1.)

It is of course difficult to exhaust the theosophical depth of Christianity in a lecture; but for this part of the book there is a nice supplement in Annie Besant's “Esoteric Christianity” (published by Fernau in Leipzig). But even what is said in this lecture can show, for those who understand it correctly, how little foundation there is for the prejudices that teachers of the various Christian denominations have against Theosophy. None of these denominations is opposed by Theosophy. Theosophy seeks to bring to light the deep, occult content of Christianity. It does this by reviving the understanding of the great Christian mystics of all times. No one who finds the right path here can be alienated from the Christian religion. Nothing is taken from anyone that they have. And if the appointed teachers of the Christian denominations would just engage in a real examination, they would soon see that they have the best ally in Theosophy. It is only the false image of Theosophy that is being fought from this side. No one needs to deny his faith to become a 'Theosophist'. Attempts to convert or to make apostates are completely outside the Theosophical tasks. Christian warmth and Christian truth also radiate from this book by Annie Besant. And they radiate not only from the lecture on Christianity, but also from the others.

This warmth and truth are drawn from the high teachings of the first Christian writers. Understanding in the truest sense is sought; and the spiritual eye is fixed solely on the truth. 'Hatred is of the evil one, in whatever religion it may be found. Let each preach his own faith to those who desire to receive it; let each freely express his views of God to all who are willing to listen to him. We reflect back only as small facets of the Eternal, our poor minds are narrow channels through which the life and love of God flow. Let us make our own person a channel, but let us not deny that others can be channels as well as we, and that divine life and divine love flow through them as well as through us. Then peace will come, and there will be no more separation; then unity will come, harmony, which is something different, something higher, than monotony. If his children live in love, then they can hope to experience something of God's love, for, as a Christian teacher truly said: 'He who does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he does not see?' (1 John 4: 20). Thus the lecture on Christianity concludes, and with it the entire book. Annie Besant's presentation of Christianity cannot alienate anyone from this Christianity; but it can lead those who believe that their modern way of thinking and scientific spirit cannot be reconciled with this form of religion back to Christianity. And this has truly happened more often since the theosophical movement began. Through Theosophy one can become a good Christian again. If only this could be understood, and if only the wrong views could disappear, as if it were in the nature of Theosophy to propagate foreign religious systems; for example, to want to spread Buddhism in Europe. The true theosophist knows only too well what he would take away from the European if he wanted to make him a Buddhist. And the goal of Theosophy is not 'taking', but 'giving'. Precisely because Annie Besant's lectures are not intended for Europeans, they will be able to learn a lot from them.

This is the introduction that Edouard Schuré wrote for his book “Les grands initiés”. The book was first published by Perrin in Paris in 1889. It is now in its 7th edition. In France, and also in other European countries, it has given many people an impulse towards a deeper understanding of the secrets of the world and the riddles of life. Both through the art of its presentation and the inspiration from which its content stems, it is one of the most brilliant works in the theosophical-mystical literature of the present day.

This article (“Hermes”, The Mysteries of Egypt) is taken from the work “The Great Initiates” by Edouard Schuré. It should also be noted here that this entire significant work will soon be published in full in German translation by Marie von Sivers, published by M. Altmann in Leipzig. We were allowed to print parts here with the permission of the translator and the publisher.

Translated from English by members of the Theosophical Society. Sueviaverlag. Jugenheim an der Bergstraße.

It should be said at the outset that it is not easy to put into words what one can feel about this “true story”. For the events narrated are such that they continually transcend into the deep mysteries of life. These are well known to the occultist; but for the majority of our Western readers, the spiritual faculties that would enable an understanding are still dormant. The beginning touches on a secret. At the beginning of her incarnations, at the stage of savagery, Flita killed her lover. And from the killing she gained the power to become a black magician. This is quite appropriate in the occult sense. There is a mysterious connection between the knowledge that leads to power in the bad sense and the forces that end life. Death is connected with egoism for our human evolution through deep-seated laws. In the course of the story, Flita also appears to us as a black magician within the present cultural level. Her knowledge of hidden things makes her a magician. And the fact that the lower forces, the passions of human nature, still rule in her, causes the corruption in her nature. For all occult knowledge is pushed over to the side of evil by these forces. Knowledge, if it is to unfold, needs life. All knowledge that is not imbued with life is empty, shadowy, ineffective. There are two sources from which man can draw life. One of them flows to him when he stands on the summit, where all lower desires have been cast off. All feelings must have taken on a different form there than they have within the instinctual nature of the lower human being. The other source lies in the life of our fellow creatures, regardless of whether they are already really living around us in the physical world or are only pushing their way into life. No one can understand this book without knowing that knowledge that arises from curiosity or the thrill of power draws its strength from beings that are still unborn and want to be born. Those who can see behind the scenes of physical reality know how many beings have to pay for life because people strive for knowledge that only serves their selfishness. Flita's lover must be killed by an astral being; and the black magician draws power from this killing, like a vampire.

As long as knowledge is not superior to all that is base in humanity, it does not live from truth but from illusion. And illusion needs nourishment. It draws this from life. Flita is brought together with Ivan, the Master. But she is not face to face with the true Master. She could only be so if all the lower passions in her nature were stilled. But there is still something of lower love, however refined, in her inclination towards the Master. So she can only face her own illusion of the Master. Her passion has a corrupting tie to the knowledge that flows to her from the higher regions of nature. And she is literally whipped out of the temple where she seeks initiation. The white figures grew in number until they seemed thousands, and with outstretched hands they drove Flita down the steps — down, down, down, however much she tried to resist. She did more; she struggled, she fought, she screamed aloud; first for justice, then for pity. But there was no yielding, no softening in those superhuman faces. Flita fled at last from the odds and their implacability, and then there was a loud shouting of many voices, and a thousandfold sounded the words, “You love him! Go!”

Everyone who is familiar with the laws of astral vision knows the deep truth of this description. However, only those in the know describe it this way, and are only understood by those in the know. — Flita must see it, how Ivan's knowledge, stripped of selfishness, weaves at the whirring loom of time. Like the threads of a fabric, the Master works selflessly on humanity, infinitely exalted above all individual human beings. The final scene is significant. The magician comes to that loneliness at the edge of an abyss, where nothing of the familiar realities penetrates to the soul of man, where the secret of life and also of death is revealed. And she dies at the threshold. She dies as a black magician dies. The nature of error and evil is clearly depicted at the end of the story; but a veil rises before the truth; and on this veil stands - death. - The story only hints at what lies beyond this death. And it is better left unspoken. For with the realization that living against the great laws of the world means death, the other is far from being attained, how life awakens with the work in the sense of these great laws of our planetary existence.

Those who understand the “Enter” at the end will no longer consider the “true story” to be a novel. Before the “preface” stand the words: “This strange story came from a distant land and was brought in a mysterious way.” These words are significant as a guide for the reader. Readers without occult knowledge should refrain from making any judgments and simply let what emanates from the book take effect on them. It is likely to transform many a secret slumbering in the human heart into a mere hint. And sometimes a mere hint is enough to awaken knowledge. It would be useless to give a summary of the book; nor is there at present any possibility of saying more about the things that lie between the words without touching on something that at present the pen is not allowed to touch.

A report about festivals and celebrations. By the author of “Light on the Path”. Translated from English by members of the Theosophical Society. Authorized translation. Sueviaverlag. Jugenheim an der Bergstraße, 1904.

This is an important booklet for those who want to get to know occult truths in an intimate way. A high wisdom lives in it. However, this wisdom is not expressed. For the booklet cannot be taken as if one could learn something from it as from a writing in our ordinary literature. Those who allow the contents to take effect on them, absorbing them into their thoughts, feelings and will, can allow a unique elixir of life to flow through their soul and thereby rise to an inkling of the great truth that the human spirit lives according to the same laws as the All-Spirit (whereby here, “All-Spirit” is understood only to mean the spirit that rules the heavenly bodies related to our Earth and its evolution). The inner life of this All-Spirit was once as the human spirit is today. And the spirit of man will be in the future what the spirit of the universe is today. In the outer world, however, the deeds of the All-Spirit confront the human spirit. Just as the sun rises and sets, just as it completes its cycle during the year and during the millennia, just as the earth brings its seeds and children to maturity, leads them to death and lets them rise again: all these are the deeds of this All-Spirit. The human being who rises above sensory perception sees the plants ripening, bearing seeds, sinking the seeds into the earth, enduring the sleep of death in the earth and then rising again: and in all this he feels the effects of divine life. And he rises to the realization that this divine life first had to undergo a long apprenticeship until it had matured its spirit to do such deeds. And then it also dawns on man that this apprenticeship of the gods was similar to his own present one. And in the deeds of the gods he then sees the blueprints of his own future. When the snow covers the sleeping life of the earth during the short winter days, when the first sprouts of the trees push towards the re-strengthened sunbeam, then he sees in it the divine masterpieces, and he says to himself: your spirit is of the same kind as the one that can do all this. And you must rise and look up fervently at these masterpieces on the days when they reveal themselves to you. Then these days become festivals for you, and in the course of the year these festivals will join together for you to become an insight into the harmonious work of the gods, from which you have to learn. Christmas, Easter and the other annual festivals thus come to life in his soul. And what the sun brings about in the course of the year will be the hieroglyph for the secret revelation of one's own future.

When man rises to such intuition, he can gradually recognize how his own spirit once split off from the All-Spirit, to be sunk into the material earth ground, there to learn to accomplish things in the future that are similar to those that are around him today. He will bring the darkness in which he is to his own contemplation, if he looks merely at his own present stage of development; and he will let himself be illuminated by the light that radiates from the deeds of the gods. Thus he grows together with the universe, finally feeling himself to be a part of it, just as a little finger must feel itself to be a part of the organism. And so he will see the Christmas season approaching his soul and know that it means the same thing in the life of this soul as once occurred in the soul of the god when it learned to perform the deed that falls on Christmas in the course of the year. Christmas is then not just an outward sign and symbol for him, but a source of strength that truly plants a seed in his soul for the future. And so it will be for the other festivals of the year.

Because this booklet leads to such feelings, it is a truly occult work. It does not just speak about the festivals in the way that a textbook might speak about magnetism, but it is a guide, like a person who, instead of a textbook, hands us a real magnet that we can then work with ourselves. The students of the initiation have learned to celebrate the seasonal festivals as suggested in this writing. And that is why these festivals themselves have given them such occult insights, just as a magnet attracts iron.

The book describes the process of human development from the moment when a person awakens to the ability to look into the karmic chains of their own soul until the moment when the higher self, the Christ, awakens, which has now transformed a child into a companion of divine beings. For it corresponds to the first moment of Christmas and what precedes it, and to the second, Easter. Those who can witness what is happening in the heavens during this time know the most important occult secrets. And those who awaken the right feelings within themselves at the appropriate times, as prescribed by the Büchelchen, prepare themselves to experience such secrets. If you take this booklet, live by it for a year and a second year and so on, in the sense that the instructions for attaining higher knowledge in the secret schools indicate, you will already perceive astral and mental, and the day will come when you will do so with full consciousness.

The moment is beautifully described when the soul begins to rise inwardly to see the karmic chain, how it becomes lonely, abandoned by what it has hitherto called reality. All the sacred awe of this momentous moment in human life lies in the words (page 1): “The disciple who now enters the hall of learning - a place known to the seers - will find it dark and deserted, with wide-open gates and blown by the wind. There is no peace anywhere, not a single spot of light. The walls are black, and the river, which used to flow freely and unbridled before us, is black and foaming like mad. Truly a scene to make you want to flee, and no disciple will want to challenge it a second time. Only the ignorant go forward and suddenly face it. The more wise know of the desert, remain silent and maintain their confidence despite the nightmare that threatens them; for whether they dwell quietly with their own, whether they are with their dearest friends, the sudden awareness of absolute loneliness will come to rest on their hearts despite everything, even in the midst of their companions, so that it stands still with oppression and agony."

Those who truly want to penetrate the occult world must understand such things vividly, for they describe the moment when man learns to renounce all knowledge that comes only from outside and learns to recognize that higher knowledge can never flow from anywhere other than from within. Then he learns to rise above so-called “objective” proofs and finds the source of truth by sacrificing all illusions. In “solitude” he learns to recognize that no one and nothing but he himself can lay this truth on the altar of sacrifice for humanity and the universe. The gatherers of seemingly “objective proofs” for the mind and also the so-called metapsychics – the latest fashion in French psychology has coined this word to prove to the discerning that it is still very far from understanding occultism – all these close the door to the secrets firmly in front of them, for they demand for their proofs precisely what must be overcome by those who want to penetrate into the higher secrets. Anyone who wants to prove the existence of spirits as one proves the presence of hydrogen does not understand himself; and anyone who seeks something mectapsychic as one seeks the presence of an acid is not on the path to the spirit, regardless of whether he is engaged in scholarly sport with the valuable observations of Richet, or of any spiritualist amateur club.

The encounter with the other initiates and the contemplation of the world from this perspective are described in the little book as downright powerful and true to life: “The disciple has become an individuality and is recognized. The message that proclaims this to him is audible only in his own heart and in the hearts of those who, like him, are able to hear the voice of silence. It does not reach the outer ear. The multitude of unseen souls, who in darkness and half-consciousness cherish the desire to become a part of the divine body of love, appear as a veiled multitude in the mighty process in the drama of the world soul. They are the unfree with undeveloped abilities, who blindly place their trust in a god taught to them and in their personal teachers.

And no less grand and true to life is the description of what the awakening of the higher soul means: “Since the day of birth, after the divine part of man has separated itself from the choirs of angels to consider itself equal to its own ephemeral footprints in the sands of time, that part has remained in darkness; now it is heading towards the recovery of eternal life. So it was at the birth of Buddha and of Christ; and so it is at the birth of the divine in every human being in whom this miracle takes place.” Those who understand this in a living way know occult truths of the highest value. Words of such depth are not often found in entire libraries, not even in so-called theosophical ones.

The translators of the booklet, the same ones who also translated the “Flita” discussed in the previous essay into German, will have done many a great favor if these two books should find an understanding audience. It may also be said that the translations are cast in beautiful German. We will make progress in Germany with the theosophical movement and achieve what we are supposed to achieve if there are several people who combine the attitude and correct understanding of what is important as these translators do.

Four lectures by Annie Besant, delivered at the twentieth anniversary of the Theosophical Society at Adyar near Madras, December 27-30, 1895, authorized translation by Countess H. Scheler, Leipzig, published by Max Altmann, 1905.

It is with great satisfaction that we welcome this translation of these lectures into the German language. In them, Annie Besant described almost ten years ago the steps that the disciple of higher life and knowledge has to take. For all those who have already received the great insights into the path of higher life to strengthen their spirit and mind in Annie Besant's book “In the Atrium”, this writing must also be a welcome gift. She presents these insights in a slightly different way.

Four great pictures pass before the mind's eye of the reader: 1. The first steps, 2. The qualities necessary for discipleship, 3. The life of the disciple, 4. The progress of man in the future.

The first of these images describes the transformation that must take place in the way of thinking and feeling of anyone who wants to enter the path of discipleship. The purpose of this transformation is to shape man's thinking and acting in such a way that henceforth his life no longer has the mere goal of self-gratification, but that it integrates itself into the great goal that the divine world plan pursues, and in which the individual becomes a co-worker. Man rises to the point of not just understanding it, but feeling and experiencing that everything he does has not just a temporal, transitory, but an eternal, imperishable meaning. Right at the beginning of the first lecture, Annie Besant points out how she wants to lead the gaze away from the everyday life in which every person is involved in one way or another, and towards this great goal. “I would like to show you how a person who is surrounded by family and social obligations, by the manifold demands of worldly life, can nevertheless prepare for union and take the first steps on the path that leads to the 'One'. I will try to show you the stages of this path so that you can see the goal to be achieved and the path to be taken. I begin with the life that pretty much every person leads and start from the point of view that most of you are probably standing at now. I would like to show you the path that probably starts from family life, from life in the community and the state, but which ends in that which is exalted above all thinking and ultimately guides the wanderer home, to that which is eternally his."

The lectures are significantly introduced with these words. For it must be emphasized that there can be no kind of life or occupation from which man cannot enter the path of discipleship. He does not become a life-hostile hermit, not a life-weary dreamer, when he enters the path in the true sense of the word. And many of us walk this path without the uninitiated being able to notice anything in our outward conduct that distinguishes us from our fellow human beings. The question is often asked whether this or that position in life, this or that occupation, is compatible with a higher life. The answer to this must be given again and again: the indications of the esoteric sciences first point the way to entering and walking the path. How each individual must then arrange himself in order to achieve what is necessary for him, that each one will certainly find out for himself in the course of his development. Should it be necessary for him to enter into a situation in life that is different from his previous one, he will be led to the means and ways to do so quite naturally in the course of his path.

Annie Besant also speaks about this in vivid terms. “The limits of each person's duty are set by the particular circumstances of his birth, which, under the good law of karmic guidance, give each person his sphere of activity and the right soil in which he can learn. Therefore, it is said that each person should do his own duty, his own dharma. It is better to do one's own dharma, even imperfectly, than to try to fulfill the higher dharma of another.” Karma and Dharma are two concepts that complement and determine each other. A person's karma determines their fate according to what they have done in their previous lives. However, Dharma is the law by which they should continue to live in the future, according to the qualities and abilities they have acquired in the past. And each person's dharma is determined by their karma. They will get the furthest, they will achieve the best for themselves if they stay within the limits of their abilities and the duties imposed on them by their circumstances. It is not right to cling to tasks that seem particularly appealing and worthwhile without considering these circumstances. These may be tasks that only someone with a completely different karma can solve. Annie Besant therefore continues after saying the above sentence: “That into which you are born is what you need, is the right means of education for you. Do your own duty without regard to the consequences, then you will learn the task of life and begin to walk the path of yoga.”

When taking the first steps on the path of discipleship, one must always bear in mind the great power of certain thoughts and feelings in and of themselves. Thoughts that are directed towards the genuine fulfillment of one's duty, that are directed towards man's eternal destiny, towards the divine plan of the world, contain within themselves the power to uplift and transform man. Just as one gives a plant water so that it may grow, so one should give the soul thoughts of eternity: and it will grow. Just as you cannot make a plant grow by grabbing it at the top and tugging, so you cannot make the soul grow by any earthly means. You must rather, with patience and perseverance, fill it with thoughts of eternity, and growth will surely come. Nothing that is a great ideal, a divine truth, passes through the soul, remains unused by it.

Annie Besant beautifully describes how the inner life of the soul becomes independent of the outer professional and worldly life, and yet how the two are in harmony and compatible: “They are human beings, living in the world and bound by worldly ties, human beings who lead a social and political life. But in the depths of your hearts you long for true yoga, for knowledge that is lasting and does not belong only to this fleeting life. In the heart of every one of you, if you get to the bottom of it, you will find the longing to know more, the desire to live more nobly than you do now. Outwardly, it may appear that you love the things of the world, and with your lower nature you do. But in the heart of every true Hindu who is not completely apostate and denies his religion and homeland, there is still an inner longing for something more than the things of the earth, still a faint desire, even if only a remnant of past traditions, that India would be nobler than it is today and its people more worthy of their past."

The last sentence also points to something that must not remain unspoken here when discussing this book. Annie Besant's lectures are addressed to the Indian people. They indicate the path of discipleship for this people. Now, although truth is a unifier, and the highest summit of knowledge and life is also a unifier for all times and all peoples, one must not believe that the path of discipleship in form can be exactly the same for the man of present-day Europe as for the Indian. The essence remains the same; the forms change in this area as well. Therefore, it is only natural that in the articles of this journal “How to Attain Knowledge of Higher Worlds” is said differently in some places than it is given in Annie Besant's lectures for the Indian people. The path described in this journal is the one that has been developed in the secret schools of Europe since the fourteenth century as the right one, adapted to the life in the West and to the stage of development of the European human being. And the European can only be successful if he walks this path as outlined by his own secret teachers. He cannot copy the path of the Indians. For the Indians are the descendants of a very different tribe from the European people. Their physical and psychological peculiarity is different. In the world, everything is in development. And the Secret Schooling must also follow this path of development. Only a travesty of a disciple could exist if a European soul wanted to follow the same yogic paths that the Indian people once followed under the guidance of the holy Rishis. But the latter must again betrain its own ways if it wants to make progress. The aim of the Theosophical World Movement is precisely that every nation, every part of humanity, should seek the truth in its own ways. We would be very poor Theosophists if we wanted to graft the Indian teachings onto the very differently constituted European humanity without further ado. This must not be done with regard to the outer teachings, nor with regard to the secret training for discipleship.

This is not to say that it would be useless for Europeans to get to know what is appropriate for India. The stage at which the European stands is precisely the one that makes it necessary for him to get to know everything intellectually. In order to progress, the mind must compare and measure its own against that which is further away. It must listen to what is said to fellow human beings in the Far East for their own good. Therefore, not because the same could be done in Europe, one has to greet such books as the present one with satisfaction. But it is also necessary to know that in Europe, those who have knowledge and are searching for secrets have been trying for centuries to show the right path to today's discipleship to those who can and, above all, want to listen to them. The signs of the times clearly indicate that in Europe, too, the number of those who “yearn in their hearts for true yoga” will grow ever greater. For what Annie Besant so aptly expresses towards the end of the first lecture also applies to the peoples of Europe: “There is no great nation without great individuals, no mighty people if the individuals are low, poor and selfish in their lives.”

The second lecture presents the laws of “mastering thought,” meditation and character development, which the disciple on the path must observe. Annie Besant gives us a glimpse of the rules that have been followed and tested by the disciples of the path for thousands of years. We may often shrink back from the demands that are made and say, “Yes, who can fulfill all that!” But such shrinking back is by no means justified. It is based on the fact that the things in question are taken much too superficially than they want to be taken. The higher world cannot be conquered in tumult or in storm, but in patience and perseverance. Many will find, for example, that there are so many rules and that the time needed to carry them all out is almost immeasurable. The only thing to say is: start at one end and you will soon find that the matter has many other difficulties, but almost none of those that you first imagined. You will gradually acquire practice in the correct use of the instructions, you will gradually become aware of the correct meaning of this or that message, and then come to a completely different judgment than you had before. In this regard, there is a very important passage in these lectures by Annie Besant (page 100): 'The question has often been raised as to how many lives pass between the first step and the final liberation, the attainment of Jivanmukti. I recall that Swami T. Subba Row, when he discussed with some friends the commonly held idea that seven lives must pass at this level of discipleship, made the perfect and true and meaningful remark: 'It could be seven lives or seventy, seven days or seven hours', meaning that the life of the soul is not measured in terms of earthly time. What matters is its energy, its strength, its will to achieve the goal. “A person can waste his time or use it to his advantage; that alone will determine the progress he makes.”

Time and again, we can refer to a saying of Goethe's when talking about the path of discipleship: “Although it is easy, the easy is difficult.” The only obstacles that arise are those that man himself puts in his way. In most cases these obstacles arise from his prejudices, or from the fact that he is not really serious about such things as, for example, controlling his thoughts or meditating. People simply do not believe that controlling one's thoughts and meditating, practised quietly in the innermost part of the soul, can be so successful in leading to the spiritual world. One expects this success from much more “tangible”, much more tumultuous things. Or one demands that the objects and beings of the higher worlds have the usual forms of the sense world and considers the forms in which they really appear to be little more than a nothing or an illusion. But one first learns through the “attributes necessary for discipleship” what the higher worlds actually look like. One must first mature, to see something quite differently, and this quite differently, than one is accustomed to from the sensual everyday life.

The third picture, “The Life of the Disciple”, opens up a wide perspective. Here the path of trial and the four initiations are described. It shows how man is led up through the stage in which he frees himself from the way of looking at things to which he has hitherto paid homage, and in which he completely casts off the fetters of doubt, superstition and narrow personality consciousness. Then the second step is indicated, on which the inner light, Kundalini, begins to shine, illuminating the things of the higher world as the spiritual sun does the objects and beings of the sensual world. The third step follows, on which the “true self” awakens, the self-awareness that embraces the world, making it possible to receive the keys to true knowledge. And finally, the dawn of the Arhat rises before the thought.

The last picture shows the “progress of man in the future”. All higher development of the individual is only a hastening on the path that all humanity must later traverse, albeit under the conditions of the earthly future, which will be quite different from those of the present. But only in this way can all humanity hasten towards this future, that individuals go the way ahead, rise out of themselves, so that, as teachers and guides, the others follow them. Instead of a brief description of the significant last chapter, which has real practical significance for every true thinker, only a few things will be emphasized here at the end of this discussion. For example, it is said about the human future: “In the whole sphere of knowledge, methods will change. The doctor will no longer have to draw conclusions about an illness from external symptoms, but will see the cause of it and be able to make a diagnosis based on that... Until now, the impermeability of the physical body has prevented the doctor from looking inside, but now he is already using the clairvoyant, whose vision penetrates the physical matter, who sees the disease and can recognize exactly what is wrong with any organ of the body... Imagine the boost that would be given to the whole of medical science if doctors were clairvoyant, and if what only a few people possess now became widespread, so that doctors could make their diagnoses with certainty and follow the effect of each remedy with the certainty that comes from seeing...

"The same applies to chemistry. How much more could the chemist achieve than is currently possible if his eyes were open and able to follow the various processes that occur when his substances combine, if he could see the effects of his compositions instead of having to guess at them and wait for the results of his experiments before he can be certain of the outcome. How many accidents could be avoided and to what extent could this knowledge accelerate the progress of science?"

“It is no different in the study of the mind. You will immediately see what this means for humanity, merely from the point of view of this lower world, when people can communicate with each other through thoughts, instead of having to use cumbersome mechanisms such as writing or printing, when a thought can travel from brain to brain and communicate without the complicated processes we use today.”

Thus Annie Besant's lectures end with a powerful outlook on the future of humanity.

The Germans, who have an understanding of these things, will have to be grateful to Countess H. Scheler for the translation.

The Theosophical Society (founded in 1875 and headquartered in Adyar, India), whose mission is to cultivate the world view also expressed in this journal, has a British, Dutch, French, Italian and German section in Europe. These five sections form a Federation of European Sections. Discussions regarding the fruitful interaction of these sections took place in London on Friday, July 3, 1903, in connection with the general assembly of the British Section. These discussions took on a significant character due to the fact that the founder of the Theosophical Society, who is still its president, Col. H. S. Olcott (who resides in Adyar), personally chaired them. It was decided to create a focus for the joint work of the European sections in the form of annual general assemblies to be held in different European locations. As a result of the gracious invitation of our Dutch colleagues, Amsterdam was chosen as the venue for next year's General Assembly (1904). The task of this assembly will be to discuss the common affairs of the great Theosophical world movement (as far as they affect Europe) and to report on the progress and undertakings of the individual sections. The progress of the movement will be published in the annual bulletin. Mr. J. van Manen was elected editor of the bulletin. On July 4, 1903, a second meeting took place, in which the situation of the Theosophical movement in the individual regions of Europe was discussed. The speakers were Mr. Mead for the English section, Captain Terwiel for the Dutch section, Monsieur Bernard for the French section, Mrs. Cooper Oakley for the Italian section, and Dr. Rudolf Steiner for the German section. Col. Olcott introduced the speakers to the assembly and chaired the meeting. Dr. Rudolf Steiner spoke about the “Connection between the general German spiritual life and 'Theosophy and its prospects in the future of German culture”. The text of this speech will be published in the next issue, along with a report on the interesting general assembly of the British Section, which took place from July 4th to 6th, as there is no space for it in this issue. (The Secretary General of the German Section, Dr. Rudolf Steiner, answers questions regarding the Theosophical Society).

The following is a short excerpt of what Dr. Rudolf Steiner (as General Secretary of the German Section of the Theosophical Society) said in London on July 3, 1903 on the occasion of the first assembly of the Federation of European Sections of the Theosophical Society (compare the previous article): The European sections have agreed to meet annually for the common care of the Theosophical Society. On these occasions, the individual contributions that the various regions of Europe are able to make to our great international task will come together, and the representatives of the individual sections will take the inspiration of the congresses back to their home regions to continue to work there. Our German section is not even a year old. It is therefore natural that it can only point to limited successes in the past. But it may be said that we have the best hopes for the future of Theosophy in Germany. For the whole essence of the German national spirit is one that is drawn to Theosophy. Where German intellectual culture has produced its most beautiful blossoms, there a hidden but no less effective theosophical attitude has always been found among the bearers of this culture. For not only did the deep mysticism of a Meister Eckhart and a Tauler, of a Valentin Weigel, Jacob Boehme, Angelus Silesius and of the secret mystical societies flow from this attitude and way of thinking; but also the world views of our more recent German thinkers, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel, rest on this foundation. And what found expression in these outstanding personalities has its roots in the depths of the German national soul. That is why the greatest of modern German poets, Goethe, was imbued with such an attitude, with such a way of thinking. Goethe can only be fully understood when one sees through the theosophical way of looking at things, which is not to be discovered on the surface but in the depths of his creations. This side of Goethe's work has remained almost completely misunderstood. Once it is understood, what Goethe created will become an important promoter of the theosophical movement in Germany. Goethe's whole view of nature is based on theosophical principles. Much of what he, according to his own saying, has “secretly incorporated” into his Faust are theosophical truths. And then there is also his world view, which he summarized in his deeply symbolic fairy tale of “The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily”. This fairy tale is nothing less than Goethe's “secret revelation”. It must be read as one reads esoteric writings, its meaning must be studied as one studies the meaning of secret representations of deeply hidden truths. Until one has done this, one does not know the whole of Goethe. Under the influence of such study, a new light is thrown on many other things in Goethe's life and work; and above all, it is proved that in him the Germans have a theosophical poet. And let us turn to Novalis, whose “magical idealism” is also Theosophical; and finally to Schelling, who in the forties appeared at the University of Berlin with his views, gained through long, deep research, in his lectures on “Philosophy of Mythology” and “Philosophy of Revelation”. Only one thing is missing in all these theosophical efforts of the Germans: a deeper understanding of the great world laws of reincarnation and karma. For even if Jean Paul represented the doctrine of re-embodiment out of his intuition, it has never been organically connected with the currents mentioned earlier. The theosophical movement will incorporate these comprehensive truths into German culture. In this way it will bring the great personalities of the Germans, indeed their own national soul, closer to them; and Theosophy itself will receive the most beautiful fertilization from this side. As much as it is true that German life has much to expect from Theosophy, it is equally true that it has much to contribute to the Theosophical world movement.

Dr. Rudolf Steiner spoke on this topic at the annual meeting of the German section of the Theosophical Society on October 18, 1903. A very brief summary of the remarks is given here. — The founder of the Theosophical Society gave us the “Secret Doctrine,” in which the foundation for a solution to the great riddles of existence is laid on two sides. In a comprehensive theory of the origin of the world (Cosmogenesis), the plan is shown according to which the scene has developed out of the spiritual primal powers of the universe, on which man is responsible for his earthly change. From a second volume (Anthropogenesis) we see which stages man himself has gone through until he became a member of the present race. It will depend on the development of the Theosophical movement, on when it will have reached a certain state of maturity, in which time the same spiritual forces that have given us the great truths of the first two volumes will also give us the third. This will contain the deeper laws for what, on the outside, so-called “world history” offers us. It will deal with “occult historical research”. It will show how the destinies of nations are fulfilled in the true sense, how guilt and atonement are linked in the great life of humanity, how the leading personalities of history arrive at their mission, and how they fulfill it.

Only he who knows how the great trinity of body, soul and spirit intervenes in the wheel of becoming can see through the development of mankind. Above all, one has to realize how physical existence is conditioned in the broadest sense by the great cosmic natural forces, which take on a specific form in the characters of races and peoples and in what is called the “spirit” of an age. One will recognize how the material basis comes about, which expresses itself in the fact that people represent certain types (peoples, eras) in which they resemble one another. The generic characters will be more clearly illuminated here, which they cannot receive from the cultural history that is focused on the merely superficial. One will understand how the influence of the soil, the climate, the economic conditions, etc. actually takes place on people.

Then the role that the personal element plays in history will be examined. The drives, instincts, feelings and passions come from this personal element. And they can only be understood if one is aware of the influence of the world, which is called astral or psychic (soul), on the world that takes place before our physical senses and our mind. This part of occult history will help us to understand what is usually attributed to the arbitrariness of individual personalities. And we will understand the interaction of individual personality, nation and age. The enlightening light will be cast into world history from the astral field.

Thirdly, it will be learned how the collective spirit of the universe intervenes in human destinies, how the life of this collective spirit pours into the higher self of a great leader of humanity, and in this way, through channels of this higher life, is shared with all of humanity. For this is the way in which this higher life takes: it flows into the higher selves of the leading spirits, and these communicate it to their brothers. From embodiment to embodiment, the higher selves of human beings develop and learn more and more to make their own selves into missionaries of the divine plan of the world. Through occult historical research, one will recognize how a human leader develops to the point where he can take on a divine mission. One will see how Buddha, Zarathustra, and Christ came to their missions. The lecturer illustrated these general statements by suggesting some examples of how to think about the development of great leaders of humanity through their reincarnation.

The Annual Meeting of the German Section of the Theosophical Society was opened on the morning of October 18, 1903 by a board meeting attended by the board members Dr.Rudol£f Steiner (General Secretary), Miss v. Sivers (Berlin), Julius Engel (Charlottenburg), Richard Bresch (Leipzig), Bernhard Hubo (Hamburg), Mrs. v. Holten (Berlin), Günther Wagner (Lugano) and Kolbe (Hamburg). Internal section matters were discussed and it was decided to bring about a closer exchange of ideas and communication between the individual branches by creating a small organ for this purpose, only for the branches and their affairs. Miss v. Sivers was elected secretary of the section and the appointment of Miss v. Rosen as assistant to the section, which has been made possible by the loving kindness of our English brothers, was confirmed. On Sunday evening, the lecture on “Occult Historical Research” took place. It was followed by a discussion of important theosophical questions (for example, the position of so-called monism in relation to theosophy, the use of psychic powers in life, etc.), in which the following took part: Günther Wagner (Lugano), Richard Bresch (Leipzig), Bernhard Hubo (Hamburg), Julius Engel (Charlottenburg), Arenson (Stuttgart) and Rüdiger (Charlottenburg). At the general meeting on Monday, October 19, the following were present in addition to the above-mentioned branch representatives from outside: Frau Geheimrat Lübke (Weimar), Arenson (Stuttgart), Fischer (Hannover). The business of the section was taken care of. Of this, the following should be mentioned: Frau Helene Lübke (Weimar) and Fräulein Mathilde Scholl (Cologne) were elected to replace two former members of the board. It was reported that a new branch had been formed in Weimar and that the formation of others was to be expected. Miss Klara Motzkus (Berlin) and Mr. Franz Seiler (Berlin) were elected as auditors.

From June 19 to 21, 1904, the Federation of European Sections of the Theosophical Society held its congress in Amsterdam. The members of the Dutch section were tasked with taking care of all the work to be done at the meeting location. And they took on this truly difficult task in a way that must ensure them the full recognition and warmest thanks of the European sections, who were their guests this time. They organized the three-day proceedings in the most dignified and meaningful way, interspersing the actual Theosophical meetings with artistic performances that included musical and declamatory performances. These performances were not organized with outside artists, but by the members of the Dutch section themselves. It is only with heartfelt satisfaction that one can look back on what was offered there. It has testified to the tireless work and successful propaganda of the great spiritual movement in Holland. It already has almost eight hundred members there.

The proceedings of the congress will now be outlined in a few strokes. — Annie Besant chaired the meeting. She returned to Europe a few weeks ago from an eighteen-month stay in India. It was good that she was able to lead the proceedings. Everyone who understands the true meaning of the important spiritual movement embodied in the Theosophical movement knows this. After the death of H.P. Blavatsky, the spiritual leadership of the Society passed to Annie Besant. This must be counted as a good karma for the Society. In everything that comes from this woman lives the power by which the Society must be guided if it is to fulfill its mission. This mission consists in elevating present-day civilization to a spiritual life. This civilization has achieved untold intellectual and material cultural work. It has enormously expanded humanity's outlook and outer work and will continue to expand it even further. The spiritual deepening was bound to suffer. The nineteenth century lacked the spiritual direction, it lacked the spiritual life that gave impulses to earlier great epochs of human development. That was the necessary fate of cultural development. For when man's energy is particularly expressed in one direction, it must withdraw its activity somewhat in the other. At present, however, we have again reached the point where spiritual life must be added to our culture if it is not to become completely externalized, and if humanity is not to lose touch with spiritual experiences. This mission of the Theosophical Society is now expressed completely in everything Annie Besant does and says. The highest task of our time is the innermost impulse of her own soul. Knowledge and will, insight and ideal of our time are united in Annie Besant, to be fertilized by her own highly developed spiritual life as a force emanating from her and to communicate as such to her fellow human beings. Where she speaks, the spirit of the audience is raised to the heights of divine knowledge and their hearts are filled with enthusiasm for the spiritual currents of humanity. And so it was when she gave her magnificent opening address at the Amsterdam Congress. She set out the conditions under which the work of the Society must be carried out. The question of the “why” and “wherefore” of the gathering was answered by her in broad strokes. She described the theosophical movement as part of the great spiritual movement that is taking hold of the whole world today. The spiritualization of the whole civilization must be achieved. A glance at this civilization teaches this. In the material, this civilization lives itself out. In a science that seeks to understand the material, in an industry and technology that serves the outer life, in a traffic that makes the material interests of the whole earth more and more common. But all this lacks the spiritual. Our knowledge is a mind knowledge, our commercial prosperity promotes external well-being. But this science on the one hand and material prosperity on the other are only an external form of culture, not its inner life. To everything we have conquered, the heart and the life must be added. We must again include the divine ideal in our will; then all externals will no longer be an end in themselves, but only the outer garment, only the form of civilization. The spirit must fill the body of our civilization if it is to endure. And to fill this body with the spirit is the purpose for which the Theosophical movement has been called into being. It starts from the most ancient thoughts of mankind, from that wisdom which in primeval times raised our race to its present level of consciousness, and which has always been effective in all great progress. These thoughts, this wisdom are essentially as old as humanity. Only their forms must change according to the different needs of different times.

Theosophy does not ascribe the origin of wisdom to an external, random development. Rather, it derives it from the brotherhood of the great leaders of humanity. These are the beings who have already achieved the high degree of perfection in the past that the average human being will strive for in the future. Such advanced brothers of the human race use their degree of perfection to help the rest of humanity to progress. Their work is done in secret. It must be done in secret because it is too high to be understood by the masses. They are the custodians of the divine ideals. From time to time they send their emissaries into the world to give it great cultural impulses. The great world religions owe their origin to such impulses; all cultural achievements owe their foundations to them.

One such impulse has been sent into the world in recent times, leading to the founding of the Theosophical Society by H.P. Blavatsky and H.S. Olcott. Its aim is to remind mankind that thought is greater than expression, spirit greater than form. It seeks to show that science must regain its knowledge not only of the sensual but also of the supersensible worlds, that the heart should not cling only to material goods but should open itself to the divine ideal. Above and beyond the material gain that each individual can derive from our present means of culture stands the general spiritual uplift of the whole of mankind. All the prosperity that humanity strives for should be sought only in order to build a dwelling for the spirit on this earth. And this dwelling is worthy only if it is suffused with beauty. But beauty is only possible when it emanates from the spirit. Our material culture cannot have true art unless it conquers true faith again. From the art of the Middle Ages, the faith of medieval humanity shines out to us. Its painters allowed themselves to be inspired by the religious feeling that lived in their hearts. The content of faith gave meaning and significance to the lines and colors of the artists. A new content of thought, appropriate to the imagination of contemporary humanity, is what Theosophy seeks to bring to bear. And the new content of thought will be the creator of a new art. This is a task of our time. All nobler spirits feel this. The striving towards it is noticeable everywhere. The Theosophical Society wants to be a leader, a vanguard in this movement. It wants to inspire individual men and women for this goal, which is currently felt so clearly.

And in this way it unites the striving for tolerance and universal love of humanity. These have always been the forces from which the great advances of humanity have emerged. What individual cultural movements strive for, the theosophical current seeks to form into a great unity. It seeks to overcome narrow-mindedness and intolerance. For only in united striving can humanity today achieve its goal. The Theosophical Society does not exist for the selfish pursuit of its members. It is a mistake to join it for the purpose of one's own advancement. It wants to be there for humanity, it wants to work in its service. One should become a member of the Society only to be a channel through which flows a knowledge that promotes human progress. The Society does not grow when its membership increases daily, but when these members grow in confidence and insight into their lofty task with each passing day. The justification of the Society lies in the change that has taken place in human thinking over the last thirty years. Today, people no longer look down on those who no longer focus solely on the material side of culture. The heart begins to expand, and people have an appreciation again for those who strive for the spiritual. Our materialism became so powerful because our devotion had become so weak. But the person who is unable to ascend to spiritual heights in adoration closes himself off. But devotion opens the heart and mind. We rise to that which we behold in devotional love and high esteem. The call for such deepening has gone out to those who have united in the “Theosophical Society”; they shall be good helmsmen for the path that is mapped out for the present civilization.

The individual sections were represented by their general secretaries: the English section by Bertram Keightley, the Dutch section by W. B. Fricke, the French section by Dr. Th. Pascal, and the German section by Dr. Rudolf Steiner. Unfortunately, the general secretary of the Italian section, Decio Calvari, could not be present. Johan van Manen conducted the business of the congress and also gave his report at the meeting on June 19, 1904. His work deserves special mention. He had an enormous workload during the preparations for the meeting and during the meeting itself. One could only admire the willingness to make sacrifices, the prudence and energy of this member of the Theosophical Society.

On the evening of June 19, a public lecture was held. Annie Besant spoke on “the new psychology”. She outlined the change that has taken place in the last forty years in the prevailing views on the nature of the mind. Forty years ago, materialism, in the form of men like Büchner and Vogt, could claim that the brain secretes thoughts like the liver secretes bile. Since that time, people have abandoned the belief that the nature of the mind can be known by studying the mechanism of the brain. Today we know that such a process would be the same as trying to penetrate the secrets of a Mozart or Beethoven creation by studying the hammers and keys of a piano. The phenomena of dream life have been studied, and those manifestations of consciousness that occur in abnormal states of the physical body have been studied in depth. This has led to the conviction that the spiritual is an independent entity in man, and that the way in which it manifests itself in the ordinary state is only one of its forms. Only this form, this mode of expression, is conditioned by the physical structure of the human senses and the human brain. It must be the nature of the spirit to express itself through other instruments in a different way. Experimental science has thus confirmed the fundamental truth of all deeper religious world views that the spirit in human day-consciousness has only one of its revelations. It has shown that through certain processes (in trance, etc.) forms of consciousness arise in man in which he is quite different from his so-called normal consciousness. Thus it is also scientifically justified not to seek the truth only through the form of consciousness that comes to us in everyday life, but to rise to higher forms of consciousness in order to get to know the higher worlds.

The other works of the congress were dealt with in such a way that departments were formed according to the subject matter, in which corresponding lectures were held. It became clear how Theosophy has already extended its work to all branches of modern spiritual life and to social ideals. Theosophists seek to bring the suitability of their goals to bear in all branches of culture, and they also seek to integrate their thoughts and ideals into the endeavors of the present everywhere. The individual departments were as follows: 1. Science; 2. Comparative Religion; 3. Philology; 4. Human Brotherhood; 5. Occultism; 6. Philosophy; 7. Theosophical Method of Work; 8. Art.

In the scientific section, a paper by Dr. Pascal on the “Nature of Consciousness” was read. The author had subtly combined the basic tenets of Theosophy with modern ideas. This was followed by a suggestion from Ludwig Deinhard (Munich). He pointed out the various experimentally determined states of consciousness (multiplex personality), explained them lucidly, and called on those who had developed higher states of consciousness within themselves to also put their experiences at the service of the theosophical basic views (reincarnation and karma). This was followed by a stimulating discussion of the “Development of a Second Personality” by Alfred R. Orage (Leeds). The two presentations followed on nicely from what Annie Besant had presented in her lecture on “the new psychology”. From the proceedings of this section, it can only be stated that Emilio Scalfaro (Bologna), Arturio Reghini (Italy) and Mrs. Sarah Corbett (Manchester) presented papers on important questions of space, matter and other topics. The wealth of material presented cannot be covered in a short summary, especially since lectures were held in different rooms at the same time and it was only possible for individuals to attend a part of each. The works will also be published in a detailed congress report (yearbook of the congress) and will thus be accessible to everyone. Therefore, only a few things will be reported here. In the section on comparative religion, the following was available: “The Religion of the Future - a View of Vaishnavism” by Purnendu Narayana Sinha (India).

In the section on “human brotherhood”, there was a treatise on community life among so-called primitive peoples by Mme Emma Weise (Paris). Works of this kind are important for the theosophist because they point to conditions in which the principle of brotherhood was effective as a natural law of the soul in human tribes. Progress had to lead necessarily to separation and to egoism. But this is only a transitional epoch. Seclusion must give way to selfless devotion, to ethical brotherhood, again, at a higher level, to what was once innate in man at a lower level. The social coexistence of people was the subject of the lectures by D. A. Courmes (Paris) and S. Edgar Aldermann (Sacramento, Cal.).

In the “Occultism” section, Annie Besant spoke about the “Nature of Occultism”. She pointed out H.P. Blavatsky's saying that occultism is the study of the universal world spirit in all of nature. The occultist recognizes that everything that can be perceived in the world is based on a universal spirit; and that the world of appearances only gives the forms, the expressions of this hidden (occult) world spirit. This conviction is expressed in all great world religions, and occultists find the real foundations of religions confirmed by their own experience. The science of the intellect can only recognize the outside of the world. It speaks of forces and laws. The occultist sees behind these forces and laws. And he then perceives that these are only the outer shell for living entities, just as man's body is the shell for soul and spirit. From the lower forms that hide behind the forces of nature, to the exalted world spirits, whom he addresses as Logoi, the occultist pursues the spiritual realm according to his ability. But in order to recognize this world as a reality, he must go through a careful training. He must achieve two things. First, he must expand his consciousness so that it can embrace higher worlds, just as the ordinary conscious mind dominates the physical world. Second, he must develop the higher senses, which can perceive in these worlds as eyes and ears perceive in the physical world. The first goal, the expansion of consciousness, depends on man learning to control his thoughts. In ordinary life, man is controlled by his thoughts. They come and go, dragging the consciousness hither and thither. The occultist must be master of the course of his thoughts. He regulates their course. It is in his power to decide which thoughts he will allow to enter and which he will reject. This goal can only be achieved through the most diligent self-education. Once you have prepared yourself in this way, you can begin to develop the higher senses. As long as a person is still under the influence of his passions, desires and instincts, the possession of higher senses can only be harmful to him. A pure, selfless life is a matter of course for the occultist. The personal desires he harbors of his own accord take shape in the higher worlds. Man himself is the author of these forms. If he begins to see these forms, he is exposed to the danger of mistaking his own personal creations of desire and longing for objective realities. These products of his body of desire and longing are hidden from the average person. If they are not to become the source of serious errors and illusions for the developed higher senses, they must fade from view. The occultist must personally be without desire. There is a further danger that man may mistake the fragments of higher worlds that present themselves to his open eyes for exhaustive realities. The occultist must learn to recognize all this.

What particularly hinders the development of occult abilities is the haste and rush with which some disciples want to advance. These arise from personal impatience and restlessness. But the occultist must develop complete inner calm and patience. He must be able to wait until the right time for inspiration has come. He must wait patiently until he is given what he should not take in greed. He must do everything to enable the voices from the spiritual world to speak to him at the right moment; but he must not have the slightest belief that he can force these voices to come. He who is proud because he believes he knows more than others cannot become an occultist. This is why occultists speak of the heresy of separatism. If a person wants something for himself, if he does not want to possess everything in community, then he is immature for occultism. Every separation, every striving for personal self-interest, even if it is of the highest spiritual nature, kills the occult senses. The dangers of the occult path are great. Only patience and selflessness, willingness to make sacrifices and true love can make the occultist.

One of Leadbeater's letters, which was intended for this section, included some interesting remarks about the astral forms that are evoked by musical works of art. A sonata by Beethoven or a piano piece by Mozart can be characterized by the architecture that the clairvoyant can perceive in the astral space.

In the “Philosophy” section, Dr. Rudolf Steiner gave a lecture on “Mathematics and Occultism”. He assumed that Plato demanded a mathematical education from his students, that the Gnostics referred to their higher wisdom as mathesis and that the Pythagoreans saw the basis of all being in number and form. He explained that they all had not the abstract mathematics in mind, but that they meant the intuitive vision of the occultist, who perceives the laws in the higher worlds with the help of a spiritual sensation that presents in the spiritual that which music is for our ordinary sensual world. Just as air, through vibrations that can be expressed in numbers, arouses musical sensations, so the occultist, if he prepares himself by knowing the secrets of numbers, can perceive spiritual music in the higher worlds, which, with particularly high development of the human being, intensifies to the sensation of the music of the spheres. This music of the spheres is not a figment of the imagination; it is a real experience for the occultist. By incorporating the arithmetics into his own being, by permeating his astral and mental body with the intimate sense that is expressed in the numerical relationships, the human being prepares himself to let hidden world phenomena have an effect on him.

In more recent times, the occult sense has withdrawn from the sciences. Since Copernicus and Galileo, science has been concerned with conquering the physical world. But it is in the eternal plan of human development that physical science, too, should find access to the spiritual world. In the age of physical research, mathematics has been enriched by Newton and Leibnitz's analysis of the infinite, by differential and integral calculus. Those who seek not only to understand in the abstract but to experience inwardly what a differential really represents will gain a view that is free of sensuality. For in the differential, the sensual view of space is overcome even in the symbol; for moments, human cognition can become purely mental. To the clairvoyant, this reveals itself in that the thought form of the differential is open to the outside, in contrast to the thought forms that a person receives through sensual observation. These are closed to the outside. Thus, through the analysis of the infinite, one of the paths is opened through which the higher senses of the human being open to the outside. The occultist knows what happens to the chakra (lotus flower) between the eyebrows when he develops the spirit of the differential within himself. If the mathematician is a selfless person, he can lay what he has achieved in this way on the general altar of human brotherhood. And the seemingly driest science can become an important source for occultism.

In the same section, Gaston Polak (Brussels) spoke about symmetry and rhythm in man. It was interesting to hear these discussions about the way in which the human being can be integrated into the general laws of the world. A paper by Bhagavän Däs (Benares) on the “Relationship between Self and Non-Self” was read out. Since this paper will soon be available in book form, a summary can be dispensed with here, which would also be rather difficult due to the subtle form of the train of thought.

In the section on the “Method of theosophical work”, the remarks of Ms. Ivy Hooper (London) were of great importance. She emphasized that the essential thing for the theosophist is not the dogmatic forms in which the spirit, the spiritual life is expressed, but this spirit, this life itself. It is commendable that this has been said with such clarity. We can express the spirit with Christian as well as with oriental symbols, if only we preserve this spirit. Where Christian symbolism is better understood, the Theosophist may make use of it. For one can be a good Theosophist without knowing anything about the dogmas in which spiritual wisdom was necessarily taught in the beginning. The Theosophical Society is supposed to be the bearer of this wisdom; but it should change the forms according to necessity. Buddhist formulas and oriental dogmas must not be confused with the theosophical spirit. Theosophy has no dogmatics. It only wants to be spiritual life.

A section on “Art” showed how the Theosophical worldview can also bring light to this area. Jean Delville (Brussels), for example, developed something spiritual in his lecture on the “Mission of Art.” Ludwig Deinhard (Munich) took this opportunity to present a treatise by the German painter Fidus, in which the latter expresses his Theosophical view of the secrets of art.

On Tuesday afternoon, the congress concluded with a short address by Annie Besant and expressions of thanks to our Dutch Theosophists from the attending general secretaries. That evening, there was another public lecture by Dr. Hall on the human aura, illustrated with slides.

An exhibition of works of art of particular interest to Theosophists had been organized and could be viewed during the entire duration of the congress.

London was chosen as the venue for next year's congress.

The German Section of The Theosophical Society (Adyar headquarters) held its annual meeting on October 29 and 30, 1904. The German branches were represented either by personal delegates (Berlin, Charlottenburg, Cologne, Weimar, Leipzig, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart) or by proxies (Düsseldorf, Dresden, Hannover, Nuremberg). The following were newly elected to the board: Miss Stinde (Munich), Mr. Arenson (Cannstatt) and Mr. Seiler (Berlin). The number of members has increased from 130 to 251 since October 1, 1903. One particular item of business was the association's attitude towards the “theosophical” associations in Germany, which have not yet realized that it is impossible for divisions and antagonisms to prevail in a society based on the principle of brotherhood. Since these societies were all formed after the founding of the main society in Adyar, they alone are responsible for the divisions, not the main society. It was now decided to act in accordance with the principle of brotherhood in fact towards these societies, but not to participate in any way in their organizations, whatever their nature. The motion adopted by the General Assembly reads: “The General Assembly of the German Section of the Theosophical Society of October 30, 1904, resolves not to participate in any undertaking originating from other so-called Theosophical Societies and considers it the duty of each individual branch to act in the same way. Any participation can therefore only be a private one by individual members.”

The following are currently members of the board of the German section of the “Theosophical Society”: Dr. Rudolf Steiner (General Secretary), Marie von Sivers (Berlin W., Motzstraße 17, Secretary), Julius Engel (Charlottenburg), Richard Bresch (Leipzig), Bernhard Hubo (Hamburg), Helene Lübke ( Weimar), Sophie Stinde (Munich), Ludwig Deinhard (Munich), Adolf Arenson (Cannstatt near Stuttgart), Mathilde Scholl (Cologne), Franz Seiler (Berlin), Günther Wagner (Lugano), Adolf Kolbe (Hamburg).

A new branch of the German section of the Theosophical Society has been established in Karlsruhe (chairman Mr. Lindemann).