The Way of Initiation; or, How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher WorldsSteiner, Rudolf
Religion
The Way of Initiation; or, How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds
Steiner, Rudolf
Theosophy
3. Now with these demands on ourselves the _third condition_ for
occult training is intimately connected. The student must be able to
realize the idea that his thoughts and feelings are as important for
the world as his deeds. It must be recognized that it is as pernicious
to hate a fellow-being as to strike him. One can then discern also that
by perfecting oneself one accomplishes something not only for oneself
but for the whole world. The world profits by pure thoughts and
feelings as much as by one's good behavior, and so long as one cannot
believe in this world-wide importance of the inner Self, one is not fit
for discipleship. One is permeated with a true conception of the soul's
importance, only when one works at this inner Self as if it were at
least as important as all external things. It must be admitted that
one's feelings produce an effect as much as the action of the hand.
4. In so saying we have already mentioned the _fourth condition_:
the idea that the real being of man does not lie in the exterior but in
the interior. He who regards himself as merely a product of the outer
world, a result of the physical world, cannot succeed in this occult
training. But he who is able to realize this conception is then also
able to distinguish between inner duty and external success. He learns
to recognize that the one cannot at once be measured by the other. The
student must learn for himself the right position between what is
demanded by his external conditions and what he recognizes to be the
right conduct for himself. He ought not to force upon his environment
anything for which it can have no appreciation, but at the same time he
must be altogether free from the desire to do merely what can be
appreciated by those around him. In his own sincere and wisdom-seeking
soul, and only there, must he look for the recognition of his truths.
But from his environment he must learn as much as he possibly can, so
that he may discern what those around him need, and what is of use to
them. In this way he will develop within himself what is known in
Occultism as the "spiritual balance." On one side of the scales there
lies a heart open for the needs of the outward world, and on the other
lies an inner fortitude and an unfaltering endurance.
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