The Rudolf Steiner Archive

regarding the fundamentals of esoteric schooling ¹

Dear Mrs. Langen!

Only today can I answer your letter. ² However, the answer could only be given orally in full; but I would like to send you a few comments in writing first, so that you can see whether it is currently practical and desirable for you to make the journey to Hannover.

The way in which Theosophy has to be spread in our time only too easily gives rise to misunderstandings about its foundations, for example about occultism and its training. One such misunderstanding, for example, is that Theosophy must urge every person who accepts it in any form to undergo occult training. But that is absolutely not the case. Occult truths can only be discovered by those who have undergone occult training; they can be understood by the most ordinary human intellect. And they can be applied in life on the basis of such an understanding acquired by the ordinary powers of the soul. I myself will never publicly teach anything that, though found by occult means, could not be grasped by the ordinary powers of the soul if one only chose to apply them. Theosophy is necessary for our age; and humanity would have to fall into absolute desolation and universal infertility at the present point in its development if Theosophy did not flow to it as a mighty stream of power. However, it would be a bad thing if every Theosophist also wanted to become an occult disciple. That would be – forgive the trivial comparison – just as if, because all people need clothes, everyone had to become a tailor. All people need Theosophy under certain conditions; esoteric training, few.

On the other hand, however, no one can be denied this training if they are suited to it. For however many may seek it, there will not be too many of them for the time being. So in a sense, nothing stands in the way of anyone's occult training. Since many people today are seeking this training under such circumstances, misunderstandings cannot be avoided even among students. Today everyone thinks that what is good for him must also be good for others. Thus general opinions about the training are formed which are basically as incorrect as possible. The occult teacher is naturally obliged to say that the path taken by a person who is more austere in sexual matters is different from that taken by a person who does not shirk the task of serving humanity in this respect. Whatever the occult teacher says in this direction is soon reinterpreted: asceticism is a condition of occult development. In fact, something quite different is true. Asceticism in the sexual relationship facilitates the occult path, makes it more comfortable in a certain respect. Thus, anyone who, out of pure egoism of knowledge, wants above all to “see” can promise himself that he will soon reach a certain goal through a certain asceticism in this direction. But there can be no obligation to such asceticism, only an entitlement that one must first acquire. It consists solely in the possibility of giving mankind a full substitution if one withdraws from the otherwise existing obligation to give the opportunity to embody souls. So you see that asceticism in this direction must not be a rule, but can only be granted to some occultists under certain conditions.

In any case, if you approach occultism with these prerequisites in mind, you will easily understand that any kind of selfishness, even if it is the most hidden and masked, will not get you far in occult training. Of course, a woman who does not shirk her feminine duties will soon make more progress than one who, regardless of the fate of humanity, strives for “knowledge” in basically selfish renunciation, provided she does the right thing.

This probably answers a large part of the questions in your letter. No one can be distracted from their life's work in occult training if they are not going the wrong way. Of course, you can find many so-called “students” who are unsuitable for useful work. But one forms a false judgment when one compares these “students” with those who, without wanting to know anything about Theosophy, are solving their life's tasks. One should not compare the former with the latter, but ask oneself: How useless would these first be without Theosophy? And regarding the second, the right question would be: How would the content of their work be enhanced if they could incorporate Theosophy, or even schooling, into their lives?

I could not recommend that you “practice” without guidance either. I would not like to persuade anyone to entrust themselves to the “training”. It must be each person's own free decision.

The processes of your inner and outer life push you towards this training. With the help of the training you will certainly be able to solve your life's tasks more easily and more surely. Your husband has a much harder time with Theosophy than you do. Only someone who knows that a scholarly education today piles up almost insurmountable inner obstacles to the theosophical truths can judge that. And on the other hand, perhaps nothing is as suitable for overcoming these obstacles as a practical occupation, as it is currently opening up for your husband.

Your training will only be the right one if it takes nothing away from you and adds a great deal to what you already have: health, the strength to live, the security to work and the inner peace that a person needs not for themselves but for their fellow human beings. No work serves humanity that does not arise from inner peace. Every work that arises from an inwardly unsatisfied soul destroys the healthy development of humanity, wherever it takes place.

If you want to try it, after these remarks, I will offer you every possible support. I will be in Hanover from September 21 in the evening until October 4. If you would like to announce your presence there by card, I will arrange everything for a thorough discussion. Address: Dr. Rudolf Steiner, currently in Hanover, Ferdinandstraße 11 at Fleissner.

Give your dear husband my warmest regards and accept warm greetings from

Dr. Rudolf Steiner

• 1. The letter of September 20, 1907 was placed at the beginning because it contains fundamental information about esoteric training. Then, in chronological order, follow the letters that Rudolf Steiner wrote as an esoteric teacher, insofar as they have been preserved and are known. The letters to Mathilde Scholl were provided by the Goetheanum.
  The times given in the letters for the beginning of meditation are related to the phases of the moon. 1
• 2. This letter is not available.

On February 11, 1903, Mathilde Scholl had written to Rudolf Steiner:

...In connection with our conversation, I would now like to ask the following. On plate XXVI of Leadbeater's book [“Man visible & invisible”] is the aura of one of Buddha's disciples, a disciple who has reached the fourth stage on the path, the stage of an arhat. The aura is concentrically arranged, the color sequence from the center:

1) yellow = intelligence
2) pink = love
3) light blue = devotion
4) green = compassion (sympathy)
5) violet = spirituality

all this surrounded by a rainbow-colored or rather mother-of-pearl-colored halo and permeated by living rays of light emanating from the body of the Arhat. - Leadbeater says that the order of the colors can be used to identify the type of Arhat or Master.

To which species or hierarchy could a being belong whose aura, starting from the center, first shows 1) light blue = devotion and then 2) pink = love. The arrangement is also concentric, just like the aura shown - but no colors other than light blue and pink were visible. [In a dream experience.] However, the physical body appeared only in outline and transparent, not three-dimensional, and in it appeared centers (like the swastika or like wheels) that turned in the fastest motion around themselves and emitted light. The face had the features and expression of Master M.

If you can or may tell me who this being is or how I can find an explanation myself, I would be happy.

Should a merger of the E.S. in Germany be possible at a later date, I would be delighted. Some external things are still of help to me. For example, I would love to have proper instructions for my studies. At the beginning, that is, two and a half years ago, the instruction was given as to which verses I should memorize each evening. But since no further instructions were given, I went through the Bhagavad Gita in this way and then the “Voice of Silence,” which I have now reached at the end of the second book. It would be a help for me not to study without guidance and to know, for example, in the morning during meditation that many are focusing their thoughts on the same thing as me – to know that others are studying the same book as me, and many other things.

Rudolf Steiner replied as follows:

Dearest Miss Scholl!

I should have written to you long ago. However, my obligations regarding “Lucifer” ¹ had a somewhat oppressive effect on everything else. Now it will finally come out in a few days; and then I will hopefully also get down to quite regular work. In any case, I will not wait so long to answer in the future as has unfortunately been the case up to now.

First, let me address your main question. The aura you describe is not clear enough for me to be able to say anything substantial about it. You say nothing about rays emanating from the being described. Now, in a more advanced human being, rays are always present in the causal body. These rays are namely the expression of the active forces that the person inflicts on his advancing karma. It seems that what you describe is not a causal body image. However, I do not want to say that we are not dealing with a highly developed being in your case. But then it could only be the projection of the causal body in mental matter. And in this case, I do not understand the swastikas, which again point to an astral element. I therefore request that you write to me with more details about this matter. I would like us to be clear about this.²

It would be quite nice if the newer members of the E.S. in Germany would in some way join together more closely. We need this in Germany in particular. For the E.S. must become the soul of the Theosophical Society. In Germany it must do so even more so because for a long time to come we can only hope for deeper, inner cooperation among individuals, and larger circles will only join externally. But the individuals will form a more loyal, secure and powerful base. And we need that, because we have come so far astray.

In Weimar, everything went quite well. We now also have a lodge there. The lectures were extremely well attended. I would like to come to Cologne for a variety of reasons, to give a lecture there as well. Please, maybe you can prepare the ground there a little. Much, very much depends on us creating new centers. Up to now almost all German Theosophists have sought a connection with the English mother movement that was much too loose. And only from this, in the most intimate connection with it, must we now work. There was too much of a tendency towards dogmatics in Germany, towards the mere intellectual grasp of doctrines, while there is no real understanding of living spirituality. Only when we awaken this latter, when we open our eyes to the fact that for the progress of the theosophical current it is not enough to learn the dogmas (Hartmann), but to belong spiritually to the central individualities from whom wisdom originates and in whom it has its continuous source: - only then can we move forward. We must make it clear, not through words but through imponderables, that it is a matter of the continuous fertilization of the bearers of the T.S. by central individualities. Only those who work esoterically will fully understand all these things; but for that, they must also stand together in a clearly conscious and forceful way, awakening the others.

It was deeply satisfying for me to be able to spend a few hours with you in Düsseldorf. It is the kind of satisfaction we feel when we see others on the road where the mile markers always point forward. For the Theosophist, there is only one gate through which one should pass only once, and which one should not enter a second time, to go back.

In Germany, we have only four or five very secure personalities. And that is why we have to work intensively. If we do that, we will find the ways and means to move forward. If we do not find these ways and means in Germany, then we would be neglecting something now that cannot be remedied so quickly.

My next exoteric task is to spread the teaching as much as I can. I hope, my dearest and most esteemed Miss Scholl, that you are settling in well in Cologne and are able to work there for our cause and to your satisfaction. How are the people in your care?

Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain sincerely yours

Rudolf Steiner

• 1. The journal founded and edited by R. Steiner. See GA 34.
• 2. In response, Mathilde Scholl wrote the following on May 7, 1903: “...Thank you very much for answering my question. The vision I described to you did indeed radiate light, and this light seemed to bubble up from the swastikas located on the head and upper body. In fact, only the head and upper body were visible, and only in outline. The being did not appear corporeal, but seemed to be only a luminous apparition. But the impression was so strong that I believed in the dream that I threw myself at the feet of this being and lost consciousness. Upon awakening, everything was vividly before my eyes and I felt the inner emotion for a long time afterwards. At first I did not look for an explanation at all. It was only through Leadbeater's book that I understood how it is possible to see such an arrangement of colors. But I would like to know who this being was, because even if it seemed to have the features of Master M., it may just as well have been based on my individual mood as on reality.” [The answer to this question is not known.]

Günther Wagner had written to Rudolf Steiner on 14 November 1903:

Dear Doctor,

I am sending you the manuscript of Leadbeater's article “Our Behavior Towards Children” by the same mail, which you asked for when I was in Berlin, to print it in “Lucifer”. ¹

It was a great pleasure to meet you at the annual conference, and I hope that we will continue to work together and support each other for many years to come.

I would be grateful if you could give me some specific information: the hint about a mystery that every race has to solve was completely new to me; I did not find anything about it in “Secret Doctrine”. Would you be able to tell me the four mysteries that the first four races (apparently) solved? I would also like to read H. P. B.'s suggestion about this, perhaps you could give me the exact place.²

In the meantime, yours sincerely,

Günther Wagner

Rudolf Steiner replied as follows:

Strictly confidential!

Dear Mr. Wagner!

Page 73 of the (German edition) “Secret Doctrine” reads with reference to verse I, 6 (Dzyan): “Of the seven truths or revelations, only four are given to us, since we are still in the fourth round.” When you were in Berlin, I suggested, in the sense of a certain occult tradition, that the fourth of the seven truths mentioned above goes back to seven esoteric root truths, and that of these seven partial truths (the fourth regarded as a whole) one is delivered to each race as a rule. The fifth will become quite evident when the fifth race has reached its goal of development. Now I would like to answer your question as best I can. At present, the situation is such that the first four partial truths form meditation sentences for the aspirants of the mysteries and that nothing more can be given than these (symbolic) meditation sentences. From them, then, many higher things emerge occultly for the meditator. I therefore set out the four meditation sentences here – translated into German from the symbolic sign language:

I. Sense according to: how the point becomes a sphere and yet remains itself. Have you grasped how the infinite sphere is only a point after all, then come again, for then the infinite will seem finite to you.

II. Sense: how the seed becomes an ear of corn, and then come again, for then you will have grasped how the living lives in number.

III. Sense: how light longs for darkness, heat for cold, how the male longs for the female, then come again, for then you will have grasped what face the great dragon at the threshold will show you.

IV. Sense according to: how to enjoy hospitality in a strange house, then come again, for then you have grasped what is in store for him who sees the sun at midnight.

Now, if the meditation was fruitful, the fifth secret arises from the four. For the time being, let me just say that Theosophy - the partial theosophy that lies, for example, in the “Secret Doctrine” and its esotericism - is a sum of partial truths of the fifth. You will find a hint as to how to go beyond this in the letter from Master K.H. [Kuthumi], quoted by Sinnett, which begins with the following words: “I have every word to read...” In the first (German) edition of Occult World, it can be found on pages 126 and 127.¹

I can only assure you that almost the entire fifth secret is hidden in an occult way in the sentence by K.H. (page 127), “When science has learned how impressions of leaves originally come about on stones...”.

That is all I can say for the time being about your questions. More perhaps in response to further questions.

The four sentences above are what are called living sentences, i.e. they germinate during meditation and sprouts of knowledge grow out of them.

With happy Christmas greetings in faithful union,

Rudolf Steiner

Berlin W, Motzstrasse 17

• 1. Published in No. 7 of December 1903 of the journal “Lucifer”, founded and edited by Rudolf Steiner. Journal for the Life of the Soul and Intellectual Culture - Theosophy.
• 2. The question refers to statements made by Rudolf Steiner at the first general assembly of the German Section in Berlin on October 18, 1903, which Günther Wagner attended. See page 255f. in the appendix to “The Masters of Wisdom and the Harmony of Feelings” (section “Rudolf Steiner's Work and the Fifth of the Seven Great Mysteries of Life”).
• 1. The wording from Occult World by A.P. Sinnett reads: Naturally I wanted to know more about this; was it a process by which thoughts could be expressed more quickly than by the ones we know? And with regard to letters received, were they read by the occult recipient in the usual way, or did he understand the content without this?
  K.H.'s answer was: I have to read every word you write, otherwise I would make a real mess of it. And whether it happens with my physical or my spiritual eye, it takes the same amount of time. The same can be said of my answers; whether I dictate or precipitate them or write them myself, the difference in the time saved is very small. I first have to think them over, then carefully photograph each word, each sentence, in my brain before it can be repeated by precipitation. Just as in photography, the fixing of images on chemically prepared plates, requires a prior arrangement within the focus of the object to be represented – otherwise, as can often be seen in bad photographs, the legs of the seated person are out of proportion to the head, etc. — so too must we first organize our sentences, and imprint on our mind every letter that is to appear on the paper before it can be read. That is all I am allowed to tell you for now. When science has learned more about the secret of lithophyl (or lithobiblion), and how the impressions of leaves originally come about on stones, then it will be possible for me to make the process clearer to you. Above all, you must know and remember one thing: that we only follow nature and copy it exactly in its works.
  Regarding these so-called precipitated master letters, see the editor's preliminary remarks on the separation from the Esoteric School of Theosophy on page 263f. 1

Berlin, December 24, 1903

Dearest Miss Scholl!

Warmest Christmas greetings to you three, ¹ And the news that you will receive the diplomas and the exegesis for “L.a.d.W.” [“Licht auf den Weg” – “Light on the Way”] on Saturday. Please be patient until then.

Kind regards,

Dr. Rudolf Steiner
Berlin W, Motzstrasse 17

• 1. Refers to Mathilde Scholl's friends and housemates, Maud and Eugen Künstler.

Berlin, December 28, 1903

Dearest Fräulein Scholl.

Please find below the beginning of the interpretation of “Light on the Path”.¹ This is intended to provide a way to meditate on the book. I will continue the interpretation for you as soon as possible.

I will send the diplomas at the latest tomorrow. I would like this letter to go out to you immediately. Give my warmest regards to your dear housemates [Künstlers]

Please accept our warmest regards,

Dr. Rudolf Steiner
Berlin W, Motzstrasse 17

• 1. See appendix page 441.

Berlin, December 28, 1903

Dearest Madam!

I trust you have continued the exercises in the manner you began. I would now ask you to proceed in January in exactly the same way as I described in my last letter.¹ I would only ask you to replace the sentence I gave at the time with the following:

Every being you give your love to opens up its nature to you; for unkindness is a veil that covers the things of the world. As much as you radiate love, so much knowledge flows to you.

I would like to add a few words to help us understand this meditation sentence. It is absolutely true that we receive as much knowledge from the world as we ourselves radiate love. However, we must not believe that we are immediately aware of all knowledge in every phase of life. Much is unconscious in us at first. And that is why I ask you to continue the meditation steadfastly. Only by doing this, and by realizing that every day we dedicate to it is not lost, will we make progress. Every day stores knowledge in us; and the day will surely come when it will appear to us in full consciousness. The sentences we meditate on are not intellectual constructs that we are merely supposed to grasp. I can only say again and again: these are living sentences, and we are meant to live with them as we do with children. We know children very well, of course, and yet we deal with them anew every day. So it should be with our meditation sentences.

So everything else in your meditation remains the same in January as it was; only the sentence from December is replaced by the one given above. I ask you, dearest gracious lady, always to continue everything as it was given, until I write to you again. You can be sure that you will receive the appropriate letter from time to time. If it happens a few days after the expected time, it will not hurt.

It was very nice that I also saw you for the last time in Cologne. I would have liked to have visited you again then - but time was so pressing. Lohf has now opened up the prospect that at least 6 people will be found in Düsseldorf with whom he can reconstruct the branch. That would be highly desirable. I know, dear lady, that you are doing all you can. I also know how difficult everything is. But our combined efforts must succeed, as the Theosophical movement demands of those who recognize its importance. No one can then evade this movement once they have recognized its significance.

I hope to see you again very soon.

Sincerely,

Dr. Rudolf Steiner
Berlin W, Motzstrasse 17

• 1. This letter is not available.

Berlin, February 24, 1904

Dear Ms. Smits!

I hope to see you in the next few days. Miss Scholl wrote to me that you want to get a few people together in Düsseldorf on Monday. It will be nice, even if there are only a few of us. Please choose a suitable hour. I will do whatever you think is appropriate.

I am very happy to be able to speak to you again about your meditation. I hope that everything has gone well so far. I will give you precise instructions about how to continue when I am with you.

So goodbye and take care,

Dr. Rudolf Steiner
Berlin W, Motzstrasse 17

Berlin, May 18, 1904

Dearest Fräulein Scholl!

I have just returned from London. On the way here, I gave a lecture in Hannover.¹

It is now my task to respond to your meditation work. Your letter of the 15th of this month expresses a feeling that you have towards your inner experience.². You say, “I am no longer distressed when I feel the spiritual life less strongly at times.” This is the right mood of serenity, which must increasingly dominate the inner worker. The right progress will come more and more as you get into the mood: to accept everything in silence and devotion, whatever may come. You must not want to force anything, but calmly wait for what is to come. However it may appear to you, you have come further and will continue to come further. I have also spoken about you to Mrs. Besant in this regard. For it was essentially my mission now in London to speak with Mrs. Besant about the E.S. and her task in Germany. Now Mrs. Besant could appoint me “Arch-Warden of the E.S.” with the stipulation that what I do is done in her own name. The next thing I had to discuss with her was to accept you as a member of the School of the First Degree. In a few days I shall send you the Rules of the First Degree, and you will then tell me how you stand. But for the time being, I have to tell you that by being accepted into the “first degree,” the members of the E.S. come into real occult contact with the spiritual current that emanates from the Masters, and that over time you become more and more aware of this, even if it is perhaps slowly. I can fully represent to the “blessed masters” that you have reached the level of admission. I will share with you what I have to tell you orally when we meet again, probably in Amsterdam. ³ The success of the German Theosophical movement depends on our having a core of people who work esoterically. You are chosen to help in this direction above all. These are serious words that I address to you, but you are always ready to take seriousness seriously.

I will write to you more about everything else in this regard soon.

I enclose the diploma for Miss v. Dessauer.⁴ Please take care of everything else with Miss v. Sivers.

So things are going well in Cologne. It would be quite necessary for the formal merger to take place in Düsseldorf soon as well.

Warmest regards to you and your colleagues.

Yours,

Dr. Rudolf Steiner
Berlin W, Motzstrasse 17

• 1. On May 15, 1904, a public lecture on “Birth and Death in the Life of the Soul, a Look at the Theosophical Worldview” (no transcript).
• 2. This letter is not available.
• 3. At the congress of the Federation of European Sections of the Theosophical Society in June 1904.
• 4. Refers to membership of the Theosophical Society.

On July 13, 1904, Mathilde Scholl wrote to Rudolf Steiner:

Mrs. Lübke has just written to me that she has signed the “pledge” in England and draws my attention to the fact that I should ask you to have me sign the “pledge” as well, if you are not yet able to send me the other papers. She writes that some changes have been made at the school, but she cannot give me any details about them until I have signed the pledge.

I have not said anything about not having signed yet or not having received any papers because I did not think it was that important. However, since Mrs. Lübke seems to be concerned about this, I am letting you know. Since you and Mrs. Besant have taken me in, I consider this alone to be important. You know my attitude completely, regardless of whether I make a special promise orally or in writing. You know that I am basically willing to do

whatever might be demanded of me.

I do not understand how external changes in the school can influence the degree of development of the human being.

However, there must be something serious and important in this, since Mrs. Lübke, whose right hand is unusable and under medical treatment, wrote to me with great difficulty with her left hand. I am certainly grateful to her for it, but I believe she is worrying in vain. You will see what you want to do...

Rudolf Steiner replied as follows:

Dear Miss Scholl!

I am sending you the pledge in the attachment. Please copy it out and send me your copy with your signature to pass on to Mrs. Besant.¹ The pledge contains what unites the members of the E.S. Of course, all the obligations that the Shrâvaka has already taken on continue to apply. As soon as you have sent me the signed pledge, I will also send you some provisional papers. Nothing else can be provided at the moment, but soon.

Please do not worry about possible changes at the school. Such things never affect the inner development of the individual members, but rather the school's work on the physical plane, as it extends from the higher to the physical plane in the world. Of course, one must always consider what is good for the world. You, who are a loyal and devoted student of E.S., and who are definitely on the right path, will not be significantly affected by the changes.²

The individual points of the pledge must be kept if we want to make progress on the occult path. But there is no need to be pedantic about everything. It depends solely on the attitude. How one can support the Theosophical movement is entirely up to one's own decision. It may be necessary, due to one's position or circumstances, not to say to the world that one is a Theosophist. But if one works seriously, however quietly, one has kept one's word.

It is important to watch one's speech so that one offends fewer and fewer others by it. This leads to the opening of the gate that the masters close. The weaknesses of others should never find our censure – at least not in our hearts – but we should try to understand them in every way.

Every E.S. disciple takes on the study as a duty.

You will soon receive the interpretation of “L.a.d. W.” [“Licht auf den Weg” – “Light on the Path”].³ I will answer everything else this week as well.

Best Wishes,

Dr. Rudolf Steiner
Berlin W, Motzstrasse 17

• 1. Sent on July 15 with the following cover letter:
  "I am sending you the ‘pledge’ enclosed. I give it gladly and wholeheartedly in every respect. I hope to fulfill it as faithfully as possible.
  Thank you very much for your kind words. I always draw a great deal of strength, courage and peace of mind from what you tell me, and also from what you say in your writings, such as the last issue of “Lucifer”. Much as I rejoice in every line from you and much as I shall enjoy the continuation of the exegesis of “Licht auf den Weg zu bekommen,” I beg you to write it only when you can find time, without taking anything from the time that is absolutely necessary for your rest. Above all, your strength must be preserved for us. Therefore, you should not overwork yourself physically either. We are all concerned about this. But I trust that you also see it as necessary to maintain yourself for the world and for us. We all want to and need to hear and learn so much from you.
• 2. Further details not known.
• 3. See letter dated 9 August 1904

Berlin, August 2, 1904

Dear, dear Miss Wagner!

Today I am able to send you the first information regarding the E.S. It is necessary to start by talking about the meaning of the school. The Esoteric School is an occult institution, that is, it is under the direction of highly developed individuals. These are people who have already gone through the path that the majority of people still have to take. Such highly developed individuals possess a high degree of wisdom, are endowed with an unlimited source of love for humanity and with the gift of helping those who want to walk the path of perfection.

Those who enter the order of the Shrâvakas undertake nothing more than to consciously work towards their own perfection, so that they may increasingly become servants in the perfection of the whole human race. Of course, everyone can only do as much as is within their power. The school demands nothing. It only wants to provide the means by which everyone can perfect themselves as is necessary for themselves and for humanity. And to achieve this, the aforementioned perfect individuals provide occult assistance. Those who sign the “promise” begin to be influenced by these perfect individuals in a way that they may initially be completely unaware of. In this way, he works for the benefit of all humanity simply by belonging to the school. All the obligations that the [shrâvaka] takes on are only for his own benefit. For without keeping these obligations, it is impossible to achieve the set goal; and membership of the school would be pointless.

Dear Miss Wagner! I will now explain to you very briefly what needs to be done. You can only start with everything on August 18. And at that time, I would ask you to begin. For reasons known only to the occultist, the beginning must be made at very specific times. All this will become clear to you later.

Then the following would be to be done. 1. In the evening, before you go to rest - preferably before you fall asleep - I ask you to repeat the following sentence in your mind every evening:

Brighter than the sun
Purer than the snow
Finer than the ether
Is the Self,
The Spirit in my heart.
That Self is me,
I am that Self.¹

Once you have thought this through, but thought it through in such a way that no extraneous thought intrudes into your consciousness while you hold this sentence in front of you, then spend four to five minutes looking back over the experiences of the day. I ask you to let these experiences of the day pass before your mind's eye and to realize how you feel about these events. You observe yourself and ask yourself whether and to what extent you are in agreement with yourself, what you could have experienced better, what you could have done better. In this way you become your own observer. The idea is to observe yourself from a higher point of view, and gradually the “higher self” becomes the ruler over the everyday person. In doing so, however, everything that is equivalent to worry or grief about what has been experienced should be avoided. We should merely learn from our own lives, make it a lesson. We should not think of the past with regret – there is time enough for that during the rest of the day – but bravely use this past for the future. Then we learn for our present personal existence, and we learn above all for the time that lies beyond death.

When you have completed this kind of review of the day, you fall asleep with thoughts of the people you love and want to help. This may be followed by the presentation of an ideal of life with which you are particularly involved.

Now in the morning. As soon as possible after awakening, a little meditation is to be done. It consists of the following:

1. Recalling the above thought: “Radiant...”

2. The actual meditation (6-8 minutes)

I ask you to take a sentence each day from the “Nachfolge Christi” (The Imitation of Christ) by Thomas a Kempis. This is done as follows.

For the first eight days, take a sentence from the third chapter, “Happy the man whom truth...” Memorize this sentence so that it is completely in your mind. Then, for the indicated six to eight minutes, fill your entire consciousness with this sentence. All other thoughts should be excluded. In this way we absorb such a spiritually living sentence into our entire being. We permeate ourselves with it. And its power radiates through everything we do and are. You keep the same sentence every day for 8 days. Then comes the next sentence and so on.

The third part of the morning meditation is devotion to that which is divine and sacred to us, for example to Christ. This should take at least 4 to 6 minutes and consist of devotional worship of our Holy Being.

These are all the exercises for the time being. Through these exercises, it becomes possible for the perfect beings (masters) to approach us and to take us up into the stream that leads to perfection. Regarding 6. of the rules ² I only note that the only exception in which a sip of wine may be taken is at the Holy Supper; there is no harmful effect because it is a ceremony. This abstinence should, however, be strictly observed. It is not a matter of fulfilling a duty towards the school, but of promoting perfection. Especially for the Shrâvaka it will suffice if alcohol consumption is avoided in the main. But here too, better is better.

I shall write the third book shortly.³ Engel is [Julius] Engel in Berlin. He translated the “letters that helped me”.⁴ However, I ask you not to practice the things that are indicated there for the time being, but... [end of letter missing].

• 1. See page 447.
• 2. The letter was accompanied by rules and a promise text, see page 139.
• 3. This presumably refers to “Occult Science: An Outline” as the third Theosophical book (the first book is “Christianity as Mystical Fact” (1902), the second “Theosophy” (May 1904). Secret Science was originally planned as the second part of Theosophy and announced as being in preparation from 1905, but due to overwork it could not appear until the end of 1909. 3
• 4. “Letters that helped me”. Collected by Jasper Niemand [pseudonym for Julia Campbell Ver Plank, who has been Archibald Keightley's wife since 1891]. Translation from English by Julius Engel. Self-published, Charlottenburg, no year. The original English edition was published in 1891. New edition “Letters That Have Helped Me” by William Q. Judge (compiled by Jasper Niemand), Theosophical University Press, Pasadena, California. 1981).