Stages of Higher Knowledge. Rudolph Steiner

inclined to dismiss them as only fancy, a mere outcome of the imagination. This is easily understood, for at present man is accustomed to call that alone “real” which he finds, without his own effort, on the sure foundation of the perceptions of his senses. He must first train himself to accept as real things which are caused in quite another way, and in this matter he cannot be too careful to avoid falling into fantasy. The capacity to decide between reality and illusion in these higher regions can only come by experience, and this experience must be gained in a quiet, patient inner life. He must be prepared to find illusion playing sorry tricks with him, and images presenting themselves which are the result of some delusion of the outer senses or of abnormal life. Once, however, he has learned completely to choke the sources of fantasy he will have achieved Imagination, and it will be clear to him that the world which he has now entered is not only just as real as the world of sense but more so.

      In the third stage of knowledge images no longer appear. We now have to deal with Concept and Ego. Whereas in the second stage there was still a world of images around us, reminding us of the moments when a vivid memory conjured up impressions from the outer world without ourselves receiving such impressions, these images are absent in the third stage. We live henceforth in a purely spiritual world. Those accustomed to confine themselves to the senses will be tempted to believe that this world is pale and colourless, but such is far from being the case. Neither is there anything pale or shadowy about the image-world of the second stage, although this is what the images of the memory are for the most part, when the physical objects have vanished. The pictures of the imagination possess in truth a vivacity and a comprehensiveness which far surpass those of the shadowy memory-pictures of the sensible world, and even the glowing and ever changing physical world itself. As compared with the realm of imagination the latter is but a shadow.

      But how to portray this world of the third stage of knowledge ! Nothing in the world of sense can give any idea of its wealth and abundance. That which was provided by Sensation in the first stage, and by Imagination in the second, is here provided by “Inspiration.” Inspiration gives the impression, and the ego forms the concept. If we really insist upon a comparison with the realm of sense this other world is that region opened up to us by the sense of hearing, the world of tones, not the tones of earthly music, but with those which are purely spiritual. We begin to “hear” what is going on within the various objects; the stone, the plant and so forth, become “spiritual words.” The world begins to express its own true nature to the soul. Grotesque though it may appear, it is literally true that at this stage of knowledge we “hear” in spirit the growing of the grass. The form of the crystal is perceived as sound, and the opening blossom “speaks.” The inspired man is able to perceive the inner nature of the world, and his soul beholds the resurrection of all things in a new form. He speaks the language of another world, a language which alone can make the everyday world comprehensible.

      Lastly, in the fourth stage of knowledge, Inspiration also ceases. Of the several factors which man observes in everyday knowledge the ego alone now comes into consideration. The attainment of this stage by the occult student is marked by a very definite inner experience. This manifests itself in the feeling that he no longer stands outside the things and occurrences which he recognizes, but is within them. Images are not the objects themselves, but only what the objects express. Again, what Inspiration gives is not the object, but only an utterance of it. But that which now lives within the soul is indeed the object itself. The ego has poured itself forth over all things and has merged itself in them. The life of things in the soul is now Intuition, and it is literally true to say of Intuition that “through it man glides into all things.”

      In ordinary life man has but one “Intuition,” that of the ego itself. For the ego can in no way be perceived externally; it can only be experienced within. A simple consideration will make this fact clear: in the outer world the same name may be applied by different people to the same thing. Psychologists do not lay sufficient stress on this, and at first sight it may appear unimportant, in but to those who fully understand it is of the most far reaching significance. Anyone may refer to an object or person by name, but there is only one word which each can apply to himself alone, and that is the word “I.” No other can say “I” to me, since to everyone else I am “you,” just as everyone else is a “you” to me. Only of myself can I say “I,” and this is because each one of us lives not outside but within the “I.” In the same way, in Intuitive Cognition, a man lives in all things, and this perception of the ego is the type of all intuitive knowledge. And in order thus to enter into all things we must begin by coming out of our self, must become “selfless,” before we can blend with the self the ego of another being.

      Meditation and Concentration constitute the sure method by which this stage, as also the earlier ones, may be attained, and it is essential that these be practised in quietness and patience. None may violently and forcibly ascend to the higher worlds. The realities of those regions do not approach us in the same way as do those of the sensible world, which is coarse and crude; rich and vivid they are, but also rare and subtle. The vital point is to accustom ourselves to regard as “real” something quite other than what we so designate in the realm of sense, and it is because it is not altogether easy to do so that many who would fain tread the Occult Path are frightened away at the first steps. Expecting to encounter objects that are like tables and chairs, for example, they find “spirits” in their place and straightway dismiss the latter as “imaginings.” The fault lies only in unfamiliarity with spirits. First, then, must be acquired a right attitude to the spiritual world, and then that which is spiritual will not only be beheld but recognized. A great part of occult training is connected with this proper acknowledgement and assessment of the spiritual.

      ^* See Knowledge of Higher Worlds and its Attainment; The Road to Self Knowledge; The Threshold of the Spiritual World.

      ^* See Knowledge of Higher Worlds and its Attainment.

      Chapter II

      SLEEP

      IN order to come to an understanding of Imaginative Cognition, the condition of sleep must be considered. So long as man has reached no higher than Material Cognition, his soul, although it lives during sleep, is unable to perceive anything in the world in which it then dwells. It is in that world like a blind man in the world of matter who is unable to perceive the light and colour about him. From the outer sense-organs—the eye, the ear, the normal activity of the brain, and so forth—the soul, in sleep, has withdrawn and receives no impressions through the senses. What, then, is it doing during sleep?

      In waking life it is in a state of constant activity, receiving impressions of the outer senses and working upon them. That is its occupation. This ceases during sleep, but it is not then idle; it works upon its own body. The latter is worn out by the activities of the day, fatigue ensues, and during sleep the soul prepares the body for further waking work. Proper sleep is therefore all-important for the development of the body, for if the soul is not allowed to effect the needful work of repair, deterioration of the body is the inevitable result. The forces with which the soul works here are the same as those it puts forth during the waking state; in the latter case, however, they are used to take in impressions from the outer senses and to work upon them.

      When Imaginative Cognition appears, part of the forces expended upon the body in sleep must be used in another way; they form the spiritual sense-organs, and thus enable the soul not merely to exist in the higher worlds but to perceive therein. Thus the soul, instead of working only on the body, works also upon itself. This result is brought about by meditation, concentration, and other exercises. Particular directions for the exercises can only be imparted from man to man, as has often been stated in my other articles and essays on the attainment of the Higher Knowledge. No one should attempt such exercises on his own account, for only those with experience are capable of judging what will be the result, to any individual, of withdrawing the activity of the soul from the body and applying it to a higher purpose.

      Meditation, Concentration, and other exercises, cause the soul to withdraw for a time from its connection with the sense-organs; it is then sunk in itself and its activity is turned inwards. In the first stages of this process the soul’s inner activity does not indeed differ seriously from its daily work. The same representations, feelings and