The Gates of Knowledge STEINER PDF

THE GATES OF
KNOWLEDGE
WITH AN ADDITIONAL CHAPTER ENTITLED
PHILOSOPHY AND THEOSOPHY
BY
RUDOLF STEINER
Ph.D. (Vienna)
AUTHORISED TRANSLATION FROM THE GERMAN
G, PUTNAM'S SONS
P.
NEW YORK AND LONDON

Gbe Ifcnfckerboc&er press
1912
"B*
Copyright, 1912
BY
MAX GYSI
MAX GYSI, Editor

1
Adyar," Park Drive,
. London, N. W.
In view of the many unauthorised translations of Dr. RUDOLF

STEINER'S works, the Publishers beg to give notice that all Author-
ised Editions, issued under the Editorship of Mr. Max Gysi, bear the
Symbol overleaf (Cross in Pentagram).
Zbe ftnfcftetftocfcer press, Hew gorfc

AUTHORIZED TRANSLATIONS
OF
Works by Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D. (Vienna)
THE SUBMERGED CONTINENTS OF ATLANTIS

AND LEMURIA. Their History and Civilization.
Being Chapters from the Akashic Records. Authorized
Translation from the German.
It will be sufficient to indicate the nature of its contents
by quoting a few chapter-headings from this important
work, which deals with the beginnings of humanity up to
our present civilization: Our Atlantean Forefathers; The
Lemurian Era; Woman in the Third Root-Race; The First,
or Polar, Race; The Second, or Hyperborean, Race, etc.
THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN from the Stand-

point of Theosophy. Authorized Translation from the
Second German Edition.
The gradual unfolding of the sense of individuality,
the growth of tastes, inclinations, and distinguishing
characteristics, often so perplexing to the most loving and
watchful parents, are all matters touched on here with the
illuminated wisdom and reverence that have already-
stamped the works of this great teacher with the impress
of profound truth.
MYSTICS OF THE RENAISSANCE, and Their Relation

to Modern Thought. Authorized Translation from the
German by Bertram Keightley, M.A.
In this volume we find the Mystical and Theosophical
thought- world of the Middle Ages probed to its very
depths by the searchlight of clear and incisive modern
criticism. It shows us what the often misinterpreted con-
ceptions of Boehme, Eckhart, Paracelsus, Giordano
Bruno, and others may have to offer to men in our day,
and the relationship in which these great masters of the
past stand to modern Science and Religion.
—
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. The Four Modes of Knowledge i
II. The Occult Functions of Sleep 19
III. The Pupil and His Teacher . 40
IV. Inspiration .... 68
V. Inspiration and Intuition . . 98
VI. Philosophy and Theosophy . 123
ili
The Gates of Knowledge
CHAPTER I
THE FOUR MODES OF KNOWLEDGE
IN the chapters to which these are a

sequel, the Path to the Higher Know-
ledge has been traced up to the point of
meeting with the two Guardians of the
Threshold. The relation in which the soul
stands to the different worlds, as gradually
it climbs the steps of knowledge will now
be described. This comprises what may
be called "the teachings of Occult
Science."
Before man enters the Path of the
Higher Knowledge, he only knows the
first of its four stages. It is the one which
2 THE GATES OF KNOWLEDGE
in ordinary life belongs strictly to the

world of the senses. Even in what is
called " science," he has to do only with

this first grade of knowledge; for such
science only deals with ordinary know-
more minutely and in a disciplined
ledge
way. By means of instruments such as
the microscope, the telescope, etc., he
makes the more effective, and
senses
discloses to them what they could not
otherwise perceive. But he is still on the
same plane of knowledge, whether he
sees large things with the naked eye, or
observes very small objects and pheno-
mena by the aid of a microscope. Also
in the application of thought to facts
and things, such science still remains in
the field of every-day life. Man arranges
the objects, describes and compares them,
seeks to picture to himself their varia-
tions, and so forth. The keenest natur-
FOUR MODES OF KNOWLEDGE 3
alist does nothing fundamentally, in this

respect, beyond bringing to a fine art the
methods of investigating every-day life.
His knowledge takes a wider range,

becomes more complex and more logical,
but he does not come one step nearer to

any other mode of cognition.
In Occult Science this first stage of
knowledge is called the material mode
of cognition. This is followed by three
higher; and there are yet others further
on. They shall be explained here before
proceeding further with the description of
the Path of Knowledge. Beginning with
the ordinary method of scientific cogni-
tion, of apprehension through the senses,
we shall have to differentiate the following
four stages:
1. Material Knowledge.
2. Imaginative Knowledge.
3. Inspirational, called also " Know-

ledge of the nature of Will."
4. Intuitive Knowledge.
The stages that follow these will be

spoken of later. We must first be quite
clear as to what we are dealing with in
these different modes of cognition. In
the ordinary "sense knowledge" there
are four elements to be noticed: (1) The
object which makes an impression on the
senses; (2) The image which we form of
this object; (3) The idea by which we
come to a spiritual comprehension of the

object or event; (4) The "Ego" which
forms for itself the image and idea based
on the impression of the object. Before
we make for ourselves an image, a repre-
must be an object which
sentation, there
causes it. We do not form the object,
we only perceive it; and on the basis of
POUR MODES OF KNOWLEDGE 5
the object is the image formed. As long

as we are looking at an object we are
dealing with that alone; the moment we
turn away, we possess only the image of
it. The object is relinquished, but the
image remains " fixed" in the memory.
But man cannot stop at the image-
—
making stage, he must go on to ideas.
The distinction between " image" and
"idea" is absolutely necessary if we are
to be clear at this point. For instance,
let us picture to ourselves an object which
is circular in form; then turn away, and
retain a picture of the circle in the mem-
ory. But we have not yet the "concep-
tion" of a circle.- We only attain this
when we say to ourselves: "A circle is a
figure in which all points are equi-distant
from the centre." We
come to the
knowledge of a thing only when we have
formed a conception of it. There are
many circles —small, large, red, blue, and

so forth, but there is only one conception
"Circle." This will be more fully dealt
with as we proceed; for the present we
shall give only an outline of what is neces-
sary in order to distinguish the first four
steps in knowledge.
The fourth element which comes under
consideration in Material cognition is the
1 . '
'
ego ' In this is accomplished the union
of images and ideas. The ego stores up
the image in his memory. If this were
not the case, no continuous inner life
would be possible. The images of things
would remain only so long as the things

themselves had some effect on the soul.
But the inner life depends upon the link-
ing of one perception with another. The

ego finds his way in the world to-day
because, with certain objects, the images
of similar objects of yesterday re-appear.
'
It is obvious that the life of the soul would

be impossible if we could retain the
image of a thing only so long as the thing
itself stood before us.
In relation to ideas also, the ego forms
the unity. It combines its ideas and in
this way makes a survey —arrives at an
understanding of the world. This linking
up of ideas is what happens when one
1
'
forms a judgment. One who has only
'
'
scattered conceptions does not easily

find his way about in the world. All
man's activity depends on his capacity
to combine conceptions, that is, to form
opinions.
The Material mode of cognition con-
sists in receiving through the senses an
impression of things together with repre-
sentations of the outer world. Man has
the power of perceiving, or " sensibility.'
The impression received from "outside"
is also called " sensation." Therefore in
"material cognition" four elements have

to be considered: Sensation, Image, Con-
ception, Ego. In the next higher stage
of knowledge, the impression made upon
the physical senses, the "sensation" falls
away. There is no longer any outer

sense-object. There remain only three of
the factors to which man is accustomed
in ordinary knowledge: Image, Concep-
tion, and Ego. Ordinary knowledge in a
healthy individual creates no image and
no idea when there is no object present
to the outer senses. The ego is then
inactive. He who forms images of sen-
sible objects which do not actually exist
lives in fantasy.
But the occult student acquires this

very faculty of forming images even when
no external sense-object is present. Some-
thing else in him must take the place of
external objects. He must be able to

call up images when no object affects his
senses. Something else must take the
place of sensation; and this something is
Imagination. At this stage, images ap-
pear to the occult student exactly the
same as if a sensible object were making
an impression upon him; they are as
vivid and true as sense-images, yet they
come, not from the "material" world,
but from the world of soul and spirit.
The senses then remain entirely inactive.

It is evident that this faculty of forming
pregnant images without sense-impres-
sions must first be acquired. This is
accomplished through meditation, and

through the exercises which have been
described elsewhere. x The man confined
to the world of sense, lives within the
J
See The Way of Initiation, by Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D.
Third Edition. 237 pp. Cloth, crown 8 vo. 3/10 post free.
;
io THE GATES OF KNOWLEDGE
limits of a sphere of images which have

gained access to him through the senses.
But the imaginative man has a world of
images which he has drawn from a higher
source.
A very careful training is necessary in
order to distinguish delusion from reality
in this higher world of images. When
such images first enter a man's mind he
is inclined to say
: '
' Ah ! that is only fancy

a mere out-flow of my imagination."
This is quite comprehensible, for man is
accustomed at present to call that alone

"rear' which, without his own effort, he
finds on the sure foundation of the evi-
dence of his senses. And he must first
accustom himself to accept as "real"

things which are caused in quite another
way.
In this matter he cannot be too
careful not to fall into fantasy. The
THE FOUR MODES OF KNOWLEDGE n
capacity to decide, in these higher regions,

"
what is "real" and what is illusion,"
can only come by experience. And this
experience must be gained in a quiet,

patient inner life. We must be quite
prepared to find that at first Illusion plays
sorry tricks with us. Everywhere lurks

the possibility that images will present
themselves which are the result of some
delusion of the outer senses, or of abnor-
mal life. All such possibilities must first
be done away with. We must first com-

pletely arrest the flow of fancy then alone ;
can we achieve Imagination. When a

man has come so far, it will be clear to
him that the world which he has thus
entered is not only just as real as the
world of sense, but much more so.
In the third stage of knowledge, images

no longer appear. We have now to deal
only with the Conception and the ego.
Whereas in the second stage there was

still a world of images around us, remind-
ing us of the moment at which a vivid
memory conjures up instantaneously im-
pressions from the outer world, without
ourselves receiving such impressions, —in
the third stage even such images are ab-
sent. Man lives altogether in a spirit-
ual world. Those accustomed to confine
themselves to the senses will be tempted
to believe this world to be pale and
colourless. But this is far from being the
case. Neither has the image- world of the
second stage anything pale or shadowy
about it; though what the images
this is
of memory for the most part are, when

the physical objects have vanished. But
the pictures of the Imagination have a
vivacity and a comprehensiveness which
far surpass those of the shadowy
memory-pictures of the sensible world,
and even the gaudy and ever-changing

physical world itself. Even this is a
mere shadow beside the realm of Imagi-
nation.
But how shall we describe the world of
the third stage of knowledge? Nothing
in the world of sense can give any idea of
its wealth and luxuriance. That which
was Sensation in the first stage, Imagi-
nation in the second, here becomes "In-
'
spiration .
' Inspiration gives the impres-
sion, and the ego forms the idea. If
anything at all in the realm of sense can

be compared with this world, it is that
region opened up to us by the sense of
hearing, the world of tones. But now
we have to do, not with the tones of
earthly music, but with a purely spiritual
cadence. One begins to "hear" what is
going on at the heart of things. The

stone, the plant, and §q forth, become
" spiritual words.' ' The world begins

to express its true nature to the soul.
It sounds grotesque, but it is literally
true, that at this stage of knowledge one

" hears " in spirit the growing of the grass.
The form of the crystal is perceived as
"
sound; the opening blossom speaks' to'
man. The inspired man is able to realise

the inner nature of things his soul beholds
;
the resurrection of all things in a new

form. He speaks a language which be-
longs to another world, but which alone
can make the every-day world compre-
hensible.
Lastly, in the fourth stage of knowledge
Inspiration also ceases. Of the several
factors which man is accustomed to ob-
serve in every-day knowledge, the ego
alone remains to be considered. The
attainment of this stage by the occult
student is marked by a very definite
inner experience. This experience mani-

fests itself in the feeling that he no longer
stands outside the things and occurrences
which he recognises, but is within them.
Images are not objects, but only the
expression of them. Again, what Inspi-
ration gives is not an object, but only
an utterance of it. For that which now
lives within the soul is verily the object
itself. The ego has poured itself forth
over all beings; it has merged itself in
them. The life of things in the soul is
now Intuition; and when we say of

Intuition that "through it man glides
into all things,' this ' is literally true.
In ordinary life man has but one
'
' Intui-
tion," —that is, of the ego itself. For the
ego can in no way be perceived from with-
out; it can only be experienced within.
A simple consideration will make this fact
clear, and it is one which psychologists
have not used so forcibly as might be

wished. Insignificant as it may appear,
to those who understand it fully it is of
the most far-reaching significance. It is
as follows: in the outer world the same

name may be applied by all to the same
thing. Any one may call a table a
"table"; a tulip, a "tulip"; or address
Mr. Miller as "Mr. Miller." But there
is one word which each can apply to him-
self alone: it is the word "I." No other

person can say " I " to me. To every one
else I am "you," just as every one else
is a "you" to me. Only of myself can

I say "I." And this is because each man
lives, not outside, but within the "I."
And in the same way, in Intuitive Cogni-
tion, does a man live in all things. This
perception of the ego is the type of all
intuitive knowledge. And in order thus

to enter into all things, we must clearly
beginby coming out of our self. We

must become "selfless" before we can
blend the self, the ego, with another being.
Meditation and Concentration form
the sure method by which this stage, as
the earlier ones, may be reached. But it
is essential that these be practised in a

quiet and patient way. He who imagines
that he can violently and forcibly climb
into the higher worlds is greatly mistaken.
One who so believed would also make
the mistake of expecting the realities of
the higher regions to approach him in the
same way as those of the sensible world.
Rich and vivid as are the worlds to which
man may climb, they are rare and subtle,
while the world of sense is coarse and
rude. The most important thing to be
learned is that we must accustom our-
selves to regard as "real" something
quite other than that which we so desig-
nate in the realm of sense. And this

is not altogether easy. Herein lies the
reason why so many who would fain
tread the Occult Path are frightened
away at the first steps. They expect to
encounter things like tables and chairs,
and find, instead of these, "spirits."

And because "spirits" are not like tables
and chairs, they take them for "imagin-
ings." The fault lies only in their un-
familiarity with them. We must first
acquire the right attitude towards the

spiritual world; then shall we not only
behold that which is spiritual, but also
recognise it. And a great part of occult
training is concerned with this right recog-
nition and valuation of the spiritual.
CHAPTER II
THE OCCULT FUNCTIONS OF SLEEP
\
"
A/E must next consider the state of
sleep, if we are to come to any
understanding of Imaginative Know-

ledge. So long as man has attained to
no higher stage than Material Cogni-
tion, the soul, although it truly lives
during sleep, is unable to perceive any-
thing in the world in which it then
dwells. It is in this world like a blind
man in the world of matter. Such a one
lives in the midst of light and colour, but
is unable to perceive them. From the
outer sense-organs —the eye, the ear, the
ordinary activity of the brain, and so
forth —the soul, in sleep, has withdrawn.
19
It receives no impressions through the

senses. What, then, is it doing during
sleep?
We must realise clearly that in waking
life the soul is in a state of constant
activity. It takes in the impressions of
the outer senses and works upon them:

that is its occupation. This ceases during
sleep, but the soul is not then idle. Asleep
it works upon its own body. This is
worn out by the activity of the day,

which manifests itself in fatigue. And
during sleep the soul occupies itself with
its own body in order to prepare it for
further waking work. We see by this
how essential is good sleep for the main-

tenance of bodily health. The man who
does not sleep sufficiently, does not allow
his soul to execute upon the body the
needful work of repair; and the conse-
quence of this must be the deterioration

THE OCCULT FUNCTIONS OF SLEEP 21
of the body. The forces with which the

soul works upon the body in sleep are the
same with which it acts during the waking
state only in the latter case they are used
;
to take in impressions from the outer

senses and to work upon them.
Now when Imaginative Cognition
awakes in man, part of the force expended
upon the body in sleep must be employed
in another way. By these forces the
spiritual sense-organs are formed, which
enable the soul, not merely to exist in the
higher worlds, but also to take cogni-
sance in them. Thus the soul during
sleep works no longer upon the body
only, but also upon itself. This result is
brought about by meditation and con-
centration, and also by other exercises.
It has already often been stated in my
other books, giving the methods for the
attainment of the Higher Knowledge,
that the particular directions for these

exercises are given only from man to man.
No one should undertake such exercises
on his own account. For only those who
have experience of these things can judge
what will be the result, in any individual,
of withdrawing the activity of his 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 detachment, its inner
activity does not differ greatly from its
daily work. The same representations,

feelings, and sensations must be employed
in the work within as during ordinary
life. But the more it accustoms itself
to be in a measure blind and deaf to its

physical surroundings, the more it lives
within itself, the more fit does it become

for the inner achievements. And that
which is accomplished by meditation first
bears fruit in the condition of sleep.

When the soul is freed from the body at
night, that which has been quickened
in it by the exercises of the day, con-
tinues to work. Organs are formed in it,
by which it can come into relation with

its higher surroundings, in exactly the
same way as it has already come into
contact with the physical world through
the outer organs of sense. Out of the
darkness of the nocturnal environment
come forth visions of light from the higher
worlds. Subtle and intimate is this inter-
course at first.
It must always be borne mind that in

for a long time to come the act of waking
to the light of day will immediately draw
a dense veil over the experiences of the

night. The recollection of having per-
ceived something during the night, only
very slowly and gradually comes through.
For the disciple does not easily learn to
pay attention to the delicate images of his

soul, which in the course of his develop-
ment begin to mingle with the common
events of every-day sense-life.
At first, such images resemble what one
calls the accidental impressions gathered
by the soul. Everything depends upon
his learning to distinguish what is due to
the ordinary world from that which pre-
sents itself through his own being as a
manifestation from the higher worlds.
In a quiet, introspective mental life, he
must acquire this discernment. It is
necessary that he should first develop a

sense of the value and meaning of those
intimate soul-images which, like chance
impressions, mingle themselves with daily

life, but which are really recollections of
the nightly intercourse with a higher
world. As soon as one grasps these
images roughly and applies to them the
standards of the sense-life, they vanish
away.
It is clear from what has been said that,
owing to this work in a higher world,
the soul must withdraw from the body
part of the activity formerly bestowed
upon it with such care. It leaves it, to
a certain extent, alone. And the body
needs a substitute for that which the soul
did for it before. If it does not obtain
such a substitute, it runs the risk of fall-
ing a prey to maleficent powers. For we

must clearly recognise that man is con-
tinually exposed to the influences of his
surroundings. In fact, he maintains life
only through co-operation with his sur-

roundings. Among these we must con-

sider first the kingdom of visible Nature.
Man himself belongs to this visible
Nature. If there were no mineral, plant,

and animal kingdoms, and no human
beings around him, he could not live. If
an individual could be imagined as cut

off from the earth and lifted up into sur-
rounding space, he must inevitably perish

quickly as a physical being, just as the
hand will perish if cut off from the body.
The illusion of a hand that imagined that
it could exist without the body would be
no greater than that of a man who main-
tained that he could live as a physical
being without the mineral, vegetable,
and animal kingdoms, and the rest of
humanity.
But besides the above-named kingdoms
there are three others, which generally
escape the notice of man. These are the
THE OCCULT FUNCTIONS OP SLEEP 27
three elemental kingdoms, which stand

in a sense below the mineral kingdom.
There are beings who do not condense
into the mineral condition, but who are
none the less present and exert their
influence upon man. (Further informa-
tion concerning these elemental kingdoms
will be found in my Atlantis and Lemu-
ria* and also in the remarks upon them in
my Theosophy.) Man is thus exposed
to influences from kingdoms of Nature
which in a sense must be called invisible.
Now when the soul works upon the body,

a considerable part of its activity consists
in regulating the influences of the elemen-
tal kingdoms in such a way that they are
beneficial to man. But the instant the
soul withdraws part of its activity from
1
The Submerged Continents of Atlantis and Lemur ia.
By Rudolf Steiner, Ph.D.
Their History and Civilisation.
The Rajput Press, Chicago; Theosophical Publ., Soc. f
London.
the body, injurious powers from the

elemental kingdoms may get hold of it.
Herein lies one of the dangers of the

higher evolution. Care must therefore
be taken that the body is in itself acces-
sible only to the good influences of the
elemental world as soon as the soul is
withdrawn from it. If this be dis-
regarded, the ordinary man will be, to a

certain extent, physically and morally
injured, in spite of having gained access
to the higher worlds.
While the soul dwells in the higher
regions, pernicious forces steal into the
dense physical and etheric bodies. This
is the reason why certain bad qualities,
which, previous to this higher develop-

ment, had been held in check by the
regulating power of the soul, may now,
for lack of such power, become apparent.
Men who were formerly of good moral be-
haviour may, under such circumstances,

when they enter the higher worlds, reveal
all kinds of low propensities, —extreme
selfishness, untruthfulness, vindictiveness,
wrath, etc. No one need be alarmed by

this fact, or deterred from ascending into
the higher worlds, but care must be taken
to prevent the occurrence of such things.
The lower nature of man must be forti-
and made inaccessible to the danger-
fied
ous elemental influences. This can be

brought about by the conscious cultiva-
tion of certain virtues. These virtues
are set forth in the theosophical hand-
books dealing with spiritual develop-
ment; and here we have the reason why
they must be carefully sought after.
They are the following:

First of all, the pupil must deliberately,
continually, and in all things, recognise
the imperishable, the lasting; distinguish

it from the perishable, and turn his atten-

tion towards it. In all things and in all
beings he may assume and discern some-
thing which abides when the transitory
appearance has vanished. If I see a
plant, I can first observe it as it presents
itself to the senses ; and this no one should
neglect to do. For no one will be able to
discover the permanent in objects, who
has not first made himself thoroughly
familiar with their perishable aspect.
Those who are continually afraid that
to fix their attention on the spiritual
and eternal will cause them to lose the

freshnessand naturalness of life, do not
yet understand of what we are really
speaking. When I look at a plant in this
way, it may become evident to me that
there is in it a permanent life-impulse
which will re-appear in a new form when
the plant before me has long since crum-
bled to dust. This attitude of mind

towards things must become thoroughly-
bound up with our nature. Then we
must fix our hearts upon all that is wor-
thy of esteem, and genuine, and learn
to value it more highly than that which
is fleeting and insignificant. In all our
feelings and actions we must take into
consideration the value of any one thing

in relation to the whole. Thirdly, we
must cultivate six qualities: control of
thoughts, control of actions, endurance,
impartiality, confidence in our surround-
ings, and inner equilibrium.
Control of the thought-world can be
attained if we take the trouble to combat
that wandering of the thoughts and feel-
ings which tosses the ordinary man to

and fro. In every-day life man is not
the master of his thoughts: he is driven
by them. And, as a matter of course, it
cannot be otherwise; for life itself rules

man and, as a worker, he must yield to
the pressure of life. In ordinary life this
must be so. But if man would rise into
higher worlds, he must set apart at least

certain short periods in which to make
himself master of his world of thought
and feeling. Then, with full inner free-
dom, he sets a thought in the centre of
his soul; whilst ordinarily, ideas were
driven into it from without. Then he
tries to keep at a distance all other
thoughts and feelings, and to add nothing
to the first thought except that which he
admits of his own will. Such an exercise
has a beneficial effect upon the soul, and
through it, upon the body. It brings the
latter into such a harmonious condition

that it evades pernicious influences even
when the soul is not directly working
upon it.
Control of actions consists in a similar

regulation of these by inner freedom. A
good beginning is made when we set our-
selves to do regularly something which it
would not have occurred to us to do in

ordinary life. For in the latter, man is
driven to action from without. But the

smallest action which we undertake of our
own innermost initiative, does more for
us in the direction of which we are speak-
ing than anything we may do through
the pressure of life from without. Endur-
ance consists in deliverance from those
moods which may be described as alter-
nating betweeen " exulting to the highest
heaven* ' and " sorrowing even unto

death.* ' Man is driven to and fro be-
tween all kinds of moods. Pleasure
makes him glad; pain depresses him.
This finds But he who
its justification.
seeks the Path to the Higher Knowledge

must be able to moderate both his joy

and his sorrow. He must become stable.
He must be able to restrain himself in the
midst of pleasurable, as well as of painful
experiences; he must carry himself with
dignity through both. He must never
be unmanned or disconcerted. This does
not imply any lack of feeling; but only
that the man has made for himself a fixed
centre in the tide of life which ebbs and
flows round about him. He has himself
always well in hand.
Another very important quality is the
"instinct of affirmation." He will de-
velop this for himself who notices in all

things their good, beautiful, and service-
able characteristics; not, in the first
place, that which is blameworthy, ugly,

perverse. There is a beautiful story
among the Persian legends concerning
Christ, which illustrates the meaning
of this quality. A dead dog was lying

in the road, and Christ was among the
passers-by. All the others turned away
from the ugly spectacle which the animal
presented; but Christ paused to speak
admiringly of its beautiful teeth. It is
possible to see all things in this way and;
he who truly seeks will find even in the

most repulsive object something worthy
of appreciation. |
The fruitful principle
in everything is not what it lacks, but
what it has.
Further, it is important to cultivate
"
the quality of impartiality.' ' Every
one has gained his own experiences, and
has formed from them a definite number
of opinions by which his life is regulated.
And as it is self-evident on the one hand
that conduct must be guided according
to experience, it is no less important that
he who would advance spiritually in the
Higher Knowledge should preserve an

unbiased mind towards everything new
and unfamiliar that meets him on his way.
He will be as cautious as possible with
such comments as, "That is impossible,"
' '
or, ' That cannot be. Whatever opinion
'
he may have formed from previous expe-

riences, he will be ready at any moment,
when he encounters something new, to
form a new opinion. All preference for
his private opinion must be given up.
When the five qualities already named
have been acquired, a sixth will follow
of itself, —namely, the inner equilibrium:

the harmony of the spiritual forces. The
pupil must find within himself a spiritual
centre of gravity, to give him firmness
and security amidst all that would draw
him hither and thither in life. But he
must not shrink from sharing the life
around him and letting everything influ-
ence him. Duty does not lie in flight

from all the activities of life which draw
us in every direction ; but rather, on the
contrary, in fully giving oneself up to
life, and yet at the same time guarding
firmly and securely the inner harmony
and equilibrium.
Lastly, the seeker must put before him
the "will towards liberation.' ' He has
acquired it already, who finds within him-
self the foundation and support of every-
thing that he accomplishes. This is hard
to attain, because it involves the main-
tenance of perfect balance between the
opening of the senses to everything great
and good, and the simultaneous refusing
of all compulsion. We say so lightly:
"Freedom is incompatible with influence
from without." That the two should be
reconciled within the soul, —that is the
essential thing. When a man tells me
something and I accept it under the

pressure of his authority, I am not free.
But I am no more free if I close myself to
the good which I might obtain in this
way. For then the "less good" in my
own soul acts as a constraint upon me.
Liberation means, not only that I am
free from the constraint of an outside
authority, but above all that I am free
from my own prejudices, opinions, sen-

sations and emotions. And the right way
to attain freedom is not through blind
subjection to what is received, but by
opening ourselves to the impulse from it,
receiving it impartially, so that we may

freely acquiesce in it. An outside author-
ity should only influence us so far as to
make us say: "I free myself by following
what is good in this, and making it my
own." An authority based upon Occult
Wisdom will never work otherwise than
in this way. It gives whatever it has to

give, not in order itself to gain power over
the recipient, but solely that he may
become richer and freer through the gift.
We have already dwelt upon the signi-
ficance of these qualities when speaking
of the "lotus-flowers." 1
Therein was
shown their relation to the development
of the twelve-petalled lotus-flower in the
region of the heart, and to the currents of
the etheric body connected with it. The
purport of what has been already stated
is that these qualities enable the seeker to
dispense with those forces which formerly
benefitted the physical body during sleep,
and which now, because of his develop-
ment, must be gradually withdrawn from

that task.
1
See Initiation and its Results.
CHAPTER III
THE PUPIL AND HIS TEACHER
TT is impossible to make real progress in

the task of penetrating to the higher
worlds without going through the stage of
Imaginative Knowledge. This, by no
means implies that in the course of occult
training a man is compelled to remain for
a given time at the imaginative stage as
if it were a class at school through which
he is bound to pass. This may be neces-
sary in certain cases, but not in all. It
depends entirely upon the experience the

occult student has had before beginning
his training. It will be shown in the
course of this analysis that the spiritual
environment of the pupil is of import-
40
'
THE PUPIL AND HIS TEACHER 41
ance with regard to this point, and, what

is more, that, according to his relation-
ship to this spiritual environment, very
different methods have been instituted
for treading the Path of Knowledge.
An understanding of the following par-
ticulars may be of the utmost importance
to one who is preparing to enter the Path
of occult training. These must not be
regarded merely as presenting an inter-
esting theory, but as something by which
the most varied and practical points of
view may be gained by anyone who is
sincerely pursuing " the way to the Higher

Knowledge.'
Those who are seeking their higher
evolution are often heard to say: "I wish
to perfect myself spiritually; I wish to
develop the 'Higher Self within me; but
I have no desire for the manifestations of
the astral world." This is understand-
able enough when we read the descrip-

tions of the astral world in books treating
of such things, for apparitions and entities
are spoken of in these which bring all sorts
of dangers to men. It is often said that
under the influence of such beings a man

may very easily suffer injury both morally
and intellectually. It is brought home to
the reader that in these regions the wall
dividing the good from the evil path is as
a spider's web in thickness, and that the
plunge into immeasurable depths, the fall
into utter depravity, lies extremely near.

It is impossible simply to contradict
these assertions. Yet the standpoint
taken in many cases, with regard to the
treading of the occult Path, is by no
means a right one. The only reasonable
point of view is that which enables us to
say that no one should be deterred from
entering the Path of the Higher Know-
ledge because of the dangers incidental to

it ; but that in every case great care must
be taken that these dangers be avoided. It
will, of course, in many cases follow that
a man who asks advice from an occult
teacher in the matter of training will be
counselled to postpone the actual training
for a while, and first to go through certain
experiences of ordinary life, or to learn cer-
tain things which are to be learned in the
physical world. It will then be the task
of the occult teacher to give the seeker
the right instructions to enable him to
gather suitable experience and learn the
necessary things.
In by far the greater number of cases,
a student will find that the occult teacher
proceeds in this way. And if the student
now becomes sufficiently attentive to
what befalls him, after he has come into
contact with the occult teacher, he will
make the most varied observations. He

will find that henceforth curious things
happen to him as if by accident, and that

he has opportunities for observing occur-
rences which would never have come to
him without this link with the occult
teacher. If students do not notice this,
and become impatient, it is because they
have not paid sufficient attention to what
has happened to them. It is not to be
imagined that the influence of the teacher
upon the student will show itself in dis-
tinctly visible works of magic. This

influence is, on the contrary, a very inti-
mate matter; and he who would explore

its nature and form without having first
reached a certain stage of occult training,

is sure to fall into error. The student
injures himself in every case in which he
becomes impatient because he is placed
on probation. His advance will be none
the less rapid on this account. On the

contrary, his progress would be rendered
slower if he were to begin too soon the
training to which he so impatiently looks
forward.
If the student allows the time of pro-
bation, or the counsels and hints given
to him by the occult teacher, to influence
him rightly, he will be actually preparing
himself to withstand certain trials and
dangers which he will encounter when he
approaches the inevitable stage of Imagi-
nation. This stage is unavoidable, for
this reason :
—Every one who seeks com-
munication with the higher worlds with-
out having passed through it, can only do
so unconsciously, and is condemned when
he reaches them to grope in the dark.
One can acquire some dim sense of these
higher worlds without Imagination; one
can without it certainly attain to a feeling
of being united with one's "God" or

"Higher Self"; but one cannot come to a
true knowledge in full consciousness and
bright translucent clearness. Therefore,
all that is said to the effect that the ex-
positions regarding the "lower worlds"
(the astral and devachanic) are useless,
that the one thing needful is that man

should "awaken the God within him," is
entirely misleading. Whoever is satisfied
with such standpoints should not be inter-

fered with in his strivings, and no occult-
ist would seek to do this. True Occultism
has, however, nothing to do with such
strivings* nor, on the other hand, does it
invite anybody directly to become a

pupil. But in him who craves the dis-
cipline of the occultist, the latter will

not only awaken in him a mere dim per-
ception of his "divinity," but will also
endeavour to open his spiritual eyes to
that which is actually existent in the
higher worlds.
Of course, the "Divine Self" exists in
every human being, and not in man alone,
but in every created thing. In stone,
plant, and animal, the " Divine Self" is
inherent and active. What is of impor-

tance is not so much the general recogni-
tion of this fact, but rather the actual
entrance into union with the manifesta-
tions of this "Divine Self." Just as a
man knows nothing of the physical world
so long as he can only repeat again and
again: "This world contains the 'Divine
Self veiled within it," —
manner
in like
does he who seeks the "divine kingdoms
of spirit" as vague and indefinite gener-
alities know nothing of the higher worlds.
We should open our eyes and behold the
divine manifestation in the things of
the physical world, in the stone and in
'

the plant, and not indulge in dreams de-
picting everything as mere " phenomena'
behind which the real form of God lies
concealed. No; God reveals Himself in

His creations, and he who would know
God must learn to know the true nature of
these creations.
Therefore must we also learn actually
to behold what exists and happens in the
higher worlds, if we would know the
'
' Divine Nature.
'
' The consciousness
that the " Divine Man" dwells within us
can be at most but a beginning; but this
consciousness experienced aright, becomes

a spur to the definite ascent into the
higher worlds. This can be truly ac-
complished only when the necessary spirit-
ual senses have been developed. Every
other point of view is, merely: "I will
remain as I am, and only attain to that
which is within the reach of such powers
as I have developed already.' ' But the

aim of the occultist become a differ-
is to
ent being in order to behold and expe-
rience things of a different nature from
those of ordinary life.
And it is precisely for this purpose that

the stage of Imaginative Knowledge
must be experienced. It has already
been said that this " imaginative" stage
need not be looked upon as a class at

school which one must pass through.
What is to be understood is this: —There
are, particularly in the present generation,
many who have brought over with them
such conditions as enable the occult
teacher to call forth in them at the same
time, or nearly so, imaginative, inspira-
tional, and intuitive knowledge. But we
are not to understand that in the case of
any individual the passage through the
imaginative stage may be dispensed with.
The cause of the dangers inherent in

Imaginative Knowledge has already been
hinted at in previous chapters. It lies
in the fact that on his entrance into super-

physical worlds a man, in a certain sense,
sees the ground vanish from under his
feet. That which gave him security in
the physical world has apparently quite
disappeared. When we perceive any-
thing in the physical world, we ask our-
selves: Whence comes this perception?
We do this in most cases unconsciously.

But we are quite satisfied " uncon-
sciously* '
that the causes of the percep-
tion are the objects "outside us, in space."
Colours, sounds, and odours proceed from
these objects. We do not see colours
floating about in space, or hear sounds,
without being able to satisfy ourselves
regarding the objects to which these
colours pertain as qualities, and from
which these tones proceed. This con-

sciousness, that they are caused by
objects and entities, gives to physical
perceptions, and thereby to man himself,
a sense of security, a sure hold. If one
has perceptions without any outward
cause, they are considered abnormal and
morbid. Such unaccountable percep-
tions are called illusions, hallucinations,
visions.
Now primarily, from a purely external

point of view, the whole imaginative
world consists of such hallucinations, vis-
ions, and illusions. It has been pointed

out how, through occult training, such
visions are artificially produced. 1 By
focussing the consciousness on a seed or
a dying plant, certain forms are conjured
up in the soul, which, to begin with, are
nothing but hallucinations. The "flame-
T
See The Way of Initiation.
—
formation" which was spoken of as

being produced in the soul through the
observation of a plant or other object, and
which after a time completely separates
itself from the plant, must, from the
material standpoint, be regarded as in
the nature of hallucination. It is the
same in the imaginative world when we

enter upon occult training. That which
we were accustomed to regard as pro-
ceeding from things outside in space, —as
clinging to such things as properties,
colours, sounds, odours, and so forth,
now floats freely by itself in space. Per-

ceptions detach themselves from all exter-
nal objects and float or soar apart. And
here we know for a certainty that these
perceptions have not produced the things
which we see before us, but that on the
contrary, we "ourselves" have produced
them. And so it comes about that one
seems to have "lost one's foothold.' ' In

ordinary life, in the physical world, we
have to be on our guard against those
representations which do not proceed
from objects, and which are, so to speak,
without any foundation. But for the

calling forth of Imaginative Knowledge,
the important thing at first is to perceive
colours, sounds, odours, etc., which, de-
tached from everything, float freely in
space.
The next step towards Imaginative
Knowledge is to find a new cause for such
wandering conceptions. And this must
be done in that other world which is about
to be revealed. New objects and beings
appropriate these representations. In the
physical world, for instance, the colour
"blue" clings to the cornflower, and
similarly in the imaginative world it must
cleave to something real. It rushes forth,
as it were, towards some being, and where-

as it floated unattached at first, it now
becomes the expression of that being.
Something speaks through it to the obser-
ver, which he can only perceive in the
imaginative world. And so these free
floating pictures gather round a definite
centre, and we know that beings are

speaking to us through them. And, as
in the physical world we find corporeal
things and beings to which colours,
sounds, odours, etc., are attached, or
from which they are derived, we now
discover spiritual beings who express
themselves through those colours, tones,
etc. These ''spiritual beings'' are, in
fact, always present; they hover round
us continually. But they cannot reveal
themselves to us if we do not give them
an opportunity to do so. And we can
only give them this opportunity by evok-
ing within ourselves the capacity to call

up colours, sounds, etc., in our soul, even
when no physical object gives rise to
them.
Entirely different from the objects and
entities of the physical world are the
"spiritual facts and beings/ ' It is not
easy to find in ordinary speech an expres-
sion which even remotely describes this
difference. Perhaps we may best ap-
proach it by saying that in the imagina-
tive world everything speaks to man as
if it were directly intelligent; while in
the physical world intelligence can only
reveal itself indirectly through corpo-
reality. It is just this that gives mobility
and freedom to the imaginative world:

The intermediary member, viz., the out-
ward object, is absent, and the spiritual
is able to live immediately in the free-
flowing colours, sounds, and so on.
Now one of the dangers that threatens

man in this world lies in the fact that he
perceives these manifestations of "spirit-
ual beings/ ' but not the beings them-
selves. This at least is the case so long
as he remains in the imaginative world
only and does not ascend to a higher one.
It is Inspiration and Intuition which lead
him by degrees to the beings themselves.
If, however, the occult teacher should
awaken these prematurely, without hav-
ing thoroughly acquainted the pupil with
the t
realm of imagination, the higher
world would have for him only a shadowy
and phantasmal existence. The whole
glorious fullness of the pictures in which
it must reveal itself when he really enters
it, would be lost. In this lies the reason
why the occult student needs a " Guide,'*
or "Guru," as this guide is' called in
Occult Science.
For the pupil, the imaginative world is
at first only a world of pictures, of which,

to a great extent, he does not know the
meaning. But the "Guru" knows to
what things and beings these pictures are
related in the higher world. If the pupil
has confidence in him he will know that
connecting links, which for the present
he cannot discern, will reveal themselves
to him later. In the physical world, the
objects in space were themselves his
guides. He was in a position to prove
the accuracy of his ideas. The corporeal
reality is the "rock" upon which all
hallucinations and illusions must be shat-

tered. This rock disappears, as soon as we
enter the imaginative world. Therefore
the "Guru" must himself become its
substitute. The Teacher must realise
for his pupil the actuality of the new
world. From this we may estimate how
greatmust be the pupil's confidence in

the Guru in any occult training worthy
of the name. As soon as he can no longer
believe in the Guru, it is as though in the
physical world he were suddenly deprived
of everything on which he had built his
faith in the reality of his perceptions.
Apart from this, there is yet another
difficulty which may confuse the pupil,
if he seeks to enter the imaginative world
without the guidance of a Teacher. For
the occult student has, first and foremost,
to learn to know himself as distinct from
all other spiritual beings. In physical
life a man has feelings, desires, longings,
passions, ideas, etc., of his own. These

are, indeed, all caused by the things and
beings of the outer world, but the man
knows quite definitely that they make
up his inner world, and he recognises
them as something happening within his
soul, distinct from the objects of the world

outside,
But as soon as the imaginative sense is
awakened, this facility of distinction com-

pletely ceases. His own feelings, ideas,
passions, etc., literally step outside him,

and take on form, sound, and colour. His
attitude with regard to them is now the
same as it is with reference to absolutely
strange objects and beings in the physical
world. And it is easy to understand how
complete the confusion may be when we
remember what has been said on this
point in a previous chapter, the whole of
which was occupied in describing how
the imaginative world presents itself to
the observer. For there everything ap-
pears reversed as in a mirror. That
which goes forth from the man himself
appears as if it were approaching him
from without. A wish which he fosters
changes into a form, into that of some

fantastic-looking animal, for instance, or
perhaps into the appearance of a human
entity. This seems to assail him, to make
an attack on him, or to cause him to do
one thing or another. So it may come
about that the man appears to himself as
if surrounded by a wholly fantastic, often
charming and seductive, but also often
horrible, world of fluttering forms.
In reality these are nothing but his
own thoughts, wishes, and passions,
changed into pictures which he sees. It
would be a great mistake to suppose that
it is easy to distinguish these pictures
of the transformed self from the true
spiritual world. At first it is absolutely
impossible for the pupil to make this dis-
tinction. For the picture which speaks

to the man may be exactly the same,
whether it springs from some spiritual
being or from something within his own

soul. And if a man hurries his develop-
ment unduly at this point, there is a
danger that he may never rightly learn
to separate the two. It is imperative in
this matter that he should exercise the

greatest care.
The confusion is rendered still greater
by the fact that the wishes and desires
of his own soul clothe themselves in
images conveying an absolutely contrary
character to that which they really bear.
Let us suppose, for instance, that Vanity
comes before us as a picture in this man-
ner: it may appear perhaps as a lovely
figure, promising the most wonderful
things if we execute its behests. The
suggestions makes appear to promise
it
something altogether good and desirable;

if we follow them it will bring about our
ruin, moral or otherwise. Conversely,

a good quality of the soul can veil itself
in unprepossessing garb. Only to him

who truly knows is it possible to distin-
guish the one from the other. Only a
personality who cannot be made to falter
in pursuit of a right aim is secure against
the seductive power of his own soul-
images.
Having regard to all this, it will readily
be seen how necessary is the guidance of
a Teacher who, with unerring judgment,
draws his pupil's attention both to the
illusions and realities in this region. But
we need not suppose that the Guru must
always stand, as it were, behind the pupil.
The immediate presence of the Teacher
is not the most important matter for
the occult student. Of course there are
moments when such "being together in
space* is desirable, and even when it is
'
absolutely necessary. But on the other

hand, the occult Teacher finds means

of remaining in touch with the pupil
even when separated by distance. And
besides, must be observed that
it much
of what passes between Teacher and pupil
when they meet may be effectual often
for months and probably for years after-
wards. One thing there is, however, which
will break this necessary link between
Teacher and pupil without fail. This
happens when the latter loses confidence
in his Teacher. And it is especially un-

fortunate if this bond of confidence is
broken before the pupil has learned to
distinguish between the delusive reflec-
tions of his own soul and true reality.
It may here, perhaps, be said: "Yes,

but if a tie is formed with the Guru in this
way, the occult student loses all freedom
and independence. He gives himself, so
to speak, entirely into the hands of the
64 THE GATES OP KNOWLEDGE
Guru." This, however, is not the case.

There is certainly a difference among the
various methods of occult training in
respect of this dependence on the Guru.
The dependence may be greater or less. It
is relatively greatest in the methods fol-
lowed by Oriental occultists, and taught

by them even to-day as their own. This
dependence is proportionately less in the
so-called Christian Initiation; and, in
reality, it is completely in abeyance on
that Path of Knowledge which has been
known since the fourteenth century as the
Rosicrucian School of Occultism. In this
the Guru can by no means be abolished, —
that is impossible; but the entire depend-
ence on him ceases. How this is prac-
ticable will be shown in the following

chapters. Therein we shall explain pre-
cisely how these three "Paths of Know-

ledge' differ,
' —the Oriental, the Christian,
and the Rosicrucian. In this last there is
nothing which could interfere in any way

with a modern man's sense of freedom.
It will also be seen how it may happen
that one person or another as an occult
student, even to-day in modern Europe,
may follow, not the Rosicrucian, but the
Oriental Path, or the early Christian;
though, for the present time, the Rosi-
crucian is the most natural. And this
way, as will presently be seen, is by no

means non-Christian. A man may follow
this Path without endangering his Christ-
ianity; and he, too, may follow it who

believes himself to have adopted that
theory of the world which is identified
with modern science.
One other point, perhaps, needs to be
cleared up. We may feel tempted to ask
whether the occult student might not be
spared the experience of the delusive
reflections of his own soul. But if this

happened he would never attain to the
independent discernment so desirable for
him. For by no other means can the
peculiar nature of the imaginative world
be so well realised as by the observation
of one's own soul. At first a man knows
the inner life of his soul only from one
side, —that he begins by being within it.
And this is just what the pupil has to

learn, not only to look at things from out-
side, but to observe them as if he himself
were within all Now, if his own
of them.
thought-world comes upon him as some-
thing strange, he learns to know a new
aspect of that of which formerly he knew
but one side. He must, in a certain sense,
himself serve as the first example of this
mode of Knowledge.
Here in the physical world he is accus-
tomed to something quite different. Here
he looks upon all things from without;

himself alone he knows only from within.
So long as he remains in the physical
world he can never see below the surface
of things; and he can never get outside
himself,
— "slip out of his skin," as wereit
—in order to observe himself from with-

out. And this is literally incumbent upon
him before all else in occult training; by
the help of this he learns to look beneath
the surface of external facts and beings.
CHAPTER IV
INSPIRATION
T^HE description of the power of Imag-

ination has shown us how the occult
student, by its means, leaves the region of
outer sense-experiences. This is the case
in a much higher degree with Inspiration.
Here ideas are much less dependent upon
what may be called an outside stimulus.
The individual must find within himself
the power which enables him to form
ideas concerning things. He must be
inwardly active to a far greater extent
than is the case with regard to outer
knowledge. For the latter he simply
yields himself to impressions from with-
out, and these give rise to ideas within
68
INSPIRATION 69
him. This kind of surrender ceases when

we come to Inspiration. Henceforward
the eye does not supply colours, the ear
sounds, and so forth. The whole content
of ideas must, in a sense, be produced by
individual activity, and by purely spirit-
ual and psychic processes. And the
manifestation of the higher, the real world
must be impressed upon what the man
has created by his inner activity.
A peculiar contradiction seems to be
involved in such a description of the
world of higher cognition. The indi-
vidual must, in a certain sense, be the

creator of his own ideas; yet obviously
his ideas should not be solely of his own
creation, but the processes of the higher
worlds should be expressed through them,
just as the events of the lower world are
expressed through the perceptions of the
eyes, ears, and other organs.
Such a contradiction is, however, inevi-

table in any description of this mode of
cognition. For this is exactly what the
occult student must achieve on the path
of Inspiration: he must attain by his
inner activity to something to which in
ordinary life he is compelled from with-
out. Why do not the images of ordinary
life take an arbitrary course? Because
the individual has to correct his attitude
towards outward objects by means of
the ideas they give him. All choice on the
part of the ego is suppressed because the
objects say: We are thus, or thus. The
objects themselves decide how they shall
be understood the ego has nothing to say

;
in the matter. The man who will not

adjust himself to the objects, misunder-
stands them and will soon be made to feel
how little success he has had in the world.
This necessary attitude of the individual
'
INSPIRATION 71
to the things of the outer world may be

designated in cognition as " self -less.'
The individual must maintain a selfless
attitude towards things; and the outer

world is his instructor in this selflessness.
It deprives him of all illusions, fancies,
and illogical opinions, and of everything
non-essential, by simply putting the cor-

rect image before his senses.
If any man would prepare himself for
Inspiration, he must first develop his
inner nature to such a point that this
selflessness is natural to him, even when
uncompelled from without. He must
learn to create inwardly, but in such a
way that the ego plays no arbitrary part
in this creation. The difficulties which
have to be taken into account in attain-
ing such a degree of selflessness, become
more apparent the more we consider
what powers of the soul are specially
required for Inspiration. We recognise

three fundamental powers in the life of
the soul, —Idea, Feeling, and Will. In
ordinary cognition by the senses, ideas
are induced by outward objects; and
these externally-stimulated ideas will de-
termine the direction taken by feeling
and will.
For instance, a man sees an object

which gives him pleasure and he begins
to long for the thing in question. Plea-
sure is rooted in feeling and through feel-
ing the will is roused, just as feeling was

awakened by the image of the thing. But
the external object is the ultimate cause
of the image, the feeling, and the will.
Take another instance. A man sees an

occurrence which frightens him. He
rushes away from the scene of the event.
Here, too, the outward incidents are the
primary cause; they are perceived by
INSPIRATION 73
means of the senses; images are formed;

they give rise to ideas; the feeling of
alarm springs up; and Will —expressing
itself in running away — is the result. In
Inspiration there is no longer an outward
object of this kind. The senses are no
longer needed in order to perceive. There-
fore they cannot be the cause of ideas.
From this side no influence is exercised

upon feeling and will. Yet it is precisely
from these two, as from their native soil,
that in the Inspirational mode ideas
spring up inwardly, and, so to speak,
grow. And if the native soil is healthy,
the ideas that spring up will be true;
if unhealthy, they will be errors and
illusions.
As certainly as Inspirations, rooted in

healthy feeling and will, may be a revela-
tion from a higher world, so certainly do
mistakes, delusions, and errors concern-
ing a higher world, spring from disorderly

feeling and will.
On this account occult training sets

itself the task of pointing out the way by
which a man may make his feelings and
the impulses of his will healthily produc-
tive for Inspiration. As in all matters of
occult training, we have here to deal with
the intimate regulation and fashioning of
the life of the soul. First of all the stu-
dent must develop certain feelings which
are very little known in ordinary life.
Some of these feelings may here be indi-

cated. One of the most important con-
sists in an increased sensitiveness with
regard to the "true" and " false," and
the " right" and "wrong." It is quite
true that the ordinary person has similar

feelings. But they must be cultivated
by the occult student to a very much
higher degree.
INSPIRATION 75
Let us suppose that a logical error has

been made by some one. Another sees
the mistake and puts the matter right.
Let us realise how large a part is played
by the judgment and understanding in
such a correction, and how slight is the
feeling of pleasure at what is true and
repugnance to what is false. Observe

that we by any means maintain-
are not
ing that the pleasure and corresponding
repugnance are not there. But the degree
in which they are present in ordinary life
must be immeasurably raised in occult

training. The student must direct his
attention quite systematically to the life
of his soul ; and he must carry this training

to such a point that a logical error is a
source of pain to him, in no way falling
short of physical pain; and on the other

hand what is " right' ' must afford him
real joy and pleasure.
;
Thus, where another only brings his

judgment and understanding into play,
the occult student must learn to live
through the whole gamut of emotions,
from grief to enthusiasm, and from pain-
ful suspense to transports of delight in the
possession of truth. In fact, he must learn
to feel something like hatred forwhat
the "normal" man looks upon coldly and
dispassionately as incorrect. He must'
'
'
'
develop such a love of truth as bears quite

a personal character, —as personal and
as warm as that which the lover feels for
the beloved.
We hear, indeed, a great deal in our
* '
' cultured ' circles about the love of truth

but what meant by this is not to be
is
compared with what the occult student

must attain in this direction through quiet
inward work in his soul. As a test, he
must continually and patiently put before
INSPIRATION 77
him this or that "true" thing and this or

that " false " one, and concentrate upon it,
not merely for the sake of training his

judgment to distinguish dispassionately
between "true" and "false," but in order
to acquire a completely personal relation
to it all. There is no doubt that at the
beginning of such training the student
may fall into what may be called over-
sensitiveness. An erroneous opinion
uttered in his hearing, an inconsistency,
etc., may cause him almost intolerable
pain.
Care must therefore be taken during
training with regard to this matter;
otherwise there would be great danger to
the psychic equilibrium. If care is taken
that the character be steadfast, storms
may occur in the life of the soul and yet
the man may have the power to conduct
himself harmoniously towards the outer
world. It is a mistake in this respect to

allow the occult student to be brought
into opposition to the outer world, so
that he finds it unbearable, or even wishes
to flee from it. The higher world of feel-
ing should not be cultivated at the expense
of well-balanced work and activity in the
outer world; therefore a strengthening of
the power of resistance to outward im-
pressions must counterbalance the inward
elevation of the life of feeling.
Practical occult training directs the

student never to undertake the above-
mentioned exercises for developing the
realm of feeling without at the same time

schooling himself in such a way that he
will learn what demands from men in
life
the way of toleration. He must be able

to feel the keenest pain if a person gives
utterance to an erroneous opinion, and yet
at the same time be perfectly tolerant
INSPIRATION 79
towards this person, because the thought

in his mind is equally clear, that "this
person is bound to judge in this way, and
his opinion must be reckoned with as a
fact."
It is, of course, true that the inner
nature of the occult scientist comes to be
more and more involved in a double life.
Ever richer experiences are lived through
in his soul in the course of his pilgrimage
through life, and the other world grad-
ally becomes more and more independent
of what this outer world has to give.
And it is just this double existence that
will be most fruitful in the genuine prac-
tice of life. What results from it is swift-
ness of judgment and unerring certainty

of decision. While one who is a strang-
er to such schooling must go through
long trains of thought and be driven
backwards and forwards between reso-
8o THE GATES OF KNOWLEDGE
lution and perplexity, the occult scientist

will swiftly review the conditions of life
and discern hidden relations not seen by

the ordinary gaze. Often he needs much
patience in order to enter into the lengthy
methods by which something is made
clear to another person, while his own
comprehension is swift as an arrow.
Hitherto we have spoken only of the
qualities which must be developed in the
life of feeling in order that Inspiration
may begin in the right way. The next
question is :
—How do the feelings become
productive, so as to bring forth true ideas
belonging to the world of Inspiration?
If a man desires to know what answer
Occult Science gives to this question, he
must be made acquainted with the fact
that the soul-life of man has always a cer-
tain store of feelings over and above those
that are aroused by sense-perceptions.
INSPIRATION 81
The more than any-

individual feels far
thing compels him to feel. But in ordi-
nary life this excess of feeling is turned in
a direction which occult training must

change for another.
Take, for instance, a feeling of fear or
anxiety. In many cases it is quite easy
to see that the fear or anxiety is greater
than it would be if it were in true propor-
tion to the corresponding outward event.
Let us imagine that the student is work-
ing energetically on himself with the
object that he may not in any case feel
more fear and anxiety than is justified by

an outward event. Now a given amount
of fear or anxiety always involves an ex-
penditure of psychic force. This force is
actually lost when fear or anxiety is pro-

duced. The student really saves this force
when he denies himself fear, anxiety, or
other wasteful feelings. And it remains
at his disposal for some other purpose.

If he repeats the process often he will
acquire an inner store of this continually-

husbanded psychic force; and he will
soon find that out of such economies of

feeling will spring the germs of those
ideas which will give utterance to the
revelations of the higher life. Such
things cannot in the ordinary sense be
" proved"; one can only give the occult
student advice to do this or that, and if
he carries out the instructions he will

presently see the indubitable results.
From a casual view of what has just
been described, it might easily appear
self-contradictory to say that on the one
hand an enrichment of the world of feel-
ing is necessary, —since feelings of pleas-
ure or pain are to be excited by what

otherwise arouses only intellectual judg-
ment, —and that on the other hand it is
INSPIRATION 83
economy of feeling that is spoken of.
This contradiction at once disappears

if it is borne in mind that the saving
should be made in those feelings which
are aroused by the outer senses. What-
ever is saved in that direction serves as
an enrichment in the matter of spiritual
experiences. And it is altogether just
that the feelings thus economised in the
sense-world of perception should not only
be set free in another sphere, but should
prove creative in that sphere. They
provide the material for those ideas by
which the spiritual world is revealed.
Of course it would not be going very
far if we were to remain content with
only such economies as have been indica-
ted. Much more is necessary if great
results are to be attained. A larger store
of the force which begets feeling must be
conveyed to the soul than is possible by
this means alone. For instance, we must,

as a test, submit ourselves to certain
outward impressions and then wholly
deny ourselves the feelings which would
arise in a so-called "normal" condition.
We must confront an occurrence which
"normally" stimulates the soul, and
absolutely forbid ourselves to be excited
by it. This can be done either by actu-
ally experiencing such an event, or by
experiencing it only in the imagination.
The latter process is even better for an
occult training that is to bear fruit.
As the student is initiated into the
power of imagination, either before his
preparation for the inspirational mode
or simultaneously with it, he should
actually be in a position to represent an
occurrence to his mind as powerfully as
if it were taking place before him. If,
therefore, by long inward labour the

INSPIRATION 85
student subjects himself more and more

and events and
to the influence of objects
yet denies himself the normal feelings
corresponding to them, the ground will
be prepared for Inspiration in his soul.
Let it be incidentally noted here that he

who is describing such a training for
Inspiration has the fullest justification
for it, though many objections might be
made to his account of it from the point
of view of our present-day culture. And
not only can objections be made, but
people may smile in a superior way and
say: "But Inspiration cannot be pedanti-
cally taught ; it is a natural gift of genius."
Yes, it may certainly seem almost
laughable, from the standpoint of modern
culture, to discuss so fully a development
which that culture will not admit to be
capable of explanation; but such culture
does not realise how little it is able to pur-
sue to their logical ends its own processes

of thought. Any one who required a dis-
ciple of this culture to believe that some
more highly developed animal had not

slowly evolved, but had appeared sud-
denly, would speedily be told that no cul-
tured person in the modern sense of the
term could believe such a miracle. Such
a belief would be " superstition.' Yet '
such a person is the victim of gross super-

stition in matters of spiritual life, even
according to his own way of thinking.
That is to say, he will not allow that a
more perfected soul must also have
evolved slowly, —that it could not have
arisen suddenly as a gift of nature. Of
course, externally, many a genius appears
to have been born suddenly "out of
no where* some mysterious way; but it
' in
only appears so on account of material-
istic superstition; the occult scientist
INSPIRATION 87
knows that the condition of genius, which

arises in a man's life as if out of nothing,
is simply the result of his training on
inspirational lines during a former life
on earth.
Materialistic superstition is bad enough
on theoretical ground; but it is far worse
in a practical region such as this. As it
assumes that in all ages genius must "fall

from heaven," it will have nothing to say
to any "occult nonsense" or "fantastic
mysticism" as a preparation for Inspira-
tion. In this way the superstition of the
materialist retards the real progress of
humanity. He does not trouble himself
about the latent faculties evolving in man.
In reality it is often precisely those who
call themselves progressives and liberal
thinkers who are the enemies of real for-
ward development. But this, as already
said, is only an incidental comment,
necessary with regard to the relationship

of Occult Science to present-day culture.
Now the soul powers which are stored
up in the student's inner nature by the
self-denial of the normal feelings indicated
above, would undoubtedly be transmuted

into Inspiration even if no further aid
were given them. And in the soul of the
occult student there would arise true
images of events taking place in the
higher worlds. Progress would begin
with the simplest experiences of super-
sensible events, followed gradually by
those of a higher and more complicated
aspect, if the student continued to live
inwardly in the prescribed way.
But, as a matter of fact, such occult
training would be quite impracticable
to-day, and when a man has set himself
seriously to work it is never carried

through to its conclusion. That is to say,
INSPIRATION 89
if the student wished to develop out of

his inner nature everything that Inspira-
tion can give, he could undoubtedly
"spin out" from within himself every-
thing, for example, that has been said in
my other works about the nature of man,
the life after death, the evolution of
humanity and of the planets, and so
forth. But such a student would need
an immeasurably long time for all this.
It would be as if a man should wish to
weave the whole of geometry out of him-
self, without regard to what has already
been achieved in that field before him.
Certainly in theory it is quite possible

for him to do so; but to carry it out in
practice would be folly. Nor is this the
method of Occult Science; the facts —
which have been won for humanity by
inspired predecessors have been handed
down through a teacher. Such tradi-
tion must in fact furnish the basis for

individual Inspiration.
That which is being given out to-day in
lectures and writings from the domain of
Occult Science may well furnish such a
basis for Inspiration. There is, for in-
stance, the teaching about the various
component parts of man (physical body,
etheric body, astral body, etc.), the
knowledge concerning life after death
until a new incarnation, and much else
which has been published under the title,
"From The Akashic Records" (see
Atlantis and Lemuria). That is to say,

we must clearly grasp the fact that
Inspiration is needed for the discovery
and experience of the higher truths,
but not for the understanding of them.

What has been communicated in Atlan-
tis and Lemuria could not at first be dis-
covered without Inspiration. But when

INSPIRATION 91
once communicated it can be understood

by the ordinary reasoning faculty. No
one should assert that facts are there
stated which cannot be logically under-
stood without Inspiration. People do
not find them incomprehensible because
they themselves are not inspired, but
because they will not think enough about
them.
Further, when a man receives the
truths so communicated, they awaken
Inspiration in his soul by their own power.
If we wish to participate in such Inspira-
tion, we must not merely receive the
knowledge in a logical and matter-of-fact

way, but must lay ourselves open to be
carried by the flight of ideas into all kinds
of emotional experiences. And why
should not this be possible? Can the feel-
ings remain passive when there passes
before the spirit's gaze the overpowering
process of the development of the earth

from the Moon, Sun, and Saturn? or
when the infinite depths of human nature
are penetrated by the knowledge of man's
etheric, astral, and yet subtler bodies?
We might almost say it is ill with him
who can contemplate unmoved such
structures of thought. For if he no
longer regarded them dispassionately,
but experienced all the tension and relax-
ation of feeling, all the climaxes and
crises, all the advances and retreats, all
the catastrophes and dispensations which
they render possible, then indeed the
ground would be prepared for Inspiration
in his soul. True, the necessary emotional

life corresponding with such communica-
tions from a higher world can only be
fully unfolded by exercises of the kind
indicated above.
Reports of such a world will appear
INSPIRATION 93
but arid notions and dull theories to one

who directs all his emotional forces
towards the outer world of sense. He
will never be able to understand why the
heart of another man warmed by the
is
hearing of what is imparted by Occult

Science while his own inmost being
remains cold. He will even say: " But
all that is for the intellect and reason;
I want something for my emotional
nature.' ' He does not say to himself
that it is his own fault if his heart remains
cold.
Many people still undervalue the power

of what lies hidden in these communica-
tions which can come only from a higher
world. And in this connection they over-
rate all kinds of other exercises and prac-
'
tices. ' Of what use is it to me, they say, '
'
"to hear from others what the higher

worlds look like? I want to look into them
for myself.' ' Such persons, for the most

part, lack the patience to concentrate
themselves again and again upon such re-
ports from higher worlds. If they did so,
they would see what kindling force lies
and how one's own

in these bare reports,
Inspiration may be awakened by hearing
an account of the Inspiration of others.
It is true that other exercises must
supplement mere learning if the student
wishes to make rapid progress in the ex-
perience of the higher worlds; but no
one should underestimate the very great
importance of such learning. And in any
case, no hope can be held out of making
rapid conquests in the higher worlds by
any exercises whatever, unless the student
resolves at the same time unremittingly
to ponder over the communications
which have been given, in their proper
order, from a competent source, as to
INSPIRATION 95
the events and beings of the higher

worlds.
Now that such communications are
being made in lectures, literature, etc.,
and the first indications are also being
given as to the exercises leading to
knowledge of the higher worlds (as, for
instance, in my book, The Way of Initi-
ation) ,< it has become possible to learn
something of what formerly was im-
parted only in strictly guarded occult
schools. As has already been said, it is
owing to the special conditions of our

time that these things are and must be
published. But we must once more em-
phasise this point, —that although facili-
ties have been given for the acquisition

of occult knowledge, trustworthy guid-
ance by an experienced occult teacher
is not at present to be dispensed with.
The Inspirational mode of Knowledge
leads to the actual experience of processes

in the invisible worlds, — as, for instance,
the evolution of man and of the earth

and its former embodiments ("Moon,"
"Sun," and "Saturn"). But when in
these higher worlds not only processes
but beings have to be taken into account,
then the Intuitional mode of Knowledge
must enter in. That which occurs
through the agency of such beings is dis-
cerned by Imagination as in a picture;

laws and conditions are discerned by
Inspiration; but if the beings themselves
are to be approached, Intuition is needed.
We shall speak later of the way in
which Inspiration is organised in the

world of Imagination, —how it penetrates
that world as a spiritual music and there-
by becomes a means of expression to the
beings who are to be recognised by Intui-
tion. Intuition itself will also then be
INSPIRATION 97
treated of. We would only point out

here that what is known in Occult Science
as " Intuition' ' has nothing to do with
what often receives that name in popular
speech. A more or less uncertain notion
is there put in contradistinction to a
clear understanding logically arrived at
through the intellect. Intuition in Occult
Science is nothing vague or uncertain,
but a lofty method of cognition, full
of the most luminous clearness and indu-

bitable certainty.
CHAPTER V
INSPIRATION AND INTUITION
|*UST as Imagination may be called

spiritual seeing, so may Inspiration
be called spiritual Jiearing. We
must of
course be quite clear in our minds that
by the expression " hearing' is signified
' a
form of perception as far removed from
sense-hearing in the physical world, as
11
sight " in the imaginative or astral world
is from seeing with the physical eyes.
We may say of the light and colour
phenomena of the astral world that they
are as if the luminous surfaces and colours
of sense-objects stood out from these
objects, and, detached from them, floated
98
INSPIRATION AND INTUITION 99
freely in space. But this gives only an

"
approximate idea; for space* in the
'
imaginative world is by no means the

same as in the physical. Therefore it is
a mistake to believe that we are seeing

colour-picturesmade by the imaginative
faculty when we are observing only
detached specks of colour floating in ordi-
nary space. Nevertheless the building
of such colour-images is the way to the
imaginative life.
Anyone who tries to picture to himself

a flower, and then reject from the image
everything that is not colour, so that a
picture as of the detached colour-surface
of the flower floats before his mind, may
gradually acquire the imaginative faculty
by means of such exercises. This is not
in itself the imaginative picture, but is a
more or less preparatory fantasy-picture.
Imagination —that is, genuine astral ex-
—
ioo THE GATES OF KNOWLEDGE
perience —does not come until not only is
colour detached from sense-impression,

but three-dimensional space has com-
pletely disappeared. That this has hap-
pened, can be realised only by a certain
kind of feeling, which is best described
by saying that one no longer feels ''out-
side" but ''inside" the colour-image, and

has the consciousness of taking part in its
genesis. If this feeling is absent, if we

seem to be looking at the thing as we look
at a physical colour-picture, then we are
not yet dealing with genuine Imagination,
but with something purely fanciful.
But it must not be said that such fancy

pictures are altogether worthless. They
may, for instance, be etheric images,
shadows, as it were, of genuine astral
facts; and as such they have value in
occult training. They may form a bridge
to genuine astral imaginative experiences,
but they involve a certain amount of

danger to the observer on this borderland
between the senses and the sensible, unless
he brings sound judgment fully into play.
It is not to be expected that an unfailing

test can be given to every one, whereby
he may distinguish reality from illusions,
hallucinations, and fancies on this bor-
derland. Such a general rule would cer-

tainly be convenient, but convenience is
a word which the occult student should

expunge from his vocabulary.
It can only be said that he who wishes
to acquire clear discrimination in this
sphere must in the first place cultivate
discrimination in the ordinary life of the
physical world. The man who takes no
pains to think definitely and clearly in
ordinary life will fall a victim to all man-
ner of illusions when he ascends to higher
worlds. We have only to consider how
102 THE GATES OP KNOWLEDGE
many snares beset sound judgment in

ordinary affairs. How often it happens
that people do not see calmly what exists,
but what they wish to see ! In how many
cases do they believe a thing, not because
they have comprehended it, but because
it pleases them to believe it! And what
mistakes arise because people will not
sift a thing to the bottom, but form a
hasty opinion! All these causes of error
in ordinary life might be multiplied
indefinitely. What tricks are played on
sound judgment by party feeling, passion,
and prejudice! If such errors of judg-

ment in ordinary life are disturbing and
often momentous in their consequences,
they are the greatest imaginable danger
to the sanity of the super-sensible life.
No general rule can be given to the stu-

dent for his guidance in the higher worlds,
beyond the injunction to do everything
possible to develop a healthy power of

discrimination and a sound and inde-
pendent judgment.
When the observer in the higher worlds
once knows what Imagination really is,
he very soon acquires the conviction that

the images of the astral world are not
merely images, but manifestations of
spiritual beings. He comes to know that
these imaginative pictures belong just as
much to spiritual or psychic beings as do
physical colours to physical beings or
objects. As regards details he will, of
course, have much to learn. He must
learn to discriminate between colour-pic-
tures which are opaque and those which
are quite transparent, and, as it were,
illumined from within. In fact, he will
observe some images which seem to be

continually creating their colour-light
from within, and which therefore are not
only fully illuminated and transparent,
but are continually raying forth light.
He will refer the opaque images to a lower

order of creation, and the transparent
ones to intermediate entities, while those
which radiate light from within may be
taken as manifestations of higher spiritual
beings.
If we would arrive at the truth about
the world of Imagination, we must not
form too narrow a conception of spiritual
sight. For in that world there are not

only perceptions of light and colour,
which may be compared with the sight-
experiences of the physical world, but

also impressions of heat and cold, taste
and and yet other experiences of

smell,
imaginative "sense" to which there is no
analogy in the physical world. Impres-
sions of heat and cold are, in the imagina-
tive or astral world, manifestations of the
willand purpose of psychic and spiritual

beings. Whether such a being is of good
or bad intent is apparent in a certain
effect of heat and cold. Astral beings can
also be " tasted" or "smelt." Only that
which constitutes in a real sense the phys-
ical element of sound and colour is almost

entirely lacking in the true imaginative
world. In this respect absolute stillness
reigns there. But in place thereof, some-

thing quite different is offered to one who
is making progress in spiritual observa-
tion, something which may be compared
with sound and vibration, speech and
music, in the world of sense. And this
higher something enters only when every

sound and tone from the outer physical
world is wholly silenced, —in fact, when
even the lightest psychic echo of anything
in the outer world is silenced also. Then
there comes to the observation what may
'
io6 THE GATES OF KNOWLEDGE
be called an understanding of the mean-

ing of imaginative experiences.
If we wish to compare what is now felt
with anything in the physical world, we

can only suggest as an illustration some-
thing which does not exist there. If we
could imagine that we could perceive the
thoughts and feelings of a person without
hearing his words by the physical ear,
such a perception might be compared with
the direct understanding by the imagina-
'
tive faculty which is designated "hearing

in the spiritual sense. In that world, col-
our and light impressions are speech. As

the images grow bright or dull in colour,
harmonies or discords are formed which
reveal the feelings, ideas, and thoughts
of psychic and spiritual entities. And
just as sound grows into speech in the
physical man when thought is impressed
upon him, so do the harmonies and dis-
cords of the spiritual world come into

manifestation as the actual thoughts of
these beings. And of course darkness
must fall upon the outer world if such
thought is to be directly revealed.
The following experience thus presents
itself. We see the bright shades of colour
— red, yellow, and orange—fade away, and
the higher world grow darker, through
green, to blue and violet, at the same time
we feel an increase of will-power in our-
selves. We experience complete freedom
with regard to time and space; we feel
that we are in motion. We are conscious

of certain linear forms and shapes, yet
not as though we saw them drawn in
space, but rather as if we ourselves were
following every curve and form with our
ego in continuous movement. In fact we
feel that the ego is at once the draughts-
man and the material with which they
are drawn; and every turn of the line,

every change of place, is equally an
experience of the ego. We learn to recog-
nise that we with our ego set in motion
are bound up with the creative forces of
the world. The laws of the world are no
longer something outwardly perceived by
the ego, but a real web of wonder which
he is helping to weave. Occult Science
sketches out for us all kinds of symbolic
drawings and pictures. When these
really correspond to facts and are not
merely figures of invention, they are
founded on the observer's experiences in
higher worlds, which are seen in the
manner described above.
Thus does the world of Inspiration
take its place within the Imaginative
world. When the imaginings begin to
reveal their meanings to the observer in
silent language, the world of Inspira-
tion is opening within the Imaginative

world.
The physical world is a manifestation
of that other world which the spiritual
observer penetrates in this way. That

part of the physical world which is per-
ceptible by the senses, and by the under-
standing which is limited by them, is in
fact only the outside of it. To take a
single example: a plant, as it is observed
by the physical senses and understanding,
is not the total being of the plant. He
who knows only the physical plant is in a
similar position to one who could perceive
the finger-nail of a man, but to whom the
man himself was inaccessible. The nat-
ure and construction of the finger-nail,
can be understood only when explained
by the whole human being. So, in
reality, the plant is only comprehensible
when that is known which pertains to it
no THE GATES OF KNOWLEDGE
as the whole man pertains to the finger-

nail. That which makes up the total
plant cannot be discovered in the physical
world. To begin with, there is something
fundamental in the plant which can only
be revealed by the imaginative faculty
in the astral world, and something yet
further which can only be manifested
through Inspiration in the spiritual world.
Thus the plant as a physical organism is
the revelation of a being to be understood

by means of Imagination and Inspiration.
It is evident from what has gone before
that a path opens before the observer in
the higher worlds which has its beginning
in the world of sense. That is to say, he
can start from the physical world and
ascend from its manifestations to the
higher beings behind them. If he starts
from the animal kingdom, he can rise into
the Imaginative world. If he makes the

INSPIRATION AND INTUITION in
plant his point of departure, spiritual
observation will lead him through Imagi-
nation to the world of Inspiration. If
this path is followed, there will soon be

found within both those worlds beings
and facts not revealed at all in the physi-
cal world. We must not, however, think
that in this way we become acquainted
only with such beings of the higher worlds
as have their manifestations in the physi-
cal. A man who has once entered the
Imaginative world comes into contact
with a number of beings and events of
which the merely physical observer never
dreams.
There is another method, which does
not make the physical world its point of
departure, and which also makes a man
directly clairvoyant in the higher regions.
To many persons this method might be
more attractive than the one above indi-
ii2 THE GATES OF KNOWLEDGE
cated; but in our present-day conditions

of life the path upward from the physical
world is rather to be chosen. It imposes
upon the observer the self-renunciation
which is necessary, if he is first of all to
look around him in the physical world and
gather some sort of knowledge, and more
particularly some experience there. And,
indeed, in any case, it is the method best
suited to our present-day conditions of
culture.
The other way presupposes the pre-
liminary acquisition of qualities of the
soul extremely difficult to attain under
modern conditions of life. Even though
such qualities have again and again been
strongly and clearly insisted upon in writ-
ings on this subject, yet the majority of
people have no idea —or at most, a very

inadequate one —of the extent to which
these qualities (for example, unselfishness
and self-sacrificing love) must be acquired

if they would attain to the higher worlds
without starting from the sure ground of
the physical. And if a person awakes in
the higher worlds without having attained,
to the extent necessary, the corresponding
qualities of the soul, unspeakable misery
must be the consequence.
It must on no account be thought that
the qualities mentioned above can be

dispensed with in cases where the start is
made from the physical world to imagine

;
this would be a false deduction. But

such a beginning allows for the gradual
acquisition of these qualities in the degree
—and above all in the form —practicable
under our present conditions of life.
Another thing in this connection has to

be taken into account. Ifwe start from
the physical world in the manner indica-
ted, we remain, notwithstanding our
H4 THE GATES OP KNOWLEDGE
ascent into the higher worlds, in close

touch with the physical plane. We keep
intact our full understanding of all that is
going on in it, and all our energy for work-

ing there. Indeed, this understanding
and energy increase in a most helpful way
in consequence of our knowledge of the
higher worlds. In every department of
life, even in what seems most prosaic and
practical, the knower of the higher worlds
will work better and more usefully than
the ignorant man, if only the former has
kept himself in living touch with the
physical world.
The man, however, who awakens in the
higher spheres without starting from the
physical, is only too readily estranged
from outward life; he becomes a hermit,
confronting his contemporaries without
understanding or sympathy. Indeed, it
often happens that people who are imper-

f ectly developed in this way (of course not

those who are fully evolved) look down
with a certain contempt on the experi-
ences of the physical world and imagine
themselves superior to them. Instead of
having their sympathy with the world in-
creased, such people harden themselves

and become selfish in the spiritual sense
of the word. The temptation to do this
is by no means small, and those who are
striving to attain to the higher worlds will
do well to be on their guard against it.
From Inspiration the spiritual observer

may rise to Intuition. In the phraseol-
ogy of Occult Science this word denotes
in many respects the exact opposite of
that to which it is often applied in ordi-
nary life. People speak of Intuition as
if they had in their mind some idea dimly
felt to be true, but lacking any clear and
exact confirmation. It is seen as a pre-
—
n6 THE GATES OF KNOWLEDGE
liminary step towards knowledge, rather

than knowledge itself. An idea of this
kind may —according to that definition
illuminate a great truth like a flash of
lightning, but it can only become know-
ledgewhen confirmed by accurate judg-
ment. Again, by Intuition is generally
denoted something which is "felt" as
truth, and of which a person is quite con-
vinced, but which he will not encumber
with intellectual judgment. People who
are acquiring a knowledge of Occult
Science often say: That was always clear
to me "intuitively." But we must put
all this entirely aside if we would fix our
attention on the true meaning which the

term Intuition here implies. In this
connection Intuition is a mode of cogni-
tion which is in no way inferior in clear-
ness to intellectual knowledge, but far

surpasses it.
The experiences of the higher worlds

reveal their meaning through Inspiration.
The observer lives in the qualities and
actions of the beings pertaining to those
worlds. When he follows with his ego,
as described above, the direction of a line,
or the shape of a figure, he knows at the
same instant that he is not within the
being itself, but within its qualities and
functions. He has already experienced
in Imaginative knowledge the feeling of
being no longer outside, but inside the
colour-images, but at the same time he
understands no less clearly that these
colour-images are not themselves inde-
pendent beings, but only the qualities of
such beings. In Inspiration, he is con-
scious of becoming one with the deeds of
such beings, and with the manifestations
of their will in Intuition, for the first time,
;
he merges his own personality into that of

n8 THE GATES OF KNOWLEDGE
self-contained beings. This can happen

in the right way only when the blending
takes place, not through the effacement,
but with the full preservation of his own
being. Any '
' losing of oneself

'
' in another
being is wrong. Therefore only an ego
which is fortified within itself to a very
high degree can with impunity plunge into
the being of another.
Something has been realised intuitively
for the first time when the feeling arises
with regard to it that some being is find-
ing expression therein who is of the same
nature as one's own ego. A man who
observes a stone with his outer senses and
seeks to understand its qualities by his
reason, and by the usual scientific meth-
ods, gets to know only the outside of the
stone. As a spiritual observer he then
proceeds to Imaginative and Inspirational
knowledge. If he dwell inwardly in the
latter, may arrive at a further percep-

he
tion, which may be described by compari-
son in the following way. Let us suppose
that we see a person in the street, who at
first makes only a fleeting impression on
us. Afterwards we get toknow him bet-
ter, then a time arrives when we become
such friends that soul reveals itself to soul.
With such an experience, when the veils
of the soul fallaway and one ego sees the

other face to face, we may compare what
happens when the stone first appears to
the spiritual observer as an outward ap-
pearance only, and he ultimately reaches
something to which the stone belongs,
just as the finger-nail belongs to the
human body, and which lives its life as an
ego after the same fashion as our own
inner self.
The kind of knowledge which takes us

into the innermost nature of beings is first
attained in Intuition. Something has

already been said with regard to Inspira-
tion as to the change which must be
brought about in the inner psychic con-
dition of the spiritual observer if he
wishes to attain this mode of cognition.
It has been stated, for instance, that an
inaccurate conclusion must not affect the
intellect only, but the feelings also, and
must cause pain and grief. And the
observer must systematically cultivate
that kind of inward life. Of course, so
long as such pain springs only from the
sympathies or antipathies of the ego, and
from partiality, it cannot be spoken of
as an adequate preparation for Inspira-
tion. Such mental contacts are very far
removed from the inner sympathy which
the ego must feel for pure truth, as truth,
if he would attain the goal in question.
It cannot be too strongly emphasised that
all forms of interest which prevail in or-

dinary life, as pleasure or pain in relation
to truth or error, must first be silenced,
and then a totally different interest,
wholly free from self-seeking, must enter

in, if any glimpse is to be had of Inspira-
tional Knowledge. This quality of the
inner spiritual life is, however, only one of
the means of preparing for Inspiration.
A great number of others must be added.
And the more the spiritual observer puri-
fies himself with regard to what has
already served him for Inspiration, the
nearer he will be able to approach to
Intuition.
A LECTURE DELIVERED AT STUTTGART
ON AUGUST 17, I908
Authorised Translation by A.B.
123
A FTER having come to the close of a
long course of purely Theosophic
Lectures, we will to-day assume a differ-
ent tone. I must therefore ask you, from

the very outset, to take into consideration
that to-day's address is not in the actual
sense a Theosophic one, and that the
purely philosophic tone which must be
adopted may, to such as are unaccus-
tomed to this mode of thought, seem
somewhat abstract and difficult.
I have a definite reason for this depar-
ture : it is, that again and again, and more
especially in those circles possessing, or
believing themselves to possess, a certain
amount of philosophic training, the opin-
ion must arise (and I use the word " must"
125
126 PHILOSOPHY AND THEOSOPHY
advisedly) that Theosophy is tolerable

only to persons who have been unable
to pursue their philosophic, or scientific,
studies beyond a certain point of amateur-
ishness. It might easily be presumed in
such circles that a person possessing thor-
ough philosophic training, and acquainted
with what are the foundations of scien-
tific assumptions and convictions, could
from the very beginning never concern
himself with all those fantasies presum-
;"
ably accepted as "higher experiences
that such things could but appeal to
those who were as yet unripe for philo-
sophic thought.
Now, in order to ascertain to what this
opinion is due, we will, for once in a way,

ourselves take a survey of the activities
of Philosophy. This can be done only in
a perfunctory manner to-day, giving the
merest indications; but when on some
PHILOSOPHY AND THEOSOPHY 127
future occasion I may have the oppor-

tunity of speaking in a more detailed
manner about these things, you will be in
a position to see for yourselves that such
indications have been drawn from a great
context.
Philosophy has been generally regarded,
by those who concern themselves with the
subject, as something absolute, not as
something which was bound to come into
existence in the course of the development
of mankind.
It is, however, precisely when dealing
with the Science of Philosophy that we are
in a position to show, by means of exter-
nal historic documents, the time at which
it had its origin in the evolution of man-
kind. Now that time has been fairly well
determined, and more especially so by the
older interpreters of the History of Philos-
ophy. In all such presentations you will
find that a beginning made with Thales,

is
and from him onwards in continuity down

to our times.
A few newer writers on the History of
Philosophy, desirous of appearing more
particularly erudite and clever, have, it is
true, attempted to place the beginning of

Philosophy at a more remote date, drag-
ging in all kinds of material from the early
"Wisdom" teaching. All this, however,
is due to a particular form of dilettanteism,
wholly ignorant of the fact that every-
thing that preceded it in the " Wisdom"
study of India, Egypt, and Chaldea, was
in point of method entirely different in
origin from purely philosophic thought,
with its leaning towards the speculative.
This form first developed in the Greek
world of thought, and there the first to
engage our attention in this respect cer-
tainly is Thales.
We have no need to occupy ourselves

with the characteristics of the various
Greek philosophers from Thales onward;
neither need we concern ourselves with
Anaxagoras, Herakleitos, Anaximenes,
nor yet with Socrates or Plato. We may
begin at once with the personality who
represented the very first philosopher
Har' iZoxrfv (par excellence), and that was
Aristotle.
All other philosophies are in reality but

abstractions based upon the Mystery
Wisdom; of Thales and Herakleitos this
could easily be proved. Neither Plato

nor Pythagoras is a Philosopher in the
actual sense of the word, the sources of
both being in seership; since Philosophy,
when characterised as such, does not
depend upon the ideas which a man
expresses, but is determined rather by the
sources whence he derives his information.
Pythagoras found his sources in the

Ancient Mystery Wisdom, and trans-
lated the knowledge thus acquired into
definitions. He was a Seer, only it came
to pass that what he saw as seer he clothed
in philosophic garb ; and the same was the
case with Plato.
But what constitutes the Philosopher,
and what we happen to meet with for the
first time in Aristotle is this, that he works
out for himself a science of definitions,

and of necessity either rejects all other
sources, or has no access to them. And
since this is found for the first time in
Aristotle, there is no lack of historical
reason for stating that it was precisely he
who founded Logic, the Science of Think-
ing. Everything else had been of a
precursory nature only. The manner in
which notions occur to us, in which our
opinions are formed and our conclusions
drawn, — all this was first set forth by

Aristotle as a kind of Natural History-
dealing with subjective human thought,
and everything with which we come in
contact when dealing with him is closely
associated with these foundations of
Thought Method. As we shall have to
revert to these things, which in his case
are of fundamental importance for all
later aspects of the subject, it needs no

more than this historical intimation in
order to characterise the point of depart-

ure in a few words.
For. later times also Aristotle remains
the representative Philosopher. The out-
come of what he accomplished permeated
not only the later Aristotelian period of
antiquity, up to the founding of Christ-
ianity, but from the dawn of Christianity
onward to the Middle Ages it was to him
that all turned in their efforts to formu-
late a Conception of the Universe. By

this we do not mean to say that men had
Aristotle's philosophy before them as a
system, as a collection of dogmas (espe-
cially in the Middle Ages, a time when the
original manuscripts were not attainable).

Yet they had, through his influence, ac-
quired the way in which, by the aid of a
purely technical form of conception, they
might rise to the highest Divine Know-
ledge. And came to pass that
thus it
Aristotle was more and more regarded

as the teacher of Logical Thought.
It was somewhat in this way that a
person in the Middle Ages would have put
the matter to himself. Wherever the posi-
tive perception of the world as a Fact may
come from, be it due to man's examina-
tion of external realities by means of his
senses, or, be it due to Revelation by
Divine Grace, through Christ Jesus, these
'
;
things have simply to be accepted on the :
one hand as the deposition of the senses

on the other as Revelation. Should we,
however, desire to substantiate this or
that by pure definition, then, we must
have recourse to that system of thought
instituted by Aristotle.
And in very truth, of such value and

importance has been the work done by
Aristotle in framing this Thought Method
that Kant was but right in declaring that
"since the time of Aristotle Logic has not
advanced by so much as a single sentence.
'
In all essentials, indeed, this statement

may be endorsed at the present day.
Nowadays too, the fundamental teach-
ings embodying a logical system of
thought will be found to remain almost
unaltered, if compared with what Aris-
totle set down: such matter as persons
may be inclined to add at the present day
is the outcome of a somewhat amateurish

attitude, assumed even in philosophic
circles, in relation to the conception of
Logic.
Now it was not alone the study of
Aristotle, but above all the finding one's
way into his Method of Thought, that
became of immediate moment for the
central period of the Middle Ages, or for
the Early Scholastic Era, as we may also
term it, when Scholasticism was in its
prime, —a period which came to a close
with Thomas Aquinas, in the thirteenth
century.
Speaking of this time of Early Scholas-
ticism, itmust be clearly understood that
at the present day allusion to it can only
be made, in terms of philosophy, if
unhampered by all authority and all dog-

matic belief. It is, indeed, more difficult
nowadays to speak of these things

purely objectively, than disparagingly,

for, when speaking with disparagement,
we do not encounter the danger of being
dubbed "heretics" by so-called "free"
thinkers: but, in speaking objectively, we
run the chance of being misunderstood,
the reason for this being that in the pre-
sent day an ecclesiastical movement of a
positive and most intolerant kind has

based its appeal upon totally mis-
understood Thomism. What to-day
stands for orthodox catholic Philosophy
should in no wise affect us; nevertheless
we should be just as little disconcerted
by the reproach we may possibly have to
encounter, that we ourselves are con-
cerned with what is both followed and
advised in dogmatic quarters. Let us
rather seek to characterise, regardless of
aught else that may impose itself on our
attention, the attitude of Scholasticism
at its zenith towards Science, Thought

Method, and Supernatural Revelation.
Early Scholasticism does not allow of
the characterisation usually applied to
it in these days. Early Scholasticism is
Monism, and not in the remotest sense

of a dualistic nature. To it the world's
Primal Source is undoubtedly a Unity:
only that for the recognising of the Primi-
tive Element the Scholastic employs a
special kind of perception. He says:
" There is a certain property of super-
sensual Truth that has primarily been
revealed to Humanity." "Human
Thought has in spite of all its efforts
not yet been able to press through to
those regions whose existence is the
subject-matter of the highest revealed
wisdom."
Thus, there existed for the early Schol-
astics a certain fund of Wisdom to which
by no method of thought could they im-

mediately attain: it becomes only attain-
able in so far as the thought is capable of
interpreting that which has been revealed.

This portion of the Wisdom, then, the
thinker is bound to accept as revelation,
using his thought power for its interpre-
tation only. All that man can evolve
from his own inner consciousness has its
being only in certain subordinate regions

of Reality, and here the Scholastic has
recourse to active thought in pursuit of
his research. He pushes forward up to
certain limits where Revealed Wisdom
meets him. Thus the contents of his
own research and revelation unite in an
objective unified and monistic conception
of the universe. That a kind of dualism,
owing to human limitations, is associated
with the matter, is of only secondary
importance: it concerns a dualism of per-
ception, not a dualism of Cosmic Causes.

The Scholastic therefore explains
thought method as a means of being able
rationally to elaborate that which empiri-
cal science acquires by the observation
of the senses, as well as a means of helping
to penetrate further, even into Spiritual
Truth. And here the Scholastic, in all
humility, presents a portion of that Wis-

dom as " Revelation,' ' not as discovered
by himself, but as that which he is called
upon to accept.
Now the special method of thought here
used by the Scholastics had most emphati-
cally sprung from a basis of Aristotelian
Logic. There was, in fact, a twofold
necessity for the early Scholastics (whose
period came to an end with the thirteenth
century) to concern themselves with
Aristotle. The first necessity was due to
historical developments: Aristotelianism
had become acclimatised: the second

necessity arose from the fact that, as time
went on, an enemy to Christianity sprang
up in another quarter.
The teachings of Aristotle had not found
expansion in the Occident only, but in
Oriental lands also, and everything that
found its way into Spain by means of the
Arabs, and which thence penetrated still
farther into Europe, was, in as far as

" thought method" was concerned, per-
meated with Aristotelianism.
More especially was this the case with
that particular form of Philosophy known
as Natural Science, which embracing
Medicine, had also been imported, and
which was in the most emphatic sense
Aristotelian. Now an opinion had been
formed that nothing but a kind of Pan-
theism could be the consistent outcome of
Aristotelian teaching, which, especially as
—
:
to its philosophy, had evolved itself from

a very vague mysticism.
There was, therefore, in addition to this
special reason, — the fact that Aristotle's
influence still animated thought method,
—yet another reason for men to concern
themselves with his teachings, for, in the
interpretation placed upon them by the
Arabs, Aristotle is made to appear as the
opponent and foe of Christianity.
What we have to ask ourselves is this :
Were the ideas which the Arabs imported

as the interpretation of Aristotle a true
interpretation? Aristotelianism would
then indeed be a scientific basis adapted
to contradict the teachings of Christian-
ity. Now let us picture to ourselves
what in face of such conclusions must
have been the feelings of the Scholastics
upon the one side they adhered firmly to
the truth of Christianity, yet upon the
other they were bound by all their tra-
ditions to acknowledge nothing less than

the Thought Method of Aristotle—
namely, Logic —as true and correct.
And out of this dissension arose the

task of the Scholastics: the proving that
even while philosophising it was still pos-
sible to apply the Logic of the Greek sage,
aye, that it was exactly he who had pro-
vided the instrument by means of which
Christianity could really be conceived
and understood. It was a task which
owed its inception to the development of
that day. Aristotelianism had to be
treated in such a manner as to make it
evident that what the Arabs had im-
ported and put forward as the teachings
of Aristotle was only to be considered as
erroneous when it showed a tendency in-
imical to Christianity; that, in short, one
had but to interpret him correctly in
—
order to find in his philosophy a basis for

the true conception of the Christian
religion. And this was the task Scholas-
ticism set itself, to the achievement of
which the entire writings of the Thomists
were devoted.
Now, however, something else hap-
pened. When the day of Scholasticism
had drawn to its close, there occurred in
the course of time a complete rupture
along the whole philological line of
evolution in human thought. The most
natural thing would have been (and be it
understood that this is not put forward

in any sense as a criticism —it is not even
suggested that it could have happened in
this wise, for the actual course taken was
the absolutely necessary one, the case
therefore is put thus hypotheticaJly)
the most natural thing would have been
to have expanded Thought Method even
further, so that ever higher and higher

portions of the supersensual world should
have been grasped by thought. But the
next development was not this. The fun-
damental Thought which, with Thomas
Aquinas, for instance, was applicable
to the highest and most exalted regions,
and which might have been so developed
bhat the limits of human research would
tiave been enlarged, embracing ever re-
moter and higher realms, this fundamental

Thought became distorted to a caricature
Df itself, its existence prolonged in a con-
viction only. The highest spiritual truths
withdraw themselves entirely from the
area of purely human thought activity,
From any elaboration into definitions.
By such means a division occurred in
man's spiritual life. Supersensual know-
ledge was regarded as something inaccess-
ible to every effort of human thought, as
something that could not be attained to

by any subjective effort based on know-
ledge, but that was compelled to have its
roots in Faith.
This tendency was evinced in earlier
times, but it ran to extremes towards the
close of the Middle Ages, as the division
between the faith that had been attained
by subjective conviction and the faith
that, as the foundation of a sound judg-

ment, had to be the result of logical
activity, became more and more accent-
uated.
Itwas but natural that before this
yawning chasm Knowledge and Belief
were forced further apart, nor was it
unnatural that Aristotle and his method

of thought should have been dragged in to
fillup the gap occasioned by historical
developments. This was done more es-
pecially at the beginning of the Modern
Era. Thus upon the one side men of

science maintained — (and here I am quite
ready to admit that much of what they
said may be regarded as reasonable
enough) —that no mere spinning out of
what had already been placed on record
by Aristotle could lead to any advance
in the search for empirical Truth.
Besides this, the sequence of historical
events showed that it might be inadvis-
able to make common cause with the fol-
lowers of Aristotle; for, indeed, as the

time of Keppler and Galileo approached,
misconceived Aristotelianism had become
a veritable plague in the land.
It has proved to be the case again and
again that those who called themselves
adherents of some particular conception
of the Universe have, times out of num-
ber, destroyed an incalculable amount of
that which the founders themselves had
presented in the right way. Instead of

looking to Nature herself, instead of
bringing observation to bear, it was, at
the end of the Middle Ages, found easier
to make use of the old books of Aristotle,
dwelling, at all academic lectures, en-
tirely on the written letter of the Greek
Logician.
The following story is characteristic
of this habit. An orthodox Aristotelian
had been invited to see for himself, by
assisting at the autopsy of a body, how
utterly he had misconceived the sense of
Aristotle in maintaining that the nerves
proceeded from the heart, when, as a
matter of fact, the nervous system had
its centre in the brain. Yet, in spite of
ocular demonstration, the Aristotelian's
reply was: "Observation certainly shows
me that this is actually the case, but
Aristotle states the reverse, and I have
greater faith in him." Thus it will be

seen that followers of Aristotle had
become a positive nuisance. It was
imperative for empirical science to rid
itself of this false Aristotelianism and base
its authority upon pure experience, and
we find the strongest impulse in this
direction given by the great Galileo.
On the other side an entirely different

development took place. Those who, so
to speak, sought to save their Faith from
this threatened invasion of independent
thought, developed a kind of aversion

to Logic. They were of opinion that
this method of thought was powerless in
the presence of Revealed Wisdom, and
when the worldly empirics supported
their assertions by referring to the books
of Aristotle, their opponents confronted
them with arguments they had taken
from a different, but, of course, equally
,
misunderstood Book, namely, the Bible.

This was more particularly the case in the
beginning of the New Era, as we may
gather from Luther's bitter words apos-
trophising Reason as "a deaf and pur-
blind fool," that should have naught to
do with Spiritual Truths, adding further
that a pure conviction of faith can never
be kindled by such means as reasoned
thought founded upon Aristotle, to whom
he applies such opprobrious names as:
"Hypocrite," "Sycophant," and "Stink-

. '
ing Goat ' These are indeed hard words

but when considered from the standpoint
of that new era they may be better under-
stood.
What had taken was that a deep
place
chasm had opened between Reason and
its allied Thought Method on the one
hand, and supersensual Truth on the

other; and this chasm has found its final
expression in the person of a philosopher

whose influence has, as it were, caught the
nineteenth century in a web from which
it finds some difficulty in extricating
itself; this philosopher is Kant. He is,
virtually, the last adherent of opinions re-
sulting from that division which occurred

in the Middle Ages.
He made a marked division between
Faith and that to which man is capable
of attaining by means of Knowledge.
Externally, "The Critic of Pure Reason"
stands, as it were, side by side with "The
Critic of Practical Reason,' ' and Practical
Reason ever seeks to acquire what may
be termed a standpoint of rationalistic
thought, as opposed to that which may
be termed knowledge. On the other
hand, Theoretical Reason, as advanced
by Kant, is stigmatised most emphati-
cally as incapable of realising the Actual
.
—the '
' thing in itself

'
' {Das Ding an sich) .
The " thing in itself" makes impressions

upon man, it is true. These, however,
can live only in man's self -representation,
in hisown concepts of such impressions.

Now, we should be obliged to delve deep
down into the history of the philosophy
of Kant should we desire to characterise
his distinctive fundamental error, but
this would lead us too far away from our
present object; moreover I have already
dealt with it in my book entitled Truth
and Science {Wahrheit und Wissenschaft)
What is of far more interest to us at the
present moment is this "web" in the
meshes of which the philosophic thought
of the nineteenth century has found itself
entangled. Let us enquire how this came

about.
Kant felt above all things the necessity
of demonstrating to what extent some-
thing absolute might be connected with

the process of thinking; something, that
is to say, concerning which there could
be no uncertainty, "for," said he, "all
that has its origin in experience is of
uncertain quality." Our judgment can
derive certainty only from that factor in
recognition which originates with our-
selves, —not from external things or
objects.
We see things, or objects, therefore,
in the Kantian sense, as through a col-
oured glass; and within ourselves we

gather recognition of these things in their
lawful connection, dependent upon our
own consciousness. Our faculty of recog-
nition has certain conventions, those of
space and time, as well as of cause and
effect: these have no meaning for the
"thing in itself," at least we have no
knowledge as to whether the "thing in
itself" has any existence in space, time,

or causation. These are conventions
which arise only in the subjective mind of
man, and which he evolves concerning

the " thing in itself" in the moment of its
appearing to him, so that the "thing in
remains unknown to him.
'
itself ' Where-

ever, therefore, the "thing in itself"
confronts man, he clothes it with the con-

ventions of space and time, and applies
to it the law of cause and effect, casting
his entire network of concepts and con-

ventions about the "thing in itself." For
which reason man may be said to have a
certain surety of knowledge, since, as long
as he is as he is, Time, Space, and Causa-
tion possess a meaning for him. And
what man puts into things he has to
extract from them again. Nevertheless,
he is unable to know what the "thing in
itself" is, for he stands for ever baffled
before his Idea of it. Schopenhauer

recognised this, and has placed his con-
viction upon record in those classic words
of his: "The World is my Conception."
Now the sum of these conclusions has
been carried over into the entire thought

of the nineteenth century, not only in
regard to the Theory of Cognition, but
also as affecting the theoretical ground-
work of Physiology, and here certain
experiences contributed their aid.
If we look at the doctrine concerning
the specific energies of the senses there
would seem to be a corroboration of the
Kantian opinion. At all events, that is
how the matter was regarded during the
nineteenth century.
Thus any one might say "The eye per- :
ceives light :" yet if the eye is affected by

some other means, say by pressure, or by
an electric shock, it also becomes aware of
" :
light. Hence it was "The percep-

said:
tion of light is generated by means of the
specific energy of the eye and transferred
to the 'thing in itself.'
More especially did Helmholtz in the

crudest manner lay this down as a physi-
ological-philosophical axiom, declaring
"All we perceive cannot be supposed to
have even so much as a pictorial resem-
blance to those things which are exterior

to us. The picture has a semblance of
that which it represents, but that which
we call perception cannot have so close a
resemblance to the original as has the
picture. Therefore," he further contin-
ues, "that which man experiences within
himself cannot be otherwise expressed
than by calling it a symbol of the thing'
in itself,' for a symbol need have no

actual resemblance to the thing it ex-
presses." Thus, what had long been in
preparation entered so completely into

the philosophic thought of our times that
men became incapable of perceiving, in-
capable of even thinking, that the truth
of the matter might be otherwise.
For such reasons Eduard von Hartmann
was quite unable to find a way out of his
own web of definitions. For instance,
in a conversation I once had with him, it
was absolutely impossible to get beyond
this: "We must," he said, " surely pro-
ceed from the conception, and when we

define the conception we have to say that
it is that by means of which man is
enabled to perceive the non-conceivable

(ein Nichtvorgestelltes)\" And yet, if the
conception from which we must proceed
is something subjective we are again un-
able to get beyond the subjective. It did
not seem to occur to him that he had,

in the first place, constructed this defini-
tion, and now found himself unable to

escape from his own carefully arranged
structure. Indeed, the whole of his
Transcendental Realism upon his
rests
having enmeshed himself within a web of

his own making, and one which he takes
to be an objective truth.
Along these lines no one can get beyond
the statement that, "what I conceive with
my perception never goes beyond the con-
fines of the 'thing in itself': it is there-
fore only subjective.' ' This habit of

thought has in the course of time become
so firmly rooted that all those theorists
who take to themselves credit for under-
standing Kant, now regard every other
person as being of limited intelligence if
he does not consider their definition of

conceptions and of the subjective nature
of observation to be the right one. And all
this has been the result of that split which
I have already described as occurring in

the spiritual development of humanity.
Now any one who really studied Aris-
totle would easily perceive how entirely
different a conception, both as to principle
and theory, might, in place of a distorted
one, have been the result of a direct devel-
opment onward from Aristotle.
Aristotle had already accepted, in the
regions of theoretical perception, those
ideas to which man in this day is but
slowly and gradually ascending, through
all that tangle of academic undergrowth
which has been the outcome of the influ-
ence of Kant. We have, above all things,

to learn to understand how it was possible
for Aristotle, by means of his method of
thought, to put forward definitions which
are rightly conceived, and lead immedi-
ately to the overstepping of those self-
imposed limits.
We need concern ourselves with no more

than a few of the fundamental concep-
tions propounded by Aristotle in order to
recognise this. It is entirely in conform-
ity with his views to say, "If we analyse
the things about us, we find in the first
place that what provides us with a con-
ception of these things is the fact that we
perceive them with our senses sense pre-
:
sents each separate thing to us." If,
however, we begin to think, the things

group themselves we gather divers things
;
together into a unit of thought. And

here Aristotle finds the right relation-
ship between unity of thought and objec-
—the objectiveness that leads
tive reality
to the "thing in "—
itself showing that
in
when we are thinking consistently we are
bound to imagine the world of experience
about us as composed of matter and what
he terms form.
Matter and Form are to Aristotle two

conceptions which he defines in the only
true sense in which they permit of defini-
tion. We might go on talking for hours,
if we wished to exhaust these two con-

ceptions, together with all they involve.
Still we may at least contribute a certain
portion of what is elementary to this
subject, so as to understand what it
is that Aristotle defines as Form and

Matter.
He is confident himself that with re-
spect to all things immediately about us,
—the things that make up our world of
experience, —the conception of these all
things depends upon an apprehension of

Form, since it is Form that gives to
objects their reality, not Matter. The

Form is to Aristotle the Reality.
There are even in our day persons
endowed with a true comprehension of
Aristotle. Dr. Vinzenz Knauer, who in

the 'eighties was lecturer at the University
of Vienna, explained to those attending
his classes the difference between Matter
and Form, and upon what this difference
depended, illustrating his meaning in a

forcible if somewhat grotesque way.
" Imagine," he said, "that for a con-
siderable portion of his existence a wolf
had eaten nothing but lambs: would he
not practically consist of lamb only? And
! '
yet, no wolf ever becomes a lamb ' This,
if only rightly followed up, points out the
difference between Matter and Form.
Is the wolf a wolf by reason of Matter?
No! His being has been imposed upon
him by his Form, and his Form is not the
form of this particular wolf alone, but
that common to all wolves. Thus, by
means of conception, we find Form to be
something universal, in contradistinction
to that which the senses are able to con-

ceive of separately.
According to the meaning of Aristotle
we can distinguish accurately, by means
of a true theory of conception, what is
universal, in three ways. We can say : this
universal is the actual, is that whereon

it depends. But is that which has its
being in human thought the same as that

which we, in the true sense, allude to as
Form? Man, approaching those
No.
separate wolves, perceives what is com-
mon to all wolves from a study of these
single examples of the species. Never-
theless, that which he here conceives of
as a something made up of certain similar
characteristics is but the representation
of what is actually universal.
(All this can of course be but suggested
in the most fragmentary way.)
We have therefore to differentiate: a
"Universal" which is anterior to those

units confronting us externally next, since ;
this is the essential : a "Universal" com-

prised within these units; and further: a
third form of the "Universal" which man
subsequently evolves from out his own
thoughts.
We have therefore:
i . Universalia ante rem.
2. Universalia in re.
3. Universalia post rem.

The latter unroll themselves within
the subjective mind and are "objectively-
real universals" representing our inner
experiences.
Until we approach these threefold
differences, no right conception can be
arrived at, upon this basis, with regard
to that which is important here. For
only consider for a moment what is
involved.
What is involved is the conception that

man, in so far as he remains within the
11
Universalia post rem'' is possessed of a
subjective. Yet at the same time some-
thing intrinsic is implied, namely, that
man's conception is a "representation" of
that which as actual form (Entelechy) 1
has universal duration, and into this

14
Universalia in re" such things only have
entered because as " Universalia ante rem"
they already existed prior to those objects.
Thus we have a Universalia ante rem
which we must accept in the Deity, as
existent in the Wisdom of God.
The Christian Theologist, the Scholas-
tic, conceived this in a similar manner,
the only difference being that he did
not ascend directly to the Highest Di-
vinity. As Theosophists, we are aware
1
Greek, meaning the actual being of a thing as opposed
to simple capability or potentiality.
that the Universalia in re, when dealing,

for instance, with brute creation, means
the " group souls/ ' and thus we have in
Aristotelianism actually a fundamental-
ising of that which Theosophy is able to
support by definition.
There is, however, in addition to all
that we meet with in Aristotle, something

else that has become increasingly anti-
pathetic to these modern times. It is
this: that it is imperative for us to

habituate ourselves to thinking in concise
and finely chiselled forms of definition;
in conceptions that we have first carefully
prepared; and it is necessary, in order to
do this, that we should have the patience
to advance from conception to concep-
tion above
; all things, also, that we employ
clearness and neatness of definition; that
we be aware of what we are speaking of
when we use a definition. If, for instance,
in the Scholastic sense, we speak of the

relation of a conception to that which it
represents, we are obliged in the first
place to work our way through the

lengthy definitions in the writings of the
Scholastics. We must understand what
is meant when we find it stated that the
idea is, as to form, grounded in the sub-
ject, and has its foundation based on the
object: that which defines the actual
appearance of the idea being derived from
the subject, whilst what it contains is
derived from the object. This is but a

small example, —a very small one; for, if
you were to go through the works of the

Scholastics, you would have to labour
through ponderous volumes of definitions,
a matter which would be exceedingly
tedious to the scientist of to-day, —for
which reason he looks upon the Scholas-
tics as learned humbugs and leaves them
severely alone. He is quite unaware that

true Scholasticism is nothing else than
the careful elaboration of the Art of
Thinking, in order that this may form a
foundation for a true conception of the
Real.
And when you will under-
I state this
stand what an immense boon it will be

if efforts should arise within the Theo-
sophical Society which should, in the very
best sense, have for their object the ela-
boration of the principles governing the
Theory of Perception. And as here in
Stuttgart we happen to have in Dr. Unger
a worker of exceptional importance in
this field of labour, we may well regard it
as a proof of a favourable tendency appar-

ent within the immediate confines of our
movement. For this movement will not
make its true depth felt in the world at
large by appealing to those whose only
—
desire is to hear of facts concerning the

Higher World, but by the labours of such
as have the patience requisite to press
forward into the intricacies of a Thought
Method; who are possessed of definite
motive for accomplishing solid work, such
as provides the frame-work for yet fur-
ther labours in the Higher World.
Thus, perhaps, it may come to pass that
within the Theosophical movement
from out Theosophy itself —Scholasticism,
twisted as it has been both by its adher-
ents as well as its enemies into a grim
caricature of itself, may once again be
presented in such a manner as to be
understood.
It is of course far easier to apply a few
ready-made definitions to everything con-
fronting us as a new truth, — ar easier than
f
to labour at constructing a solid founda-

tion by means of a Method of Thought;
but what are the consequent results?

Taking up a philosophical book of the
present day one is left with a dubious
impression: men no longer understand
each other when conversing on higher
matters; they are not clear in their own
minds with regard to the definitions of
which they make use. This could not
have happened in the time of the Schol-
astics. In those days men were com-
pelled to be accurate as to the form in
which they clothed an idea.
As you may have perceived, there was

at one time in very truth a Way by
which to probe to the depths of a genuine
Thought Method, and had this Path been
pursued further, no one would have
become entangled in the web of the Kan-
tian "thing in itself," with its supposedly
subjective conceptions.
Two results would then have been
attained. In the first place man would

have arrived, within himself, at a reliable
theory of conception, and in the second

place, and this is of great importance,
the accepted Centres of Learning could

not have misunderstood so absolutely
the great philosophers whose labours
came after those of Kant.
Kant was succeeded by Fichte, Schel-
ling, and Hegel, —
what are they to the
man of to-day? They are assumed to be
philosophers who sought to present a
world by means of purely abstract defini-
tions. Such an idea never occurred to

them.
But people were firmly imbued with
the Kantian conception, and for that
reason incapable of understanding the
world's greatest philosophers, either rela-
tively or philosophically.
Hegel spent his youth here in Stutt-
gart; the house where he lived stands

opposite as you enter this street in which
we are holding our present meetings. A
tablet commemorates the fact. But only
gradually will people ripen to an under-
standing of all that Hegel has given to the
world, and only when they have emanci-
pated themselves from this hampering
self -woven web of theoretical conceptions
will they be capable of understanding
him.
Yet this would be so simple ! It is only
necessary to accustom oneself to a natural

and unconstrained mode of thinking,
and to free oneself from the tendencies
now prevalent in philosophic literature,
which, under the confusing influences of
the Kantian School, have developed into
set habits of thought.
We must ourselves be able to answer

this question clearly: Is it really the case
that man, who proceeds from the subject,

constructs his conception within the sub-
ject and then weaves that conception, as
it were, about the object? Is this really
so?
Yes, it is so.
But, does it follow as a consequent

necessity that man is unable ever to
penetrate into the ''thing in itself"? I
will put forward a simple example:

Imagine, for instance, that you have a
seal, and upon that seal the name of
Miller. Now, press your seal on to some
sealing-wax, and again remove it.
Now you are, I take it, quite certain

in your mind that this seal, being, let us
say, of brass, no property of the brass

will pass over into the wax. Were the
sealing-wax conscious in the Kantian
sense, it would say: "I am entirely wax;
no brass passes over into me, I can there-
:
fore have no knowledge concerning the

nature of that which has approached
me."
And yet, one thing has here been left
out of the question entirely —the very

thing, moreover, that really counts ! That
is the name of " Miller* ' which remains
objectively imprinted upon the sealing-
wax, yet without any portion of the brass
having adhered to it.
So long as people think and believe

materialistically, that in order to estab-
lish a connection, matter is bound to pass
over from the one to the other, just so
long will they in theory maintain
"I am sealing-wax, and that other is
'brass in itself'; and as none of the

1
brass in itself can enter me, therefore
the name of '
Miller ' can be no more
than a sign. Although the 'thing in
itself' that has impressed itself upon me,
: '
so that I can read it, this '

thing in itself
remains unknown to me."

And there you have the final argument
that is made to serve for all. Were we to
continue this illustration, it would work
out thus
"Man is all sealing-wax (conception).
The 'thing in itself is all seal (that
which is exterior to the conception).
"Now, as I, being wax (the person con-
ceiving), can but attain to the outer sur-
face of the seal, (the 'thing in itself) so
nothing concerning the 'thing in itself
can reach me."
So long as people insist on carrying
materialism and the theory of definition
to these extremes, so long will they be
unable to recognise that upon which the
question depends.
The matter stands thus : We do not get
beyond our conception, but that which is
—
transmitted to us may be defined as

Spirit, and that stands in no need of
material atoms for its transmission.
Nothing of matter enters the subject,
yet in spite of this, the idea transfers
itself to the subject, as indeed was the
case with the name of Miller on the seal-
ing-wax.
It is from this point *that the start
towards a healthy study of the Theory of
Definition must again be made, and it
will then be seen how much the material-

ism of recent times has (quite uncon-
sciously to itself) acquired a hold upon
the conceptions pertaining to the Theory
of Knowledge.
The result of unprejudiced observation
amounts to this : that Kant can only con-
ceive a "thing in itself " materially,
grotesque as this statement may at first
seem.
But in order to survey the case in its

entirety, something further must be indi-
cated. We have said that Aristotle has
pointed out the fact that in everything
surrounding us it becomes necessary to
differentiate between what is Form (En-
telechy ) and what is Material
, . Now what
we can say is this : that the process of con-
ception takes us as far as the Form, in the
sense above indicated. But, is there any
possibility of reaching that which is the
substance? For we must bear in mind
that to Aristotle material means not alone
matter, but also that substance which,
though spirit, yet forms the bed-rock, as
it were, of Reality. Is there any possi-
bility, not only of conceiving that which,
so to speak, " flows across," but of "creep-
ing within" the interior of things, and so
identifying oneself with matter? This is
an important question with regard to the

Theory of Cognition, and it can be an-

swered only by one who has immersed
himself within the nature of thought, that
is, of pure thought and to the conception
;
of pure thought man must first ascend.

Pure thought we can determine as
Actuality, as indeed Aristotle himself
did. It is pure Form, as it first presents
and without context in respect to
itself
those separate and immediate objects

which exist externally in the Reality of
the senses. And why? Let us get a

clear comprehension as to how pure con-
ception comes into being, in contradis-
tinction to perception.
Imagine some one desiring to form the
conception of a circle. This can be done
by going out to sea so far that nothing
save water can be perceived around you :
then by means of your perception form

the conception of a circle. There is,
however, another way of arriving at the

conception of a circle, and that is if, withr
out appealing to the senses, you say to
yourself: I will make a mental note of all
those places which are equidistant from
one particular spot. Now, this piece of
mental construction which is carried on

within yourself needs no appeal to any-
thing external, and this is an example of
pure thought, as Aristotle conceived it—
of pure Actuality.
But here we are confronted by some-
thing of peculiar importance. Pure
thought thus conceived fits in with ex-
perience; without it experience itself is
inconceivable. Imagine Kepler evolving

by means of a theory of pure conception
such a system as shows the elliptical
courses of the planets, in one of the foci

of which the sun is and then
situated,
imagine observation by such means as the
!
telescope subsequently confirming that

which previous experience had presented
in the realms of pure thought
Surely this clearly demonstrates to
every unprejudiced thinker that Pure
Thought is not without significance for
Reality, for it is in accord with it. A dis-
coverer such as Kepler illustrates by
means of his actions that which Aristotel-
ism has theoretically affirmed by means of
methodical thought. He takes that
which belongs to the Universalia post rein,
and upon nearer approach that the

finds
Universalia post rem was even prior to
this, that is to say, that it was already
contained within itself as Universalia

ante rem.
Now, if the Universalia be accepted in
the right sense (not merely subjectively
accepted, after the perverted sense),
they will then reveal themselves objec-

'
tively in things, and to these ends they

must first be formulated after the manner
in which Aristotle conceived them as the
very foundation of the world.
Thus you will find that what at first
seems the most subjective and which was
confirmed as independent of all experience,
is after all that which in the most objec-
tivemanner leads the way to the Actual.
Now, what is the reason why the subjec-
tive could not reveal itself first in the
world? The reason is that its way is
barred by a " thing in itself.'

When you construct a circle you do not
knock up against any such obstruction,
because you are living within the thing
itself, though but formally so, to begin
with.
The next question is, can we by means
of such subjective thinking arrive at any
kind of Reality, at aught that is perma-
nent? The point on which the whole

matter hinges is that the subjective (as
we have already characterised it) when
constructed in thought, is a formation,
that objectively presents itself as some-
thing additional. We may of course say
that it is after all a matter of utter indif-
ference to any circle, or to any sphere in
this world whether we think of it, or not!
Our thoughts concerning the Actual are
matters of indifference to the surrounding
world of experience. This exists in itself,
quite irrespective of our thoughts. Our

thinking may therefore be objective as
far aswe are concerned, and yet be of no
moment to the thing.
How are we to get rid of this apparent
contradiction? Where is the opposite
pole we must now take hold of? Where is
there a Way within the domain of Pure
Thought by which we may conceive,
not alone the Form, but together with

the Form also the Reality? For as soon
as ever we have anything that together
with the form constitutes reality, we then
have a fixed point at which to set up our
theoretical knowledge.
We are everywhere in the same posi-
tion as in the case of the circle. When
we construct the circle we can say:
"What I know respecting this circle is
objectively right, but whether it is appli-
cable to 'things' depends on whether
when I meet those things, they prove to
me that they are subject to the laws
which I myself have formulated.' ' If
the total of all Entelechy resolves itself
into pure thought, then a residuum must

remain, a residuum known to Aristotle
as Matter, where it is not possible by the
process of Pure Thought itself to reach
Reality.
1 82 PHILOSOPHY AND THEOSOPHY
And on this point Aristotle may be cor-

roborated by the philosopher Fichte. By
the Aristotelian method we may arrive
at the following formula: "Everything
about us, including all things belong-
ing to the invisible world, necessitates
the postulating of a material in order
to account for the formative Entele-
,,
chy.
To Aristotle the idea of God is a pure
Actuality, a pure act; that is to say, an
act in which Actuality, that which is for-
mulative, same time endowed

is at the
with power to bring forth its own ma-
terial; not something that exists apart
from the material, but something that
by reason of its own activity is one with
the material.
The image of such pure Actuality is to

be found in man himself, when by pure
thought he arrives at the definition of
"
the "I" (the Self—the Ego). In con-

ceiving this "I" he has, according to
Fichte, performed an act, or deed. He
has within his own consciousness arrived
at something, which, seeing he lives in
Actuality, similarly brings forth both this
Actuality and its material. Now, if we
conceive this "I " in pure thought, we are
then in a centre where pure thought
brings forth, or evolves, the essentials for
its own material being. If you conceive
"
this I" in thought, then a threefold "I
becomes apparent: the pure "I" belong-
ing to the Universalia ante rem; an "I"
wherein you yourself are, and which
and an
belongs to the Universalia in re:
"I" which you conceive, and which

belongs to the Universalia post rem. But
here again is an important point: for the
"I" is so constituted that when we ele-
vate the mind to an actual conception

" "
of it, the threefold "I" becomes merged

into one.
In conceiving its true definition the " I
lives within itself, being able to exist as
the reality in the definition. What is
accomplished by pure thought is imma-

terial to the "I," for the pure thought is
the creator of the " I.

Here the definition of the Creative
coincides with that of the Material, and
we have to acknowledge that, while in all
other processes of conception we come

to some limit, this is not the case with
the "I." This we embrace in its inner-
most being when we enfold it in pure
thought.
We may by means of theo-
therefore
retical conception lay down this funda-
mental axiom, namely, "that by dint

of pure thought a point is attainable
where Reality and Subjectiveness are in
complete union, where, in short, man

experiences Reality."
If one stops at this point, and allows
one's thoughts so to fructify that they
again evolve from out themselves, then
has one grasped those things from within.
There is, therefore, something in this "I"
conceived, and at the same time created,
by an effort of pure thought, an effort by
which we force the boundary which has
to be placed for all other things between
Entelechy (Form) and Matter.
By such means, a theory of cognition
logically pursued becomes something that
can also, by means of pure thought, point
the Way into Reality. you pursue
If
this Path, you are eventually bound to

find that it leads to Theosophy. There
are, however, but few philosophers who
have any understanding of this Path.
Most of them are entangled within their
self-spun web of definitions, and as they

know the definition only as something
abstract, never apprehending that point
where it becomes the archetype of the
creative, they are incapable of finding
aught by means of which they may come
into direct contact with the "thing in
itself."
You see therefore what will be neces-

sary before we can expect philosophers
to cease regarding Theosophists as the
merest dilettanti. Philosophers must first
have philosophy enough to acknowledge

the existence of a Philosophy that goes to
the foundation of things. It is not really
that Philosophy contradicts Theosophy,

but rather that philosophers themselves
do not understand Philosophy. They
know nothing of the deeper foundations
of Philosophy. They are blinded and
lost in a labyrinth of their own theories
out of which they are unable to find an

exit.
When once they extricate themselves

from their present coil, they will find
their way to Theosophy. It is not that
Theosophy is really so amateurish a thing
to the philosopher, since he cannot under-
stand it; —what is far more to be ac-
counted amateurish in the present day is
the sort of philosophy which largely domi-
nates the world. When at length this
philosophy becomes capable of entering
its true province of thought, then also
will a bridge have been thrown across,
spanning the gulf and leading from
Philosophy to Theosophy.

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What are some of the main topics discussed in the text?

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How does the author describe the relationship between philosophy and theosophy?

How does the author describe the relationship between philosophy and theosophy?

THE GATES OF

PHILOSOPHY AND THEOSOPHY

AUTHORISED TRANSLATION FROM THE GERMAN

NEW YORK AND LONDON

MAX GYSI, Editor

In view of the many unauthorised translations of Dr. RUDOLF

Zbe ftnfcftetftocfcer press, Hew gorfc

THE SUBMERGED CONTINENTS OF ATLANTIS

THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN from the Stand-

MYSTICS OF THE RENAISSANCE, and Their Relation

II. The Occult Functions of Sleep 19

III. The Pupil and His Teacher . 40

IV. Inspiration .... 68

V. Inspiration and Intuition . . 98

VI. Philosophy and Theosophy . 123

THE FOUR MODES OF KNOWLEDGE

IN the chapters to which these are a

in ordinary life belongs strictly to the

called " science," he has to do only with

alist does nothing fundamentally, in this

methods of investigating every-day life.

His knowledge takes a wider range,

but he does not come one step nearer to

3. Inspirational, called also " Know-

The stages that follow these will be

come to a spiritual comprehension of the

the object is the image formed. As long

many circles —small, large, red, blue, and

would be possible. The images of things

would remain only so long as the things

ing of one perception with another. The

FOUR MODES OF KNOWLEDGE 7

It is obvious that the life of the soul would

scattered conceptions does not easily

is also called " sensation." Therefore in

"material cognition" four elements have

away. There is no longer any outer

But the occult student acquires this

external objects. He must be able to

The senses then remain entirely inactive.

accomplished through meditation, and

io THE GATES OF KNOWLEDGE

limits of a sphere of images which have

' Ah ! that is only fancy

accustomed at present to call that alone

accustom himself to accept as "real"

capacity to decide, in these higher regions,

can only come by experience. And this

experience must be gained in a quiet,

sorry tricks with us. Everywhere lurks

be done away with. We must first com-

can we achieve Imagination. When a

In the third stage of knowledge, images

Whereas in the second stage there was

of memory for the most part are, when