| G.A.
Bondarev The Crisis of Civilization X. World and Power
The ancient Kingdom of Klingsor, the epicentre of ahrimanic initiation, builds today a kind of ‘black sun’ of civilization and stands in opposition to the entire cultural-social sphere of the normal evolution of humanity, which is moving towards the consciousness-soul. It was not the romantic fantasy of the medieval poets that brought forth the theme of the two basic principles – light and darkness. Their contrast becomes effective today in individual souls as well as in the entire structure of social relationships. Klingsor is celebrating cruel victories in our time. It is he who, like a Grand Inquisitor or a high degree Master, is the creator of the ideologies of totalitarianism, who provides the buttress for violence over personality, who sends an altogether disreputable Kundry into the world to inspire the sexual revolution and pop-culture and to celebrate black mysteries of the frenzy of the masses. Only what is able to appeal to the Holy Chalice, the Mystery of Golgatha, can withstand the world-wide unity of Ahriman. But, for this, spiritual freedom is necessary, the ability to penetrate the secrets of the world right down to their archetypal phenomena, as well as the ability to bring life to moral intuitions. These are the qualities of the members of today’s brotherhood of the Grail; they lay the foundation for the service of the Christ in spirit and in truth. And this alone enables us to act against the complete destruction of culture and the enslavement of the human ‘I’. It is not enough to study the history of the Mysteries of the Grail, visit the places where men served it in times long past. We must work on ourselves. If anyone desires to come after me – says the Christ – let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 16; 24-25). Hypocrisy is of no use whatever, only the development of the three attributes mentioned above. Only through acquiring them will we be able to realize Goethe’s ‘die and become’ at every moment of our life, which means nothing else than to practise periphrastic self-denial and ... follow Christ. The main attribute of our ‘opponents’ – those, too, within the Anthroposophical Society – is the utter inability to take such a step. Here lies the source of the superabundance of empty phrases and corruption in the world. Countless simple souls are altogether taken hold of by the idea of the limitless growth of consumption. They are willing to do anything for the sake of its realization because it has already become the global existential philosophy and an article of faith. And the masses of the profane who populate the lower degrees in the Orders and Lodges are convinced of it. Fear of death, followed not by resurrection but by absolute nothingness, leads souls to be reconciled to known evil. It lets them blindly follow the doctrines sent down to them from the mysteries and awesome high degrees. The rest is taken care of by strict discipline and the unprincipled exploitation of human weaknesses. It seems that it is already beyond man’s power to halt the stream of this death- bringing development. But it is equally impossible to do nothing. For there is no condition that could not become even worse. Formerly – Rudolf Steiner said in a lecture held in early 1917 –, there was a tyranny by which certain people were obliged, for a time, only to hold true what was recognized by Rome. The tyranny will be far greater when the time comes where not what the philosopher decides, not what the scientist decides, is the basis of faith, but what the organs of those occult brotherhoods will allow one to believe: that in no man’s soul anything else will be believed than what is prescribed from those quarters, that no other conduct can be introduced into the world from any other side. This is what these brotherhoods strive for. And it is a naïve belief of many idealists ... when they imagine that these things are only temporary ... and the possibility of averting such things lies only in the clear, proper understanding of what is; all the rest is pointless. Therefore it will be necessary, even though from a certain side one will not like to see and hear, and measures will be taken to oppose it, that there should always be people who really point out the whole, full intensity of what is happening; who are not afraid to point out the whole, full intensity of what is happening (Jan. 22, 1917, GA 174). In Russia the things that Rudolf Steiner anticipated soon became reality. But despite all the horror done to us, this was no more than a beginner’s ‘writing attempt’: an experiment for future realization through the entire world. There are still only a few details that remain to be corrected. The brotherhoods are at present thinking through in a comprehensive way the results as well as the miscalculations of the experiment so that a universal net can now be woven, whose meshes will be so tight that not even the smallest ‘fish’ will slip through. Once the net is complete, the whole of humanity will be enclosed in it. Only few people notice this – and when it has become clear to many, it will already be too late. The greater part of humanity will continue to be influenced by America, but not the America we know today. It will not be long after the year 2000 has come round, that not a direct, but a kind of prohibition on all thinking will issue from America, a law whose purpose will be the suppression of all individual thinking (Apr. 4, 1916, GA 167). Rudolf Steiner made this prediction in 1916. Only a few years are left until 2000. Should someone today still not recognize the ominous signs that point to the prediction soon becoming reality, he should at least not force his foolish will on others. On the other hand, those who understand what is going on, but continue to tolerate and support the death-bringing tendency, ought to think about another statement of Rudolf Steiner: truly, not only Germany and the middle countries and Russia, but the whole civilized earth, will ... gradually ... be encompassed by a terrible bond of slavery, and never become happy again. For, through what comes only from the past, the world is at an end! ... Something new must come from the spiritual world (Dec. 31, 1918, GA 187). And the new is coming. It is enough, in devotion to knowledge, trustingly to open our hearts to the new and develop the capacity of soul to be unprejudiced, something practically no-one is willing to do. Wherever we look, spiritual- scientific communications are received in very peculiar ways – as though they had nothing to do with real life and the concrete destiny of human beings. People nod their heads, give their assent: ‘Yes, indeed, mass-culture is generally pervaded by magic; yes, they really exist, these dark occult brotherhoods.’ But as soon as the concrete deeds of these brotherhoods, taking place right next to them, are pointed out, or when the behaviour of concrete people is described, one is brusquely pushed aside, accused of prejudice and envy etc., etc. Thus no choice is left but to trust the small flock of people who do not let themselves be intimidated. For the lack of willingness to acquire concrete clarity about these things is rooted mainly in fear, springs therefore from the presence of Ahriman in the soul. He is the spirit of the lie, the spirit who sows fear in us. But despite having accepted spiritual science into themselves, people continue to think that fear is the product of a given state of electrons and their behaviour towards the atomic nuclei. – It is deeds that inform us about the spirit of a human being. To those who are able to overcome fear, who are able to put aside their ‘narcissism’ – excessive self-love – Rudolf Steiner gives insights such as the following: The Anglo-American world has its initiates, it has people who know how to appreciate spiritual forces ... In the Lodges of initiates these people said: we in the West are preparing everything, so that in future, with all the means that can be won from the spiritual world – but illicitly – for the elevation of national pride we have obtained people who may become their rulers, individual people on a plutocratic basis (June 22, 1919, GA 192). The initiates and the plutocratic principle – this is the all-destroying alliance that has arisen in Klingsor’s latest kingdom – and, if it is not overthrown, it will not only destroy culture but also cause a global ecological catastrophe similar to that which befell Atlantis when a number of initiates had betrayed the Mysteries. The spiritual and ethical world of man is closely linked to the elementary spirits of nature. If we destroy this world, we also destroy the physical basis of the earthly existence of human beings. Above all the Anglo-Saxon nations must gain clarity in all these matters because Rudolf Steiner has already raised his voice in warning. I wanted to differentiate between this British people and those whom I call, to use a trivial expression, ‘wire-pullers’, who stand behind what happens ... It is also not necessary to identify oneself with these impulses even though it can obviously not be my task to prevent someone from identifying with them ... Only, he should say what is true and not that he identifies with the ideals of the right of small nations and so on; but he should be clear that it is his will to rule the world (Jan. 6, 1917, GA 174). But why is it the English-speaking nations in particular who have become the field of activity of the ‘wire-pullers’? A certain logic can definitely be recognized. Rudolf Steiner gives the following explanation: These occult brotherhoods do not work out of a special British patriotism, but ultimately they want to place the entire earth under the domination of mere materialism. And since, according to the laws of the fifth post-Atlantean period, certain elements of the British people (today it would be more correct to say: of Anglo-Americanism) are most suited for this as bearers of the consciousness-soul, they want through the use of grey magic to bring these suitable elements as promoters of materialism ... Other components of the nation could never be used in the same way, as material for the transformation of the whole earth into a realm of materialism... This is why one must place one’s foot on the neck of this component of the nation and divest it of all spiritual striving (Jan. 15, 1917, GA 174). We have already indicated that these aims did not ‘fall into the lap’ of the English-speaking peoples overnight. At first there germinated – again by virtue of the instinctive mastering of the consciousness-soul – the ideas of the third form of imperialism. Gradually they were woven through by ahrimanic spirits who began to look for those personalities who are able to wait, who prepare their actions not over years but through decades, when they are the actions of high politics. But today a spiritual discipline already rules in the English-speaking world in the highest degree. It is so strong that it can make men like Asquith (English Prime Minister, 1908-1916) and Grey (Minister of Foreign Affairs in Asquith’s Cabinet) – who are basically innocent rabbits – into its puppets, its marionettes ... A colleague in the ministry said about him (Grey) a long time ago ... : he is a person who always wears an expression of concentration because he never had a thought of his own. – But such people are sought out when one wants to have the right puppets for the world theater (June 22, 1919, GA 192).[1] This is the present state of affairs with regard to our instincts and traditions. We should not thoughtlessly break off all connections with them, but it is far more dangerous to submit to them without reflection. This applies to the individual as well as to entire peoples. We need to have precise knowledge of the past and where the origins of today’s events lie.[2] We should make the evolution of the world and of man an object of spiritual-scientific investigation and history an object of symptomatological research. The Origin of the Idea of World Rule If we want to understand our century we need to know that the time when Christianity became a state-religion is of special importance. The roots of the tragic processes of our time lie in the Byzantine Empire. In 325, at the First Ecumenical Council summoned by Constantine in Nicæa, two interpretations of faith collided irreconcilably. Advocate of one was the Alexandrian Presbyter Arius, while the deacon and later Alexandrian bishop and Church father Athanasius proclaimed the other. What the Church reveals about the conflict of these two men does not at all clarify the root of the phenomenon that has left deep traces in Europe’s history. Arius taught that God, when he created the world, also created a mediator between himself and the world – the Son of God. Athanasius, on the other hand, declared the Son of God to be the same in nature as the Godhead of the Father for all eternity. These different opinions regarding the Holy Trinity reveal in essence that the population of Europe was, already in the 4th century, a complex configuration of widely diverse spiritual attitudes and views of life and world. What Arius taught – Rudolf Steiner explains – can be brought to people through the appeal to certain feelings – the noblest feelings. That which lies in the creed of Athanasius speaks very little to the human sense of understanding. In order to make people receptive it has to be prescribed and made into a law similar to a worldly law. This is what took place. The utterly incomprehensible and strange conception of the oneness of the Son with the Father, who are both from all eternity and in the same measure God, and so forth, this was also later approached in such a way that it was said, one does not need to understand it, one must believe it. It is something that can be prescribed. It was also possible to ... introduce the Athanasian creed into a political Church organization ... In this way, what came up from the South, from Athanasianism, merged with the tendency to prescribe, with the instinct for organization (Nov. 3, 1918,GA 185). On this basis the peoples of the Church arose. In the Anglo-Saxon world (and later in America) one had preserved a relic of an old spiritual attitude that was rooted formerly in the princely-aristocratic element. Over time this became visible in the striving to found societies permeated by the spirit of a unified organization. But an organization is best founded by spiritual means on the condition that others know nothing about it; otherwise one has to decree. The issuing of decrees was first tried in the Roman world and in Middle Europe. Organizations in the form of Lodges spread as a form of rulership in the North-West, where the early-European Celtic element had found its continuation. Herearose the peoples of the Lodges ... in whose essential character we can recognize that which does not organize humanity as a whole, but brings together in the form of societies, in the form of Orders. The bringing-together in Orders lies in the continuation of what connects to the Arthur-legend. In the course of development, however, a fusion of different phenomena occurs so that finally the entire principle of Lodges, which has created its monkey-like caricature in the Freemasons, ... is inwardly related to Jesuitism (ibid.). Ignatius of Loyola also had Celtic blood in his veins. In Jesuitism the principle of issuing decrees took on a Lodge- or Order-like character. And this tendency is even more pronounced today, when in the Catholic world the basically secret occult society ‘Opus Dei’ is founded. Regarding the other side, it led Rudolf Steiner to exclaim: If you ask me: who belongs to this Enlightenment-Deism? – Well, strangely enough it turns out that a purest type of this Enlightenment-Deism is Harnack[3] in Berlin! (Ibid.). Thus a certain unity forms beneath the surface of the polarizing of the confessions and the differing opinions in matters of faith and knowledge. But if the first (the polarization) represents the natural path of development of the consciousness-soul, the second (unity) gradually becomes an insuperable obstacle on this path. Out of the chaotic experience of the consciousness-soul in the first moment of its appearance arises the wish – to be pope and king at the same time. The contradictions deepen steadily. Rome rigidifies in the striving to prevent by any means an emancipation of the personality. The idea is born, of simplifying the spirit, in order to manage it more easily and lead humanity back to the archetypal conditions of group-consciousness. With the English-speaking nations, due to the instinctive working of the consciousness-soul, politics moves to the foreground and is pursued on a world-wide scale. So that, as Rudolf Steiner remarks, self-seeking and political purpose coincide entirely, so that all politics can be put ... into the service of self-seeking in a quite naïve way. The Anglo-Saxons do not thereby experience any feelings of guilt in their actions. And the world begins to see English politics, the English parliament, as an ideal. But this indicates, and it must be acknowledged, a certain world-historic necessity, for to rule through force will be accepted as something quite obvious in the fifth post-Atlantean period (Dec. 8, 1918, GA 186). Added to this are the attempts to rule on a universal basis of commerce and industry. But through the founding of secret societies one attempts to realize one’s own aims with the help of spiritual associations, which is already illicit. These are the essential ingredients out of which was born the idea of world-domination. In his book Lord of the Rings J. Tolkien tried without success to discover the origins of this idea. We have found an answer to the question. It was taught as an obvious truth in the occult brotherhoods already at the time of James I. (1566-1635) (during the lifetime of Gollum’s great-grandmother), that ... all world-domination in the fifth post-Atlantean period has to pass to the Anglo-Saxon race, so they will find a system in the overcoming and elimination of the rulership of the seas by others (Dec. 26, 1916, GA 173). Rome once laid claim to ‘ ... world-domination’, and this was partly justified in the time of the Greco-Roman culture (until 1413). To appear as a world ruler in our epoch means to take over the forces of destruction, the forces of the sickness of man (for we live in the epoch of materialism), to live within them ... And responsibility falls on the side to which world rule is granted (Dec. 14, 1919, GA 194). That this is the truth of the situation was precisely sensed and wonderfully presented by Tolkien in his trilogy. But how great is the number of ‘Hobbits’ and people of the ‘Middle Land’ that have understood this too? A feeling of great responsibility accompanies the claim to world rulership. Where such a tendency exists, the striving must also be present to imbue everything one aims to do with the spiritual impulse demanded by humanity’s present development. Otherwise one will lead the development of humanity to its downfall (Jan. 30, 1920, GA 196). It is highly regrettable to see that where this claim to guide the destiny of the world is made, the very opposite course of action is followed, and in a way that could not be worse. Rudolf Steiner remarks: It must be seen as a mockery that in the British Isles (we should always bear in mind that England is part of Pan-Anglo-Americanism today) an economic empire is established over the whole world and that then, if one wants an especially deep mystical spirituality, one goes to those one has conquered economically, those whom one economically exploits, and acquires this spirituality from them (Feb. 22, 1920, GA 196). Some people would reply that the aim of world rule is to bring an end to all wars in the world – a noble aim. But if the price to be paid for this is the simplification of the spirit, it is a dangerous utopia. And the freedom striven for by industrial-commercial society – is this the freedom mankind hopes for? At times, says Rudolf Steiner, this love of freedom ... can take on peculiar forms. One declares: I don’t want to harm you, I will not even touch a hair of your head, I will only lock you up in a dark cellar and give you nothing to eat! If someone is not pleased with the domination of the world by commerce, then this is absolutely unacceptable for the other side. The love of freedom shown by commerce stops at this point (cf. Jan. 15, 1917, GA 174). We who live at the end of the 20th century can only add: It has already stopped![4] And one is now on the way to the establishment of not only a commercial, but a spiritual world dictatorship. Anthroposophists (and not only they) should thus take note of the following thought: Some kind of society may arise here or there with wonderful programmes, splendid ideals ... But in them lives, without their realizing it, not only what they speak of, but there are ways and means of letting flow into all these things that which the initiates (the aberrant ones) wish to instill into them ... Within the circles of [these] initiates ... those frightful, terrible things that have engulfed the civilized world (i.e. the First World War and its consequences) were forecast with great accuracy. All these things were by no means hidden from the initiates of the English-speaking people, and the following discrepancy goes through all the discussions: on one hand, lofty exoteric ideals, the ideal of humanity with the genuine belief in this ideal of humanity in the most varied forms on the part of the uninitiated. And on the other hand the doctrine, the conscious, strictly taught doctrine that all that is Roman, all that is Middle-European culture has to disappear from modern civilization, that the culture of the English-speaking peoples must prevail, must ascend to world-domination (Jan. 9, 1920, GA 196). These are – alas! – no mere words, but a methodical path of action arises out of them, in consequence of which Hegel is declared a Teutonic philosopher, Richard Wagner a racist, and the continuous evolution of culture is undermined, as an African impulse is made to penetrate into it, which has the effect of extreme decadence, glorifies the unconscious etc., etc. What is intended for the Slavic world? – A new kind of tutelage by the Papacy, and something else in addition – but this will be dealt with later. The striving for world rule gave an absolutely new character to civilization in the 20th century. The evolutionary principle of development was replaced by a revolutionary principle with the following consequence: the elimination of all boundaries to lower human nature, the striving for freedom on the basis of arbitrary will and, necessarily connected with this, the selection of the worst in the structures of power; but in this case there remain – as the only means of retaining power –, thought-control, compulsion and violence. All states throughout the world are robbed of their sovereign development. The psychology of a small criminal group – the Mafia – extends into all large social communities and takes on a world character. The conspiracy spreading out in the form of social carcinoma becomes the basis and norm of all international relations, even of spiritual and religious life. All this is the inevitable consequence of the operation of those laws which belong to the revolutionary (in the modern sense) course of development, but which have nothing to do with the renewal of the world. How can we escape from the closed circle of unnatural law? – This is the main question, upon whose solution – possible only through Social Threefolding – the very existence of our planet depends. Notes
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