“Hermes taught that man qualifies himself for union with spiritual forces after death, in proportion as he uses his powers on earth for furthering the purposes of those spiritual forces. Those especially who had worked most seriously in this way between birth and death would be united with the lofty Sun-God Osiris. On the Chaldaic-Babylonian side of the stream of civilization, the direction of the human mind toward the physical sense-world was more conspicuous than on the Egyptian side. The laws of that world were being investigated and from its reflection in the sense-world these people looked up to the corresponding spiritual prototypes. Yet in many respects the nation remained wedded to physical things. Instead of the star-spirit, the star was put first, and instead of other spiritual beings their earthly counterparts were made prominent. Only the leaders attained really deep knowledge concerning the laws of the supersensible world and its connection with the physical. The contrast between the knowledge of the initiates and the perverted beliefs of the people became more apparent in those nations than anywhere else.” ~Rudolf Steiner
Union with Spiritual Forces
Union with spiritual forces is a sensible goal. Union with spiritual worlds and spiritual consciousness is an even better one. It is a goal we should all be seeking, but few do. Many don’t see any need to awaken their spiritual Self, others don’t think anything needs to be done to awaken it. They think they can be as materialistic as they like while trapped in a physical body, but when they die, they will automatically be welcomed into the realm of spirits. That is like believing that you don’t have to bother to learn how to swim. If the ship you’re on sinks, you will learn automatically when you need it. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. As Steiner says, Hermes taught that man must “qualify” himself for union with spiritual forces. We do that by awakening and developing our spiritual faculties while we are still in physical form.
Furthering the Purpose
God grants union with spiritual forces to those who will use such knowledge and power to further His Plan for redeeming the fallen realm of matter. Those who oppose such plans, or simply avoid contributing, may gain temporary union with spiritual forces, but will soon lose it.
United with Osiris
Being united with the Sun God Osiris may not be your goal, but unity with God should be; and God is a Sun God because the Spiritual Sun is His Agent spreading spiritual Light into the realm of matter. Now it is even more so with the birth of the Sun of Righteousness, which means that the Spiritual Sun now carries a special Presence of God to more easily help us awaken our spiritual faculties.
The Failure of Egypt
Steiner is telling us that while great spiritual knowledge was made available to the people of Egypt, few changed their materialistic ways and turned to spiritual development. We know that some of them did turn to the spiritual, including some Pharaohs and priests, but the majority did not. Steiner tells us this story as a warning. Today, with the help of the Sun of Righteousness, we have been given a one-in-a-thousand-year opportunity to turn away from matter—which is temporary anyway—and embrace the spiritual. If we fail this time, there will not be another chance. These are the End Times and a final decision is upon us. Make the wise decision.
From the SOLAR WIND collection by Harold Boulette.
