Ascension

Rudolf Steiner sometimes refers to the seventh and highest stage of Christian initiation as the Ascension, although it is not explicitly mentioned in the Gospel of John, which is the basis of this path of spiritual training. It then follows the Entombment, which is the sixth stage. To experience this 7th stage, one must have learned to think without the tool of the physical brain. This feeling of Ascension follows of its own accord from the previous ones; there are no human words to express it. It means, by now growing beyond the astral plane, the complete conscious absorption into the actual spiritual world, the Devachan. In individual lectures, however, Rudolf Steiner refers to this 7th stage as "Resurrection", in which case the Ascension is not mentioned.

„The seventh stage is called the Ascension. It means the complete absorption into the spiritual world.

The Gospel of John is an account of this Christian initiatory journey. Those who take it as an external account do not understand it. It can only be understood when man lives through it inwardly. In this sense Angelus Silesius says:

If you rise above yourself and let God rule
Then the ascension is held in your spirit.“ (Lit.:GA 94, p. 206)

„Then follows the entombment, an experience in which one feels at one with the planets, and the seventh stage, of which one cannot speak, because only he who can detach his thinking from his brain can suspect anything. It is the Ascension.“ (Lit.:GA 97, p. 233)

Literatur

• Rudolf Steiner: Kosmogonie, GA 94 (2001), ISBN 3-7274-0940-1 English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
• Rudolf Steiner: Das christliche Mysterium, GA 97 (1998), ISBN 3-7274-0970-3 English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org

References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated. Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com. Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English. Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA) Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.