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The Rudolf Steiner Archive

a project of Steiner Online Library, a public charity

Esoteric Lessons I
GA 266

Number 24

Basel, 11-23-'07

The world aroma that goes through the whole universe is the Father's revelation, is the original substance. We call it odor today. Odor is something we don't become aware of much yet; taste has become disclosed to us a little bit more.

The world of light; that's the Son, the force of life.

World sound, the sound that reverberates and weaves through the world, is the revelation of the Spirit, the form.

In i we have the center to which the etheric body strives

a is complete reverence and devotion
ae is shy reverence
o is like embracing, enclosing
u is resting, being ensheathed.

The East Indian path soon goes up into the astral world. A pupil is very helpless there at first, which is why he needs a guru to tell him what to do, because the pupil can't correct his mistakes due to contradictory precepts in the astral world.

There's only an inner orienting in the astral world, for instance the colors of objects flame out of objects or beings there, and stream, flow, resound through space after they've become detached from things.. These colors, odors and sounds then enliven others.

One must learn to experience the separation of color from a flower, one must think that the color is floating free I space. This experience leads into the astral world. The experience of odor as world aroma leads to the Father. Imagination is the separation of color from the object, which is why it's so very important for an esoteric.