[Die Nachfolge Christi.]
Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl[1]
Anyone who carefully studies the very extensive and expensive modern literature on “Theosophy” will perhaps be amazed that so many inferior ones are to be found nowadays; writings about “Theosophy” are brought into the world; for yet in an old book, the miniature of which one can easily carry in the pocket of one’s waistcoat, is contained everything a man needs to know if he is to become a Theosophist, and will certainly be so provided he understands the teachings contained therein properly identified and followed.
Thomas von Kempen (vulgo Hämmerlein) is named as the author of the book; but scholars have debated for three hundred years who the author was, and it still seems undecided. It is clear from the contents of the book that he was a master, and masters, as is well known, love to remain unknown and personally counted for nothing. It is doubtful whether there is any book like it other than the Bible that has been so widely circulated as this Imitation of Christ; it has been translated into many different languages and has appeared in hundreds of editions. The great appeal that this book found and still finds among all walks of life can only be explained by the fact that it makes people aware of religious truths which they feel in the depths of their hearts. A master says:
“At the bottom of every perfectionist there is an inextinguishable longing for that enduring rest which is granted to the soul, which rises above the realm of the transitory to the eternal, and which therefore cannot be found in the enjoyment of the senses or in the outward activity of the mind. We feel that such rest exists, and that it is necessary to our well-being, and if perhaps for a moment a divine ray of knowledge penetrates our minds and shows us the way to attain that rest, it fills the heart with heavenly bliss and we know that the lasting possession of this rest is the most we can ask for and that it is the entrance to the realm of light and true self-knowledge in which all the mysteries of God in the universe can be revealed to us. This is the right meditation and “occult exercise,” and good for the one who can remain in it; but the amazement at this momentary enlightenment calls man back to the consciousness of his personality. Self-delusion, scientific curiosity, etc., reappear, and in the tumult of the reawakened passions the light disappears.” To us to the higher standpoint in which the soul of enlightenment is capable of spiritual elevation, and to stand firm there, shows us the “following of Christ” the way. This path is the same that the Indian Rāja Yoga philosophy teaches us, and on which nothing but the Light of Truth, which is the Holy Spirit of Self-knowledge, can guide us; but which is a mystery to all who are still in darkness.
I. Advice for those who wish to enter the higher life of the spirit.
1. “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness. (John VIII. 12.) With these words Jesus Christ calls us to follow his steps if we want to be enlightened by his light and healed from the blindness of our hearts.”
A spiritual life can be understood as the development of the intellect; a spiritual life, on the other hand, consists in the awakening and growth of the soul. The human mind, however developed, is a perishable thing; the life of the soul awakened to the consciousness of its true existence is immortal.
Jesus, in the esoteric meaning of this word, is not a historically proven personality, but “the light of the world” destined to shine in every human being, and who is said to have been fully revealed in the man Jesus of Nazareth. Though this Light is but One and is universal and indivisible, yet it is the property of each who receives it, and upon its action (grace) depends the formation of the immortal body of spiritual resurrection, the “Solar Body of the Adepts.” Anyone who has found this light within himself has found the master within himself; he is then this master himself and no longer needs an external master, because all external guidance only has the purpose of leading the person through the outside to the inside, to the inner master, in order to unite with him. When this union takes place, there is no difference between master and disciple; then the student is also the master and the two are one.
To be sure, it is uplifting and beneficial to worship the revealed divine ideal in an external master and guide; but the personal appearance of even the greatest adept or saint is but a shadow of light and fleeting. He who only worships the shadow does not recognize the light. The distinction of the essence from its appearance is the first condition for arriving at true knowledge, both in Christianity and in every religion, and without this no understanding of the mysteries of the same is conceivable.
“Therefore let us consider first of all the life of Jesus Christ.”
It is undoubtedly uplifting to consider the outward life of Jehoshua (called Jesus of Nazareth) as described in the Bible; but the Theosophist goes further and considers how the spiritual life which the Spirit of Christ calls into being, works and creates in himself. One may believe in tales of edifying truth, described as historical fact, or clothed in the guise of fable; but it is something else to experience these truths within yourself. It is good to envisage a high ideal, and to engage the imagination with edifying images, thereby generating thought-forms corresponding thereto, so that at last the idea becomes a representation; but the play of imagination is not the ultimate goal and what another has experienced cannot be my own life.
2. “What Jesus Christ teaches us is far more valuable than what all the saints can teach us.
If anyone possessed the spirit of truth, he would find the heavenly manna hidden within.
Those who are not enlivened by the spirit of Jesus Christ hear the gospel preached, but are not touched by it.”
Christ teaches man by revealing his spirit in him. He is the spiritual light, called Ātmā Bodha or the “Word” (Iswara) in Sanskrit.
Christ is the spiritual life in us from which springs the light of true knowledge, and this light teaches man by being revealed in him. The influence of this Light brings the “Heavenly Manna” which nourishes the soul, and without this substantial nourishment of the “Blood of Christ” (the Holy Spirit) all intellectual knowledge would be but a passing phenomenon and empty theory. Every thing grows by the nourishment it receives; the body through material nourishment, the intellect through absorption of ideas; the soul by the influence of the Holy Spirit of truth. If this power were not substantial, the soul could not be touched by it and could not be felt. But it is only felt when there is something in the human being that can be stimulated by it and set in spiritual vibrations; for like touches like. A man in whom the sense of the Divine has not awakened or has died may memorize the whole Bible from beginning to end, but unless he has the Spirit of God within him he will not be touched by it.
This is the ruin of so many who call themselves “theologians” or “ministers,” that they do not know the divine Word within their hearts; they occupy their imaginations in the reading of books for the gratification of scientific curiosity or for theological speculation, while remaining in darkness. There, the brain becomes crammed with theories and scholarly stuff, and the intellect overfed, while the heart shrivels for want of nourishment, and egoism hardens the soul.
“Whoever wishes to hear and benefit from the teachings of the Master must arrange his life after his own”; i.e., he must constantly sit at the feet of the Master who is his own higher Self, heeding his voice and obeying his law.
3. Of what use is it to you wisely to speak of the mysteries of the Trinity if you lack humility and have the misfortune of displeasing the Trinity.
It is certainly not the beautiful phrases that make people better and bring them closer to the divine, but whoever leads a holy life is the friend of God (the higher Self).
The Trinity is contained not only in the whole universe (macrocosm), but also in the “small world,” in the microcosm of man. The Spirit is the Father, the mind of God the Son, and through the Holy Spirit of knowledge, i.e. through the spirit of the Father contained in thought, that spirit is manifested, and that revelation is the “Word” that is the expression of God’s thought. But of what use is it to form ideas about the nature of the Trinity in the great universe if the idea of God does not come alive in us and thereby the Holy Trinity is revealed in us and comes to our consciousness, or if our passions and fantasies have this revelation impede?
A good comedian can also make ingratiating phrases; only what comes from the heart goes to the heart, and the heart only absorbs what it is ready for. In order to absorb the harmony of the infinite, the soul must be in harmony. The subtle vibrations which come from the realm of light cannot vibrate the coarse chords of the lower human nature. “Only the pure in heart shall see the glory of God.” Selfishness with its selfish curiosity darkens the mind’s eye. Truly modest or humble is not he who does not want to know anything about divine things and hides from the light, but he who renounces self-delusion, opens his heart to the knowledge of God, and by sacrificing his own will and desires enters the realm of freedom. Self-abasement turns man into an animal; but true humility is at the same time the highest exaltation in which man recognizes himself in God and his self-delusion as a deception.
“I prefer to feel the penance than to know the explanation of what it is.
If you knew all Scripture and all the rules of philosophy; what benefit would you have without the grace and love of it?
O vanity of vanities! Everything is vain; there is nothing permanent but to love and serve God.
The highest wisdom is to seek the kingdom of God and despise the world.”
Without experience, all knowledge is just theory. True knowledge arises from the union of the knower with the object of his knowledge. One can observe the effects of spiritual as well as physical forces on other things; but not realizing its essence if you don’t have it. In order to understand the forces of heat, light and life, one must be able to sense, see and possess life. The unloving cannot know what love is, the unjust has no sense of justice, the idiot has no understanding, if the spiritual life of the soul has not awakened in us, it will not be felt either, and we cannot know what this higher life which is Life, is. Feeling comes from touch and perception, thought and knowledge from feeling. The philosopher who does not feel and intuitively recognize the truths he wants to explore gets caught in the network of blind speculation and cannot find a way out of the labyrinth of opinions. That is why one contradicts the other and everyone can only say what he thinks could be true; but whether it is really true he does not know. In order to attain true self-knowledge of divine mysteries, the Spirit of God must awaken in man; for no one can recognize anything as a part of himself unless it is alive in himself.
The realization of the divine ideal in man is the end of human existence; but how could a man realize that ideal within himself, or feel its presence within himself, if he does not love it and consequently cannot touch it and feel it? Hatred repels; indifference leaves man callous; but love attracts and brings like with like together. Therefore, in comparison with the love of the highest, everything else is worthless. Not that the world should be despised from the earthly human point of view and that flight from the world undertaken for selfish reasons should be recommended; but the wise know how to value everything according to its real value and see that the divinity in all beings is permanent and the world of appearances is only like a dream, a passing shadow play. All existence is relative: a thing of which we do not feel and which we do not know does not exist for us; only what enters our field of consciousness is actually there for us. Therefore it is also the highest wisdom to seek to awaken in our consciousness the knowledge of the omnipresence of God. Whoever finds God in his heart also recognizes him in all other creatures as his own higher divine Self.
4. “So it is great folly to store up perishable goods and set your hope in them.
Another folly is to strive to be admired or revered by men and to exalt oneself above others.
It is great folly to give oneself to the lusts of the flesh and to lust passionately for that which brings about great suffering.
It is foolish to wish for a long life without taking the trouble to use it well.
It is folly to turn all one’s cares to the outward life of the present without concern for the life to come.
After all, it is also great folly to love that which passes quickly and not hasten to attain that happiness which is everlasting.”
These sentences hardly need comment; but if we consider how the vast majority of men today act contrary to these precepts, while a number of religious fanatics indulge in certain excesses, some explanation might be welcome.
It is well known that man has a dual nature; the immortal part of his soul is born of the spirit of God, the mortal part of the spirit of the worldly. Each part has its rights and it is therefore written: “Give to Caesar (the earthly) what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
Perishable goods include not only outward wealth and possessions, but also certain intellectual achievements and imaginary knowledge. Such things are valuable and necessary for earthly man to bring mankind to a higher level of external culture, and the pursuit of them serves to exercise the intellectual powers. The fact that a person has money or knowledge has not brought anyone to hell; but the fact that his heart hung on it. “Where the carcass lies, there the vultures gather.” The miser who finds happiness in the knowledge of owning a sack of money is still tied to what his soul is attached to even after death and has no other happiness to expect. Even after death, a superstitious person still lives in the theories and ideas with which he is filled, if the higher consciousness which elevates him above all these things to eternity has not already awakened in him. Wealth passes and our scientific theories are subject to constant change. Yesterday’s superstitions are today’s academic wisdom, and what is considered a great scientific achievement today may be derided tomorrow. The possession of wealth and knowledge should therefore not be regarded as an end in life, but as a means to a higher end, and that end is to do good, to serve humanity in its path of evolution, and to remove the ills from which it suffers. But since all evils that befall man have their origin in the ignorance of his higher divine nature, because as a result of this ignorance he does not live according to this nature, we can hardly find a better use for the means at our disposal than the thing to be of service to general enlightenment and to spread the teachings of Theosophy.
What hinders true self-knowledge and stands in the way of inner enlightenment is the self-delusion and self-conceit and personal vanity that belong to the lower human nature. Everything that promotes egoism, which blocks the entrance of the light of true knowledge like an impenetrable cloud, is a hindrance to spiritual progress. Social position, the prestige and reverence enjoyed among men matter to man inasmuch as he occupies the highest place in the animal kingdom; but the sage, elevated above his animal nature, recognizes their relative worthlessness and is not bound by a desire for them. Everyone assumes outwardly that position which he has created for himself through his previous karma, and he creates daily and hourly karma on which his future position depends. Today’s beggar may be a king tomorrow, and today’s king may be a beggar in the next life. The world is a spectacle in which one is compelled to play one role today and another to-morrow; but the human spirit that has attained true self-awareness is above this spectacle; he is an unconcerned spectator in spirit; even if he has to appear in it as a personal appearance.
But even the uninitiated, walking about the world with open eyes, recognizes the worthlessness of human honors, which often comes to the fore front. He sees how often the greatest fools attain the highest honors; while the true merit remains hidden; he sees men who would be better off if they had never lived erected monuments and celebrated as heroes, while others who deserve to be celebrated as the saviors of mankind are branded imposters in the false reports of historians, and the question arises whether our present-day culture, with its decorations and bragging rights, is not largely a comedy of fools.
Perhaps the greatest folly, but at the same time the most common and the one that keeps man most bound, is the passionate addiction to aimless gratification of the sexual impulse. This impulse was given to animals, including the class of Homo sapiens, for the purpose of stimulating them to reproduce, and to use the energies involved in this purpose unsuitably is not only a waste of them, but also a profanation, which, as occult science teaches, can result in the worst disadvantages; for this is the “sin against the Holy Spirit.”
The apostle Paul, who was an initiate and great occultist, says in his Letters to the Corinthians (I. C. VI. V. 16). “All other sins which a man commits go outward; but with this the human being sins against his own (spiritual) body.” This means that sexual excitement counteracts the spiritualization of the human being and as a result, the development of the spiritual body is hindered or destroyed. At each outburst of such a passion the astral body withdraws into its physical atoms, and in a moment all that has been gained through years of effort on the path of spiritual growth can be destroyed again.[2] As a result, man becomes more degraded and material again.[3] With all other sins, thought-forms form in man’s aura, which surround him and can become hell for him; but through sexual passions the image of God in man is defiled and destroyed.[4] It is, therefore, to be expected that no reasonable man would seek to indulge in a passion if he knew the consequences of that indulgence, and it is much to be regretted that these consequences are generally so little known.
Rules relating to morality carry little weight unless they are backed up by scientific reasons. It is not enough for most people to hear that this or that is forbidden; one also desires to know why it is forbidden and what the consequences will be if one transgresses the commandment. If these consequences are then recognized, then the omission is self-evident. No human being would degrade himself to the level of an animal if he knew what this degradation is and what its consequences are.
But how few know what they are here for and what is the ultimate purpose of their human existence. Most enter and exit this dream life without ever having come to a realization of what they are essentially. Therefore their life is also a sham life; they do not control themselves, but are controlled by their whims and passions. Also, this life of the body is short-lived, while the life of the man who has attained true self-consciousness is immortal. What could then be more prudent to do than to seek to acquire the ability to enter into this higher life, and the way to do so is taught in all religious systems and books of the sages. A long life which does not serve this purpose is more harmful than useful; for the human being who lives in the darkness of ignorance of the truth and is devoted to the sensual, creates constantly evil karma for himself and carries a burden which he may need many painful reincarnations to shift. If you always stay on the same level, you won’t get any higher. It is therefore a great folly to focus all one’s thoughts and aspirations on this transitory life and not on the higher life.
Most are not concerned with this higher life because they do not know it. They regard the astral and the celestial worlds as fantasies which do not really exist and need not be bothered about; but these worlds, with their countless inhabitants, are as real as our visible world, and they will be visible and tangible to us when we have cast off the corporeal covering which veils the sight of them. Everybody brings his heaven, his purgatory or even his hell with him; he is attracted to that region for which his qualities make him suitable and there he finds conditions that suit him.
Not everyone is ready for entry into the higher life and not everyone aspires to become one. The instructions that serve this purpose are therefore not intended for everyone, but only for those who want to become followers of Christ and sons of light. There are many among us who are still stuck in the material and sensual. They are like seeds slumbering in the ground; human-like creatures, from which in later times, if the seed does not spoil and is nurtured, true human beings can develop and grow towards the light. This growth is not achieved through mere scientific research, nor through religious enthusiasm, nor through blind faith in authority. Theosophy is not a human science and cannot be taught to anyone; it is neither a matter of reason nor of feeling, but of consciousness. The tree of knowledge grows out of the inner revelation of truth.
The Temple of Wisdom is open to everyone; but the way to it is only trodden by those in whom the seed of self-knowledge has not yet begun in the heart to any; as long as the love of God does not stir in the heart of man, he does not feel it and does not desire it either, because he does not know it. But when the divine seed has sprouted, when the tender plant has risen from the dark soil to the light of day, then it has no desire to return to its material grave; then the spiritually risen man, although diligently carrying out his duties in ordinary life, has no more longing for mortal things, for the light fills his soul and the love of infinite good draws him up.
5. Remember often that the eye is not satisfied by what it sees, and the ear is not satisfied by what it hears.
Make an effort to free your heart from the attraction of things that are visible, and eagerly seek the goods that are invisible.
Those who indulge in sensuality pollute their conscience and lose the grace of God. (Eccles. I. 8.)
Even the full enjoyment of sensual pleasures cannot bring lasting bliss. Passion is increased by passion. The more one indulges in a desire, the more it grows; for the thought of the desired object attracts forces corresponding to it from the invisible world and grows until in the end one becomes possessed by it and loses control over oneself. Therefore, one who decides to walk the path of wisdom should free himself from the desires that bind him to the material and seek those goods that are invisible. But these goods are the divine virtues, true knowledge, freedom from error and superstition, unselfish love, chastity, a sense of justice, benevolence to all creatures, and in general everything that raises man above the animal standpoint.
That which keeps man captive and separates him from the knowledge of God is egoism with its entourage, among which personal vanity and sensual lust are the most dangerous enemies of man striving upwards. Sensuality draws him back into the swamp from which he strives to emerge, and vanity blinds him from seeing the light of heaven; the self-made peculiarity in its imaginary greatness towers before him like a wall, and the love of God, who dwells in the heart of all his creatures, is chased away by self-love. “The smallest on earth will be the greatest in heaven,” i.e., he who has the least self-conceit will come to true self-knowledge most easily. But spiritual pride causes many who were already on the right path to fall again.
The lusts which cling to a man during his life on earth continue to have an effect on him even after he has left the physical body after death, and the sufferings which a man incurs through his devotion to the passions during his life on earth creates life are meaningless compared to the consequences that can arise for him after leaving the material shell. This is especially true in the case of sudden deaths. The unripe nut holds on to its shell; it falls off by itself from the ripe one.
When a man dies of old age, or from long-term illnesses, especially if they are painful, he usually loses the lust for life; his passions leave him, he no longer desires to dwell in his material body, the soul gradually detaches itself from it and becomes free. It is different with those who, in full possession of their powers and desires, are called from this life by a sudden death, while the passions they kindled are still violently burning within them. It is difficult for the soul to separate from the body, which it has to leave involuntarily and is still bound to earth by its desires. She brings no light with her into the new existence and is in danger of falling victim to the powers of darkness. Since the passions have their seat in the astral body of man, but need a physical body to satisfy them, but the “deceased” no longer has this, thus the man tormented by his passions seeks to satisfy them by finding people with similar inclinations from sensitive and weak-willed people, takes possession and which are therefore accessible to him. By awakening and inflaming the passions dormant in them, and inducing his victims to gratify them, he seeks in them a sensual pleasure which he cannot procure without this means. In this way, even after death, he constantly increases the bad karma which he has already created for himself; he extends his stay in the place of darkness for an unknown period of time and creates conditions for himself that bring about conditions worthy of pity when he re-enters earthly existence on the path of reincarnation. Such unfortunate creatures may be called vampyres, and their number is legion. They are always gathered in large numbers in places where lust and cruelty celebrate their orgies, and consequently there are men whose lusts are like theirs.
Volumes would be required to describe the disadvantages which await the man attached to his passions after leaving his body. There is no externally existing God punishing man at his whim or pleasure; the laws of nature prevail there as well as in the visible and everyone enjoys the effects of the causes that he has created for himself. The form of desire (kāma rūpa) which man has produced through devotion to his desires is subject to diseases similar to those of the physical body, and if man has surrendered to bestial passions and is still in them after death, then he has them even then his appearance is a monstrous, animal-like form; for there every being presents itself in the form which corresponds to its character.
But if you can look back on a pure life at the end of your life, or perhaps only come to your senses in later years and become free from your passions, you need not fear the change that is called “death” and the conditions that follow. The light that has dawned within him is his own, it is the “eternal light” that cannot go out in him, but only shines all the more brightly in him when he has discarded his earthly shell. Born of the light and a son of the light, his immortal part now goes into the world of light, because love attracts everything that is the same and brings it together. What man constantly thinks he becomes himself in the end; he enters that which fills his soul; as is also taught in the Bhagavadgītā with the words: “Whoever thinks only of me (Brahma) when leaving the body, he enters me; for every being finally enters into what it has become through its will, thought and deed.” The loss of the grace of God is the loss of the light of knowledge, or of the ability to love and feel what is true, and without this man is merely an animal intellectually superior to some other creature. This is the scientific justification why everyone should not only live morally, but also search for the light that is hidden in darkness but is revealed in the heart of the person who finds it.
Notes
[1] The Succession of Christ [Die Nachfolge Christi. Franz Hartmann, M.D. Neue Lotusblüten 4, no. 11-12 (November-December 1911), 330-357] {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos. Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}
[2] H. P. Blavatsky. “Private Instructions.”
[3] Evidence of this is given by the fact that the sexual forces for procreation resp. “materialization” of a human being.
[4] We also see that sex lust and cruelty are closely related and result in a “hardening of heart,” as evidenced by the sadism, lust killings, and cruelties of the Inquisition and vivisection. But the more the astral body has hardened, the more difficult it will be to free oneself from it after death.