Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl[1]

“Christianity” is a religion; but the word “religion” has, when considered more precisely, three different meanings:

  1. In the first place, it denotes the practice of a certain kind of spiritual education, whereby the higher principles in the constitution of man are developed and reunited (religere = to bind back) with the divine source to which they belong. In this sense it is the same as Yoga (from yog = to bind).
  1. In the second aspect, it involves the knowledge of the true relation which exists between the microcosmic man, as a part of the universe, and the macrocosm of the spiritual and material universe.
  1. In the third and common sense, the word “religion” means a certain system of forms, ceremonies, and customs, by which a personal God, external to man, is worshipped or propitiated, whose favor is sought to be obtained, so that the sinner may escape the punishment he deserves, and evade the law. In this sense it is a superstition. To become a “Christian,” in the latter sense, one has only to undergo a certain ceremony called baptism, which differs in its external form among the different ecclesiastical denominations; but it seems that to become a true Christian, another kind of baptism is necessary, namely,
      1. the baptism of the water of truth,
      2. the baptism of blood, and finally
      3. the baptism of the living fire of the Spirit.

          The first baptism with the water of truth means the attainment of spiritual knowledge and corresponds to the first stage of the sublime eightfold path as taught by Buddha, namely “right knowledge.”

          The second baptism, or baptism of blood, is commonly understood to mean the shedding of blood by martyrdom, as a seal and testimony of faith in a historical Christ. Such an act, however, would be a loss of blood, not a reception of it, and could not properly be considered “baptism.” The best way to be certain about this baptism of blood will be to question those who have received it, or are currently receiving it.

          There is a certain class of practical occultists whose inner senses are highly opened, and who have been taught solely by the spirit within them, and guided by their own experience. They say that the “Baptism of Blood” is a propagation of the spiritual consciousness unfolding in man through the flesh, blood and bones of the physical body, thereby refining and purifying even the gross elements of the physical form, and that this process results in pain and suffering, typified by the suffering, crucifixion and death of Jesus of Nazareth. They further say that no one can be a true follower of Christ or a “true Christian” who has not undergone this “Baptism of Blood” and endured the pains of the Crucifixion, but that a man who has undergone this occult process becomes an Adept, requiring only the highest baptism (or final initiation), namely the “Baptism of Fire,” to enter the highest attainable state (spiritual power) and become a Son of Light.

          However, the question could be asked: what does Jesus of Nazareth have to do with this process? Why is he presented to us as an example through his suffering and what is the reason for this?

          It is said that at the beginning of certain periods of history, when old religious truths are in danger of being forgotten, and the idolatry of form is taking the place of true religion, a great spirit (planetary spirit) appears on the earth, clothed in human form, to powerfully impress by his word and example the old truths upon a number of receptive minds, that they may communicate the same to others, and thus lay the foundation of a new religious system, embodying and representing old truths in a new form.

          It is believed that the man Jesus of Nazareth was the mortal form in which such a spirit incarnated; but the latter, according to occult doctrine, was nothing less than any planetary spirit—namely, an emanation or radiation of the universal Logos or “Word.”

          But what is the Logos? Or, to put it better, how can we form an idea of ​​Him? We cannot conceptualize any other God (or the Supreme Good) than that which lives in ourselves and which is, so to speak, the image of the universal God reflected in the purified human soul; in this mirror alone can He attain self-consciousness and self-knowledge. The universal God can be conceived as the incomprehensible center from which the elements of love, light and life issue in their various manifestations on the various planes (of the universe). The whole of nature is a product of the Spirit of God, which has shed itself throughout the universe by the power of the Word, which is Life—the divine thought awakened to action by the will.

          The same process that took place in the eternal macrocosm of the universe also takes place in the inner world, which belongs to the microcosm of man. “No one can come to the Father except through the Son,” i.e. God will not take up residence in the inner temple of man in any other way than through the power of the Word — expressed: through the concentration of consciousness and good will on the divine germ which is in the innermost center of every human being. When we concentrate our love on that center of good, the divine germ will begin its active life and the inner world will gradually be illuminated by the light of the Spirit. As this principle increases, it will penetrate the soul, and through it all the lower principles, even the physical body, expelling the impurities of soul and body, and the more such impurities there are, the greater will be the suffering attendant  typified by the figure of Jesus — until at last the baptism of blood is accomplished, the soul purified, the animal ego dead, and the man becomes a “Christ” or an Adept, that is, one in whom the Christ Principle (Buddhi or Light of Knowledge) has taken form.

          It is not difficult to see that the completion of this process requires more than mere church attendance, almsgiving, prayers, and the performance of the prescribed ceremonies. It requires constant meditation of the highest order, and a constant exercise of the will-power to keep away the disturbing elements of evil, which are far more violent in a soul striving for knowledge than in an ordinary man indifferent to spiritual pursuits. For as soon as the spiritual light kindled in the centre begins to fill our inner world with its life-giving rays, the “guardians of the threshold,” that is, the evil selves which, produced by impure thoughts and selfish desires, arise on the periphery of the soul’s sphere like clouds which pervade the atmosphere of our earth, begin to feel the destructive influence of the central sun and struggle for their existence. This atmosphere of evil, however, must be penetrated before we can reach the luminous centre and the eternally clear sky within, and this is accomplished by taking refuge in the principle of good and virtue, whose rays emanate from the centre. This principle will at first be felt only intuitively, but if we feed it with good thoughts, it expands and the inner spiritual senses open up so that we can hear its voice clearly without fear of misunderstanding its meaning. The “lower” is always in intimate relation and harmony with the “upper.”

          We are surrounded by an all-embracing though invisible ocean of life, the waves of which penetrate our psychic organization in the same sense that the waves of air enter our lungs; as the latter process stimulates and maintains the vital activity in the human body, so the former develops the elements of the spirit, which draw their substance from the lower animal principles. In the same way the heat rays of the sun enter the vegetable body, and stimulate in it the assimilation of the elements drawn from the earth, water, and air.

          Those who have undergone this occult process will not demand proof of the truth of these statements, because they are convinced of their truth by their own experience, but the “exoteric Christian” and doubter, who has no such experience to support his belief, can arrive at a certain degree of conviction by using his powers of reason and logical reasoning in conjunction with the teachings of the Bible. Christ is said, according to the “New Testament,” to have said: “Unless ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you” (John VI. 53), and further: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if a man eat of this bread, he shall live forever” (John VI. 51).

          Now, the meaning of these sayings appears clear enough to every disciple of occultism, and translated into the scientific language of modern occult students, they would mean the following: Unless you receive and assimilate into your psychic organization the sixth principle (Christ, Buddhi), which is the only permanent and immortal principle in the human constitution, you will not have a developed sixth principle within you, and consequently you will not attain immortal life—at least as far as your personality is concerned—for the divine and as yet unconscious germ within you cannot die, but will reincarnate. But if you receive this principle or spiritual life within you, and develop the spirit within you so that it grows through your flesh and blood, then you will have drunk of the elixir of life, and received the baptism of blood, and become a Christian, an adept; for “Christ” will have taken form in your body, and since He Himself is immortal, you will attain immortality through Him.

          These views have been verified by the great Christian mystic Jacob Boehme, by Jane Leade, by Paracelsus, and by the Rosicrucians, and nothing can be found in them which in any way contradicts the “Secret Doctrine” as taught by the Eastern adepts. If a difference of opinion should arise, it could only be in relation to the person of Jesus of Nazareth, or Jehoshua, and whether he lived at the exact time assumed by present-day Christendom.

          The solution of this question, however, does not seem to be of great importance, for the existence of the Christ principle is not questioned by anyone, and the man Jesus, who died, can now become a Savior for us only if we study his character and imitate his example.

Note:

[1] Hartmann, M.D., Franz. (1906-1907) “True Christianity.” Robert Hutwohl, Trans. Theosophisches Leben 9, 106-112.  [Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025.]