37. Symbolism (Symbolic Redemption) In Human Fate
If humans did not become entirely absorbed in the necessities and the many trivialities of everyday life, but were also willing to take some time to observe the great and small events around them more attentively, a new insight would soon come to them. They would be astonished at themselves and find it hard to believe that until then they had thoughtlessly overlooked something so striking. And there is every reason to shake one’s heads in pity at oneself. With just a little observation, a whole world of strictly ordered, living events suddenly revealed to them, clearly showing the steady guidance from a higher Hand: The world of symbolism!
This is deeply rooted in the ethereal part of Creation; only at its outermost edges extending as offshoots into the visible earthly realm. It is like a sea that appears perfectly still on the surface, whose constant movements are not visible but can only be observed in their final ripples on the shore. Humans do not realize that with very little effort, through some attention, they can clearly observe the activity of karma, which is so decisive for them and which they so fear. It is possible to become more familiar with it, whereby.little by little, the fear that often arises in thinking individuals gradually subsides and karma loses its terrors. For many, it can become a path of ascent if, through visible earthly events, they learn to sense and follow the deeper currents of the unseen world, whereby over time the conviction arises of the existence of absolutely consistent interactions.
Those who have come to this point, will slowly begin to comply, step by step, until at last they recognize the strictly logical and all-pervading driving Force of the conscious Divine Will throughout all Creation, that is, in both the coarse material and ethereal worlds. From that moment on, they will reckon with it and willingly submit to it. This means for them a swimming within the Force, the effects of which can then only be beneficial for them. It serves them because they know how to use it, by aligning and adjusting themselves correctly. Thus, this unfolding chain reaction of cause and effect can then only work as a source of good fortune for them.
Smiling, they then see every biblical word literally fulfilled – words which, due to their childlike simplicity, sometimes became a stumbling block, and which they had often found difficult to fulfil because, in their previous view, it required a slave-like mindset. The demand for obedience, once felt unpleasant, gradually becomes, before their now-seeing eyes, the highest honour that can be bestowed on a being; a truly Divine gift that carries within it the possibility of an immense unfolding of spiritual power, allowing for a conscious personal participation in the magnificent Creation.
The expressions: “Only he who humble himself shall be exalted”, that one must “bow humbly before their God” in order to enter His Kingdom, or that one should “obey”, “serve”, and whatever else the biblical advice may be, initially repel the modern human somewhat in this simple, childlike and yet so precise form of expression, because they wound a pride rooted in intellectual knowledge. They no longer wish to be led blindly, but to participate consciously and knowingly in everything, in order to gain the inner impetus born of conviction that is necessary for all that is great. And there is nothing wrong with that!
Humans should stand more consciously in their further evolution in Creation than they were in the past. And when they come to recognize with joy that the simple biblical expressions, so foreign in their manner to the present time, advise exactly what they themselves would freely and fully resolve to do once they understand the immense Laws of Nature, then it is as if a blindfold falls from their eyes. They stand shaken by the fact that they had previously rejected the old teachings only because they had misunderstood them and had never seriously attempted to penetrate them correctly or to bring them into harmony with present-day understanding.
Whether one says: “Humbly bow to the Will of God”, or “after correct recognition of the mighty Laws of Nature make use of their nature and their effects”, is one and the same.
Humans can only make use of the forces that carry God’s Will if they study them thoroughly, that is, by recognizing them and then aligning themselves accordingly. Reckoning with them or aligning oneself to them is, in reality, nothing more than ‘going along with them’, thus, bowing to them! Not opposing these forces, but going with them.
Only by adapting one’s will to the nature of the forces, that is, by going in the same direction with them, can humans harness their power. This is not a conquering of the forces, but humble submitting to the Divine Will! Even if one calls some of this wisdom or an achievement of knowledge, it does not change the fact that everything is merely a so-called “discovery” of the effects of existing Natural Laws, therefore of the Divine Will, which one has thereby “recognized”, and by interpreting or utilizing them “submit” to this Will. This is undoubtedly a humble submission before the Will of God, an “obedience”!
Now, on to symbolism! Every event in Creation, that is, in the World of Matter, must come to a proper conclusion in their cycle, or, as one might also say: they must close into a ring. Therefore, according to the Laws of Creation, everything inevitably return to its starting point, where alone it can find its end, that is, dissolved, disintegrated, or is extinguished as an active force. This applies to the whole of Creation itself, as well as to every single event. From this arises the unconditional reciprocal action, which in turn brings out the symbolism.
Since all actions must end where they originated, it follows that every action must also end in the same type of substance in which it began. Therefore, an ethereal beginning must have an ethereal end, but a coarse beginning must have a coarse material end. Humans cannot see the ethereal, but they call the coarse material end of every event symbolism. It is indeed visible to them, but many lack the actual key to it: the beginning, which in most cases lies in a previous coarse material existence.
Even if the greatest part of all the events of reciprocal actions only takes place in the Ethereal World, the karma working in this way could never find a full redemption if the end did not extend into the Coarse Material World in some manner and become visible there. Only through a visible process corresponding to the nature of reciprocal action can a running cycle be closed, thereby bringing about complete redemption. Regardless of whether, depending on the nature of the original beginning this is good or evil, it brings happiness or misfortune, a blessing or through its resolution, forgiveness. This final visible effect must occur at the same place where the origin lies, namely with the individual who once initiated it through some action. In no single case can it be avoided.
If, in the meantime, the person in question has changed inwardly in such a way that something better has come to life in them than the action of the past, then the returning effect cannot take a firm hold in its original kind. It no longer finds a similar ground in the upward striving soul, which has become more luminous and thus lighter, according to the Law of Spiritual Gravity. The natural consequence is that a darker effect, upon approaching, is permeated by the luminous environment of the person concerned, thus significantly weakened. Nevertheless, the Law of Revolution and Reciprocal Action must be completely fulfilled in their automatically operating force. The suspension of any Natural Law is impossible.
Consequently, in accordance with the immutable Laws, such a weakened reciprocal action must manifest visibly in coarse-material form in order to be truly redeemed, that is, extinguished. The end must flow back into the beginning. However, because of the luminous environment, dark karma cannot harm the person in question, and so this weakened reciprocal action only affects the immediate environment in such a way that the person is placed in a position to do something voluntary, the nature of which only corresponds to the nature of the returning reciprocation. The difference from the original, unbroken force of the returning effect that would otherwise have befallen the person in question is that it causes no pain or harm, and may even bring joy.
This is then a purely symbolic redemption of some heavy karma, yet entirely in accordance with the Laws of Creation, operating automatically through the change in the state of the soul. It is why it often remains completely unconscious to most people. Karma is thus redeemed, the immutable Justice is satisfied down to the most finest currents. In these processes, which are self-evident according to the Laws of Creation, lie Acts of Grace of such magnitude as only the Omniscience of the Creator in His perfect Work could bring about.
There are many such purely symbolic redemptions where otherwise reciprocal actions would strike heavily!
Let us consider an example: A once harsh and domineering character, who through these traits oppressed others, has burdened oneself with heavy karma, which, alive in its own distinct manner, moves through the cycle and must return to the individual in the same, often greatly intensified form. As it approaches, this current of ruthless domination, often enormously strengthened by the Law of Attraction of ethereal homogeneity, permeates the individual’s entire ethereal environment so strongly that it affects the closely connected coarse-material surroundings, creating conditions that force the originator to suffer under similar domination to a far greater extent than those such a person once tormented.
If, however, such a person has in the meantime already come to better understanding and, through honest efforts towards ascent, has gained a luminous and lighter environment, then naturally the nature of the final effect also changes as well. The returning denser darkness will, depending on the intensity of luminosity in the individual’s new environment, be more or less permeated by this light and consequently rendered more or less harmless. In the case of a great ascent of the formerly domineering person, that is, an extraordinary improvement, it may now happen that the actual effect is virtually nullified and the individual only temporarily does something that outwardly resembles atonement.
Let us suppose the person in question is a woman. It would be sufficient for her to take the brush out of a maid’s hand just once, in order to show her, in all kindness, how the scrub a floor. Even if it involves only a few gestures of this kind, the symbolism of the most menial service is thereby fulfilled. This brief action gives a redemption that had to occur visibly and which, despite its easiness, is capable of ending a heavy karma.
Likewise, the rearranging of a single room can become the symbol for the termination and annulment of a debt, the atonement or reciprocal action of which would actually have required a greater, painfully drastic upheaval. These things result in some way from the weakened influences of a reciprocal action, or random actions are also sometimes used by spiritual guidance to bring about a redemption through them.
The prerequisite for all these is, of course, that an unusually extraordinary soaring and the associated change in the state of the soul connected with it have already occurred. Circumstances which, of course, astrologers are naturally unable to take into consideration, and as a result of this, their calculations often cause unnecessary worry, sometimes even such fear, which in itself has the power to evoke or create unpleasantness anew, whereby then, albeit only apparently, a calculation is fulfilled that otherwise would have proven false without this fear. In such cases, however, the person concerned has opened a door in the sphere of light surrounding them through one’s fear. Where one voluntarily stretches out the hand beyond the protective covering, no help can come from any side. One’s own will breaks every protection from within, while from outside nothing can reach them through the light without one’s willingness.
Thus, even the smallest act of kindness towards others, a genuinely felt sorrow for one’s neighbour, or a single kind word, can become the symbolic redemption of a karma, as soon as the sincere will for good has been laid inwardly as the foundation.
This must naturally come first; otherwise, there can be no question of a symbolic redemption, because then everything returning will take full effect in every respect. But as soon as the sincere will toward ascent really begins in a human being, one can very soon observe how little by little more and more life comes into one’s surroundings, as if all kinds of things were placed in one’s path, which however always turns out well. One even notices it. Finally, just as noticeably, a period arrives in which more calm sets in, or all events clearly serve earthly advancement as well. Then the time of redemption is over. With joyful gratitude, one can then hold the thought that much guilt has fallen away which would otherwise have required severe atonement. Then one should remain watchful that all threads of fate newly formed through one’s will and desires are good, so that only good may return.
