The Ripeness of the Nations

THE WAY OF THE GRAIL – SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS – May 25, 2023

Czech original: Zrelosť Národov · cesta-gralu.cz

Glorious is the Earth, given to man as a place where he may slowly ripen. The picture of the ripening of the human spirit can be observed also in the earthly child, who must be carefully led through life so that he may learn to know it and learn to use his free will rightly. In that time this will is outwardly subdued, and in its place the instinct of imitation comes to the fore, so that the child does not feel it as a restriction when his parents do not allow him to do everything that just comes into his head. So long as he is inwardly pure, he gladly follows his leadership, because he fully trusts it and feels happy in it

It is similar with whole nations. Human communities too were at first firmly led by their chieftains or kings, who left them little room for decisions of their own. Nevertheless they did not feel this as a restriction, because they trusted their chieftains and kings. They held them to be wise and just and were convinced that following them would bring them happiness and joy

So long as the development of mankind still did not turn aside from the paths indicated by the Creator, that is, so long as it was still natural, this trust in their leaders bore rich fruit, because these were truly the ripest and wisest individuals. In many cases they were even specially prepared luminous and ripe spirits who incarnated on Earth for this very purpose. Thus the Light could stream into every part of earthly life

In that time people could also easily recognise these true earthly leaders and follow them with joy. Childlike purity made this possible for them. In the smaller tribal communities, where all knew one another, it was not difficult, because people consciously connected with the Light stood out especially through courage and through their way of solving problems, in which all could constantly perceive a far surpassing wisdom

Later, when the individual tribes grew or joined together in a natural way into larger nations, where people could no longer know one another, the wisdom of the leadership was secured through the forms of hereditary monarchy. On the basis of the attraction of homogeneity a king could then incarnate to a royal couple and could be led from childhood on and specially prepared for his future task as ruler by the very best teachers directly in the royal surroundings. To this day symbols have been preserved which embody the spiritual gifts from the Light to the chosen rulers, such as the royal crown, the robe or the sceptre. Many of the glorious words that could be heard during the solemn acts of coronation have been preserved

The joining of tribes into larger nations in a natural way means that it came about on the basis of the magnetic attraction of the Light. When an especially luminous ruler incarnated on Earth, this had to show itself throughout the whole kingdom in such a way that the harmony, the prosperity and the works of its inhabitants had to be visible far and wide. That could then speak to the purely minded chieftains of neighbouring tribes, who came to pay honour to the luminous sovereign by voluntarily subordinating themselves, and thereby also their tribe, to the wisdom of his leadership, so that the luminous realm and its power could grow

Yet even this did not come about arbitrarily, as though anyone at all could become an equal inhabitant of the luminous realm. The mixing of nations of differing ripeness was excluded by the fact that the wise sovereigns maintained a strict hierarchy through these subordinate chieftains, who remained responsible as before for their tribes in the everyday spheres of life. At the same time this enabled the chieftains to become still better mediators of the Light, comprehensible to ever more distant circles. Remnants of these principles, though in considerable distortion, have been preserved in what we call the “caste system”. They can be found also in present-day so-called “decentralised” countries such as Switzerland, where such a division of power and of responsibilities made possible the peaceful living together even of several nations over a long period, and that even when wars were raging all around

A natural development in ripening would have meant that the laws of the most luminous kingdoms would draw ever nearer to the laws of the Will of God, and the Kingdom of God could thus have spread over the whole Earth. The promise of the coming of the King of kings would thus have been fulfilled, which also presupposes that in spite of this a multitude of independent and thereby free earthly kingdoms, and also smaller groupings, tribes for example, with their own rules, always precisely adapted to the ripeness, the culture and also the unique capacities of the local inhabitants, would have been preserved on Earth. And just as in history the ranking of certain towns as “royal” has been preserved, not every ruler would have been permitted to bear the exalted title of “king”. For that presupposes the embodiment of the virtues of a ruler, which condition the ranking of a realm within the “Kingdom of kings”. The concept “king” in its pure sense means: he who serves the Will of God, the Holy Spirit or the Son of Man as the true and only rightful heir and King of Creation

The presence of a multitude of independent free kingdoms, in spite of their being subordinate to one “King of kings”, can come about because the nearer to the Light, the more general, but by that much the more comprehensive, the laws are. All the more do they resemble unified fundamental principles, which nevertheless allow an endless number of concrete forms of earthly realisation. They do not bind man in particulars, but only in a direction in which in the final effect they lead everyone to the Light. Therefore it holds good that the riper a nation or a person is, the less he is bound by concrete restrictions. It may also be put in this way, that together with ripeness the freedom of man grows as well. Exactly as we were able to observe in the picture of the earthly child of man, who at first must be held firmly by the hand in almost everything. Only later can the parent allow him ever more freedom of movement

The rule of the Kingdom of God on Earth in reality contains only one perfect Law or principle, and that is the principle of accord with Life, which is the same as the principle of accord with the Will of God, or with the Truth. The Son of God, who is also a part of the Divine Trinity and in this forms a unity with the present King of Creation as well, once summed all this up in the simple words “I am the Truth, the way and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

To seek out all that is in accord with the Will of God or with the Truth, that is, to place oneself in the service of the King of Creation and thereby to bring and to spread the Kingdom of God on Earth, and in accord with all this to create manifold works which for that reason alone must be exalted, uplifting and thereby also great – is a glorious task, bringing the purest joy, for every human being

* * *

Such would the development have had to be, had it proceeded in the natural way, that is, in the way willed by the Creator. As a consequence of the fall into sin, however, everything turned aside from its originally marked-out courses. In everything there could arise only caricatures of the original harmony that was to have arisen in all its beauty, caricatures bringing pain and suffering. The Light could not lead man on Earth so long as he himself did not want it. Through pride in his own intellect and in “his own” leadership he stubbornly tore himself away from the loving luminous parental hand

In practice this may be pictured thus, that people no longer wished to let themselves be led by leaders whose connection with the Light was still unbroken, but rather by such as pandered to their weaknesses. Thereby, however, they too literally seduced and dragged their false leaders down still further, much as when tempting mixed drinks are set out around a person with beginning inclinations to alcohol. All are thus co-responsible for the bitter fruits of the false paths. Nor can there be found in such happenings even a hint of injustice, as though, for instance, only the leaders were responsible for how a man fares

Not that people wanted anything evil in this. Certainly not, for the voice of conscience cannot be so easily suppressed in a man. In their thinking they listened only to the strengthening voice of the intellect, which always knows how to find a multitude of excuses for carrying out what suited their weaknesses, even though a man at the very least senses that it is not right

In this the intellect only fulfils its task exactly, and therefore it too cannot be held responsible. Its task is to serve and not to judge whom it serves or what its service will bring. That it cannot do, because that is not even its purpose. Through the forms of thought it is connected with the whole and can attune itself only to what it or others have already formed there. These are those “worn ruts” which cause the same way of thinking in whole masses of spiritually indolent people. It can indeed combine in all sorts of ways the forms that are there and thus alter them at least a little, but for a change of the whole direction – that is, for the creation of new ruts – it does not of itself suffice. For that a spiritual power is needed, which the intellect does not possess, not least because it is in fact meant to serve that power

In this too there lies only a further great grace, an emergency brake and also the justice of the Laws of Creation, which thereby make it possible that one single human being, however unknown he might be, could easily change the direction of millions of people, if only he succeeded in connecting his earthly instrument with the Light

The expression “the mighty rule the world” takes on in this respect an entirely different meaning. By “might” people today mostly picture something earthly, such as: the technologies of extraterrestrials, the strongest army in the world, the money of corporations and all sorts of other things. Yet here too “might” in its true meaning signifies: a pure connection with the Light

No man and no group can gain mastery over the world, even though they had all the money in the world at their disposal and commanded all the armies – if in this the pure connection with the Light were lacking to them. They themselves would be led, or better said dragged somewhere, without being able to influence it, just like the rest, who in their unripeness mistakenly suppose that it is they who lead them. They would simply lack control over the development of events, that is, over whether their plans are fulfilled or turn against them, as can so often be observed. For every happening, every movement whatsoever is only a manifestation of the one same Life, and therefore it always was, is and will be led only by the just, wise and perfect Will of God, upon which one can always rely. To comprehend this and to take it wholly into oneself is bound up with the ripeness of a man and of a whole nation, because then all his deeds too become deliberate, courageous and noble

Therefore the concept “to lead” also means, in the true sense of the word, “to work magnetically through the attracting power of the Light”. Where this is lacking, where one tries to “lead” by luring on the weaknesses of others or even by force – there one can never speak of a true leader, but only of a false one

For a still better understanding one may picture a man in society as a rider on a horse who gallops somewhere along with others, whereby this great throng can never come to a halt. In order to be able to master his horse fully, that is, to bring it to gallop in the direction he desires, it is not enough merely to know how to move the reins, the hands or the legs. For that it is necessary that the horse feel above itself a superiority or a certainty of leadership. So long as it does not have it, it does as it pleases. Or better said, it behaves as a horse always naturally behaves in such cases – it runs after the other horses in the group. And that is our case as well

It fares the same with the riders who do indeed gallop at the head of the throng, but who likewise are not yet able to master their animals fully. To an onlooker it only looks as though it were they who led the whole throng. All the more so since outwardly they give that impression through their clothing and also through all sorts of practised “horsemanlike” movements, by which they outwardly try to show others that they have the situation under control. Yet so long as they do not learn to make use of a spiritual superiority over their animal, neither can they master it. It is therefore not they who lead the whole throng, but their animals, and their position in this in fact corresponds to that of all the others

If someone, even a rider at the very rear of our throng, were to learn to master his horse, that is, were able to quicken his spiritual superiority, he would then effortlessly outstrip all the other horses, so as to become the first rider and also the true leader whom all the rest would then follow. Including the original false leaders, who would be left no other possibility, since to halt is not possible

* * *

Before the fall into sin the leaders were able with certainty to lead their horses and therefore also their tribes or nations, which gladly followed them. This at the same time guaranteed that they were truly luminous leaders. When that then changed, the magnetic attraction of the Light could no longer reign as the determining power in human communities, around which ever more distant circles of ordered kingdoms, graded exactly according to ripeness, could have formed, as can be seen throughout the whole of Creation. In the ensuing chaos the individual tribes had to collide with one another, driven now only by envy, by the craving for power and by other vices. In this they tried to rob one another, to outwit one another and if possible also to subjugate one another, whereby after a time they did not even shrink from mass murder. Nations grew faster than they should have, so as to be able to attack and subjugate weaker rivals still more

In this it was not easy to hold together great countries with several subjugated nations. It could be done only through a strong centralisation of power together with tyranny by means of military force, which had to be constantly present in the conquered territories. Understandably a mixing of nations also came about in this. But no longer only on the basis of homogeneity, for instance in the pure love of two people from different tribes who would then decide to live somewhere together, but in such a way that they dragged one another into slavery, drew one another on with the prospect of adventure or of gain. Under the pressure of the new circumstances it also happened that rulers concluded forced marriages for the sake of still greater “might”, which further deepened the tension, uncertainty and discord that were great in any case

The Light could not anchor itself more firmly in the ruler of any nation. The necessary purity was lacking for it. That, however, is attained not only by the way of joy, as it was originally meant to be, but also by the way of suffering. Therefore the Son of God too could come only into an oppressed nation. He did not come as the earthly king of the mightiest and purest realm in all the glory that belongs to Him, as it would have had to be if the development had proceeded in the right direction

The Work of the Son of God was meant not only for ordinary people, but also for kings. As King of kings He worked already by the very fact that He brought the New Law, according to which later kings all over the world could create their own laws, structures and ordinances, precisely adapted to their nations. In this too we may see how many paths are prepared from the Light for the fulfilment of the promises

The Kingdom of God on Earth could therefore have come about even in that time after the human failure, if the called nation of the Jews had accepted the teaching of their Master. Out of the last oppressed nation there would very quickly have become a glorious nation which would have led the other nations after it had gone out as a nation of teachers into the whole world

When it then failed, it likewise went out into the whole world, only under different conditions. After it came others who strove to preserve and to spread this precious message, yet sadly they too failed again and again

For ordinary people it was not difficult to recognise the false leadership of the churches. Various diseases, plague epidemics and further blows of destiny made it easier for them. In the longing to help others many of them opened themselves to the luminous guidance which is surely always near to everyone who longs for it and whom it can then help. Along with this they received gifts of healing, whereby they could sow still more Light into people and open them to the true teaching of the Son of God, which was already anchored on Earth. Understandably they thereby became a painful thorn in the eye of the churches, whose power over people was shaken. And since on the factual level of the struggle they could not have held their ground, they resorted to dishonest intrigues. They began to brand them as “witches”, responsible for all the afflictions of the people of that time. They organised a literal “hunt” for them, in which many people had to take part

Those who knew them had to see the injustice bound up with it, especially since the trials of the “witches” and their executions were often public. Nevertheless they did not stand up for them sufficiently, because that would have had to break the power of the churches. Perhaps they acted so out of fear, and perhaps also because they believed the talk that all the exceptional gifts and abilities of the “witches” were the result of “a league with the devil”

Present-day mankind will perhaps only smile at the ways of thinking of the people of the age of the “dark Middle Ages”. Yet if we reflect upon it, we shall find that even today it is no different. Today too there are people who strive to help others. If in this they succeed in bringing more Light, it must then shake the power of the false leaders, who until then were able to hide in the dark and who then try to fight against it with intrigues, because on the factual level they could never hold their ground. And since it speaks to a large group of people, “witch hunts” can be observed today as well. Only in other forms, where instead of the expression “witches” more modern expressions are used, such as “non-profit organisations”, “traitors to the nation”, and the like. And to them too, in order to heighten the emphasis upon a “dangerousness” that cannot be seen, a league with some strong and above all evil “devil” is ascribed, which may take the shape of a more closely undefined group of people, of “corporations”, of a “world government”, of “the Jews” or perhaps of something else again

Although with us this modern “witch hunt” is used “only” for moral murders, it is not so everywhere. It is enough to look at what resonates today, at how one great country, because of this way of thinking, attempted to subjugate a weaker neighbour, the result of which is also that to this day tens of thousands of murders of inhabitants are being carried out there in the name of the “fight against the devil”. In territory it is the largest country in the world, which is at the same time multicultural, for as many as about two hundred different ethnic groups live there. That in itself must call forth inner tensions, which the government tries to hold in check through a strong centralisation of power and of reward, together with especially strong apparatuses of security services, police and army

The ripeness of nations is bound up not only with the measure of the inner and outer freedom of its inhabitants, but is reflected also in all the standpoints and deeds of their governments, including how they are able to face problems and states of crisis. It is inseparable from an unshakable trust in the wisdom and justice of the Laws of Creation, which direct all happenings and permit that a man can be struck only by that to which he himself has previously given the impulse

M.V.